Endgame: Can we live with Artificial General Intelligence?

Latest episode

10 Jun 2026 · 33 min

The People vs AI

If the risks are so great, why are the AI firms continuing their race toward AGI? Geoffrey Hinton says the answer is simple: profit. The Observer’s Jamie Bartlett explores the dynamics of the race, and solutions such as Max Tegmark’s call for independent safety testing of AI firms. Technical solutions are being developed by pioneers like Yoshua Bengio, but experts warn time is limited. Ultimately, some believe only a "Chernobyl scale disaster" will compel governments to regulate the race. Endgame is supported by the Future of Life Institute. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more…

Play episodeWhatsApp (opens WhatsApp)Download

Earlier episodes 3 most recent

1. 

   S1 · E3 · 3 Jun 2026 · 36 min

   The world’s biggest problem

   The frontier labs are racing ahead to build super-intelligent systems, yet few are willing to explain how they plan to control them. Jamie speaks to safety expert Marius Hobbhahn, who reveals how AI models are becoming deceptive, with one strategically lying to its human handler in testing. AI pioneer Stuart Russell explains why models exhibit "undesirable behaviours" like self-preservation and resource acquisition, while conversely, Rumman Chowdhury dismisses "AGI doom" as a distraction from immediate issues like bias. Endgame is supported by the Future of Life Institute. Hosted on Acast.…

2. 

   S1 · E2 · 27 May 2026 · 40 min

   A nation of geniuses

   The world’s richest companies are racing to build Artificial General Intelligence, advanced AI capable of outperforming humans at nearly every cognitive task. Journalist Jamie Bartlett tries to work out how worried he should be about reports that AGI’s arrival could prove immensely disruptive - even catastrophic. Why are even those building this technology predicting potential disaster, and when could this revolutionary technology arrive? Endgame is supported by the Future of Life Institute. Credits: Presented by Jamie Bartlett. Written by Jamie Bartlett and Steve O’Hagan Series producer:…

3. 

   S1 · E1 · 20 May 2026 · 3 min

   Endgame: Can we live with Artificial General Intelligence?

   Imagine a machine that could do every mental task any human could do, except faster and better. That machine is Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), and a consensus is building in Silicon Valley that it is almost upon us. The Observer’s Jamie Bartlett investigates how worried we should really be, when AGI will arrive, and if there is anything we can do to stop this from being the "biggest coin toss in history". Endgame is supported by the Future of Life Institute. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More from The Observer

• Careless | Tortoise Investigates The Observer
• Foundling The Observer
• The Slow Newscast The Observer
• The Walkers: The real Salt Path The Observer
• Truth Tellers The Observer
• We call her Emma The Observer

More English tech & science

• "Lecture-casts"- A Lecture Series on General Chemistry D.J. Ferguson
• "The Cognitive Revolution" Erik Torenberg, Nathan Labenz
• #Railnatter Gareth Dennis
• 'Mind the Kids': an ACAMH podcast The Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health
• (don't) Waste Water! | Water Tech to Solve the World Antoine Walter
• .NET Rocks! Carl Franklin and Richard Campbell