# The end of the world is AI? An existential threat Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/economist-podcasts-921330/the-end-of-the-world-is-ai-an-existential-threat Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/economist-podcasts-921330/the-end-of-the-world-is-ai-an-existential-threat.md Podcast: [Economist Podcasts](https://stenobird.com/podcast/economist-podcasts-921330) Published: 2026-09-16T10:00:06+00:00 Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/theintelligencepodcast/episodes/the-end-of-the-world-is-ai-an-existential-threat Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/d556eb54-6160-4c85-95f4-47d9f5216c49/a/theeconomistallaudio/e/6aaa68a64cef87591d2b659b/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=cEHIC1ARzRDLY9u1NRaH4I70f_cE7Kg4MLF8-T9j_4o Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/economist-podcasts-921330/episodes/the-end-of-the-world-is-ai-an-existential-threat Duration seconds: 1456 ## Resource Is artificial intelligence becoming uncontrollably powerful? Our correspondent analyses whether a pause to breakneck development is possible or feasible. We have entered the new age of the orator . And why cheese is getting more popular in India.  Guests and host: Alex Hern, AI writer Tom Wainwright, culture correspondent Tom Sasse, South Asia bureau chief Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence” Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence” Topics covered:  Human extinction, AI, Sam Altman, Dario Amodei Oral culture, literacy, James Marriott, Walter Ong Cheese, India, kalimpong Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology— subscribe to The Economist . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/economist-podcasts-921330/episodes/the-end-of-the-world-is-ai-an-existential-threat/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/economist-podcasts-921330/the-end-of-the-world-is-ai-an-existential-threat.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.