This study investigates public expectations regarding the likelihood and timing of major artificial intelligence (AI) developments among Swedes. Through a survey of 1026 respondents, we examined expectations across six key scenarios: medical breakthroughs, mass unemployment, democratic deterioration, living standard improvements, artificial general intelligence (AGI), and uncontrollable superintelligent AI. Findings reveal strong consensus on AI-driven medical breakthroughs (82.6%), while expectations for other major developments are significantly lower, ranging from 40.9% for mass unemployment down to 28.4% for AGI. Timeline expectations varied markedly across scenarios, with medical breakthroughs most often expected within 6–10 years, while the modal response for AGI and uncontrollable superintelligent AI was that these developments would never occur. Latent class analysis identified three distinct groups: optimists (46.7%), ambivalents (42.2%), and skeptics (11.2%). The optimist group showed higher levels of self-rated AI knowledge and education. The study addresses a critical gap in understanding temporal expectations of AI development among the general public, offering insights for policymakers and stakeholders.