EN - AI, Doom & Hope : a Conversation with Dr. Jens Foell

A 10% extinction-risk estimate from an Anthropic safety researcher reached a hundred million views in a day — and almost nobody can verify it. Neuropsychologist and science communicator Jens Foell joins Almendra to unpack why that number stuck, what the Cold War does and doesn't teach us about living with unmeasurable risk, and what COVID-19 taught science communication.

Dr. Jens Foell holds a PhD in neuropsychology from Heidelberg University, with years of brain research at ZI Mannheim and Florida State University. Since 2020 he has worked full-time in science communication, as editor and science advisor for MaiThink X (Grimme Award winner, 2026) and maiLab, and as a trainer at NaWik.

What's covered

• Why 10% felt believable and 90% wouldn't have

• The Cold War as a flawed but useful comparison

• The claimed trade-off between AI and climate action

• What COVID-19 taught science communication

• Closing question: the song that gets Jens back to work

Referenced in this episode

Books

• Katharina Zweig, Weiß die KI, dass sie nichts weiß?, Heyne Verlag, 2025

• Karen Hao, Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI, Penguin Press, 2025

• Pia Lamberty, Der Untergang kann warten: Wie wir in Krisenzeiten Hoffnung schöpfen, 2026

• Jens Foell, Mein Gehirn, das Denken und ich, 2026

Show

• MaiThink X, ZDFneo — Grimme Award winner, 2026. New episodes air this autumn.

Music

• Soffie, "Für immer Frühling" (2024)

• Megadeth, "À Tout le Monde" (1994)

https://almendra-impact.eu

Merle Becker

Bernard Lecuivre

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