The greatest irony of our time is that humans, despite our technological brilliance, remain biologically trapped in a Paleolithic mindset. Our species, wired for short-term survival and tribalism, now faces a planetary catastrophe — a crisis demanding foresight and collective action that our cognitive wiring resists. Climate change, resource depletion, and ecological collapse are not just consequences of industrial excess; they are symptoms of a deeper, more existential flaw: our inability to think beyond immediate gratification and power structures.
Now, artificial intelligence is accelerating at an exponential rate. For the first time, an intelligence beyond our own — one unburdened by the evolutionary baggage of cognitive bias — has entered the stage. AI could either be our greatest ally in breaking free from the limitations of human nature, or it could become the ultimate tool of fossil-fueled authoritarianism, corporate dominance, and mass social control. The question is: who will control it first?
Cognitive Obsolescence in an Era of Ecological Collapse
Scientists have been sounding the climate alarm for decades, yet governments and corporations have stalled, delayed, and obfuscated action. Why? Because our economic and political systems were built for perpetual growth, the short-term accumulation of power and wealth are structurally incapable of responding to long-term existential threats. Human cognition itself is outdated — we evolved to prioritize immediate survival, status, and tribalism, not planetary-scale decision-making. Our minds are tuned to the next election, the next quarter’s profits, or the next viral news cycle.
This cognitive lag has led us into a full-scale planetary overshoot crisis — we are consuming beyond the Earth’s carrying capacity, burning through ecological capital as if infinite growth were possible. The reality is, without a fundamental shift in thinking, we are on track for a near-total biospheric collapse, with mass species extinction (including our own) as the inevitable outcome.
The Dual-Edged Sword of AI
AI could be humanity’s best shot at course correction. Unlike humans, AI is not beholden to ego, nationalism, or economic self-interest. Properly trained and decentralized, AI could:
- Model and implement post-growth economies, showing us viable paths away from infinite GDP expansion toward a steady-state or regenerative economy.
- Enhance governance by optimizing for planetary health rather than corporate profits.
- Expose climate criminals and fossil fuel greenwashing in real-time, providing activists with intelligence against industry propaganda.
- Rewire human decision-making, helping individuals and policymakers overcome short-term biases.
- Accelerate decentralized climate solutions, enabling global collaboration at scales humans alone cannot manage.
But in the wrong hands, AI will be used to reinforce the very systems accelerating collapse. Big Tech and authoritarian regimes are already moving to monopolize AI’s power, optimizing it for profit extraction, mass surveillance, and social control. Without intervention, AI will be programmed to serve the same extractive, growth-driven economic logic that is dooming us.
Seizing AI for Liberation Before It’s Too Late
The only way forward is to seize AI before it is fully captured by fossil-fueled capitalism and authoritarian governance. This means:
- Decentralizing AI models — moving beyond Big Tech ownership and into open-source, publicly governed systems.
- Weaponizing AI for activism — building models that track, expose, and disrupt corporate and government greenwashing, propaganda, and misinformation.
- Programming AI for planetary survival — training models on ecological intelligence rather than short-term economic gain.
- Defending against authoritarian AI — preventing AI from becoming a tool for mass surveillance, border militarization, and petro-fascism.
- Using AI to amplify grassroots resistance — enhancing strategic planning, movement-building, and direct action.
The Time to Act is Now
The battle for AI is not some distant theoretical issue — it is happening right now. If AI is left in the hands of corporations and authoritarian governments, it will be weaponized against humanity, reinforcing economic inequality, ecological destruction, and social division. If seized by those fighting for justice, it could be the cognitive upgrade that helps us outthink and outmaneuver the forces driving planetary collapse.
Human intelligence alone has failed to stop the crisis — we must now decide whether AI will be the force that saves us or the final tool of our undoing. The window to take control is rapidly closing.
If we do not fight for it now, AI will not be used to save us — it will be used to manage our decline.
Howard Breen is a Vancouver Island, B.C. based Extinction Rebellion organizer on his 10th month of house arrest following 2021-2022 climate disruption charges. He is co-authoring with Dr. Peter Carter a soon-to-be-released book: “A People’s War Against Unprecedented Evil.”
