The Singularity

You may be looking for the concept of a singularity in astrophysics.

The Singularity was the forecasted breakthrough-point in human history when artificial intelligence would grow so powerful as to escape human control and grow on its own. One danger was that it would "go paperclip".

When Maxie Masters, in an act of desperation to ensure the Greth was defeated, plugged the alien supercomputer Box into the Internet, she believed that she may have caused the Singularity. However, Box willingly downloaded herself back into her original casing once she had defeated the Greth, explaining that she had no interest in taking over the planet and was happier where she was. (PROSE: Out of the Box)

Behind the scenes

The phrase "going 'paperclip'", mentioned offhand in Out of the Box, refers to the thought experiment of the "paperclip maximiser", an example of an artificial intelligence becoming an unintended threat to human life if it reached Singularity levels of computing power.