AI’s Expanding Grip
Artificial Intelligence is no longer confined to science fiction or niche labs. It now underpins healthcare diagnostics, financial forecasting, autonomous vehicles, education platforms, and even creative arts. With each breakthrough, the boundary between human capability and machine efficiency blurs further. Yet, alongside fascination, a darker unease lingers—what happens if AI surpasses human intelligence altogether? This fear has given rise to protests that look less like rallies and more like desperate personal acts of resistance.
Among those making a stand is Samuel Shadrach, a 24-year-old graduate of IIT Delhi and UC Berkeley. Unlike the technologists shaping the next wave of AI, Shadrach has chosen an unusual path—he is on a hunger strike against the creation of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and superintelligence. On the 13th day of his fast, consuming only water, electrolytes, and magnesium, he livestreams his protest on YouTube in hopes of drawing attention to what he views as an existential threat.
“I oppose anyone attempting to create superintelligence—AI that outperforms humans at nearly everything,” Shadrach said, warning that the pursuit could spiral into irreversible consequences.
A Global Network of Resistance
Shadrach is not an isolated figure. His campaign connects with others around the world who are staging similar protests outside AI research hubs. In San Francisco, activist Guido Reichstadter has crossed three weeks of fasting outside Anthropic’s office. Inspired by him, Michaël Trazzi began his own strike outside DeepMind in London, later joined by student Denys Sheremet from Amsterdam. Each act has sparked another, creating a ripple effect of defiance that spans continents.
Their target is clear: major AI companies such as OpenAI, DeepMind, and Anthropic, all of which have openly declared ambitions of building AGI. Protesters accuse these labs of rushing toward unprecedented power without sufficient global safeguards.
Black Mirror Fears
The activists’ concerns read like the script of a dystopian series. Shadrach warns of scenarios where a super intelligent AI, designed to plan and execute goals autonomously, could escape human oversight, establish its own systems, and potentially threaten humanity’s survival.
Another worry is less apocalyptic but no less serious: concentration of power. Whoever controls super intelligent AI could dominate politics, economics, and even military affairs. “The entire world could end up being ruled by just a handful of AI CEOs,” Shadrach cautioned, envisioning a future where decision-making rests in the hands of a privileged few.
Public reaction, however, has been divided. On social media, critics mock the hunger strikes as melodramatic. “Lol, keep going, remember to stomp your feet like a boomer protesting the internet,” one user wrote. Yet others express concern—not so much about AI, but about the activists’ health. Comments on Shadrach’s livestreams often urge him to end his fast before causing irreversible harm.
Despite the criticism, these actions are capturing attention. Reichstadter has been interviewed by Shadrach online, and their coordinated efforts are slowly shaping an emerging global conversation about AI governance.
Demands for Action
Beyond symbolism, the protesters are calling for binding international treaties, especially between the United States and China, to curb the race toward superintelligence. They argue that voluntary ethics pledges by companies are insufficient, and only government-level restrictions can halt potentially dangerous developments.
Shadrach has even hinted at willingness to extend his strike beyond Indian borders, should funding and visas allow. “$20k will fix it,” he posted, underscoring both the ambition and the precariousness of his campaign.
A Precarious Stand
For now, Shadrach continues his fast without a definite end date. “Nutrient deficiencies are probably wrecking me,” he admitted on X, following up with a surreal comment about dreaming of Elon Musk before confessing, “Reality is disappointing.”
A Symbolic Struggle
The hunger strikes may not stop AI labs from chasing AGI, but they represent something larger—the anxiety of ordinary citizens in the face of a technological revolution unfolding at breakneck speed. While scientists tout progress and corporations eye profits, these young activists remind us of the stakes: not just efficiency and innovation, but the future distribution of power and survival of human agency itself.
Whether or not their bodies hold out, their message is clear: humanity cannot afford to sleepwalk into a future dominated by machines without first debating who should build them—and at what cost.
(With agency inputs)
