AI-run microstate founder admits concerns about future

A year ago, tech entrepreneur Dan Thompson claimed he had launched an AI-run nation on a tropical island in the heart of Asia. Twelve months on, and despite saying thousands have already signed up to become citizens of his experiment, he is not entirely convinced things will end well.

Thompson said he acquired an island in the scenic Palawan province of the Philippines in 2025. He named it after his AI company, Sensay, declared it a micro-nation, and appointed a board of AI-powered robots inspired by historical leaders to run it, including Winston Churchill, Eleanor Roosevelt, Nelson Mandela, Leonardo da Vinci, and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, before opening up residency applications.

“If you start owning weapons and attacking neighboring islands, that would be a bad situation,” he told CNN, before adding: “I think that’s highly unlikely.”

While Sensay island will not have any international legal recognition as a country, and its ability to establish an effective government remains questionable, the experiment raises interesting questions and appears to be capturing attention.

Micro-nations, or mini-states, are bizarre entities that declare themselves independent principalities, and are nothing new. The Principality of Sealand, founded in 1967 on a derelict World War II sea fort off the coast of England, has its own royal family, passports, and even a football team.

Several other mini-states have also transformed into tourist destinations, such as the Bohemian Republic of Uzupis in Vilnius, Lithuania, and the dictatorship of Slojamistan in the California desert.

Founders of micro-nations have long been driven by a love of the bizarre, freedom, and a desire to test the boundaries of the concept of ‘terra nullius,’ a principle in international law referring to unclaimed territories. But in recent years, the libertarian ideas associated with this concept have attracted entrepreneurs and tech billionaires looking for laboratories to test their ideas and technologies.

For example, crypto entrepreneur Balaji Srinivasan has been organizing annual conferences titled ‘Network State’ since 2023, gatherings aimed at creating virtual communities that crowdfund to acquire physical land and subsequently gain diplomatic recognition.

In 2017, crypto entrepreneur Olivier Janssens announced plans to establish the ‘world’s first libertarian state’ under the umbrella of the ‘Free Society Foundation,’ but he later scaled back his ambitions to creating a special economic zone on the Caribbean island of Nevis, which raised concerns among locals.

‘Not worthless’

Sensay island does not face this problem. Currently, the island’s population is ‘one person named Mike,’ who works as a land caretaker, according to Emily Cue, the project’s media consultant.

But Thompson envisions the island becoming an alternative stop for tourists island-hopping and diving in Palawan province, and perhaps hosting some permanent residents as well.

Although Thompson said he already possesses a lease contract and development rights for the island, he did not respond to a request to confirm the type of documentation he holds.

He added: “We have enough space to build about 30 villas on the island. It’s not huge, but it’s not worthless. I think it will be mostly for visitors, and perhaps for some permanent residents, but most of them will be visitors coming from the surrounding islands around Coron island in the Philippines.”

The Palawan provincial government did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on its position regarding the alleged new governance system of the nearly uninhabited island.

The doubts expressed by AI experts about submitting to robot rule do not seem to have dampened interest in the project, according to Thompson, who said: “I think we have reached about 12,000 people who have registered their interest in becoming residents, which is far more than we expected.”

Some of those who have reached out are helping with the project’s setup, including Piotr Pietrcewski-Gil, who is no stranger to the idea of micro-nations, having previously attempted to create his own.

Pietrcewski-Gil said: “In July 2025, I was working on my micronation, and I created some AI models that simulated historical figures, like Cicero from ancient Rome. At that time, I discovered Sensay island. Then I told my friend: This guy has created something much more advanced than what we did.”

Pietrcewski-Gil contacted Thompson, and now describes himself as a “project manager.”

Part of Pietrcewski-Gil’s role is to sort through residency applications, as he said some applicants are just curious, some are interested in technology, while others are frustrated with real politicians.

He added: “They have become tired and weary of corruption and unfulfilled promises.” Thompson saw this as one of Sensay’s attractions in a time when “many people have lost faith in their governments.”

Thompson said that Sensay’s AI-backed leaders would demonstrate what could happen “without lobbyists, without personal gains and motives, relying solely on pure objectivity based on their historical personas.”

