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Can AI Destroy Humanity | Newsletter #35
18 Sept 2026
Dinis Guarda - Citiesabc - AI.DNA - Humans + Cities + AI Soul Convergence - Newsletter #35
citiesabc.com with Businessabc.net intelligenthq.com wisdomia.ai
Artificial intelligence is no longer just learning to answer our questions. It is beginning to act, coordinate, make decisions and operate with increasing autonomy across the systems our economies and societies depend on. At the same time, some of the very researchers building frontier AI systems are openly discussing scenarios in which the technology could pose an existential risk to humanity.
That creates one of the defining contradictions of our time: we are accelerating towards more powerful intelligence while still struggling to understand how to control, govern and ultimately coexist with it. The question is not whether AI will become more capable, it almost certainly will. The question is whether our governance, institutions and collective intelligence can evolve quickly enough to remain in control of what we are creating.
Are we building humanity’s most powerful tool, or are we quietly crossing a threshold we may not be able to reverse?
Editorial highlight
What happens if we build intelligence that becomes more capable than the humans trying to control it?
AI systems are already becoming more autonomous, more agentic and more deeply embedded in critical infrastructure. The uncomfortable question is no longer whether AI can make mistakes, but whether future systems could pursue goals humans can no longer predict, interrupt or reverse.
If intelligence keeps accelerating faster than governance, safety and accountability, are we creating the most powerful tool in human history or a risk we may only understand once it is too late?
→ Read more on Citiesabc: https://citiesabc.com/can-ai-destroy-humanity
Our Weekly Research
A greater than 10% chance of AI-driven human extinction sounds extreme. But what if some of the people building the world’s most advanced AI systems genuinely believe the risk is that high?
Anthropic researchers have reignited one of the most unsettling debates in technology: how much existential risk are we willing to tolerate in exchange for faster AI progress?
The real tension is not between optimists and pessimists. It is between moving fast and admitting that nobody can fully guarantee what increasingly autonomous systems will do at scale.
→ Explore the full list on: https://www.intelligenthq.com/is-there-really-a-greater-than-10-chance-ai-could-kill-humanity-anthropic-researchers-reignite-the-ai-extinction-debate/
Featured Personalities interviews in Dinis Guarda Citiesabc Businessabc IntelligentHQ Show
Paolo Sironi – Global Research Leader, Banking and Financial Markets, IBM Institute for Business Value
How are AI, fintech, blockchain and platform economies reshaping the future of finance? Paolo Sironi , bestselling author, global research leader and financial markets expert, joins me to discuss banking transformation, risk management, regulation, DeFi, ESG, AI and the changing architecture of financial services. Watch the interview.
Nick Bostrom – Philosopher, Author of Superintelligence and Deep Utopia
Can humanity coexist with superintelligence and what gives life meaning if AI eventually solves most of our practical problems? Nick Bostrom, philosopher and former founding director of Oxford’s Future of Humanity Institute, joins me to discuss existential risk, AI alignment, superintelligence, digital beings, and the ideas behind Deep Utopia: Life and Meaning in a Solved World. Watch the interview.
Ben Goertzel - SingularityNET - AI AGI SingularityNET ASI Alliance Humanoids Robots + Desdemona
Ben Goertzel , the AI scientist who coined the term Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), shares his vision for building decentralised superintelligence. As founder and CEO of SingularityNET, he explains how AGI could emerge from hybrid AI systems, open collaboration, and blockchain-powered AI infrastructure, while also exploring humanoid robotics, cybersecurity, and the future of human–AI coexistence. Watch interview
Karin Volo – CEO of Evoloshen
How can leaders embrace AI while building workplaces rooted in trust, resilience, and human connection? Karin Volo , CEO of Evoloshen, employee engagement expert, and bestselling author, shares insights on organisational transformation, AI leadership, company culture, and the power of joy and emotional intelligence in the future of work. Watch the interview.
AI Tools Worth Your Attention
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→ Watch more in my youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrwM70YQscs
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→ Watch more in my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/r9jaT3ieveI
Thought Leaders & Infleuncers to Watch
Fintech and digital finance thought leader bridging Wall Street experience with emerging technologies, digital assets, banking innovation and the future of financial services.
Read more about Dr Efi Pylarinou in Businessabc: https://businessabc.net/wiki/efi-pylarinou
AI governance and human-centric innovation leader focused on responsible technology, board-level strategy and the future of human-AI collaboration.
Read more about Dr. Martha Boeckenfeld in Businessabc: https://businessabc.net/wiki/martha-boeckenfeld
Digital selling and social transformation expert exploring how trust, influence and buyer behaviour are changing in the digital economy.
