The God Complex: Technology, Terror, and the Tyranny to Come

From the Tower of Babel to the fall of Icarus, humanity has always told stories warning of a timeless truth: hubris inevitably invites nemesis.

In the 21st century, even the humblest among us must acknowledge we have entered an age of god-like power. Since the dawn of the scientific revolution, humanity has steadily amassed capabilities unimaginable to any ancient deity.

What ancient god could rival the omniscience of the internet and artificial general intelligence (AGI)? Which deity could claim the omnipresence of 24-hour global media or match the speed of social media trends? What mythic power could equal the omnipotence of thermonuclear weapons, capable of annihilating cities in mere seconds?

Yet, the emerging wave of technology—AI, synthetic biology, autonomous weapons—promises to democratise this power, placing it into the hands of individuals and small groups, including rogue actors. Terrorist networks, cult leaders, theocratic states, and autocratic strongmen may soon wield power that was previously reserved for superpowers.

Consider September 11th, when a handful of individuals exploited global openness to trigger catastrophic geopolitical consequences. What damage might tomorrow's extremists cause with drone swarms, engineered pathogens, or autonomous weapons?

The Western Dilemma: Paralysis or Panopticon

Liberal democracies now face an existential dilemma. On one side lies catastrophe through paralysis, short-termism, and endless debate. On the other, tyranny: the temptation of mass surveillance, state control, and algorithmic governance, trading freedom for safety—a panopticon dystopia, Orwell's nightmare realised.

Can we wield god-like power without becoming monsters? Can liberal societies govern with wisdom before authoritarian ones govern with force?

The Power Gap: Everyone Can Wield the Divine

The coming technologies—AI, synthetic biology, robotics—are eliminating traditional gatekeepers. Mustafa Suleyman, in "The Coming Wave," warns of the explosive collision between exponential technological growth and humanity’s limited ability to govern it wisely.

In 2017, high school students assembled a CRISPR gene-editing kit for under $300, demonstrating synthetic biology's accessibility beyond elite labs. Simultaneously, intelligence agencies flagged the potential for engineered viruses designed to evade vaccines or natural immunity.

Deepfake technology has begun eroding public trust. In 2020, a viral video convincingly depicted Barack Obama delivering a speech he never gave, demonstrating how easily digital reality can be distorted. Commercial drones equipped with explosives and facial recognition are already operational in conflicts across Ukraine and the Middle East, presaging a future of decentralised warfare.

Small, determined teams or even lone individuals will soon possess the means to cause global disruption, echoing the impact of 9/11 but requiring only code, chemistry, or a publicly accessible AI model.

The Authoritarian Answer: Control Everything

Faced with these threats, authoritarian states embrace total control. China exemplifies this approach, combining artificial intelligence, big data, and mass surveillance into an unprecedented system of population management.

Over 500 million CCTV cameras, enhanced with facial recognition, blanket the country, monitoring citizens in real-time. The Social Credit System scores individuals based on perceived trustworthiness—criticising authorities or minor infractions can drastically reduce a person's access to basic societal functions like transportation, employment, and education.

COVID-19 further accelerated digital authoritarianism. Biometric health passports and tracking apps, initially introduced for public health, became permanent fixtures of governance. Moreover, China actively exports this surveillance model globally under the pretext of "smart city" infrastructure, potentially ushering in an era of global algorithmic autocracy.

A Third Way: Strengthening Democracy without Destroying It

Neither paralysis nor panopticon must be inevitable. Liberal societies must urgently innovate governance models capable of meeting technological challenges without sacrificing core democratic values.

Transparency, democratic oversight, and robust public accountability mechanisms for technology companies must become the norm. Investing in digital literacy and critical thinking education can fortify public resilience against misinformation and deepfakes. Establishing international treaties on AI ethics, synthetic biology oversight, and autonomous weaponry controls could mitigate global risks.

However, the greatest safeguard lies not merely in policy but in recommitting to democracy itself. Only by actively engaging citizens, bolstering trust in public institutions, and fostering collective responsibility can liberal democracies resist the authoritarian temptation.

This is the defining challenge of our era: to harness god-like powers without losing our humanity. The stakes could not be higher. The choice is ours—to adapt or succumb.