Democracy and capitalism as we know it have long coexisted in a tense but workable marriage. But now there’s a third party in the relationship: AI.

Unlike previous disruptions, this one isn’t going anywhere. AI is not just a disruptive mistress – it’s a permanent, exponential presence. The question is no longer whether democracy and capitalism in their current forms can survive together, but which one will collapse first.

The presence of AI creates a zero-sum game between democracy and capitalism. Both won’t survive. AI renders those two concepts mutually exclusive; one is now an existential threat to the other, and one of those pillars is going to fall first. Unless we flip the statistical script and break the algorithm by taking collective action, my money is on democracy.

If we continue on our current path – favoring market logic, technological acceleration, and private and government-linked private power over a robust, healthy economy and society – democracy is likely to yield first because the entrenched interests that benefit from the current structure will suspend, subvert, or ignore democratic will, rather than relinquish control of the system that sustains their power.

Out of the gate, our first handicap is the corrupted, bastardized version of what we are calling “capitalism.” Theory and practice are two different animals…ideological capitalism (true capitalism) has been hijacked by the apex predator called Crony Corporate Capitalism. While actual capitalism (an uncorrupted free marketplace and adherence to true free market principles in conjunction with human and civil rights) is something to which we should aspire, it is not in practice right now. In its place are regulated markets, pillaged small producers, disempowered consumers, privileged huge corporate interests, and agency capture (agencies funded by the very corporate industries they are charged with regulating). Capitalism in its current form would be better described as “corporatism.”

The ideology or ideological state of capitalism and a true free-market society as a concept lies in stark contrast to the implementation of it today in this country. It’s capitalism’s car, but capitalism is asleep in the backseat and corporatism is behind the wheel. …

We need radical alignment: ethical frameworks and agreements (treaties) for AI development, economic systems that fairly distribute value, creation of occupations and incomes, private ownership accessibility, education reform that prioritizes real world knowledge, vocational nurturing and preparedness, and critical thinking over nonsense, patient-centered medical services, and we need to unhandcuff true free-market capitalism. These are not utopian dreams – they are survival requirements.

Corporate capitalism is entrenched. Democracy is already eroding. AI is serving the match point. There is a choice before us, and it’s not cake or death. Indeed and ironically, the best hope to save democracy may be to wake true capitalism from its slumber…but the drunk, high imposter currently driving the vehicle is on an empire-building bender and is bent on democracy’s destruction.

Cooperation could possibly save us, but every rational actor – from corporations to nations – has incentives to defect. The more we accelerate, the less time we have to make the collective decisions that could mitigate collapse. Because AI won’t pause. Corporatism won’t yield. And if we wait, democracy won’t survive. It won’t matter what nice little comfy arrangement of deck chairs we each configure for ourselves on this Titanic…half the ship is underwater, the other half is sinking fast, and as we know there aren’t enough lifeboats. If we don’t work together to save ourselves we will surely drown together.

AI is not a future event. It’s a present force. It’s accelerating every system we built—including the one most capable of destroying us. We are trapped in a Mexican standoff, directed by John Woo. We are not choosing between utopia and collapse. We are choosing between slow, collective reformation and fast, concentrated implosion. AI will only accelerate whichever trajectory we choose. We’d be wise to stop allowing ourselves to be distracted and get on it. We all know about toothpaste and tubes. AI isn’t going anywhere…but democracy might.