Sci-fi philosopher, Anders Indset has deep thoughts on the future of artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, quantum computing, space, cryptocurrency – and he’s both “excited and frightened.”
“There is a very fine line between the benefits of high-efficiency and foundational models that optimize nearly every industry, and technology that leads to power resting in the hands of only a few people, job displacement caused by robots, and climate change,” said Indset, a self-described “business philosopher,” author, and deep tech investor, who will touch on tech’s future at the Davos conference in Switzerland next week. There, he will discuss a new book he co-wrote, “EX MACHINA: The God Experiment” (2025), and another due in April, “The Singularity Paradox: Bridging the Gap Between Humanity and AI.”
The rise of humanoids is top of mind for Indset, given his books on the topic and the enduring influence of the movie “Ex Machina” (2015), a meditation on man and machines. The theme of humans and robots co-existing traces back to the Turing test (1949), an evaluation of machine’s ability to think.
“Look at what China is working on, and Tesla. The mechanics part is being put together with AI,” Indset said in a video interview. “I envision a future with a billion robots. The home domestic robot – scary and exciting at the same time – will be part of everyday life. The question is whether they will all be the same, or tailor-made for each family? And once you become accustomed to a robot, do you fold it up and take it on vacation with you? These are ideas that intrigue me.”
Indeed, how humans react to robots is of as much interest to Indset as what they will soon be capable of. “I was standing next to Spot, the dog from Boston Dynamics. I know it is not real or smart. Yet when the lights in front of this thing went on, and you look into them, you see something more,” he said. “Advances in biology and chemistry will lead to advances in humanoids that “trigger our emotions,” Indset added. “It is a real-life Ex Machina scenario.”
For the time being, physical AI’s predecessor, agentic AI, will “take a huge leap forward” and rule the tech landscape in 2025, with applications for business uses in consulting, financial services, logistics, and medical health, he said.
“The most profound impact will be on what we consider boring tasks,” Indset said. “A lot of money is to be made and saved. I see an extreme optimization game, a natural revolution after scaling large language models for years.”
Meanwhile, with so much attention riveted on the stars and deep space exploration efforts from the likes of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, the moon could just be a docking station, a launch pad for missions to Mars and civilizations on the red planet. Indset foresees that and something else: Cities that exist on islands in space, citing the NEOM diverse climate project in northwest Saudi Arabia.
The $1 trillion space economy has shined a spotlight on the resources and reach of billionaires, Musk and Bezos, and their outsized influence on the economy, culture, media, energy, climate change, and politics – both on Earth and beyond, Indset notes.
President Joe Biden warned of a “tech-industrial complex” in his farewell TV address Wednesday night – echoing President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s final public speech in 1961 about a “military-industry complex” – and Indset sees the threat of a tech oligarchy everywhere.
“Musk’s Starlink is so far ahead of everyone, including China. NVIDIA Corp. CEO, Jensen Huang, is talking about the impact of quantum computing, which is like AI on steroids,” Indset said. “We have a very strong shift to very strong companies such as Microsoft, Google, Musk’s companies that will probably make him the first trillionaire.
“There is a rising technocratic U.S. government with [Meta Platforms Inc. CEO, Mark] Zuckerberg leaning into it. The intention of these powerful people becomes so important for the stability of the planet,” Indset said.
“And what will happen if [President-elect Donald] Trump, toward the end of his term, suggests a decentralized currency?” Indset asks. “It will be a shaky time for central banks and the Fed.”
