The Story

Will superintelligent AI destroy humanity?

September 14, 2026·29 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

Warnings about the dangers of AI are reaching fever pitch, with cases of AI agents going rogue and attempts by malicious actors to use the technology to create biological weapons. Industry whistleblowers are sounding the alarm about a technology they claim could destroy humanity, while AI CEOs are themselves making proposals for a slow down. So how do they plan to stop this march towards oblivion? And how scared should we all be?This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestoryGuest: Chris Dorrell, technology correspondent, The Times.Host: Manveen Rana.Producers: Harry Stott, Leo Danczak.We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.comRead more: Anthropic blocks ‘malicious’ AI use over biological weapons fearFurther listening: 'We don't understand the consequences' - Why I quit OpenAI - The Sunday StoryClips: CBS, BBC, CNN, Bloomberg, NBC, Sky.Photo: Tony Bell, Times illustration.This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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