Google DeepMind: The Podcast

Latest Episodes:

AI: Your New Creative Muse? with Douglas Eck Aug 14, 2024

Show notes

Professor Hannah Fry is joined by Google DeepMind's senior research director Douglas Eck to explore AI's capacity for true creativity. They delve into the complexities of defining creativity, the challenges of AI generated content and attribution, and whether AI can help us to connect with each other in new and meaningful ways.

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Further reading:

Social channels to follow for new content:

Thanks to everyone who made this possible, including but not limited to:

Presenter: Professor Hannah Fry
Series Producer: Dan Hardoon
Series Editor: Rami Tzabar, TellTale Studios
Commissioner and Producer: Emma Yousif
Production support: Mo Dawoud
Music composition: Eleni Shaw
Camera Director and Video Editor: Tommy Bruce
Audio Engineer: Darren Carikas
Video Studio Production: Nicholas Duke
Video Editor: Bilal Merhi
Video Production Design: James Barton
Visual Identity and Design: Eleanor Tomlinson
Commissioned by Google DeepMind

Please leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts if you enjoyed this episode. We always want to hear from our audience whether that's in the form of feedback, new idea or a guest recommendation!

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The promise of AI with Demis Hassabis Mar 15, 2022

Show notes

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

Credits

Presenter: Hannah Fry

Series Producer: Dan Hardoon

Production support: Jill Achineku

Sounds design: Emma Barnaby

Music composition: Eleni Shaw

Sound Engineer: Nigel Appleton

Editor: David Prest

Commissioned 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-podcast

DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis on its breakthrough scientific discoveries, WIRED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WRow9FqUbw

Riemann hypothesis, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riemann_hypothesis

Using AI to accelerate scientific discovery by Demis Hassabis, Kendrew Lecture 2021: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sm-VkgVX-2o

Protein Folding & the Next Technological Revolution by Demis Hassabis, Bloomberg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhd4ENh5ON4

The 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

Please leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts if you enjoyed this episode. We always want to hear from our audience whether that's in the form of feedback, new idea or a guest recommendation!

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Fair for all Mar 01, 2022

Show notes

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

Credits

Presenter: Hannah Fry

Series Producer: Dan Hardoon

Production support: Jill Achineku

Sounds design: Emma Barnaby

Music composition: Eleni Shaw

Sound Engineer: Nigel Appleton

Editor: David Prest

Commissioned 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-bias

Tuskegee Syphilis Study, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_Syphilis_Study

Ethics & Society, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/about/ethics-and-society

Row over AI that 'identifies gay faces', BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41188560

The 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-diversity

Scholarships at DeepMind: https://www.deepmind.com/scholarships

AI, Ain’t I a Woman? Joy Buolamwini, YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxuyfWoVV98

How 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/

Please leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts if you enjoyed this episode. We always want to hear from our audience whether that's in the form of feedback, new idea or a guest recommendation!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Me, myself and AI Feb 22, 2022

Show notes

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

Credits

Presenter: Hannah Fry

Series Producer: Dan Hardoon

Production support: Jill Achineku

Sounds design: Emma Barnaby

Music composition: Eleni Shaw

Sound Engineer: Nigel Appleton

Editor: David Prest

Commissioned 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-audio

WaveNet case study, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/research/case-studies/wavenet

Using 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-voices

Project Euphonia, Google Research: https://sites.research.google/euphonia/about/

Nowcasting the next hour of rain, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/nowcasting

Now DeepMind is using AI to transform football, WIRED: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/deepmind-football-liverpool-ai

Advancing sports analytics through AI, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/advancing-sports-analytics-through-ai

MetOffice, BBC: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/

The village ‘washed on to the map’, BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-28523053

Michael 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

Please leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts if you enjoyed this episode. We always want to hear from our audience whether that's in the form of feedback, new idea or a guest recommendation!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

AI for science Feb 16, 2022

Show notes

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

Credits

Presenter: Hannah Fry

Series Producer: Dan Hardoon

Production support: Jill Achineku

Sounds design: Emma Barnaby

Music composition: Eleni Shaw

Sound Engineer: Nigel Appleton

Editor: David Prest

Commissioned 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-discovery

DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis on its breakthrough scientific discoveries, WIRED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WRow9FqUbw

The AI revolution in scientific research, The Royal Society: https://royalsociety.org/-/media/policy/projects/ai-and-society/AI-revolution-in-science.pdf

