Under The Spell

Under The Spell: Is AGI the new Frontier, or the ultimate grand narrative? | S2 E1

Listen Later

Is AGI the new Frontier, or the ultimate grand narrative?

In the premiere episode of Under the Spell season 2, host Michael Avery and author David Buckham dive beneath the surface of the AI frenzy to ask the questions the tech world is too breathless to answer.

At the start of 2026, the global economy is effectively a giant bet on Artificial General Intelligence. But as we race toward a world of "emergent minds" and "machine rights," are we witnessing a genuine scientific breakthrough or a recurring civilizational habit of choosing power over principle?

In this episode, we explore:

  • The Myth of Emergence: Is consciousness truly a byproduct of "scaling" neurons, or is this a convenient assumption used to justify a $300 billion gamble?
  • The 1929 Parallel: Why the current intermingling of government and big business feels hauntingly similar to the eve of the Great Depression.
  • The Geopolitical Stakes: How the hunt for AGI is driving radical manoeuvres, from the "Greenland play" for rare earth minerals to the existential arms race with China.
  • The "Spell" of Narratives: Understanding how a few billionaires and "high priests of AI" are shaping a reality that may be heading for a massive bailout.

    • This isn’t a tech podcast about model updates; it’s a series for those who still value the uncomfortable discipline of thinking.

    Join us every week as we go UNDER THE SPELL.

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store
    Under The SpellBy thespell