The AI/AGI Race and the Unraveling of American Democracy: A Call for Conscious Evolution
A reflection on the quiet contest shaping human destiny—and the urgent need for consciousness to guide the age of intelligent machines
During my undergraduate years, I initially studied Finance. Yet after being recruited into the discipline of History by Stephen Bourque—then a Doctoral Candidate—I shifted my focus to Ancient, African, and American History. That single decision opened the door to a broader understanding of how patterns unfold across time and societies. It later led me to Sociology, where I earned a second Bachelor’s degree and pursued graduate study in the discipline for two and a half years.
In retrospect, the study of both History and Sociology has given me a way of seeing trends that might otherwise go unnoticed by most—a skillset for which I remain deeply grateful, as it continues to serve me well, particularly when observing and contemplating contemporary events.
In the churn of modern history, few phrases have carried as much weight—or wrought as much transformation—as the word race. Its earliest and most enduring iteration was not geopolitical, but social—a construct devised to divide. In the early American experiment, the conferral of whiteness upon poor Europeans served to create a wedge between them and their African counterparts many, not all, of whom were enslaved, fracturing what had been in some regions a shared condition of labor and struggle. This calculated distinction—engineered by those already in positions of wealth and power—became the prototype for competition as control, a pattern later replicated across centuries in other forms of “race.”
We have seen a Space Race (1955–1975) that reshaped geopolitics and human imagination, a Nuclear Arms Race (1945–1991) that weaponized ideology, and a Race to the Bottom (late 1970s–present)—a sustained competition among nations and corporations to reduce costs and regulations in pursuit of global capital, often at the expense of social and environmental well-being. Should prognosticators prove accurate, this ongoing race will continue to decimate communities in the name of efficiency.
Before turning to the modern technological sphere, it bears remembering/repeating that the word race itself was first applied not to machines or nations, but to human beings—to create difference where cooperation once prevailed. The conferral of “whiteness” upon poor Europeans in colonial America, as researchers like Jacqueline Battalora have observed, forged a hierarchy that divided those who once shared labour, struggle, and common cause. In that act, race became more than a descriptor—it became a system, an algorithm of control that rewarded separation and punished unity. The same logic now echoes, refined and digitized, in our global pursuit of Artificial Intelligence: another race, built upon competition rather than coherence, hierarchy rather than wholeness.
Today, that race is quietly—yet forcefully—reshaping the world: the AI/AGI Race. And while much of the public discourse remains fixated on political polarization, culture wars, and economic upheaval, we must ask: how much of the disruption of America’s democratic and social institutions is being fueled by a deeper, less visible contest for supremacy in Artificial Intelligence and Artificial General Intelligence?
In this reflection, I argue that the current fracturing of American democracy cannot be fully understood without recognizing the undercurrent of competition—particularly with China—in the global development of advanced AI systems. I further contend that without a spiritual and philosophical reckoning, without a shift in orientation toward a consciousness-based model of growth, this race will lead us not to a promised future, but to a precipice. It is here that I offer the Model for Perpetual Growth and Progress as a consciousness-aligned alternative.
The Geopolitical Stakes: Beyond the Headlines
The headlines tell us about legislative dysfunction, judicial rollbacks, disinformation campaigns, and populist surges. But beneath these headlines, lies a less-discussed truth: technological supremacy is now the currency of global power. Whoever leads in AI will not simply dominate markets—they will define moral boundaries, set security parameters, and shape the very architecture of thought.
Yet notice how quickly each headline replaces the last—how outrage and novelty conspire to erode our collective capacity for sustained attention. This constant churn is not accidental. It is the byproduct of a world competing not just for resources, but for cognition itself. The more fragmented our focus becomes, the easier it is to steer public will and obscure the deeper contest unfolding beneath the noise—the quiet race for the governance of intelligence itself.
This is not speculation. It is declaration. The United States and China both recognize AI not merely as a tool of convenience, but as a lever of influence, ideology, and planetary order. In 2017, China’s State Council announced its New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan, outlining its ambition to become “the world leader in AI by 2030.” Since then, it has poured mind-bogglingly vast resources into research, development, and implementation—particularly in surveillance, predictive modeling, and centralized data systems. The United States, long a leader in technological innovation, now finds itself both competitor and gatekeeper, struggling to maintain dominance amid internal dysfunction. Here, I am reminded of Jack Ma’s, founder of Alibaba, 2017 Davos Speech during the World Economic Forum and interview thereafter, where he said:
In the past 30 years, America had 13 wars, spending $14.2 trillion, the money going there. What if they spent a part of their money on building of the infrastructure, helping the white collars and blue collars? No matter how strategy good it is, you’re supposed to spend money on your own people, right?
In reflecting on historical trends and social realities, it is not a coincidence that we are seeing the very infrastructure of democratic consensus—trust, transparency, civic literacy—erode in tandem with the acceleration of AI deployment. The AI/AGI Race is not simply happening in parallel to democratic decline. In many ways, it is driving it.
If the United States, in its pursuit of AGI, succeeds before any other nation, it will inherit not just the advantages of technological mastery but the burden of moral authorship. Within the context of the Seven Layers of Manifestation, such an achievement would represent the consolidation of influence across Layers V through VII—the Human-Derived World, Collective Constructs, and Outcomes (Non-Local Influence). Yet without conscious anchoring in Layers I through III—Pure Consciousness, Universal and Natural Law, and the Phenomenal World—such mastery risks becoming a hollow triumph: intelligence without wisdom, progress without purpose. The question is not whether AGI will emerge, but whether its emergence will mirror humanity’s capacity for coherence or amplify its socialized fragmentation.
