The Last Invention EP 4: Speedrun
335 snips
Oct 16, 2025 
In a compelling discussion, Andy Mills, a reporter and producer, teams up with Karen Hao, journalist and author of 'Empire of AI', to explore the frantic race in AI development sparked by fears of existential risk. They delve into the paradox of creating powerful AI to ensure safety, revealing how Elon Musk and others shifted from warning against AI to building it themselves. Their insights on the competition's influence on advancements like ChatGPT and the ongoing debates about safety and corporate responsibility are both captivating and thought-provoking.
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Musk’s DeepMind Meeting Sparked His Alarm
- Elon Musk met Demis Hassabis and reacted by investing in DeepMind to keep tabs on their AI work.
- Musk later publicly warned of AI risks after Google acquired DeepMind and he felt sidelined.
OpenAI’s Nonprofit Counterweight Mission
- OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit counterweight to Google to build AGI for humanity.
- The founding pitch emphasized top research plus caring about deployment and wide benefit.
Talent Poached By A Shared AGI Mission
- OpenAI recruited top researchers from Google and new PhD grads by selling a mission-driven quest for AGI.
- They attracted both 'doomers' focused on safety and 'accelerationists' seeking utopia.
