Alarming reason why tech billionaires are quietly ‘doom prepping’

Several tech billionaire have reportedly been planning for the end of days and there's an alarming reason why.

It only takes one glance at the news or social media to see that there's a lot going on in the world and not a lot of it is particularly positive.

But it can't be a good sign when stories have emerged that a number of tech billionaires are reportedly building shelters on isolated private compounds.

There's certainly no shortage of reasons to be worried.

Whether it's a number of ongoing wars or the looming global catastrophe of the climate crisis, it sometimes feel barely a day goes by without a new existential threat seemingly emerging.

And I'm sorry to say that none the reasons above have been given as why billionaires want their own secure compounds - so why is it?

Which billionaires have apocalypse bunkers?

Mark Zuckerberg is building a large compound in Hawaii (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Getty)

Mark Zuckerberg is already building a private compound at Koolau Ranch, a 1,400-acre patch of land on Hawaiian island Kauai, with work reportedly starting in 2014.

The Facebook founder has previously denied that he is turning the site into an apocalypse bunker, saying that a basement area is 'just like a little shelter'.

Meanwhile, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is rumoured to have bunkers beneath several of his homes.

Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, has even claimed that as many as half of tech entrepreneurs who are super wealthy are seeking 'apocalypse insurance', often buying 'nuclear-hardened' silos in New Zealand.

He told the New Yorker: "Human motivation is complex, and I think people can say, ‘I now have a safety blanket for this thing that scares me'."

Another tech CEO interviewed by the outlet called planning for the apocalypse 'logically rational and appropriately conservative'.

Why are billionaires prepping for the apocalypse?

Do the billionaires know something we don't? (Getty Stock Images)

Think less climate catastrophe, more Terminator.

This is because of Artificial General Intelligence.

You can scarcely open the news right now without hearing about the latest in AI software, whether it's how it uses gallons of water to create a video of what if Rick and Morty was The Simpsons, or that it can be used to create convincing deepfakes of people potentially doing criminal or pornographic acts that they have never done.

I mean, what could possibly go wrong.

But this AI is not true intelligence, it scrapes databases to generate images or videos.

Artificial General Intelligence is the real deal, it's Skynet, it's the Machines from the Matrix.

And even OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever has reportedly said: “We’re definitely going to build a bunker before we release AGI.”

Artificial General Intelligence is a whole different thing (Malte Mueller/Getty)

Maybe, just maybe, if you feel the need to build a bunker before releasing technology, you perhaps should just not release that technology? I know, crazy idea.

According to Hoffman, the worry for many is more that AI may lead to vast unemployment and public opinion might turn against Silicon valley bosses to the extent it's no longer safe for them.

He said: "I’ve heard this theme from a bunch of people. Is the country going to turn against the wealthy? Is it going to turn against technological innovation? Is it going to turn into civil disorder?"