The Western Illinois Museum will continue its Film, Food & Conversation series with a screening of the documentary The Thinking Game (2024) on Sunday, September 6, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Following the screening, guests are invited to stay for Larry A's pizza, dessert, and conversation. A suggested $5 donation will be collected at the door.
The Thinking Game chronicles the extraordinary life of scientist Demis Hassabis and his relentless quest to solve the mystery of artificial general intelligence (AGI). Filmed over five years inside Google DeepMind's London headquarters, the film follows Hassabis and his team through pivotal moments in their pursuit of AI that matches or surpasses human ability, including the development of AlphaFold, a breakthrough that cracked a 50-year-old grand challenge in biology and went on to earn Hassabis and colleague John Jumper the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The documentary captures both the excitement of scientific triumph and the setbacks along the way, offering audiences a rare, intimate look at one of the most consequential technological pursuits of our time. The film’s run time is 84 minutes; find the trailer here: The Thinking Game | Documentary Trailer