Can You Be Good and Great?

Can You Be Good and Great?

From Firewall with Bradley Tusk by Firewall

April 2, 2026 · 45 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the balance between technological greatness and ethical responsibility, featuring a conversation with author Sebastian Mallaby.

[Vote for Firewall and help us win our first Webby Award! https://bit.ly/firewallwebby ] Is it possible to build the most powerful technology in human history while remaining a genuinely decent person, or does that kind of greatness require a willingness to burn everything down? Sebastian Mallaby, author of The Infinity Machine , joins Bradley to argue that Demis Hassabis may be the rarest breed: a Nobel Prize-winning scientist and world-changing CEO who cares deeply about safety. But as Mallaby and Bradley explore the coming political reckoning with AI, the big unknown is what sort of catastrophe it will take for our leaders to bring this technology under control. This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio. Firewall nominated for a Webby Award! Vote today and support us for best individual episode - interview or talk show - for Bradley's interview with then-candidate Zohran Mamdani in April 2025. We’re up against Oprah, so we’ll need all the votes we can get! It only takes 10 seconds - thanks in advance. Vote here before April 16: https://bit.ly/firewallwebby Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s…

People in this episode

Guest: Sebastian Mallaby

Topics covered

  • technology
  • AI
  • ethics
  • business
  • politics

Keywords

  • Demis Hassabis
  • Nobel Prize
  • AI safety
  • political reckoning
  • catastrophe

Mentioned in this episode

Products: The Infinity Machine

Books & works: Webby Award, The Infinity Machine, Nobel Prize, a Webby Award

Places: New York City’s

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