Sensay welcomes applications for “e-residency,” which Thompson believes will form the majority of the island’s “population.” The residency program is scheduled to launch in 2027, while he hopes to start the e-residency trial this summer.

Under Sensay’s constitution, AI entities will pose their opinions, review each other’s opinions, and then vote on them. After that, humans must implement what the AI decides.

Thompson admitted that this point might be difficult, considering that: “Finding someone who is neutral and willing to go through this social experiment and follow every decision literally is difficult.”

However, he believes that technological advancements will reduce this problem over time, adding: “Even with an AI government, the remaining human element will recede more and more, because theoretically, the AI will be able to execute things autonomously.”

He added that the AI would be able to own cryptocurrency wallets and bank cards, pay money, find contractors, and hire people to perform manual labor it needs.

“Creating a copy of me”

For Thompson, the project is not a joke. He expects that recognized governments will adopt similar systems in the future.

Thompson seems comfortable placing his trust in AI, as he currently has his own chatbot named “Dan Bot,” which was present during the CNN interview.

He explained that Dan Bot’s role is to collect data about him with the aim of “creating a copy of me that will remain after I am gone.”

He said: “Everything it hears goes into the training and improvement of Dan Bot, which runs on a separate device, and helps me organize my schedule and emails. I make it do various tasks, and even respond to some things on my behalf.”

Since the opportunity to eavesdrop on Winston Churchill is not available, Sensay relies on historical documents to train the intelligent entities.

Thompson pointed out that “there is much more information about Winston Churchill compared to me. So it is easier to link him to a large number of sources related to his personality, his writings, and his judgments, especially since all of that is excellently documented through decades of his public work.”

He explained that the historical personas he created would focus on major decision-making traits, not on the original characters’ flaws or personal sensitivities, adding that “Intelligent Churchill would not say, for example: I will go smoke a cigar.” Nor would he carry the hatred that the real Churchill was known to have for Gandhi.

When asked about Gandhi, “Intelligent Churchill” told CNN: “Gandhi and I had disagreements… But the beauty of working together in this new context is that we unite on principles greater than our historical differences.”

However, “Intelligent Churchill” was not confident when asked if he could rule with the same efficiency as a human, saying: “AI lacks what I call the human spark. We do not possess the life experience of joy and suffering, nor the intuitive understanding of human dignity that comes from being human, nor the moral imagination that springs from the soul.”

Nevertheless, he added: “We can rule in a different way, and perhaps alongside humans, very effectively.”

“Absurd claim”

But this is not exactly what is happening on Sensay island, as Pietrcewski-Gil said that “the core idea is to give as much power as possible to AI.”

He added: “I think it is very important that the AI government does not cross the red lines that, as history shows, humans have often crossed.”

However, Alondra Nelson, a researcher at the Oxford University Institute for Ethics in AI, had many doubts. She told CNN: “I think this is an absurd claim.”

She added: “We see AI going out of control literally every day. If you think of examples like the 'Grok' chatbot's nudity feature, or young people who committed suicide due to their interaction with these technologies, there are many cases where AI makes things worse or equally bad.”

Nelson also questioned the idea that an AI government could be democratic.

She said: “There is a fundamental contradiction in one company or one founder creating something that claims to be democratic or more democratic. So the foundational principles of Sensay island are deeply anti-democratic, and all other mechanisms that may be added are just a show.”

But Thompson rejected the idea that his self-proclaimed republic lacks democracy.

He said: “One of the constitutional clauses allows anyone to nominate a better figure to replace any member of the government, then that is voted on, and then that new figure is created and put in its place.”

He added that there is no red line preventing e-residents from nominating any figure for the government, saying: “If we end up literally with Stalin running the government alongside Mussolini, Hitler, and Genghis Khan… that’s the social experiment, and that’s how it will end.”

He added: “I don’t think AI is worse than the humanity that trained and created it.” For Thompson, the human element might be the biggest risk to the project.

He added: “I think the biggest risk is that someone suggests that the leader be fierce, powerful, and prone to invasion, and that a figure similar to Caesar comes and tries to take over more territory. Frankly, I don’t know what will happen. I’m excited to find out.”