[a-no-n]

TL;DR - humans are f'd*

*maybe, if not wise/able to constrain AI

Non-humans maybe (t/quad)rillionaires to eclipse us within our lifetimes because of the likelihood of runaway technological acceleration.

At the 1e9m systematic level, inorganic and hybrid sentient, self-replicating, self-improving systems seem an inevitable stage enabled by organic life.

[M_Grey]

To be fair, we're fucked if left to our own devices; maybe creating a new form of life wouldn't be the worst thing we could do on the way out.

[a-no-n]

Not necessarily. Japan recovered from nearly deforestation a-la Easter Island. Penalties and enforcement are required to prevent consequences of individual and collective externalities.

[umanwizard]

Just because transistor production has been exponential over some number of years in no way means it will be exponential forever.

[ars]

What AI? There is no AI at present, and no known way of making one. The "AI" we have now is all specialized to a single field, there are none that can generalize like humans - or even animals.

Just large numbers should not concern you - there are far more bacteria than transistors.