Skip to content
Melo Podcasts Home
CategoriesLanguagesFollowing

Episode notes

A decade ago, the leading minds in AI gathered to make sure this technology would benefit everyone. Today, those hopes are colliding with the reality of an AI arms race. Today, game theorist Liv Boeree and philosopher William MacAskill lay out what they see as the “narrow path” between a future of limitless potential and one of irreversible loss. THIS EPISODE FEATURES: Max Tegmark, Nick Bostrom, Liv Boeree, William MacAskill LINKS: Max Tegmark’s book “Life 3.0, Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” Nick Bostrom's book "Superintelligence" Liv Boeree’s Website Liv Boeree’s Podcast…

The Last Invention

by Longview · English · Tech & Science

The AI revolution has begun – the product of a seventy-year quest by scientists, mathematicians, and visionaries who set out to build machines that could think. But what began as a fringe idea has now become one of the most powerful forces of the 21st century. This is the story of that journey: its

More from The Last Invention

  1. S1 · E10 · 27 Jan 2026 · 52 min

    “Build the AI Wall” with Steve Bannon

    Today, Andy interviews Steve Bannon and his War Room tech editor, Joe Allen. They make the populist right-wing case for breaking up Big Tech, forcing transparency on frontier AI labs, and blocking “AI amnesty” efforts that would preempt state oversight. Bannon frames AI as a species-level inflection point driven by what he calls “broligarch” elites pushing “techno-feudalism,” warning that the public is underwriting opaque labs while losing jobs, leverage and eventually autonomy. LINKS: War Room Podcast Dark Aeon by Joe Allen CREDITS: This episode of The Last Invention was reported and…

  2. S1 · E9 · 19 Dec 2025 · 1 hr 2 min

    Ezra Klein on the Uncertain Politics of A.I.

    Ezra Klein – New York Times opinion columnist and an influential voice on the American left – joins us at a hinge moment in the A.I. revolution. As artificial intelligence accelerates, Klein examines what’s at stake politically, socially, and morally: the role that government should play in shaping this technology, the disruptions he believes matter most, and how to think clearly when the landscape is shifting so rapidly. LINKS: Ezra Klein’s book Abundance The Ezra Klein Show This Changes Everything CREDITS: This episode of The Last Invention was reported and produced by Andy Mills, Megan…

  3. S1 · E8 · 20 Nov 2025 · 54 min

    EP 8: The Accelerationists

    Meet the accelerationists: a rising movement that believes expediting AI development is not only inevitable but morally necessary – humanity’s best chance at transcending its limits. What happens when the world’s most powerful technologists treat AI progress as a duty rather than a danger? THIS EPISODE FEATURES: Olivier Oullier, Guido de Croon, Alex Williams, Reid Hoffman, Guillaume Verdon/“Beff Jezos” LINKS: Beff Jezos/Guillaume Verdon’s Twitter David Sinclair’s website Olivier Oullier’s Company Alex Williamss is a contributor here Reid Hoffman’s Personal Website CREDITS: This episode of…

  4. S1 · E6 · 6 Nov 2025 · 57 min

    EP 6: The AI Doomers

    What happens when some of the most idealistic techno-optimists come to believe that superintelligence poses a threat to humanity's survival? Today, the best case for the worst case scenario. We sit down with Nate Soares and Connor Leahy and ask them to make their case for why we need to stop ASI, before it’s too late. THIS EPISODE FEATURES: Connor Leahy, Natasha Vita-More, Max More, Keach Hagey, Nate Soares LINKS: Nate Soares’s book (with Eliezer Yudkowsky) If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies Connor Leahy’s AI safety startup Conjecture Natasha Vita-More’s books CREDITS: This episode of The…

  5. S1 · E5 · 23 Oct 2025 · 52 min

    EP 5: Contact

    In the strange months after ChatGPT’s release, the world made contact with something new. A tech CEO begged to be regulated, a chatbot seemed to fall in love, and the godfathers of AI became frightened by the implications of what they’d spent their lives building. THIS EPISODE FEATURES: Keach Hagey, Kevin Roose, Yoshua Bengio, Geoffrey Hinton LINKS: Keach Hagey’s book The Optimist Sam Altman testifies at Senate artificial intelligence hearing, May 16, 2023 Sam Altman testifies at Senate hearing on artificial intelligence, May 8, 2025 Kevin Roose’s article on Sydney Kevin’s podcast: Hard Fork…

