The Rest Is Politics

If there is even a 1% chance that AI could destroy us, should we keep building it? Are we creating machines that will one day outthink humanity? And is the race to dominate AI accelerating us toward a future we’re unprepared to face?

This week, Yoshua Bengio joins Rory Stewart and Matt Clifford for an AI deep dive. A Turing Award–winning pioneer of deep learning, Bengio helped build the field, and is now one of its most urgent critics, warning that without restraint, the risks ahead could be profound.

To listen to the full episode, sign up at therestispolitics.com

Instagram: ⁠@restispolitics⁠

Twitter: ⁠@restispolitics⁠

Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠

__________

Social Producer: Celine Charles

Video Editor: Lorcan Moullier

Producer: India Dunkley

Senior Producer: Callum Hill

Exec Producer: Tom Whiter
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Will the UK ban 'X' over explicit, nonconsensual deepfake images of women and children generated using its AI tool? What does JD Vance's outburst against the Minnesota ICE shooting victim tell us about the misinformation age? After the attacks on Rory over the weekend from The Telegraph, Spectator, and Boris Johnson in the Daily Mail, what is it about Rory that so reliably enrages the right-wing press?

Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more.

__________

The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. To sign up and for terms and conditions, visit fuseenergy.com/politics.

Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restispolitics It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee ✅

__________

Instagram: @restispolitics

Twitter: @restispolitics

Email: [email protected]

__________

Social Producer: Celine Charles

Video Editor: Josh Smith

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Producer: Evan Green

Senior Producer: Callum Hill

Exec Producer: Tom Whiter
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Could the Iran protests finally break the Supreme Leader’s brutal reign, or will the regime's deadly crackdown contain the unrest? If the US intervenes militarily, what would a Trump-style plan for Iran look like? Why are tensions rising in Yemen between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and could their conflict reignite one of the world's worst humanitarian crises?

Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more.

__________

Join The Rest Is Politics Plus: Start your free trial at therestispolitics.com to unlock exclusive bonus content – including Rory and Alastair’s miniseries – plus ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, an exclusive members’ newsletter, discounted book prices, and a private chatroom on Discord.

The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. To sign up and for terms and conditions, visit fuseenergy.com/politics.

Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ nordvpn.com/restispolitics It's risk-free with Nord's 30 day money back guarantee ✅

__________

For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to goalhanger.com

Instagram: @restispolitics

Twitter: @restispolitics

Email: [email protected]

__________

Social Producer: Celine Charles

Video Editor: Josh Smith, Lorcan Mouillier

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Producer: Evan Green

Senior Producer: Callum Hill

Content Director: Tom Whiter
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Who really controls AI; governments, corporations, or no one at all? Is AI becoming a new kind of global arms race? And, can we keep humans in charge of systems that move faster than we do?

Rory and Matt are joined by President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar. Tino is a former justice on the Supreme Court of California, an executive appointee to the Clinton, Obama and Biden administrations and a Professor of Law at Stanford University. 

To listen to the full episode, sign up at therestispolitics.com

Instagram: @restispolitics

Twitter: @restispolitics

Email: [email protected]

__________

Social Producer: Celine Charles

Video Editor: Lorcan Moullier

Producer: India Dunkley

Senior Producer: Callum Hill

Exec Producer: Tom Whiter
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What do Keir Starmer’s comments on 'closer alignment' with the EU single market actually mean? After the Bondi terror attack, how can a centrist government respond to national trauma without fuelling culture wars? And, according to teens, how seriously should we be taking AI?

Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more.

The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. Fuse are giving away free TRIP Plus membership for all of 2025 to new sign ups 🎉 TRIP Plus gets you ad-free listening, discounts, and early access to episodes and pre-sale tickets for live shows! To sign up and for terms and conditions, visit ⁠fuseenergy.com/politics⁠ ⚡

Get a 6 month print and digital subscription to the London Review of Books and a free tote bag for just £6. Subscribe now at LRB.me/politics.

Instagram: @restispolitics

Twitter: @restispolitics

Email: [email protected]

__________

Social Producer: Celine Charles

Video Editor: Josh Smith

Producer: Evan Green, India Dunkley

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Senior Producer: Callum Hill

Exec Producer: Tom Whiter

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices