A documentary exploring the breakthroughs in artificial intelligence at Google DeepMind has captivated audiences, amassing nearly 300 million views on YouTube since its release late last year. Titled “The Thinking Game,” the film delves into the world of AI research, focusing on the scientists striving to decode the complexities of thought and life itself. Directed by filmmaker Greg Kohs, the documentary provides unparalleled access to one of the globe’s most influential AI laboratories, led by co-founder and CEO Demis Hassabis, who has played a pivotal role in reshaping modern biological research and contributing to a Nobel Prize in chemistry.
From 2018 to 2024, Kohs and producer Gary Krieg embedded themselves within the research community, tackling the complex problem of protein folding. This scientific challenge—predicting a protein’s three-dimensional shape based on its amino acid sequence—had eluded researchers for decades. DeepMind’s solution, known as AlphaFold, not only revolutionized the field but also dramatically improved prediction accuracy, unlocking structural data for nearly all known proteins and significantly accelerating drug discovery and fundamental biological research. This groundbreaking work ultimately earned Hassabis and his collaborators a Nobel Prize in chemistry.
The film captures key moments of realization during the project, including a particularly impactful scene where Hassabis suggests using AlphaFold to analyze every existing protein sequence and openly share the findings. This decision marks a significant shift toward democratizing access to biological knowledge worldwide. The emotional depth of “The Thinking Game” is further enhanced by archival footage from a 1986 BBC interview, featuring a nine-year-old Hassabis, who describes chess as “a good thinking game”—a phrase that later inspired the documentary’s title.
Kohs conducted much of the filming during Hassabis’ late-night work hours and commutes, often alone with a camera and fueled by caffeine. This intimate portrayal reveals a driven individual balancing visionary ambitions with a rigorous routine. Despite the production being funded by Google and the company retaining copyright, the documentary avoids the pitfalls of corporate promotion. While it offers flattering insights, it also provides a rare glimpse into the personalities, doubts, and obsessions of those behind technologies that are reshaping economies and societies.
Critics who label the documentary as advertising miss its core purpose; it effectively humanizes complex scientific endeavors and illuminates processes typically concealed from public scrutiny. The film’s release coincides with Google’s renewed vigor in the AI race, as Alphabet’s market value has surged past the $4 trillion mark, bolstered by the advancements highlighted in the documentary.
For viewers, the allure lies not only in the technological marvels but also in witnessing a pivotal moment in history as it unfolds—capturing the quiet meetings, uncertain experiments, and moments of insight that precede transformative changes. In achieving its goal, Kohs has crafted a scientific documentary that transcends mere information dissemination; it unsettles, inspires, and leaves audiences with the unmistakable sensation of witnessing the future being forged.
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