Get the inside story of how AI is being created and uncover the extraordinary ways artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming our world. In the highly-praised, award-nominated "DeepMind: The Podcast", mathematician and broadcaster Hannah Fry goes behind the scenes of world-leading research lab DeepMind to find out how AI can benefit our lives and the society we live in. The first season explores the link between neuroscience and AI, the importance of games, and building safe AI. Now in its second season, Hannah uncovers how AI is accelerating science in critical areas, takes an in-depth look at building artificial general intelligence (AGI), and so much more.
The promise of AI with Demis Hassabis
Hannah wraps up the series by meeting DeepMind co-founder and CEO, Demis Hassabis. In an extended interview, Demis describes why he believes AGI is possible, how we can get there, and the problems he hopes it will solve. Along the way, he highlights the important role of consciousness and why he’s so optimistic that AI can help solve many of the world’s major challenges. As a final note, Demis shares the story of a personal meeting with Stephen Hawking to discuss the future of AI and discloses Hawking’s parting message. For questions or feedback on the series, message us on Twitter @DeepMind or email podcast@deepmind.com. Interviewee: Deepmind co-founder and CEO, Demis Hassabis CreditsPresenter: Hannah FrySeries Producer: Dan HardoonProduction support: Jill AchinekuSounds design: Emma BarnabyMusic composition: Eleni ShawSound Engineer: Nigel AppletonEditor: David PrestCommissioned by DeepMind Thank you to everyone who made this season possible! Further reading:DeepMind, The Podcast: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/welcome-to-the-deepmind-podcastDeepMind’s Demis Hassabis on its breakthrough scientific discoveries, WIRED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WRow9FqUbwRiemann hypothesis, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riemann_hypothesisUsing AI to accelerate scientific discovery by Demis Hassabis, Kendrew Lecture 2021: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sm-VkgVX-2oProtein Folding & the Next Technological Revolution by Demis Hassabis, Bloomberg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhd4ENh5ON4The Algorithm, MIT Technology Review: https://forms.technologyreview.com/newsletters/ai-the-algorithm/Machine learning resources, The Royal Society: https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/education-skills/teacher-resources-and-opportunities/resources-for-teachers/resources-machine-learning/How to get empowered, not overpowered, by AI, TED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LRwvU6gEbA
3/15/2022 • 30 minutes, 28 seconds
Fair for all
AI needs to benefit everyone, not just those who build it. But fulfilling this promise requires careful thought before new technologies are built and released into the world. In this episode, Hannah delves into some of the most pressing and difficult ethical and social questions surrounding AI today. She explores complex issues like racial and gender bias and the misuse of AI technologies, and hears why diversity and representation is vital for building technology that works for all. For questions or feedback on the series, message us on Twitter @DeepMind or email podcast@deepmind.com. Interviewees: DeepMind’s Sasha Brown, William Isaac, Shakir Mohamed, Kevin Mckee & Obum Ekeke CreditsPresenter: Hannah FrySeries Producer: Dan HardoonProduction support: Jill AchinekuSounds design: Emma BarnabyMusic composition: Eleni ShawSound Engineer: Nigel AppletonEditor: David PrestCommissioned by DeepMind Thank you to everyone who made this season possible! Further reading: What a machine learning tool that turns Obama white can (and can’t) tell us about AI bias, The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/21298762/face-depixelizer-ai-machine-learning-tool-pulse-stylegan-obama-biasTuskegee Syphilis Study, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_Syphilis_StudyEthics & Society, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/about/ethics-and-societyRow over AI that 'identifies gay faces', BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41188560The Trevor Project: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/AI takes root, helping farmers identify diseased plants, Google: https://www.blog.google/technology/ai/ai-takes-root-helping-farmers-identity-diseased-plants/How Can You Use Technology to Support a Culture of Inclusion and Diversity?, myHRfuture: https://www.myhrfuture.com/blog/2019/7/16/how-can-you-use-technology-to-support-a-culture-of-inclusion-and-diversityScholarships at DeepMind: https://www.deepmind.com/scholarshipsAI, Ain’t I a Woman? Joy Buolamwini, YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxuyfWoVV98How to be Human in the Age of the Machine, Hannah Fry: https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/book-prizes/science-book-prize/2018/hello-world/
