Do the AI Doomsayers Have a Hidden Agenda?

There's a popular cartoon that neatly illustrates a perennial problem within environmentalism. An activist insists that our socioeconomic system needs to be dismantled to protect us from climate change. A helpful companion points out that nuclear power is a green source of energy that could solve this problem. The activist scowls. "I don't want nuclear power!" he says. "I want to dismantle our socioeconomic system!"

This problem isn't unique to environmentalism. Predictions of catastrophe can often serve covert political or psychological purposes. In this example, warnings against climate change can run cover for so-called "watermelon" environmentalists—green on the outside, red on the inside—who are truly motivated by leftism rather than concern for the planet. These people leverage climate fears to elevate other political goals: thwarting big business, attacking consumerism and eating the rich.