Billionaires building doomsday bunkers? What are they not telling us?
Could doomsday bunkers be a reality soon? AI and climate change have threatened human existence. Reports suggest several tech billionaires are preparing safe houses for themselves, and one country is the hot destination for these bunkers.
Billionaire bunkers being built to save them?
Tech billionaires are serving the people with the latest in AI and high-end technology, and seemingly are aware of the potentially dangerous world they are creating. This is why, several of them are said to be making "doomsday bunkers" for themselves and their families. Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, Peter Thiel and Ilya Sutskever are some of them who have talked about the might of AI. So, who all are building bunkers, or are preparing to run to one, when artificial general intelligence (AGI) becomes a reality?
Is Zuckerberg building a doomsday bunker in Kauai, Hawaii?
Zuckerberg is said to be building a doomsday bunker on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. In fact, it is believed to have been under construction since 2014. Called the Koolau Ranch, it is being built on a 1,400-acre compound, which will have a shelter, its own energy and food supplies, according to a report by Wired magazine.
Those building Zuckerberg's Hawaii house have signed NDAs
Everyone involved in the project, including the carpenters and electricians working on the site, has reportedly signed non-disclosure agreements and is not allowed to talk about the project. Meanwhile, Zuckerberg has categorically denied that it is a bunker. He says the 5,000 square feet underground space is “just like a little shelter, it's like a basement”.
Zuckerberg has also bought properties in Palo Alto, California
Zuckerberg has also spent $110 million on 11 properties in the Crescent Park neighbourhood of Palo Alto in California. He has supposedly added an underground space spanning 7,000 square feet. His neighbours call it a billionaire's bat cave.
Many billionaires are buying land with underground spaces
Reports suggest that there are several other billionaires who have been buying land with underground spaces which can be turned into bunkers filled with all the facilities. Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, calls it "apocalypse insurance".
Sam Altman talked about a place in New Zealand he could go to if global disaster occurs
The most popular destination to build these so-called bunkers is New Zealand. OpenAI boss Sam Altman once said that he might join
German-American entrepreneur and venture capitalist, Peter Thiel, at a remote property in New Zealand, if the day a global disaster strikes.
Underground shelter needed before releasing AGI, Ilya Sutskever said
According to a book by journalist Karen Hao, Ilya Sutskever, chief scientist and a co-founder of OpenAI, believes artificial general intelligence (AGI) will soon become a reality. In a meeting, he supposedly suggested they should build an underground shelter for the company's top scientists before such a powerful technology was released.
Reid Hoffman said buying property in New Zealand was a sign that it would be turned into a bunker
All this talk about safe houses has triggered fear that something is up and not everyone is being let in on the secret. Climate change is already threatening our existence, and now AGI might further add to the crisis. Hoffman once said, "Saying you're 'buying a house in New Zealand' is kind of a wink, wink, say no more."
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