An Evening with Google Cloud & DeepMind: The Thinking Game Film Screening
A few weeks ago, Sydney & I had the chance to attend Google Cloud’s exclusive screening of The Thinking Game at Irving Plaza in New York City, and it was an experience that blended technology, storytelling, and a glimpse into the frontier of artificial intelligence.
The evening opened with a warm welcome (and a literal red carpet), light bites, music, and a chance to connect with other tech and AI community attendees. Google always hosts high-quality events, and this one was no different. It was exciting to attend an event that was different from the typical workshop or meet-and-greet. They let folks grab some food and drinks and chat for around 30 minutes before the film began.
Inside The Thinking Game
The documentary takes viewers deep into the heart of DeepMind, Google’s world-leading AI lab. Over five years of filming, it captures the relentless pursuit of artificial general intelligence (AGI); AI that can match or surpass human abilities across various tasks.
From the lab’s early milestones to groundbreaking breakthroughs like AlphaFold, which cracked a 50-year-old grand challenge in biology by predicting protein structures, the film offers an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at moments of triumph, uncertainty, and bold ambition. Founder Demis Hassabis and his team come across as equal parts scientists, engineers, and explorers — pushing at the edges of what’s possible.
The Conversation on AI’s Past, Present, and Future
After the screening, we shifted into a fireside chat featuring two prominent voices in the AI industry. One of the speakers in person was Logan Kilpatrick, a lead PM at Google DeepMind. I follow him on X and enjoy his work on the latest releases at Google (AI Studio, Gemini updates), so it was cool to see him in person. The other was Dr. Pete Clardy, a Senior Clinical Specialist. His perspective was interesting for Sydney, since it was the first time we had met someone with a medical background working full-time at a tech company. Since it’s the same dynamic in our household of Tech & Medical field, it was cool for both of us to hear the overlap, plus I’m always trying to get Syd more into tech anyway.
The discussion explored:
How Google AI products have evolved over time
The meteoric rise in AI adoption across industries
The impact and opportunity of AI in the medical field, and what that could look like
The opportunities and challenges of a future shaped by AGI
It was a mix of technical insights and big-picture thinking, the kind of dialogue that reminds you AI isn’t just about algorithms and infrastructure, but about reshaping how the world works.
More Than a Screening
The night was wrapped with live music, experiential AI demos, and a chance to connect with other attendees. It wasn’t just an event about AI; it was a celebration of curiosity, innovation, and the people building the next chapter of technology.
Walking away, I felt both inspired and reminded: while AI’s future is still being written, it’s the conversations, collaborations, and creativity around it that will determine where we end up. In true Google fashion, we walked away with swag - two Polaroid cameras!