3/1/2022 • 33 minutes, 24 seconds
Me, myself and AI
AI doesn’t just exist in the lab, it’s already solving a range of problems in the real world. In this episode, Hannah encounters a realistic recreation of her voice by WaveNet, the voice synthesising system that powers the Google Assistant and helps people with speech difficulties and illnesses regain their voices. Hannah also discovers how ‘deepfake’ technology can be used to improve weather forecasting and how DeepMind researchers are collaborating with Liverpool Football Club, aiming to take sports to the next level. For questions or feedback on the series, message us on Twitter @DeepMind or email podcast@deepmind.com. Interviewees: DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis, Raia Hadsell, Karl Tuyls, Zach Gleicher & Jackson Broshear; Niall Robinson of the UK Met Office CreditsPresenter: Hannah FrySeries Producer: Dan HardoonProduction support: Jill AchinekuSounds design: Emma BarnabyMusic composition: Eleni ShawSound Engineer: Nigel AppletonEditor: David PrestCommissioned by DeepMind Thank you to everyone who made this season possible! Further reading: A generative model for raw audio, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/wavenet-generative-model-raw-audioWaveNet case study, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/research/case-studies/wavenetUsing WaveNet technology to reunite speech-impaired users with their original voices, DeepMind:| https://deepmind.com/blog/article/Using-WaveNet-technology-to-reunite-speech-impaired-users-with-their-original-voicesProject Euphonia, Google Research: https://sites.research.google/euphonia/about/Nowcasting the next hour of rain, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/nowcastingNow DeepMind is using AI to transform football, WIRED: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/deepmind-football-liverpool-aiAdvancing sports analytics through AI, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/advancing-sports-analytics-through-aiMetOffice, BBC: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/The village ‘washed on to the map’, BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-28523053Michael Fish got the storm of 1987 wrong, Sky News: https://news.sky.com/story/michael-fish-got-the-storm-of-1987-wrong-but-modern-supercomputers-may-have-missed-it-too-11076659#:~:text=In%20a%20lunchtime%20broadcast%20on,%2C%22%20he%20confidently%20told%20viewers.
2/22/2022 • 35 minutes, 32 seconds
AI for science
Step inside DeepMind's laboratories and you'll find researchers studying DNA to understand the mysteries of life, seeking new ways to use nuclear energy, or putting AI to the test in mind-bending areas of maths. In this episode, Hannah meets Pushmeet Kohli, the head of science at DeepMind, to understand how AI is accelerating scientific progress. Listeners also join Hannah on a [virtual] safari in the Serengeti in East Africa to find out how researchers are using AI to conserve wildlife in one of the world’s most spectacular ecosystems. For questions or feedback on the series, message us on Twitter @DeepMind or email podcast@deepmind.com. Interviewees: DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis, Pushmeet Kohli & Sarah Jane Dunn; Meredith Palmer of the Princeton University CreditsPresenter: Hannah FrySeries Producer: Dan HardoonProduction support: Jill AchinekuSounds design: Emma BarnabyMusic composition: Eleni ShawSound Engineer: Nigel AppletonEditor: David PrestCommissioned by DeepMind Thank you to everyone who made this season possible! Further reading:Using AI for scientific discovery, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/AlphaFold-Using-AI-for-scientific-discoveryDeepMind’s Demis Hassabis on its breakthrough scientific discoveries, WIRED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WRow9FqUbwThe AI revolution in scientific research, The Royal Society: https://royalsociety.org/-/media/policy/projects/ai-and-society/AI-revolution-in-science.pdfDOE Explains...Tokamaks, Office of Science: https://www.energy.gov/science/doe-explainstokamaksHow AI Accidentally Learned Ecology by Playing StarCraft, Discover: https://www.discovermagazine.com/technology/how-ai-accidentally-learned-ecology-by-playing-starcraftGoogle AI can identify wildlife from trap-camera