Episode notes
What if the path to a true thinking machine was found not just in a lab… but in a game? For decades, AI’s greatest triumphs came from games: checkers, chess, Jeopardy. But no matter how many trophies it took from humans, it still couldn’t think. In this episode, we follow the contrarian scientists who refused to give up on a radical idea, one that would ultimately change how machines learn. But their breakthrough came with a cost: incredible performance, at the expense of understanding how it actually works. THIS EPISODE FEATURES: Yoshua Bengio, Liv Boeree, Geoffrey Hinton, Karen Hao, Keach…
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
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S1 · E6 · 6 Nov 2025 · 57 min
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S1 · E5 · 23 Oct 2025 · 52 min
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S1 · E4 · 16 Oct 2025 · 1 hr 2 min
EP 4: Speedrun
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S1 · E2 · 2 Oct 2025 · 54 min
EP 2: The Signal
In 1951, Alan Turing predicted machines might one day surpass human intelligence and 'take control.' He created a test to alert us when we were getting close. But seventy years of science fiction later, the real threat feels like just another movie plot. THIS EPISODE FEATURES: Connor Leahy, Max Tegmark, Robin Hanson, Karen Hao, Nick Bostrom, Sam Harris, and Justin Murphy LINKS: Karen Hao’s book “Empire of AI” Nick Bostrom's book "Superintelligence" CREDITS: This episode of The Last Invention was reported and produced by Andy Mills, Gregory Warner, Andrew Parsons, Megan Phelps-Roper, Matthew…
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S1 · E1 · 2 Oct 2025 · 36 min
EP 1: Ready or Not
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15 Sep 2025 · 2 min
Introducing: The Last Invention
For over seventy years, technologists have dreamed of building a true “thinking machine.” An artificial intelligence so powerful it would reshape every aspect of human life. Would it unlock unimaginable abundance? Or bring about our destruction? Today, many of the people closest to the latest A.I. breakthroughs believe that moment has arrived. Some are walking away from their jobs to sound the alarm. Others argue it can’t be stopped, and the only choice is to unite as a society and try to get ready. Still others dismiss the fears, convinced we’re entering a thrilling new chapter of human…
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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…
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