THE THINKING GAME

Name: THE THINKING GAME
Start: 2025-02-02T19:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-02-02T21:00:00-05:00
Location: Epsilon Spires

Schedule

Sun Feb 02 2025 at 07:00 pm to 09:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

Epsilon Spires | Brattleboro, VT

Take a fascinating journey into the heart of one of the world's leading AI labs. Following the development of a Nobel Prize winning project over 5 years, this new documentary invites us to discuss AI’s impact on science, medicine and society while considering the ethical aspects of AI.
The Thinking Game (2024, Dir. Greg Kohs) takes you on a fascinating journey into the heart of DeepMind, one of the world's leading AI labs, as it strives to unravel the mysteries of artificial general intelligence (AGI). Filmed over five years, this documentary puts viewers in the room for the pivotal moments of this quest, including the groundbreaking achievement of AlphaFold, a program that solved a 50-year grand challenge in biology. Following the film will be an informal community discussion on the topic with refreshments.
Demis Hassabis has always been thinking about thinking. It started during his childhood career as a chess champion, continued to Bullfrog Games where he helped develop one of the most successful games in history at just 17 years old, and then followed him through his PhD in cognitive neuroscience at University College London. All this led him to co-founding DeepMind, an artificial general intelligence company with one simple mission: to solve intelligence. Like they’re running out of time, The Thinking Game chronicles DeepMind’s sprint toward creating the smartest machine in the world in the AI space race.
The film captures the exhilaration of historic breakthroughs like AlphaFold, the crushing weight of disappointment during setbacks, and the unwavering pursuit of knowledge that defines Demis' commitment to scientific innovation. This film invites viewers to witness one of the most important scientific adventures of our time, exploring the potential of AGI to reshape our world.
"With extraordinary archival footage from Hassabis’ life and career, we follow every step that contributed to DeepMind’s monumental achievements. Hassabis leads the film — and his company — with the utmost optimism and ambition, forging a path where artificial intelligence can be used to solve any problem you can think of — and the ones that you can’t. Balancing the weight of the massive responsibility this kind of technology requires, The Thinking Game illuminates the real positive impacts AI can have, from a simple chess game to curing cancer."––Camille Ramos
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Director’s Statement by Greg Kohs:
Following the success of our award-winning documentary AlphaGo, Demis Hassabis presented producer, Gary Krieg, and me with a unique proposition: to document groundbreaking artificial
intelligence research at his AI lab in London.
This wasn't a conventional project. We'd be filming sensitive research and storing it securely. Someday, our work might be unearthed, providing future generations a glimpse into the development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).
Accepting this offer posed significant risks to our filmmaking careers. Embarking on a multi-year, secretive project with no planned output or ability to share our work with the public, friends, or family meant venturing into uncharted territory.
While considering this opportunity, Demis asked, “If you could go back in time and document the Manhattan Project, how would you do it?” The question both excited, and scared the hell out of us. Demis clearly knew something extraordinary was unfolding.
As filmmakers we decided to take the risk. Except instead of disappearing into the New Mexican desert, we swiped into his secure AI lab in London for the next 5 years to document history. Our filming approach was rooted in the principles I’ve stuck to since my early days at NFL Films: humanity, emotion, curiosity, and patience. I refer to this observational approach as “captured not contrived.” In the spirit of a Johnny Cash song, our style always remains grounded, soulful, and real-as-dirt.
Our initial visit to the AI lab was undeniably daunting. It was astonishing to witness the brilliant minds that Demis had brought together in this cathedral of knowledge. We felt out of place among the incredibly smart scientists with PhDs from prestigious universities whose gothic spires could easily have been the inspiration for Walt Disney.
Of all the researchers, Demis particularly piqued our curiosity. Despite his remarkable achievements, he appeared incredibly humble and shy in front of the camera. Our best chances to film him involved tagging along during train rides, bumpy cab journeys, or late-night visits with him at his home office.
As we spent more and more time with Demis, we discovered his fascinating, Forrest Gump-like quest for knowledge that spanned over 40 years. We realized his journey was the kind that inspired movies. Although we were initially invited to collect an archive based on the research, we decided that every filmmaking decision would be made with the possibility of a significant AI breakthrough in mind. If such a breakthrough occurred, we would have a captivating third act that showcased Demis' extraordinary scientific journey.
From the outset, our primary challenge was finding a way to present complex scientific ideas and discoveries in a way that a general audience could understand. During filming, we discovered that the language of science is often unspoken. It was not unusual for a room full of scientists to suddenly fall silent for several minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. These moments of quiet contemplation and focused introspection were masterclasses in the art of silence.