Cory Doctorow argues that society is already experiencing paperclip-style maximization through corporate AI deployment, applying a Pascal's Wager logic that prioritizes addressing extant harms over speculative AGI. Doctorow stated in his April 16 2026 Pluralistic post that he does not believe current statistical techniques will yield intelligence and views AGI worries as potential marketing ploys (https://pluralistic.net/2026/04/16/pascals-wager/). He shared the stage with Yoshua Bengio at the Bronfman Lecture in Montreal where Bengio outlined Lawzero an initiative for open auditable AI as a digital public good to counter manipulation and civilizational risks (http://lawzero.org). Doctorow's text cites his own Locus Magazine essay documenting how bosses already use automation rhetoric to displace workers without needing AGI (https://locusmag.com/feature/cory-doctorow-full-employment/). Primary source coverage omitted explicit ties to prior tech bubbles and process-knowledge loss detailed in Doctorow's April 2026 posts on AI-driven firings and NHS-style austerity outcomes (https://pluralistic.net/2026/04/13/always-great/). Synthesis with Bengio's statements and Nick Bostrom's 2014 Superintelligence framework on instrumental convergence shows doomer narratives often trace to long-termist circles that downplay immediate antitrust needs against firms representing 35% of the S&P 500. Doctorow's wager holds that betting against unchecked corporate power fused with surveillance yields net gains whether or not AGI materializes since worker immiseration and bubble dynamics are already observable facts across multiple sectors.