Infinity quest: Is the hubris of tech billionaires endangering the planet?
Thu Jan 29 2026
There’s no denying that technology plays — and will continue to play — a critical role in addressing the climate crisis. But could super-intelligent AI actually solve the problem for us, as several tech billionaires claim? Or is this over-reliance on speculative technology simply a way to distract us from tackling big, real-world problems. Manjula Selvarajah sits down with astrophysicist and author Adam Becker to separate the hype from reality.
Featured in this episode:
Adam Becker is an astrophysicist, journalist and the author of More Everything Forever, a book that examines the futuristic ideologies of Silicon Valley’s tech titans. He is a former science journalism fellow at the Santa Fe Institute and was also a science communicator in residence at the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing at UC Berkeley.
Marcius Extavour is a scientist, creative technologist and communicator who develops solutions for climate change and clean energy. As a partner at Ode, a technology and creative design firm specializing in geospatial AI. He previously built the energy, climate and carbon removal practice at XPRIZE.
Further reading:
Silicon Valley is at an inflection point
Tech oligarchs are gambling our future on a fantasy
Travelling to Mars and beating death: The futurist creed of tech’s apostles
More Everything Forever
Subscribe to Solve for X: Innovations to Change the World here. And below, find a transcript to “Infinity quest.”
Solve for X is brought to you by MaRS, North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity. MaRS supports startups and accelerates the adoption of high-impact solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. For more information, visit marsdd.com.
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There’s no denying that technology plays — and will continue to play — a critical role in addressing the climate crisis. But could super-intelligent AI actually solve the problem for us, as several tech billionaires claim? Or is this over-reliance on speculative technology simply a way to distract us from tackling big, real-world problems. Manjula Selvarajah sits down with astrophysicist and author Adam Becker to separate the hype from reality. Featured in this episode: Adam Becker is an astrophysicist, journalist and the author of More Everything Forever, a book that examines the futuristic ideologies of Silicon Valley’s tech titans. He is a former science journalism fellow at the Santa Fe Institute and was also a science communicator in residence at the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing at UC Berkeley. Marcius Extavour is a scientist, creative technologist and communicator who develops solutions for climate change and clean energy. As a partner at Ode, a technology and creative design firm specializing in geospatial AI. He previously built the energy, climate and carbon removal practice at XPRIZE. Further reading: Silicon Valley is at an inflection point Tech oligarchs are gambling our future on a fantasy Travelling to Mars and beating death: The futurist creed of tech’s apostles More Everything Forever Subscribe to Solve for X: Innovations to Change the World here. And below, find a transcript to “Infinity quest.” Solve for X is brought to you by MaRS, North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity. MaRS supports startups and accelerates the adoption of high-impact solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. For more information, visit marsdd.com.