footage, VentureBeat:https://venturebeat.com/2019/12/17/googles-ai-can-identify-wildlife-from-trap-camera-footage-with-up-to-98-6-accuracy/Snapshot Serengeti, Zooniverse:https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/zooniverse/snapshot-serengetiThe Human Genome Project, National Human Genome Research Institute: https://www.genome.gov/human-genome-projectExploring the beauty of pure mathematics in novel ways, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/exploring-the-beauty-of-pure-mathematics-in-novel-waysPredicting gene expression with AI, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/enformerUsing machine learning to accelerate ecological research, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/using-machine-learning-to-accelerate-ecological-researchAccelerating fusion science through learned plasma control, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/Accelerating-fusion-science-through-learned-plasma-controlSimulating matter on the quantum scale with AI, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/Simulating-matter-on-the-quantum-scale-with-AIHow AI is helping the natural sciences, Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02762-6Inside DeepMind's epic mission to solve science's trickiest problem, WIRED: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/deepmind-protein-foldingHow Artificial Intelligence Is Changing Science, Quanta: https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-artificial-intelligence-is-changing-science-20190311/
2/16/2022 • 33 minutes, 53 seconds
The road to AGI
Hannah meets DeepMind co-founder and chief scientist Shane Legg, the man who coined the phrase ‘artificial general intelligence’, and explores how it might be built. Why does Shane think AGI is possible? When will it be realised? And what could it look like? Hannah also explores a simple theory of using trial and error to reach AGI and takes a deep dive into MuZero, an AI system which mastered complex board games from chess to Go, and is now generalising to solve a range of important tasks in the real world. For questions or feedback on the series, message us on Twitter @DeepMind or email podcast@deepmind.com. Interviewees: DeepMind’s Shane Legg, Doina Precup, Dave Silver & Jackson Broshear CreditsPresenter: Hannah FrySeries Producer: Dan HardoonProduction support: Jill AchinekuSounds design: Emma BarnabyMusic composition: Eleni ShawSound Engineer: Nigel AppletonEditor: David PrestCommissioned by DeepMind Thank you to everyone who made this season possible! Further reading: Real-world challenges for AGI, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/real-world-challenges-for-agiAn executive primer on artificial general intelligence, McKinsey: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/an-executive-primer-on-artificial-general-intelligenceMastering Go, chess, shogi and Atari without rules, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/muzero-mastering-go-chess-shogi-and-atari-without-rulesWhat is AGI?, Medium: https://medium.com/intuitionmachine/what-is-agi-99cdb671c88eA Definition of Machine Intelligence by Shane Legg, arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/0712.3329Reward is enough by David Silver, ScienceDirect: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0004370221000862
2/15/2022 • 32 minutes, 58 seconds
Let's get physical
Do you need a body to have intelligence? And can one exist without the other? Hannah takes listeners behind the scenes of DeepMind's robotics lab in London where she meets robots that are trying to independently learn new skills, and explores why physical intelligence is a necessary part of intelligence. Along the way, she finds out how researchers trained their robots at home during lockdown, uncovers why so many robotics demonstrations are faking it, and what it takes to train a robotic football team. For questions or feedback on the series, message us on Twitter @DeepMind or email podcast@deepmind.com. Interviewees: DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell, Viorica Patraucean, Jan Humplik, Akhil Raju & Doina Precup CreditsPresenter: Hannah FrySeries Producer: Dan HardoonProduction support: Jill AchinekuSounds design: Emma BarnabyMusic composition: Eleni ShawSound Engineer: Nigel AppletonEditor: David PrestCommissioned by DeepMind Thank you to everyone who made this season possible! Further reading: Stacking our way to more general robots, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/stacking-our-way-to-more-general-robotsResearchers Propose Physical AI As Key To Lifelike Robots, Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonchandler/2020/11/11/researchers-propose-physical-ai-as-key-to-lifelike-robots/The robots going where no human can, BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/technology-41584738The Robot Assault On Fukushima, WIRED: https://www.wired.com/story/fukushima-robot-cleanup/Leaps, Bounds, and Backflips, Boston Dynamics: http://blog.bostondynamics.com/atlas-leaps-bounds-and-backflipsNow DeepMind is using AI to transform football, WIRED: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/deepmind-football-liverpool-ai
