The Infinity Machine
The Infinity Machine by Sebastian Mallabyby Sebastian Mallaby
Shares rank 4 of 9 biographies by recommenders
Engaging behind-the-scenes account of DeepMind's Demis Hassabis, including his life before DeepMind. Main caveat: it is largely uncritical of its subject.
Engaging behind-the-scenes account of DeepMind's Demis Hassabis, including his life before DeepMind. Main caveat: it is largely uncritical of its subject.
7 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 86%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Insider look at AI companies
“Excellent! Fascinating seeing a glimpse inside of the companies currently eating the world.”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” “is quite interesting and enjoyable. behind the scenes documentary view into his life”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” Covers Hassabis's background before DeepMind
“It's pretty good, and goes a lot into his background before Deepmind”
Comment from 29 Apr 2026 in “How to Build the Future: Demis Hassabis [video]” Enjoyable, engaging read
“is quite interesting and enjoyable. behind the scenes documentary view into his life”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” “best book I read so far on my current vacation.”
Comment from 30 Jul 2026 in “Gemini Robotics 2 brings whole body intelligence to robots”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Uncritical, portrays subject favorably
“The book is totally uncritical of the subject and paints him like the second coming of christ.”
Comment from 29 Apr 2026 in “How to Build the Future: Demis Hassabis [video]”
Other biographies people recommend
The four most recommended other biographies, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Man from the Futureby Ananyo Bhattacharya | 9 | 1 | 90% | 3 | — | — |
| Steve Jobs in Exileby Geoffrey Cain | 7 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Steve Jobs and the NeXT Big Thingby Randall Stross | 7 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| The Infinity Machineby Sebastian MallabyThis page | 6 | 1 | 86% | 4 | — | — |
| The Years of Lyndon Johnsonby Robert Caro | 6 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
5 of the 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Excellent! Fascinating seeing a glimpse inside of the companies currently eating the world.”
“is quite interesting and enjoyable. behind the scenes documentary view into his life”
“best book I read so far on my current vacation.”
“The book is totally uncritical of the subject and paints him like the second coming of christ.”
“It's pretty good, and goes a lot into his background before Deepmind”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.