‘The Oppenheimer’ of the AI Era

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May 16th, 2026 ‘The Oppenheimer’ of the AI Era What drives the tech titans behind the AI arms race? For some, it's the thrill of scientific discovery; for others, it's the pursuit of profit. Through the story of DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis and other AI leaders, author Sebastian Mallaby explores how motivations ranging from scientific curiosity to commercial ambition and political power are shaping the future of the technology. We sat down with Mallaby to discuss the fraught and simultaneously symbiotic tension between science and capital at the heart of the AI revolution, and whether governments are prepared for systems becoming dramatically more powerful.