Sebastian Mallaby - The Infinity Machine

Sebastian Mallaby, a British journalist, author, and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, is renowned for his expertise in international economics, finance, and in-depth biographies. He has been a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and has authored notable books such as "The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future," "More Money Than God: Hedge Funds and the Making of a New Elite," and biographies of Alan Greenspan and James Wolfensohn.

Four years ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sebastian on the inaugural episode of the Private Capital podcast, where we discussed "The Power Law." I was particularly intrigued by his latest book, The Infinity Machine. In this book, Sebastian delves into the life of the chess prodigy, founder of DeepMind, and Nobel Prize winner, Demis Hassabis. He provides a comprehensive account of the history of artificial intelligence leading up to the groundbreaking release of ChatGPT by DeepMind's competitor, OpenAI. Sebastian meticulously documents the significant battle between the tech giants that ensued.

Sebastian's writing process is intense, and he possesses a remarkable talent for simplifying the complexities of various fields, including hedge funds, venture capital, the World Bank, the Federal Reserve, and now AI. The Infinity Machine stands out as one of the most insightful and thought-provoking books I've read on AI and its far-reaching implications, especially his conviction that OpenAI will probably go bust.

Please enjoy my conversation with Sebastian Mallaby.

Buy the book: The Infinity Machine: Demis Hassabis, DeepMind, and the Quest for Superintelligence

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