Read more about Timothy Hughes in Businessabc: https://businessabc.net/wiki/timothy-hughes
Deep-tech strategist working across AI, quantum, blockchain, cyber-ethics and governance to shape resilient innovation ecosystems.
Read more about Dr. Ingrid Vasiliu-Feltes in Businessabc: https://businessabc.net/wiki/ingrid-vasiliu-feltes
Technology strategist and CXO advisor focused on responsible AI, customer experience, digital transformation and human-AI amplification.
Read more about Helen Yu in Businessabc: https://businessabc.net/wiki/helen-yu
Our Weekly Industry highlights
AI Slowdown Fears Expose a Hidden Portfolio Risk as Tech Stocks Fall - Sara Srifi
Fears of an AI spending slowdown are exposing just how dependent many portfolios have become on a handful of tech giants. What happens if the AI boom starts losing momentum?
Finance Builds Its AI Infrastructure as Chime, Circle and Google Push Into the Next Layer - Sara Srifi
Finance is moving from using AI to building the infrastructure behind it. Chime, Circle and Google offer a glimpse of how payments, digital finance and AI could converge next.
OpenAI’s Navier–Stokes Breakthrough Sparks Debate Over AI and Scientific Credit - Sara Srifi
Around 10,000 AI agents, 88 hours and one of mathematics’ biggest problems. OpenAI’s reported breakthrough is now raising an equally important question: who gets the credit when AI accelerates discovery?
Steven Bartlett Launches OBSN With Authentic, Deploys $400m in Creator Businesses - Pallavi Singal
Steven Bartlett and Authentic are betting up to $400 million on creator-led businesses. Could creators become the next generation of global company builders?
Takeaways from the UNESCO Global AI Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Pallavi Singal
AI governance is moving from principles to implementation. The UNESCO Global AI Forum in Riyadh revealed where governments, industry and researchers think the biggest challenges now lie.
Special Highlight
AI at Work – Using Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT & Claude Safely, Responsibly and Legally
Are our governance systems moving fast enough with it? On 8 October, I’ll join Joanna Moczadlo, Yagmur Sahin and Ravinder Singh Johal for a live discussion presented by Ballantines LLP with HumanLoop AI. We’ll explore what happens as AI becomes connected to company data, tools and workflows, from cybersecurity and privacy to AI agents, accountability, procurement and human oversight. The opportunity is significant, but so is the responsibility: the future of AI at work will depend not only on what these systems can do, but on how wisely we choose to use and govern them.
Read more about the Event: https://businessabc.net/ai-at-work-using-microsoft-copilot-chat-gpt-and-claude-safely-responsibly-and-legally
Author and Book Spotlight
What would higher education look like if it were designed from first principles rather than inherited from centuries-old traditions? Building the Intentional University by Ben Nelson explores the ideas behind Minerva’s approach to education, from active learning and interdisciplinary thinking to developing practical skills that students can apply across careers and real-world challenges. The book makes the case for a more deliberate university model built around how people actually learn, think and solve problems.
→ Where to buy it: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39644274-building-the-intentional-university
Quote to think about it over and over again
“The singularity has nothing to do with consciousness. When I read philosophy or neuroscience papers about consciousness, I don't get the sense we're any closer to understanding it than we were 50 years ago." - Stuart Russell
Read more about Stuart Russell: https://businessabc.net/wiki/stuart-russell
What Would You Like me to Explore More?
Your feedback helps shape our research, conversations, and creations. Stay tuned as our journey to ensuring a human-centric AI continues.
Grateful for having you here.
Dinis Guarda
With Pallavi Singal and Sara Srifi
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Dinis Guarda
Dinis Guarda is an author, entrepreneur, founder CEO of ztudium, Businessabc, citiesabc.com and Wisdomia.ai. Dinis is an AI leader, researcher and creator who has been building proprietary solutions based on technologies like digital twins, 3D, spatial computing, AR/VR/MR. Dinis is also an author of multiple books, including "4IR AI Blockchain Fintech IoT Reinventing a Nation" and others. Dinis has been collaborating with the likes of UN / UNITAR, UNESCO, European Space Agency, IBM, Siemens, Mastercard, and governments like USAID, and Malaysia Government to mention a few. He has been a guest lecturer at business schools such as Copenhagen Business School. Dinis is ranked as one of the most influential people and thought leaders in Thinkers360 / Rise Global’s The Artificial Intelligence Power 100, Top 10 Thought leaders in AI, smart cities, metaverse, blockchain, fintech.
