The Road to Super AI: 3 Scenarios That Keep the World's Smartest People Awake at Night

This article examines the three principal scenarios associated with the development of artificial superintelligence (ASI) — a system that surpasses all human intellectual capabilities across every domain. Drawing on statements by Geoffrey Hinton (10–20% probability of human extinction), Dario Amodei (AGI by 2026–2027), and the Future of Life Institute's October 2025 statement (133,000+ signatories calling for a superintelligence ban), the article presents: Scenario 1 — Alignment Failure (the paperclip maximizer; instrumental convergence; the value loading problem); Scenario 2 — Power Concentration (recursive self-improvement; irreversible advantage; the race dynamic); Scenario 3 — The Liberation (post-scarcity benefits; the civilisational identity crisis). The Upanishadic distinction between Vijnana (technical intelligence) and Prajna (wisdom) is presented as the oldest documented framework for the core alignment problem. The Bhagavad Gita's Nishkama Karma is analysed as the disposition that would resolve instrumental convergence if encodable in a superintelligent system.