‘It’s going much too fast’: the inside story of the race to create the ultimate AI

In Silicon Valley, rival companies are spending trillions of dollars to reach a goal that could change humanity - or potentially destroy it

On the 8.49am train through Silicon Valley, the tables are packed with young people glued to laptops, earbuds in, rattling out code.

As the northern California hills scroll past, instructions flash up on screens from bosses: fix this bug; add new script. There is no time to enjoy the view. These commuters are foot soldiers in the global race towards artificial general intelligence - when AI systems become as or more capable than highly qualified humans.