A plan to make dangerous AI development illegal, and to actually enforce it.
Extinction bounties, the False Claims Act, SEC whistleblower awards and antitrust leniency all rest on the same unstated premise: that the wrongdoing requires enough people that one of them can be paid to defect. That premise has a number attached, the number is falling, and no one is tracking it.
Extinction Bounties publishes theoretical economic and legal mechanisms intended to stimulate scholarly and public debate on catastrophic-risk governance. The site offers policy analysis and advocacy only in the sense of outlining possible legislative or contractual frameworks.
Nothing here should be treated as a substitute for qualified legal counsel, financial due diligence, or regulatory guidance. Readers remain responsible for ensuring their actions comply with the laws and professional standards of their own jurisdictions.
All scenarios, numerical examples and opinions are research hypotheses presented by the author in a personal capacity. They do not represent the views of the author's employer, funding bodies, or any governmental authority.
Any real-world adoption of these ideas would require democratic deliberation, statutory authority, and robust safeguards against misuse. References to enforcement, penalties, or "bounties" are illustrative models, not instructions or invitations to engage in private policing or unlawful conduct. Nothing here is directed at any identifiable individual — see non-targeting.
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