# AI Is Humans, All the Way Down

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/talk-cocktail-15520/ai-is-humans-all-the-way-down
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/talk-cocktail-15520/ai-is-humans-all-the-way-down.md
Podcast: [Talk Cocktail](https://stenobird.com/podcast/talk-cocktail-15520)
Published: 2026-04-18T23:35:55+00:00
Episode link: https://jeffschechtman.substack.com/p/ai-is-humans-all-the-way-down
Audio file: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/194651619/6b4493af6f049fb47db24371b77f4840.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/talk-cocktail-15520/episodes/ai-is-humans-all-the-way-down
Duration seconds: 2771

## Resource

he inside story of how greed, ambition, and rivalry destroyed AI’s safety mechanisms — and why human failings, not technology, are driving us toward catastrophe. Despite everything you think you know about artificial intelligence — the models, the capabilities, the existential predictions — it’s simply humans all the way down. Men building things, making choices, placing bets, and abandoning safeguards the moment competitive pressure intensifies. On this recent WhoWhatWhy podcast I talk with Sebastian Mallaby , who spent three years embedded in the world of AI as it evolved from research lab to civilizational force. With over 30 hours of access to Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google’s DeepMind, alone, Mallaby was present at the creation. His book The Infinity Machine reveals the inside story you’ve never heard. Get full access to Talk Cocktail Podcast at jeffschechtman.substack.com/subscribe

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## Transcript

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