AI insiders sound the alarm

Anthropic researchers and executives are warning that AI development is moving dangerously fast and could pose existential risks, yet the Trump administration is pushing full speed ahead.

“The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.”

Trump embraces AI without limits

While industry experts warn of AI risks, the Trump administration is pouring resources into tech ventures to win an AI arms race against China, showing complete confidence in the technology.

Pax Silica controls the supply chain

The US-led Pax Silica initiative aims to control the global pipeline for rare earth minerals and materials needed for AI, with 24 countries now signed on to the effort.

The real goal: beat China

Pax Silica's true objective is to wrest control of AI infrastructure from China, which currently refines 80 percent of rare earths and controls 70 percent of lithium-ion battery production.

“Our strategy is to create a competitive edge so steep, so insurmountable that no adversary or competitor can scale it. That's why our goal is to make America the arsenal of AI in this century.”

The Philippines becomes the hub

Pax Silica's centerpiece is a planned 4,000-acre economic security zone in New Clark City, about 70 miles north of Manila, positioned near the Philippines' vast reserves of nickel, cobalt, and copper.

Massive tax breaks for companies

Companies operating in the zone will receive up to seven years tax-free, followed by up to 20 years of reduced taxes, plus 99-year land leases and fast-track regulatory approvals.

Remote work allowed for Americans

As much as 90 percent of a company's workforce can be remote, making the zone attractive for American companies whose employees don't want to relocate to the Philippines.

State Department as business agent

Helberg envisions the State Department removing diplomatic and regulatory friction so American venture capital can flow into strategic nodes, essentially acting as a business development agency.

“Pax Silica is essentially building the global highway for American tech and VC to scale fast.”

Helberg's Silicon Valley ties

Helberg earned at least $840,000 in consulting fees from Palantir and has an estimated net worth of $112 million to $426 million, with clients including Thiel's Founders Fund and other major venture firms.

His husband is also well-connected

Keith Rabois, Helberg's husband, is a managing director at the $15 billion venture firm Khosla Ventures and holds carried-interest stakes in six Founders Fund entities.

From Democrat to Trump ally

Helberg fundraised for Pete Buttigieg in 2019 but donated $1 million to Trump's 2024 campaign, citing the Democratic Party's embrace of progressive ideology as his reason for switching.

“The Democratic Party forgot its founding principles and allowed themselves to become governed by a woke, progressive ideology that substitutes merit with amorphous and often arbitrary concepts of identity and fairness.”

Autonomous zones as model

Pax Silica's architecture draws from libertarian ideas about autonomous zones untethered from traditional nation-state laws, as outlined in Balaji Srinivasan's influential 2021 essay The Network State.

Próspera as the template

Pax Silica's architects appear to be modeling their project on Próspera, an autonomous economic zone in Honduras where companies can select regulations from 36 countries or propose their own.

“This is not a theory waiting to be tested. Hondurans and Americans built it together. It works.”

Próspera's controversial practices

In Próspera, biotech companies conduct human trials that would require FDA approval in the US, including gene therapy for muscle building and longevity, with advertised timelines 15 times faster than normal.

Indigenous communities displaced

The Garífuna people of Crawfish Rock village discovered Próspera's autonomous city plans only after the project was pitched as real estate development, leading to disputes over water and land rights.

Próspera sues Honduras for billions

When Honduras tried to end the project, Próspera's backers sued the country for $11 billion, roughly one-third of Honduras' GDP, and the zone continues operating in a legal gray area.

Critics warn of colonial exploitation

Political scientists and journalists argue that Pax Silica will replicate colonial patterns in the Philippines, with deregulated zones benefiting foreign capital while offering few protections to local workers and the environment.

“The Philippines is being exploited here as it always has been. There will be some beneficiaries on the ground, but the very arrangement of deregulated special economic zones is a way of exploiting the locals to the benefit of foreign capital.”

Philippines denies US immunity request

The Philippine government denied a US request for diplomatic immunity in the special economic zone, signaling concerns about outsized American influence over the project.

Private companies make the rules

Through Pax Silica, private companies rather than governments will determine the pace of US AI development, with the Trump administration committed to full speed ahead regardless of public sentiment.