In Thiel’s view, the biblical Antichrist is not an evil tech genius but someone who warns of existential risk nonstop and calls for strong regulation in innovative sectors.
“In the 21st century, the Antichrist is a Luddite who wants to stop all science. It’s someone like Greta or Eliezer,” Thiel said in his September 15 opening lecture, referring to Thunberg and AI critic Eliezer Yudkowsky, according to the recordings.
In his talk, the billionaire criticised financial regulations as signs that a world government has begun to emerge that could be taken over by an Antichrist figure.
“It’s become quite difficult to hide one’s money,” Thiel said, describing an “incredible machinery of tax treaties, financial surveillance, and sanctions architecture” that gives wealthy people only an “illusion of power and autonomy”.
The lectures come amid rising Christian nationalism in the United States and as Silicon Valley leaders escalate their fight against AI regulation under President Trump’s second term.
– Agence France-Presse
