---
title: "The Infinity Machine by Sebastian Mallaby review – the story of the man who changed the world"
slug: "the-infinity-machine-by-sebastian-mallaby-review-the-story-of-the-man-who-changed-the-world"
date: 2026-03-16
category: tech-pub
tags: [google]
language: en
sources_count: 1
featured: false
publisher: AInauten News
url: https://news.ainauten.com/en/story/the-infinity-machine-by-sebastian-mallaby-review-the-story-of-the-man-who-changed-the-world
---

# The Infinity Machine by Sebastian Mallaby review – the story of the man who changed the world

**Published**: 2026-03-16 | **Category**: tech-pub | **Sources**: 1

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## TL;DR

- Sebastian Mallaby profiles DeepMind founder Demis Hassabis in 'The Infinity Machine' – from chess prodigy to Nobel Prize winner.

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## Summary

- Sebastian Mallaby profiles DeepMind founder Demis Hassabis in 'The Infinity Machine' – from chess prodigy to Nobel Prize winner.
- In March 2016, AlphaGo defeated world-class Go player Lee Se-dol in Seoul, a landmark moment in AI history.
- Go's vast decision space made it seemingly impossible for classical computing – DeepMind cracked it with deep reinforcement learning.
- Chess had fallen to machines in 1997 via DeepBlue, but Go was long considered out of reach until Hassabis' team proved otherwise.
- The book traces how one researcher and his team laid the groundwork for today's AI era.

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## Why it matters

Sebastian Mallaby profiles DeepMind founder Demis Hassabis in 'The Infinity Machine' – from chess prodigy to Nobel Prize winner.

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## Key Points

- Sebastian Mallaby profiles DeepMind founder Demis Hassabis in 'The Infinity Machine' – from chess prodigy to Nobel Prize winner.
- In March 2016, AlphaGo defeated world-class Go player Lee Se-dol in Seoul, a landmark moment in AI history.
- Go's vast decision space made it seemingly impossible for classical computing – DeepMind cracked it with deep reinforcement learning.
- Chess had fallen to machines in 1997 via DeepBlue, but Go was long considered out of reach until Hassabis' team proved otherwise.
- The book traces how one researcher and his team laid the groundwork for today's AI era.

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## Nauti's Take

It's good that someone is writing this history now – before mythology fully overtakes the facts. Mallaby is known for rigorous reporting, and Hassabis is no ordinary tech CEO shuffling buzzwords; he is a genuine scientist who played a long game. That said, biographies of living, active AI leaders tend toward hagiography, so healthy scepticism is warranted. The really interesting question – whether DeepMind can preserve its scientific soul inside Google – is one a retrospective alone cannot answer.

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## FAQ

**Q:** What is The Infinity Machine by Sebastian Mallaby review – the story of the man who changed the world about?

**A:** - Sebastian Mallaby profiles DeepMind founder Demis Hassabis in 'The Infinity Machine' – from chess prodigy to Nobel Prize winner.

**Q:** Why does it matter?

**A:** Sebastian Mallaby profiles DeepMind founder Demis Hassabis in 'The Infinity Machine' – from chess prodigy to Nobel Prize winner.

**Q:** What are the key takeaways?

**A:** Sebastian Mallaby profiles DeepMind founder Demis Hassabis in 'The Infinity Machine' – from chess prodigy to Nobel Prize winner.. In March 2016, AlphaGo defeated world-class Go player Lee Se-dol in Seoul, a landmark moment in AI history.. Go's vast decision space made it seemingly impossible for classical computing – DeepMind cracked it with deep reinforcement learning.

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## Related Topics

- [google](https://news.ainauten.com/en/tag/google)

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## Sources

- [The Infinity Machine by Sebastian Mallaby review – the story of the man who changed the world](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/mar/16/the-infinity-machine-by-sebastian-mallaby-review-the-story-of-the-man-who-changed-the-world) - The Guardian AI

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## About This Article

This article is a synthesis of 1 sources, curated and summarized by AInauten News. We aggregate AI news from trusted sources and provide bilingual (German/English) coverage.

**Publisher**: [AInauten](https://www.ainauten.com) | **Site**: [news.ainauten.com](https://news.ainauten.com)

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*Last Updated: 2026-03-20*