I Challenged DON’T LOOK UP’s Screenwriter to Look Up At AGI
I Challenged DON’T LOOK UP’s Screenwriter to Look Up At AGI  
Podcast: Doom Debates!
Published On: Tue Apr 07 2026
Description: David Sirota helped create “Don’t Look Up” sometimes feels like we’re living inside his movie. Does he share my belief that the looming planetary threat is rogue AI?Sirota is an award-winning investigative journalist, bestselling author, and former speechwriter for Bernie Sanders. He was nominated for an Oscar for co-writing the story of Don’t Look Up.Find our more about David’s work at The Lever: https://www.levernews.com/Timestamps00:00:00 — Cold Open00:01:20 — Introducing David Sirota00:04:34 — Why David Fights Against Power and the Concentration of Power00:13:46 — From NAFTA to AI: The Warnings We Ignored00:22:05 — How Big Will the AI “Jobpocalypse” Be?00:25:28 — Superintelligence & the Parallel to Don’t Look Up00:28:37 — What’s Your P(Doom)™?00:31:44 — The Speed of the AI Threat00:36:26 — Society Is Losing a Collective Capacity to Focus00:38:34 — Is Climate Change David’s Biggest Existential Concern?00:45:01 — David Reacts to Bernie Sanders’ Data Center Moratorium Proposal00:49:11 — Can We Build The “Off Button”?00:52:08 — “Don’t Look Up” x AGI Mashup00:54:35 — Why There’s Still Hope00:58:14 — Living in “Don’t Look Up”00:59:46 — Wrap-Up: Where to Follow Major AI NewsLinksWatch Don't Look Up — https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81252357 The Lever, investigative news outlet — https://www.levernews.com/David Sirota on X — https://x.com/davidsirotaDavid Sirota, Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_SirotaMaster Plan podcast — https://the.levernews.com/master-plan/David Sirota, “Hostile Takeover” on Amazon — https://www.amazon.com/Hostile-Takeover-Corruption-Conquered-Government/dp/0307237354The Three-Body Problem (novel), Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three-Body_Problem_(novel)WarGames (1983 film), Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WarGamesAdam McKay, Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_McKayWatch Don’t Look Up — https://www.netflix.com/title/81252357AI 2027 scenario — https://ai-2027.com/Doom Debates’ Mission is to raise mainstream awareness of imminent extinction from AGI and build the social infrastructure for high-quality debate.Support the mission by subscribing to my Substack at DoomDebates.com and to youtube.com/@DoomDebates, or to really take things to the next level: Donate 🙏 Get full access to Doom Debates at lironshapira.substack.com/subscribe