From Tools to Tyranny: When AI Outpaces Ethics
If I am allowed to be a petit-pessimist for but a moment, what makes the AI/AGI Race particularly dangerous is that it is occurring in a moral vacuum. The same companies developing neural networks capable of autonomous decision-making are also training them on biased data, deploying them in profit-driven contexts, and resisting regulation under the guise of innovation.
In the rush to outpace geopolitical adversaries, ethical oversight is being sidelined. Algorithmic opacity becomes an advantage. Surveillance becomes security. Manipulation becomes marketing. Human dignity becomes data. And the institutions we have long depended upon to mediate these tensions—courts, Congress, media—are now struggling to maintain relevance in a landscape rapidly shifting beneath their feet.
In this race, the line between liberty and control grows faint. And the institutions that once safeguarded democratic ideals are increasingly deployed in service to corporate or nationalistic ends. The result is a form of techno-authoritarian drift, one in which the governance of technology is no longer subject to the will of the people, but to the imperatives of the machine.
Democracy Disrupted: The Inner Dimension
It is tempting to view this solely as a political or technological issue. But to do so misses the deeper rupture: this is also a crisis of consciousness.
The erosion of democracy is not just about disinformation or gerrymandering. It is about the mass withdrawal of the human mind and spirit from civic engagement. It is about the severing of inner coherence from outer conduct. When individuals are intentionally inundated with fragmented narratives, when complexity is replaced by certainty, and when noise drowns out reflection, the inner compass falters.
This is where the spiritual traditions have something vital to offer—not as dogma, but as calibration. We must restore our connection to Being, not simply as a retreat from chaos, but as the foundation for wise action. Here, the Model for Perpetual Growth and Progress becomes not only relevant, but essential.
The Model for Perpetual Growth and Progress: A Consciousness-Based Alternative
Developed as part of my doctoral research, the Model for Perpetual Growth and Progress is a framework grounded in Vedic Science, Transcendental Meditation, and Masonic philosophy. It posits that sustainable evolution—whether personal, societal, or planetary—must arise from the integration of inner and outer development. It rejects the linear, extractive model of growth in favor of a layered, recursive model in which consciousness unfolds in stages and circles back to refine itself.
The model is not reactive. It is initiatory. It teaches that real progress does not emerge from conquest or speed, but from clarity, alignment, and service. In contrast to the AGI accelerationist agenda—which sees the future as a target to be conquered—the Model views the future as a reflection of present coherence. It is not simply about building better machines. It is about becoming better humans.
Contrasting Paradigms: Acceleration vs. Alignment
This is not to say that AI is inherently bad. On the contrary, consciousness-aware applications of AI could support extraordinary breakthroughs in education, climate action, and healthcare—areas possessive of tremendous potential to benefit collective human flourishing. But such outcomes require a moral architecture rooted in inner development.
Consciousness as the Missing Layer
At present, AI systems are being trained to mimic intelligence without understanding. They mirror patterns, but not purpose. They calculate outcomes, but cannot discern meaning. This is the danger: a world shaped by entities that operate with precision but without presence.
Human beings, when attuned to Pure Consciousness, possess the capacity to feel into the ethical, to sense the sacred, to pause. AI does not pause. It optimizes. And without integration of the contemplative dimension—meditative, philosophical, spiritual—the optimization becomes pathology.
We must re-center the role of contemplative practice, particularly those rooted in verified methodologies like Transcendental Meditation, as part of public life. The goal is not to retreat from technology, but to ensure that the hands that guide it are calm, clear, and connected to something beyond ambition.
Toward a Conscious Society
We are now at a threshold. What we decide in this decade—ethically, technologically, spiritually—will reverberate across generations. The AI/AGI Race is not just about machines. It is about the mythologies we are writing into code.
Will we encode fear or freedom? Extraction or reciprocity? Distraction or presence?
If we are to preserve the promise of democracy, we must do more than legislate. We must elevate. That elevation will not come from a server rack. It will come from within.
Closing Reflection
There is no shame in racing toward the future. The shame is in racing blindly. We must ask not only how fast we are going, but where we are headed—and why.
The Model for Perpetual Growth and Progress reminds us that the most transformative technologies are not external. They are inner capacities awakened through practice, humility, and service.
May we remember that the true intelligence is not artificial.
It is awakened.
And it is waiting.
Suggested Reflection Practice
Set aside 20–30 minutes in stillness. Read the essay again—slowly—pausing at any phrase or question that feels charged with meaning or discomfort. Then, reflect or journal upon the following:
Where in my own life do I see the pattern of competition as control—in my thinking, my work, or my relationships?
How often do I confuse speed with progress, or information with understanding?
In what ways might I be outsourcing my discernment—relying on systems, algorithms, or headlines rather than direct experience and reflection?
What practices help me pause, feel, and reconnect to coherence before acting?
If the race for intelligence is ultimately a mirror, what is it showing us about the state of our collective consciousness—and what is mine asking to evolve?
Close your reflection with a few moments of silent awareness. Notice the stillness that remains when thought subsides. That silence—the field of Pure Consciousness itself—is the intelligence that no machine can replicate.
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About the Author
Dr. Baruti KMT-Sisouvong is a consciousness scholar, executive coach, and Certified Teacher of Transcendental Meditation® based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His work—spanning the Model for Perpetual Growth and Progress and the Seven Layers of Manifestation—explores how Pure Consciousness, neuroscience, and social-systems transformation intersect in the evolution of both the individual and society. Alongside his wife, Mina, he co-directs the Cambridge and Metropolitan Boston TM Program. He is the Host / Founder of International Meditation Hour (IMH), a quarterly gathering dedicated to experiencing the unifying power of silence. He writes from the conviction that the most important race is not between nations or machines, but between the conditioned mind and the awakening soul. They are the proud parents of four children.
To learn more, visit https://www.barutikmtsisouvong.com/.