Hyperweapon
Anatomy of a planetary unrest
The era of geopolitical artificial intelligence has begun
Kyiv · March 2022
64km
The largest ground offensive in Europe since the Second World War, stopped in the night by thirty men and cheap drones.
Tokyo · August 2024
15$
An autonomous scientific AI, at $15 per paper, that rewrites the code setting its own limits.
These two stories have nothing in common. They are not supposed to belong to the same book.
We must imagine an arsenal with eyes and ears everywhere, on land, at sea and in the sky.
We must imagine this arsenal able to control all its weapons as a swarm.
We must imagine weapons that will no longer be only mechanical, but also digital and biological.
We must imagine this arsenal able to transform itself, to rebuild itself continuously.
We must imagine a chain of command so fast that any attempt to keep humans in the loop will be in vain.
I call such an arsenal a “Hyperweapon”.
We must imagine it. To feel, down to our spine, the weight that what we are inventing places on our future.
The alternative
Manhattan or CERN?
We stand before a dizzying alternative: making AI the most dangerous weapon of mass destruction in history, or the occasion for the greatest international cooperation in history.
This alternative depends on another question: will we be able to control tomorrow's superintelligences?
Dive into the bookThe book
A planetary unrest, dissected in four acts
Flavien Chervet
Hyperweapon
Anatomy of a planetary unrest
Why is AI a geopolitical issue?
You don't know it yet, but AI is the most important geopolitical issue in the history of humanity.
The book Hyperweapon traces a history of the near and mid-term future of AI starting from its new military uses. In doing so, it reveals the geopolitical power struggles on a global scale, simmering behind the scenes of our world.
To dig deeper, the book contains 35 QR codes leading to additional resources: arXiv, Washington Post, Time Magazine, OpenAI, UK Government, DeepMind.
After reading Hyperweapon, you will understand why Microsoft signed a 2024 contract to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant to power its AI datacenters, and will no longer see AI as a cool Silicon Valley gadget.
35
resources via QR codes: arXiv, Time, DeepMind, OpenAI
4 acts
from Ukraine to Europe's place
10 GW
to train the next generation of AI
FIC 2026
Cyberdefence Prize, Forum InCyber
The launch
Watch the launch conference
By the same author
HELO
The sci-fi graphic novel about Artificial General Intelligence
A hard-hitting graphic novel that explores the promises and dangers of General AI
ART.Hyperarme
A collaborative AI-based artwork made of 180 fragments owned by the book’s first buyers.
Découvrir l’œuvre →Your questions
Frequently asked questions
01What is Hyperweapon?
Hyperweapon is an essay by Flavien Chervet on the era of geopolitical Artificial Intelligence: AI militarization, the algorithmic arms race, and the stakes for global security. After reading it, you will no longer see AI as a cool Silicon Valley gadget.
02Who is Hyperweapon for?
For anyone who wants to understand how AI is reshaping global power dynamics: decision-makers, journalists, students, or simply curious citizens. No technical background required.
03What sources does Hyperweapon cite?
The book draws on 35 verifiable sources (arXiv, Washington Post, Time Magazine, OpenAI, the UK Government, DeepMind), all accessible on the Resources page.
04Is Hyperweapon available in English?
Yes, Hyperweapon is available in English (and in French under the title Hyperarme).
05Where can I buy Hyperweapon?
Hyperweapon is available from publisher NIV at nivedition.com, in print and as an ebook.
06What is the geopolitics of AI?
The geopolitics of AI refers to how artificial intelligence is reshaping the balance of power between states: the race for models and chips, the militarization of algorithms, technological dependencies, and data sovereignty. Hyperweapon charts this shift and shows why AI has become a matter of power as much as a tool.
07What is AI alignment?
Alignment covers the methods aimed at making an AI system genuinely pursue the goals and values its designers assign to it, including in situations they never anticipated. The difficulty runs in two directions: stating what you want without ambiguity, and verifying that a system that has become opaque is actually pursuing it. Hyperweapon shows why this technical question turned into a matter of collective security as these systems gain autonomy.
Who publishes Hyperweapon?
The Franco-Canadian publishing house Nullius in Verba specializes in works dealing with creation, innovation, and the profound transformations of our world.
The author
Who is Flavien Chervet?
Flavien Chervet is a writer, speaker and technology analyst. He is the author of four books on artificial intelligence.
Convinced that the heat of friction makes creative births probable, he likes to balance on the fine line separating disciplines, to make worlds that rarely meet dialogue and mingle. A border crosser in this regard, he embraces being an outlaw and intellectual stateless person. He offers his insights to anyone willing to explore the back roads, slip under the radars of the thought police with feline agility, and smuggle illicit ideas.
