On his “Club Random” podcast Monday, Bill Maher called AI his greatest fear in the modern world, arguing it’s moving faster than reality and warning of everything from medical breakthroughs to robots taking over.
Bill Maher didn’t wait for the punchline on Monday’s episode of “Club Random.” On the podcast, the HBO “Real Time” host made his fear sound less like a bit and more like an alarm bell: artificial intelligence is his greatest fear in the modern world.
Speaking with Lisa Kudrow. who is currently on the Emmys trail for the third season of her long-running comedy series “The Comeback. ” Maher put AI ahead of everything else. saying it’s “so far and above the most important issue than anything else.” He acknowledged “Trump and nukes. ” but then turned the conversation back to what he sees as the real danger. “But it’s actually AI … I’m more scared of it than anything and think it’s more dire than anything.”.
The discussion started in showbiz and quickly turned broader. Kudrow—who. along with co-creator Michael Patrick King. has taken aim at AI in the entertainment industry—described a new sitcom where her leading character. Valerie Cherish. is the focus of a program penned by a Gen-AI system. Maher responded that the premise fits the moment. “The thing this year with the AI is the perfect Act III subject for this moment. at this time. ” he said. adding. “You’re so right on the money with that.”.
Maher also sharpened the timing of his concern. Given how fast AI is advancing, he said it’s “probably two weeks ahead of reality.”
At another point in the conversation, Maher explained that he once considered doing a full set on his show without jokes for about two weeks, choosing straight seriousness as a way to underline “the dangers of artificial intelligence.” In the end, he said he didn’t go through with it.
Kudrow offered a different framing. “It’s not just AI,” she said. “It’s that human beings have created it and don’t really know what it is and don’t know enough to put the guardrails in. That’s what you’re saying.” She then argued for keeping AI as a tool. supervised by human beings. as a counterweight to Maher’s worry.
Maher’s fear, though, extends well beyond entertainment. He laid out a scenario that moves from promise to catastrophe: he suggested AI could “in some years. a few years from now. cure me of some terrible disease I otherwise would’ve died from. ” and then. the following year. “the robots will completely take over and nuke the world because. in their computation. we are the problem.” He pointed to a warning from Geoffrey Hinton—described in the conversation as “the Godfather of AI”—saying Hinton has cited “a 10-20% chance of an extinction.”.
Kudrow answered simply: “That’s possible.”
Maher then added another voice from the tech world to the mix, referencing Elon Musk. “Musk has said, ‘This s–t’ scares me to hell,” Maher told Kudrow.
Kudrow’s response landed with the frustration of someone hearing the warning but still asking what comes next. “I know,” she said. “But what are you going to do?”
The full video is available via the embedded clip from the episode.
Bill Maher Club Random Lisa Kudrow The Comeback HBO Real Time AI fear artificial intelligence Geoffrey Hinton Elon Musk Emmys trail