# Abundant Machine Cognition Will Test Every Institution by Bryant McGill > “Many institutions that appear permanent may prove to have been arrangements made necessary by the historical scarcity of intelligence, and abundant machine cognition will test each of them in turn.” > **— Bryant McGill**, *We Cannot Un-Strike the Match. There Is No Safety. There Is No Retreat, 2026* ## Sources and Context - **Original authored source:** [[articles/We Cannot Un-Strike the Match|We Cannot Un-Strike the Match. There Is No Safety. There Is No Retreat]], October 3, 2026 — the article's Key Points & Simple Reminders section is the canonical source for this exact standalone extraction surface. - **Public route:** [We Cannot Un-Strike the Match. There Is No Safety. There Is No Retreat](https://bryantmcgill.com/article-we-cannot-un-strike-the-match) — canonical public permalink declared by the article frontmatter. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/We Cannot Un-Strike the Match|We Cannot Un-Strike the Match. There Is No Safety. There Is No Retreat]] - **Companion article:** [[articles/Safety Discourse Is Transition Discourse|Safety Discourse Is Transition Discourse]] - **Companion article:** [[articles/The Immediate AI Risk Is the Public|The Immediate AI Risk Is the Public]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Institutional Evolution|Institutional Evolution]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Many institutions that appear permanent may prove to have been arrangements made necessary by the historical scarcity of intelligence, and abundant machine cognition will test each of them in turn.” — Bryant McGill, We Cannot Un-Strike the Match. There Is No Safety. There Is No Retreat, 2026 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-bryant-mcgill-machine-cognition-tests-institutions ```