DOE Explains...Tokamaks, Office of Science: https://www.energy.gov/science/doe-explainstokamaks

How AI Accidentally Learned Ecology by Playing StarCraft, Discover: https://www.discovermagazine.com/technology/how-ai-accidentally-learned-ecology-by-playing-starcraft

Google 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-serengeti

The Human Genome Project, National Human Genome Research Institute: https://www.genome.gov/human-genome-project

Exploring the beauty of pure mathematics in novel ways, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/exploring-the-beauty-of-pure-mathematics-in-novel-ways

Predicting gene expression with AI, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/enformer

Using machine learning to accelerate ecological research, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/using-machine-learning-to-accelerate-ecological-research

Accelerating fusion science through learned plasma control, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/Accelerating-fusion-science-through-learned-plasma-control

Simulating matter on the quantum scale with AI, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/Simulating-matter-on-the-quantum-scale-with-AI

How AI is helping the natural sciences, Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02762-6

Inside DeepMind's epic mission to solve science's trickiest problem, WIRED: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/deepmind-protein-folding

How Artificial Intelligence Is Changing Science, Quanta:

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-artificial-intelligence-is-changing-science-20190311/

Please leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts if you enjoyed this episode. We always want to hear from our audience whether that's in the form of feedback, new idea or a guest recommendation!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The road to AGI Feb 15, 2022

Show notes

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

Credits

Presenter: Hannah Fry

Series Producer: Dan Hardoon

Production support: Jill Achineku

Sounds design: Emma Barnaby

Music composition: Eleni Shaw

Sound Engineer: Nigel Appleton

Editor: David Prest

Commissioned 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-agi

An executive primer on artificial general intelligence, McKinsey: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/an-executive-primer-on-artificial-general-intelligence

Mastering Go, chess, shogi and Atari without rules, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/muzero-mastering-go-chess-shogi-and-atari-without-rules

What is AGI?, Medium: https://medium.com/intuitionmachine/what-is-agi-99cdb671c88e

A Definition of Machine Intelligence by Shane Legg, arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/0712.3329

Reward is enough by David Silver, ScienceDirect: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0004370221000862

Please leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts if you enjoyed this episode. We always want to hear from our audience whether that's in the form of feedback, new idea or a guest recommendation!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Let's get physical Feb 08, 2022

Show notes

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

Credits

Presenter: Hannah Fry

Series Producer: Dan Hardoon

Production support: Jill Achineku

Sounds design: Emma Barnaby

Music composition: Eleni Shaw

Sound Engineer: Nigel Appleton

Editor: David Prest

Commissioned 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-robots

Researchers 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-41584738

The 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-backflips

Now DeepMind is using AI to transform football, WIRED:

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/deepmind-football-liverpool-ai

Please leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts if you enjoyed this episode. We always want to hear from our audience whether that's in the form of feedback, new idea or a guest recommendation!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Better together Feb 01, 2022

Show notes

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

Credits

Presenter: Hannah Fry

Series Producer: Dan Hardoon

Production support: Jill Achineku

Sounds design: Emma Barnaby

Music composition: Eleni Shaw

Sound Engineer: Nigel Appleton

Editor: David Prest

Commissioned 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/d41586-021-01170-0

Introduction to Reinforcement Learning, DeepMind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pWv7GOvuf0

B.F. Skinner, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._F._Skinner

The Tragedy of the Commons, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons

Staving 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-cooperation

The emergence of complex cooperative agents, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/capture-the-flag-science

Please leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts if you enjoyed this episode. We always want to hear from our audience whether that's in the form of feedback, new idea or a guest recommendation!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A breakthrough unfolds Jan 25, 2022

Show notes

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

Credits

Presenter: Hannah Fry

Series Producer: Dan Hardoon

Production support: Jill Achineku

Sounds design: Emma Barnaby

Music composition: Eleni Shaw

Sound Engineer: Nigel Appleton

Editor: David Prest

Commissioned 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-biology

AlphaFold case study, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/research/case-studies/alphafold

It will change everything, Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03348-4

AlphaFold 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=359278426e0a

Bacteria 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-mcgeehan

Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi): https://dndi.org/

A doctor’s dream, DNDi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk31iucWYdE

The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry, BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07dx75g/episodes/downloads

Hannah Fry:

https://hannahfry.co.uk/

Please leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts if you enjoyed this episode. We always want to hear from our audience whether that's in the form of feedback, new idea or a guest recommendation!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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