2/8/2022 • 33 minutes, 43 seconds
Better together
Cooperation is at the heart of our society. Inventing the railway, giving birth to the Renaissance, and creating the Covid-19 vaccine all required people to combine efforts. But cooperation is so much more. It governs our education systems, healthcare, and food production. In this episode, Hannah meets the researchers working on cooperative AI, and hears about their work and influences from the famous American psychologist - and pigeon trainer - BF Skinner to the strategic board game Diplomacy. For questions or feedback on the series, message us on Twitter @DeepMind or email podcast@deepmind.com Interviewees: DeepMind’s Thore Graepel, Kevin Mckee, Doina Precup & Laura Weidinger CreditsPresenter: Hannah FrySeries Producer: Dan HardoonProduction support: Jill AchinekuSounds design: Emma BarnabyMusic composition: Eleni ShawSound Engineer: Nigel AppletonEditor: David PrestCommissioned by DeepMind Thank you to everyone who made this season possible! Further reading: Machines must learn to find common ground, Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01170-0Introduction to Reinforcement Learning, DeepMind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pWv7GOvuf0B.F. Skinner, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._F._SkinnerThe Tragedy of the Commons, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commonsStaving Off The Ultimate Tragedy Of The Commons, Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgebradt/2021/11/02/staving-off-the-ultimate-tragedy-of-the-commons-by-making-better-complex-decisions-cooperatively-in-glasgow/Understanding Agent Cooperation, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/understanding-agent-cooperationThe emergence of complex cooperative agents, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/capture-the-flag-science
2/1/2022 • 34 minutes, 32 seconds
Speaking of intelligence
Hannah explores the potential of language models, the questions they raise, and if teaching a computer about language is enough to create artificial general intelligence (AGI). Beyond helping us communicate ideas, language plays a crucial role in memory, cooperation, and thinking – which is why AI researchers have long aimed to communicate with computers using natural language. Recently, there has been extraordinary progress using large-language models (LLM), which learn how to speak by processing huge amounts of data from the internet. The results can be very convincing, but pose significant ethical challenges. For questions or feedback on the series, message us on Twitter @DeepMind or email podcast@deepmind.com. Interviewees: DeepMind’s Geoffrey Irving, Chris Dyer, Angeliki Lazaridou, Lisa-Anne Hendriks & Laura Weidinger CreditsPresenter: Hannah FrySeries Producer: Dan HardoonProduction support: Jill AchinekuSounds design: Emma BarnabyMusic composition: Eleni ShawSound Engineer: Nigel AppletonEditor: David PrestCommissioned by DeepMind Thank you to everyone who made this season possible! Further reading: GPT-3 Powers the Next Generation of Apps, OpenAI: https://openai.com/blog/gpt-3-apps/https://web.stanford.edu/class/linguist238/p36-weizenabaum.pdfNever Mind the Computer 1983 about the ELIZA program, BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p023kpf8How Large Language Models Will Transform Science, Society, and AI, Stanford University: https://hai.stanford.edu/news/how-large-language-models-will-transform-science-society-and-aiChallenges in Detoxifying Language Models, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/research/publications/2021/Challenges-in-Detoxifying-Language-ModelsExtending Machine Language Models toward Human-Level Language Understanding, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/research/publications/2020/Extending-Machine-Language-Models-toward-Human-Level-Language-UnderstandingLanguage modelling at scale, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/language-modelling-at-scaleArtificial general intelligence, Technology Review: https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/10/15/1010461/artificial-general-intelligence-robots-ai-agi-deepmind-google-openai/A Definition of Machine Intelligence by Shane Legg, arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/0712.3329Stuart Russell - Living With Artificial Intelligence, BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001216k/episodes/player
