The Last Invention

This episode was originally reported on our podcast Reflector. You can hear this story and many more by visiting us here

What if the next great leap in computing wasn't made of silicon — but of living human brain cells? Reporter Greg Warner takes us inside the lab of Hon Weng Chong, an Australian computer engineer who has built a biological computer: a device that houses actual human neurons in a petri dish, teaches them to play Pong using reward and punishment, and is now being sold to medical researchers, crypto gamers, and roboticists with very big dreams. Along the way, Andy and Greg dig into what these cells might actually feel, why the path to artificial general intelligence might run through a robot's skin rather than its brain, and what it would mean to one day stick a chip of pre-programmed neurons back into a human head. It's weird, it's a little smelly, and it might be the future.

THIS EPISODE FEATURES:

Hon Weng Chong - CEO and founder of Cortical Labs

Dr. Minas Liarokapis - CEO/CTO of Acumino Inc., Director of the New Dexterity Research Group

LINKS:

⁠Cortical Labs⁠

⁠Acumino⁠

⁠Dishbrain Paper - In vitro neurons learn and exhibit sentience when embodied in a simulated game-world⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

CREDITS:

This episode was reported and produced by Greg Warner, Andy Mills, Simon Adler, and Matthew Boll

Music for this episode was composed by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Cobey Bienert⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Peter Lalish⁠⁠

Reflector artwork by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jacob Boll
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In this episode, we dive into the views of the people who think the AGI race is being oversold, misunderstood, or misframed. As you’ll hear, we break them down into three distinct camps: “AI Is Grift” (a tech-industry con), “Wrong Path” (LLMs can’t reach AGI without new ideas), and “AI as Normal Technology” (powerful, but adoption will be slow and institution-bound). Through interviews with Ed Zitron, Gary Marcus, and Princeton’s Arvind Narayanan, the episode argues that the real fight isn’t just about capability—it’s about incentives, architecture, and how human systems actually change.

FEATURING:

Ed Zitron, Gary Marcus, Arvind Narayanan

LINKS:

⁠Ed Zitron’s website/podcast

Ed Zitron’s newsletter “Where’s Your Ed At”

Gary Marcus’s most recent book, “Taming Silicon Valley”

Gary Marcus’s Substack

Arvind Narayanan’s most recent book, “AI Snake Oil”

Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor’s paper “AI As Normal Technology”

CREDITS:

This episode of The Last Invention was reported and produced by Andy Mills, Matthew Boll, Seth Andrews, Ethan Mannello, and Carmen Hilbert

Music for this episode was composed by ⁠⁠⁠Scott Devendorf⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Ben Lanz⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Cobey Bienert⁠⁠⁠, and Matthew Boll

The Last Invention artwork by ⁠⁠⁠Jacob Boll⁠⁠⁠

To become a Longview subscriber you can visit us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Thank you to our sponsors Ground News

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Today, Andy interviews Steve Bannon and his War Room tech editor, Joe Allen. They make the populist right-wing case for breaking up Big Tech, forcing transparency on frontier AI labs, and blocking “AI amnesty” efforts that would preempt state oversight. Bannon frames AI as a species-level inflection point driven by what he calls “broligarch” elites pushing “techno-feudalism,” warning that the public is underwriting opaque labs while losing jobs, leverage and eventually autonomy.

LINKS:

War Room Podcast

Dark Aeon by Joe Allen

CREDITS:

This episode of The Last Invention was reported and produced by Andy Mills, Megan Phelps-Roper, Matthew Boll, Seth Temple Andrews, Carmen Hilbert and Ethan Mannello.

Music for this episode was composed by ⁠⁠Scott Devendorf⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Ben Lanz⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Cobey Bienert⁠⁠, and Matthew Boll

The Last Invention artwork by ⁠⁠Jacob Boll⁠⁠

To become a Longview subscriber you can visit us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Thank you to our sponsors Ground News

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GROUND NEWS⁠:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠groundnews.com/invent⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to get 40% off unlimited access to global coverage of the stories shaping our world.

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Ezra Klein – New York Times opinion columnist and an influential voice on the American left – joins us at a hinge moment in the A.I. revolution. As artificial intelligence accelerates, Klein examines what’s at stake politically, socially, and morally: the role that government should play in shaping this technology, the disruptions he believes matter most, and how to think clearly when the landscape is shifting so rapidly.

LINKS:

Ezra Klein’s book Abundance

The Ezra Klein Show

This Changes Everything

CREDITS:

This episode of The Last Invention was reported and produced by Andy Mills, Megan Phelps-Roper, Matthew Boll, Seth Temple Andrews, and Ethan Mannello.

Music for this episode was composed by ⁠Scott Devendorf⁠, ⁠Ben Lanz⁠, ⁠Cobey Bienert⁠, and Matthew Boll

The Last Invention artwork by ⁠Jacob Boll⁠

To become a Longview subscriber you can visit us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Thank you to our sponsors Ground News

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GROUND NEWS⁠:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠groundnews.com/invent⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to get 40% off unlimited access to global coverage of the stories shaping our world.

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Meet the accelerationists: a rising movement that believes expediting AI development is not only inevitable but morally necessary – humanity’s best chance at transcending its limits. What happens when the world’s most powerful technologists treat AI progress as a duty rather than a danger?

THIS EPISODE FEATURES:

Olivier Oullier, Guido de Croon, Alex Williams, Reid Hoffman, Guillaume Verdon/“Beff Jezos”

LINKS:

Beff Jezos/Guillaume Verdon’s Twitter

David Sinclair’s website

Olivier Oullier’s Company

Alex Williamss is a contributor here

Reid Hoffman’s Personal Website

CREDITS:

This episode of The Last Invention was reported and produced by Andy Mills, Gregory Warner, Andrew Parsons, Megan Phelps-Roper, Matthew Boll, Seth Temple Andrews, and Ethan Mannello. It is hosted by Gregory Warner.

Music for this episode was composed by Scott Devendorf, Ben Lanz, Cobey Bienert, and Matthew Boll

Listen to the soundtrack Music From The Last Invention by Devendorf Lanz

The Last Invention artwork by Jacob Boll

To become a Longview subscriber you can visit us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Thank you to our sponsors Ground News and FIRE

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GROUND NEWS⁠:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠groundnews.com/invent⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to get 40% off unlimited access to global coverage of the stories shaping our world.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FIRE⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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