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New thinking, in order of arrival.

12 Sept 2026

11 Sept 2026

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Tech article

DeepMind once avoided talking about AI extinction. Now it has a team for it

A former DeepMind communications staffer says the lab once prohibited public discussion of AI-caused human extinction, even while researchers worried about alignment internally. The allegation cannot be independently verified from public records, but DeepMind’s own publications show a striking change: from cautious talk about generic AI risks to an explicit programme for studying existential risk.

· 5 min read

10 Sept 2026

Different public constituencies converge on a shared AI safety barrier.
Illustration

Tech article

AI Safety’s Allies May Agree on the Rules, but Not the Reasons

Public concern is giving AI-safety advocates a larger political constituency. The complication is that voters worried about jobs, surveillance, copyright or data centres may support the same guardrails for very different reasons.

· 6 min read