‘I hope AI becomes a new religion because I benefit’: Eric Schmidt on Henry Kissinger at Harvard

Cui bono? If AI were to become a religion, then the Priests, Imams, Rabbis, and Pujaris of the techno-theocracy would be people like Schmidt: perspective

At Harvard, ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt reminisces about his talks with Henry Kissinger, saying that he hopes AI becomes a religion as opposed to something that people take up arms against because he would benefit from AI becoming a religion.

Speaking at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics on Monday during a session called “Kissinger and the Future of AI ft. Eric Schmidt,” the ex-Google CEO praised his mentor Henry Kissinger for not wanting to start World War III while recalling former discussions the two had.

On the topic of AI, Schmidt said that Kissinger told him 20 years ago, “In magic when people don’t understand things, they either decide that it’s a new religion, or they take up arms.”

“In magic when people don’t understand things, they either decide that it’s a new religion, or they take up arms […] I hope it [AI] is a new religion, because of course I benefit from the new religion”

Eric Schmidt, Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, December 2025

“[Kissinger] would say say, ‘Are we going to take up arms against AI, or are we going to make it a new religion?’ And I said I hope it’s a new religion, because of course I benefit from the new religion, I guess,” said Schmidt.

Cui bono?

If AI were to become a religion, then the Priests, Imams, Rabbis, and Pujaris of the techno-theocracy would be people like Schmidt.

Schmidt would go on to say that within two-to-four years, AI would be able to learn on its own, as opposed to having to be prompted to “learn” something.

He called this self-programmable AI “recursive self-improvement.”

“At some point […] you get what is called recursive self-improvement, and recursive self-improvement is when it [AI] is learning on its own […] If you ask the San Francisco people, they’ll say two years […] If you ask me, I double that to four years, which is really soon

Eric Schmidt, Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, December 2025

“So, the question is, ‘What happens over time?‘” said Schmidt.

“You have language, agents, and reasoning. Well, isn’t that what we do?” he pondered. “We do stuff, we communicate, and we do actions.”

“The San Francisco consensus is that at some point that stuff comes together, and you get what is called recursive self-improvement, and recursive self-improvement is when it’s learning on its own.”

When is this recursive self-improving AI coming?

According to Schmidt, “We believe that this is going to happen soon. If you ask the San Francisco people, they’ll say two years, which is really soon.

“If you ask me, I double that to four years, which is really soon.“

The ex-Google CEO also warned against AI becoming so autonomous that it could potentially decide “to get access to weapons” and that that was “not a good idea.”

On the topic of how AI would impact children, Schmidt said that no data existed to measure that anywhere and that “we’re running a mass experiment on human development.”

“We’re running a mass experiment on human development […] What does it mean for a child whose best friend is non-human? […] We have no data […] Will they ultimately rebel and say, ‘I only love people; I hate computers?’ […] We just don’t know”

Eric Schmidt, Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, December 2025

“We also spend a lot of time talking about the effect on children,” he said.

“We’re running a mass experiment on human development by deploying these systems that are incredibly addictive […] for young people […] and they can really be manipulated.

“What does it mean for a child whose best friend is non-human, aside from maybe becoming a super-nerd?” he wondered.

“I don’t know. What does it mean? We have no data. We don’t know what it means to young boys and girls to their development — to their ability to associate.

“Will they ultimately rebel and say, ‘I only love people; I hate computers?’ like how kids rebel? We just don’t know.“

On May 11, 2019, Henry Kissinger spoke at the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence Conference, saying that Eric Schmidt was one of his best friends, but that Google was a threat to civilization.

“I became a great friend of Eric Schmidt, who is today one of my best friends. He invited me to give a speech at Google […] ‘I want you all to understand that I consider Google a threat to civilization as I understand it”

Henry Kissinger, National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence Conference, May 2019

“I became a great friend of Eric Schmidt, who is today one of my best friends,” Kissinger said in 2019.

“He invited me to give a speech at Google […] and I began my speech by saying […] ‘I want you all to understand that I consider Google a threat to civilization as I understand it,’”

“Over the years, Eric [Schmidt] was kind enough to introduce me to a lot of artificial intelligence researches [..] and I am concerned with the historical, philosophical, strategic aspect of it.”

“I’ve become convinced that artificial intelligence, and its surrounding disciplines, is going to bring a change in human consciousness exceeding that of the Enlightenment,” Kissinger added.

Fast forward to December 2025, and Schmidt had nothing but high praise for Kissinger.

“After the [Second World] War, he [Kissinger] decided he would do everything he could to avoid a future war […] You can disagree with his specific tactics, but at the end of the day what he sought is he sought a world that did not have a World War III”

Eric Schmidt, Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, December 2025

“My own explanation for Henry, aside from I really care deeply about him was that […] after the [Second World] war, he decided he would do everything he could to avoid a future war,” said Schmidt.

You can watch Schmidt and Harvard Professor Graham Allison’s talk on Henry Kissinger and AI in its entirety on the Institute of Politics Harvard Kennedy School YouTube channel below.

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Image Source: Screenshot of Eric Schmidt from Harvard Kennedy Institute of Politics YouTube channel, December 1, 2025