Episode
Demis Hassabis Wants to Build AGI. Should We Trust Him?
- Podcast
- The Next Big Idea
- Published
- Apr 13, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 4424
- Processing state
not_requested
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-next-big-idea-743842/episodes/demis-hassabis-wants-to-build-agi-should-we-trust-him/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-next-big-idea-743842/demis-hassabis-wants-to-build-agi-should-we-trust-him.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
When journalist Sebastian Mallaby approached Demis Hassabis, Google's AI chief and a man with a lifelong mission to build superintelligence, about writing his biography, he made the following pitch: "If you're going to disrupt people from head to toe, you owe them an explanation of why you're doing it. What motivates you? Why do something this dangerous?" Today, Sebastian tells us what answers he found. Sebastian's new book, The Infinity Machine, is out now. Pick up a copy from Amazon, Audible, or Bookshop.org. The Next Big Idea is now on YouTube! You can find our episodes here. Follow Rufus on LinkedIn, subscribe to our Substack, or send us an email at [email protected]. The best way to support the show is by becoming a Next Big Idea Club member. Learn more at nextbigideaclub.com, and use code PODCAST for a super secret discount (spoiler: it’s 20% off). Sponsored By: Fabric — Join the thousands of parents who trust Fabric to help protect their family at meetfabric.com/nbi Factor — Head to factormeals.com/idea50off and use code idea50off to get 50% off your first box Granola — Get three months free at granola.ai/idea Shopify — Start your $1/month trial at shopify.com/nbi