In San Francisco this year, tech billionaire Peter Thiel delivered a confidential lecture series framing politics and technology in biblical terms. Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, has long warned that humanity faces existential threats from nuclear war or runaway artificial intelligence—what he calls “Armageddon.” His secret society, known as “Dialog,” reportedly includes NATO supreme commander Alexus Grynkewich and Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump. The group brings together CEOs, billionaires, and political leaders to prepare for a world where only the most ingenious survive.
Thiel is an extreme but not isolated case. Across Silicon Valley and Washington, influential figures increasingly view today’s challenges through a lens of civilizational crisis. Palantir CEO Alex Karp has described the AI race as “our Oppenheimer moment,” when rich nations must decide whether to halt a dangerous technology or tip the balance of power. This apocalyptic thinking has moved beyond eccentric tech circles into the halls of power.
End-Times Politics Goes Mainstream
US military personnel have filed numerous complaints that commanders used biblical end-times rhetoric to justify attacks on Iran, reportedly referencing Armageddon as a necessary step to bring about the return of Christ. This occurs as the Trump administration caters to evangelical Christians, with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth portraying himself as an instrument of God in an existential battle for Christianity. Hegseth and others have stacked departments with evangelicals and Christian Zionists, blending their interpretation of Christianity with beliefs about US supremacy.
Trump’s threats toward Iran—including his April decree that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again”—illustrate the consequences of this myth-making. It paves the way for radical politics not only in the US but also beyond. The administration has claimed Europe faces “civilizational erasure” due to immigration and integration, while Nigel Farage of Reform UK warns of “societal collapse” in Britain.
Research shows people are more willing to support extraordinary measures when they believe they face an existential threat. Political leaders’ psychological dispositions matter more in times of uncertainty. The unforeseeable effects of technological and environmental transformation create risks and anxiety—and the danger is that leaders treat opponents, social movements, or minority groups as mythical foes.
Implications for the Indo-Pacific
This end-times politics has direct relevance for Asia. The Trump administration’s framing of Iran as an apocalyptic foe affects stability in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for Asian energy imports. Trump's Iran standoff leaves few good escalation options, and any conflict would ripple through economies from Tokyo to New Delhi. Meanwhile, the AI race—often cast in salvation-or-extinction terms—is reshaping competition in the region. ASEAN's AI infrastructure race sees nations like Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia vying for data center dominance, while India focuses on deployment over discovery, as noted in India's AI future.
For much of the modern era, the most influential people were elected leaders and state officials. Today, a novel type of leader has emerged: technology executives with wealth and media influence. Their influence extends deep into the state—symbolized by Elon Musk’s role in the US Department of Government Efficiency and SpaceX’s critical role in US global strategy. Scholars once explained global politics through institutions and structural relations; now, the future increasingly depends on the psychology of a small political and corporate elite.
End-times leaders will exaggerate certain threats while downplaying others. US venture capitalist Marc Andreessen promotes “technological accelerationism”—the idea that unregulated technological development is the only way to overcome existential problems. The challenge is distinguishing genuine threats from narratives that amplify fear while obscuring more pressing issues like the climate crisis and erosion of democratic systems. On whether technology can overcome climate change and bring world peace, it might be wise not to take the word of tech billionaires.