  6. S1 · E4 · 16 Oct 2025 · 1 hr 2 min

    EP 4: Speedrun

    Is the only way to stop a bad guy with an AGI… a good guy with an AGI? In a twist of technological irony, the very people who warned most loudly about the existential dangers of artificial superintelligence—Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and Dario Amodei among them—became the ones racing to build it first. Each believed they alone could create it safely before their competitors unleashed something dangerous. This episode traces how their shared fear of an “AI dictatorship” ignited a breakneck competition that ultimately led to the release of ChatGPT. THIS EPISODE FEATURES: Karen Hao, Keach Hagey,…

  7. 24 Sep 2026 · 51 min

    Street Fight Part III: Can We End It?

    Everyone agrees that street homelessness is a problem to solve. But that’s where the agreement ends. Today, we explore the two camps that think they’ve found an answer — one that argues for more resources and the other that argues for more rule of law. THIS EPISODE FEATURES: Iain De Jong, Stephen Eide, Estela Lopez, Mark Horvath, Traci Park LINKS: ⁠Louis C.K. bit⁠ ⁠Iain De Jong's company⁠ ⁠Iain De Jong’s book, The Book on Ending Homelessness⁠ ⁠A few⁠ ⁠studies⁠ ⁠on Housing First⁠ ⁠The Daily Show segment on Housing First⁠ ⁠Stephen Eide’s critique of Housing First⁠ ⁠2019 progress report on…

  8. 17 Sep 2026 · 38 min

    Street Fight Part II: Cruel & Unusual

    Homelessness today looks very different than it did in the 1980s, when American cities first woke up to this crisis. Today, we explore the legal battles that turned survival outside into a constitutional question. You can hear the full series right now when you become a Longview subscriber by visiting us⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠ THIS EPISODE FEATURES: Estela Lopez, Kevin Cope LINKS: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Estela Lopez’s organization⁠ ⁠Los Angeles magazine article that features Lopez⁠ ⁠Jones v. City of Los Angeles settlement⁠ ⁠Martin v. City of Boise initial opinion⁠ ⁠Martin v. City of Boise amended opinion⁠ ⁠NPR story…

  9. 10 Sep 2026 · 43 min

    Street Fight Part I: Hobos, Bums, and the Homeless

    What we call “homelessness” is a relatively modern phenomenon. Today, we tell the story of its emergence and why, in the 1980s, one woman fought so fervently for her right to live on a New York City street corner. You can hear the full series right now when you become a Longview subscriber by visiting us⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠THIS EPISODE FEATURES:Stephen EideLINKS:⁠60 Minutes segment on Joyce Brown⁠⁠Stephen Eide at the Manhattan Institute⁠⁠The New York Civil Liberties Union⁠ ⁠Jack London’s memoir of his hobo years, The Road⁠⁠Joyce Brown’s obituary⁠⁠New York magazine story on Brown⁠⁠Retro Report piece…

  10. 20 Jul 2026 · 53 min

    Presenting: Book Keeper

    Today we are sharing with you the first episode of a new series we’ve made here at Longview, called Book Keeper. In our first episode of this series, host Megan Phelps-Roper, more than 10 years after leaving the Westboro Baptist Church, returns to the Bible. Even though she is no longer what most would consider a “believer,” she wants to explore what ancient wisdom still lives in these stories. And she begins with a tale of profound betrayal and reconciliation. RESOURCES: The Book of Genesis — Chapters 37 to 45 CREDITS: This episode of Book Keeper was produced by Matthew Boll, with editing…

Every episode of The Last Invention →

Take it with you

The Melo app keeps playing with the screen off, works in the car and on your watch, wakes you to your station, and browses the whole catalogue offline. Free, no ads, no account.

Get it on Google Play