1/25/2022 • 38 minutes, 12 seconds
A breakthrough unfolds
In December 2019, DeepMind’s AI system, AlphaFold, solved a 50-year-old grand challenge in biology, known as the protein-folding problem. A headline in the journal Nature read, “It will change everything” and the President of the UK's Royal Society called it a “stunning advance [that arrived] decades before many in the field would have predicted”. In this episode, Hannah uncovers the inside story of AlphaFold from the people who made it happen and finds out how it could help transform the future of healthcare and medicine.For questions or feedback on the series, message us on Twitter @DeepMind or email podcast@deepmind.com. Interviewees: DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis, John Jumper, Kathryn Tunyasunakool and Sasha Brown; Charles Mowbray and Monique Wasuna of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi]) & John McGeehan of the Centre for Enzyme Innovation at the University of Portsmouth CreditsPresenter: Hannah FrySeries Producer: Dan HardoonProduction support: Jill AchinekuSounds design: Emma BarnabyMusic composition: Eleni ShawSound Engineer: Nigel AppletonEditor: David PrestCommissioned by DeepMind Thank you to everyone who made this season possible! Further reading: AlphaFold blog, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/alphafold-a-solution-to-a-50-year-old-grand-challenge-in-biologyAlphaFold case study, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/research/case-studies/alphafoldIt will change everything, Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03348-4AlphaFold Is The Most Important Achievement In AI—Ever, Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/robtoews/2021/10/03/alphafold-is-the-most-important-achievement-in-ai-ever/?sh=359278426e0aBacteria found to eat PET plastics, NewScientist: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2080279-bacteria-found-to-eat-pet-plastics-could-help-do-the-recycling/Protein Structure Prediction Center: https://predictioncenter.org/An interview with Professor John McGeehan, BBSRC: https://bbsrc.ukri.org/news/features/enzyme-science/an-interview-with-professor-john-mcgeehan/John McGeehan profile, University of Portsmouth: https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/en/persons/john-mcgeehanDrugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi): https://dndi.org/A doctor’s dream, DNDi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk31iucWYdEThe Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry, BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07dx75g/episodes/downloadsHannah Fry: https://hannahfry.co.uk/
1/25/2022 • 39 minutes, 14 seconds
DeepMind: The Podcast with Hannah Fry – Season 2 coming soon!
The chart-topping podcast which uncovers the extraordinary ways artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming our world is back for a second season. Join mathematician and broadcaster Professor Hannah Fry behind the scenes of world-leading AI research lab DeepMind to get the inside story of how AI is being created – and how it can benefit our lives and the society we live in.Recorded over six months and featuring over 30 original interviews, including DeepMind co-founders Demis Hassabis and Shane Legg, the podcast gives listeners exclusive access to the brilliant people building the technology of the future. Throughout nine original episodes, Hannah discovers how DeepMind is using AI to advance science in critical areas, like solving a 50-year-old grand challenge in biology and developing nuclear fusion.Listeners hear stories of teaching robots to walk at home during lockdown, as well as using AI to forecast weather, help people regain their voices, and enhance game strategies with Liverpool Football Club. Hannah also takes an in-depth look at the challenges and potential of building artificial general intelligence (AGI) and explores what it takes to ensure AI is built to benefit society.“I hope this series gives people a better understanding of AI and a feeling for just how exhilarating an endeavour it is.” – Demis Hassabis, CEO and Co-Founder of DeepMindFor questions or feedback on the series, message us on Twitter @DeepMind or email podcast@deepmind.com.CreditsPresenter: Hannah FrySeries Producer: Dan HardoonProduction support: Jill AchinekuSounds design: Emma BarnabyMusic composition: Eleni ShawSound Engineer: Nigel AppletonEditor: David PrestCommissioned by DeepMind