# Demis Hassabis Wants to Build AGI. Should We Trust Him? Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-next-big-idea-743842/demis-hassabis-wants-to-build-agi-should-we-trust-him Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-next-big-idea-743842/demis-hassabis-wants-to-build-agi-should-we-trust-him.md Podcast: [The Next Big Idea](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-next-big-idea-743842) Published: 2026-04-13T09:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/YAP1625354232.mp3?updated=1776054592 Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/YAP1625354232.mp3?updated=1776054592 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-next-big-idea-743842/episodes/demis-hassabis-wants-to-build-agi-should-we-trust-him Duration seconds: 4424 ## Resource 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 ⁠podcast@nextbigideaclub.com⁠. 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 ## Actions - request_transcript: `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. - read_markdown: `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. 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.