Past Present Future Where Are We Going? Societal Collapse – The Future
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Mar 8, 2026 
Luke Kemp, author and researcher on societal collapse and existential risk, outlines where global collapse risks lie and which institutions drive them. He explores concentrated power in states, tech and fossil-fuel firms, secrecy and intentional risk creation. He suggests democratizing states, corporations and AI through deliberative tools and citizen assemblies as possible paths forward.
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Agents Of Doom Concentrate Global Risks
- Existential risks are interconnected: climate change, nuclear weapons, advanced AI and pandemics feed into each other.
- Kemp labels the main producers as 'agents of doom'—powerful states and a few companies concentrating most risk production.
Fossil Firms Hid Their Own Climate Models
- Fossil fuel companies knew about climate risks in the 1970s and intentionally buried research while funding disinformation.
- Kemp cites internal modelling and documented memos showing firms suppressed evidence and spent millions to cast doubt.
Power Selection Produces Predatory Institutions
- Selection effects push status-seeking and dark-triad personalities into leadership, producing institutions prone to arms races and resource competition.
- Kemp argues artificial agents (states, corporations, AI) inherit and amplify these incentives, making defection likelier.
