Google DeepMind: The Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Speaking of intelligence Jan 25, 2022

Show notes

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

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:

GPT-3 Powers the Next Generation of Apps, OpenAI: https://openai.com/blog/gpt-3-apps/

https://web.stanford.edu/class/linguist238/p36-weizenabaum.pdf

Never Mind the Computer 1983 about the ELIZA program, BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p023kpf8

How 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-ai

Challenges in Detoxifying Language Models, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/research/publications/2021/Challenges-in-Detoxifying-Language-Models

Extending Machine Language Models toward Human-Level Language Understanding, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/research/publications/2020/Extending-Machine-Language-Models-toward-Human-Level-Language-Understanding

Language modelling at scale, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/language-modelling-at-scale

Artificial 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/0712.3329

Stuart Russell - Living With Artificial Intelligence, BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001216k/episodes/player

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.

DeepMind: The Podcast with Hannah Fry – Season 2 coming soon! Jan 10, 2022

Show notes

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 DeepMind

For questions or feedback on the series, message us on Twitter @DeepMind or email podcast@deepmind.com.

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

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.

Demis Hassabis: The interview Sep 17, 2019

Show notes

In this special extended episode, Hannah Fry meets Demis Hassabis, the CEO and co-founder of DeepMind. She digs into his former life as a chess player, games designer and neuroscientist and explores how his love of chess helped him to get start-up funding, what drives him and his vision, and why AI keeps him up at night.

If you have a question or feedback on the series, message us on Twitter (@DeepMind using the hashtag #DMpodcast) or email us at podcast@deepmind.com.

Further reading:

Interviewees: Deepmind CEO and co-founder, Demis Hassabis

Credits:
Presenter: Hannah Fry
Editor: David Prest
Senior Producer: Louisa Field
Producers: Amy Racs, Dan Hardoon
Binaural Sound: Lucinda Mason-Brown
Music composition: Eleni Shaw (with help from Sander Dieleman and WaveNet)
Commissioned by 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!

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

Towards the future Sep 10, 2019

Show notes

AI researchers around the world are trying to create a general purpose learning system that can learn to solve a broad range of problems without being taught how. Koray Kavukcuoglu, DeepMind’s Director of Research, describes the journey to get there, and takes Hannah on a whistle-stop tour of DeepMind’s HQ and its research.

If you have a question or feedback on the series, message us on Twitter (@DeepMind using the hashtag #DMpodcast) or email us at podcast@deepmind.com.

Further reading:
OpenAI: An overview of neural networks and the progress that has been made in AI
Shane Legg, DeepMind co-founder: Measuring machine intelligence at the 2010 Singularity Summit
Shane Legg and Marcus Hutter: Paper on defining machine intelligence
Demis Hassabis: Talk on the history, frontiers and capabilities of AI
Robert Wiblin: Positively shaping the development of artificial intelligence
Asilomar AI Principles
Richard S. Sutton and Andrew G. Barto: Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction

Interviewees: Koray Kavukcuoglu, Director of Research; Trevor Back, Product Manager for DeepMind’s science research; research scientists Raia Hadsell and Murray Shanahan; and DeepMind CEO and co-founder, Demis Hassabis.

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 everyone Sep 03, 2019

Show notes

While there is a lot of excitement about AI research, there are also concerns about the way it might be implemented, used and abused. In this episode Hannah investigates the more human side of the technology, some ethical issues around how it is developed and used, and the efforts to create a future of AI that works for everyone.

If you have a question or feedback on the series, message us on Twitter (@DeepMind using the hashtag #DMpodcast) or email us at podcast@deepmind.com.

Further reading:

Interviewees: Verity Harding, Co-Lead of DeepMind Ethics and Society; DeepMind’s COO Lila Ibrahim, and research scientists William Isaac and Silvia Chiappa.

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.

Out of the lab Aug 27, 2019

Show notes

The ambition of much of AI research is to create systems that can help to solve problems in the real world. In this episode, Hannah meets the people building systems that could be used to save the sight of thousands, help us solve one of the most fundamental problems in biology and reduce energy consumption in an effort to combat climate change. But whilst there is great potential, there are also important obstacles that will need to be tackled for AI to be used effectively, safely and fairly.

If you have a question or feedback on the series, message us on Twitter (@DeepMind using the hashtag #DMpodcast) or email us at podcast@deepmind.com.

Further reading:

Other examples of the application of AI for real-world impact include:

Interviewees: Pearse Keane, consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital; Sandy Nelson, Product Manager for DeepMind’s Science Program; and DeepMind Program Manager Sims Witherspoon.

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, Robot Aug 20, 2019

Show notes

Forget what sci-fi has told you about superintelligent robots that are uncannily human-like; the reality is more prosaic. Inside DeepMind’s robotics laboratory, Hannah explores what researchers call ‘embodied AI’: robot arms that are learning tasks like picking up plastic bricks, which humans find comparatively easy. Discover the cutting-edge challenges of bringing AI and robotics together, and learning from scratch how to perform tasks. She also explores some of the key questions about using AI safely in the real world.

If you have a question or feedback on the series, message us on Twitter (@DeepMind using the hashtag #DMpodcast) or email us at podcast@deepmind.com.

Further reading:

Interviewees: Software engineer Jackie Kay and research scientists Murray Shanahan, Victoria Krakovna, Raia Hadsell and Jan Leike.

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.

Life is like a game Aug 20, 2019

Show notes

Video games have become a favourite tool for AI researchers to test the abilities of their systems. In this episode, Hannah sits down to play StarCraft II - a challenging video game that requires players to control the onscreen action with as many as 800 clicks a minute. She is guided by Oriol Vinyals, an ex-professional StarCraft player and research scientist at DeepMind, who explains how the program AlphaStar learnt to play the game and beat a top professional player. Elsewhere, she explores systems that are learning to cooperate in a digital version of the playground favourite ‘Capture the Flag’.

If you have a question or feedback on the series, message us on Twitter (@DeepMind using the hashtag #DMpodcast) or emailing us at podcast@deepmind.com.

Further reading

Interviewees: Research scientists Max Jaderberg and Raia Hadsell; Lead researchers David Silver and Oriol Vinyals, and Director of Research Koray Kavukcuoglu.

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.

Go to Zero Aug 20, 2019

Show notes

In March 2016, more than 200 million people watched AlphaGo become first computer program to defeat a professional human player at the game of Go, a milestone in AI research that was considered to be a decade ahead of its time. Since then the team has continued to develop the system and recently unveiled AlphaZero: a program that has taught itself how to play chess, Go, and shogi. Hannah explores the inside story of both with Lead Researcher David Silver and finds out why games are a useful proving ground for AI researchers. She also meets Chess Grandmaster Matthew Sadler and women’s international master Natasha Regan, who have written a book on AlphaZero and its unique gameplay.

If you have a question or feedback on the series, message us on Twitter (@DeepMind using the hashtag #DMpodcast) or email us at podcast@deepmind.com.

Further reading

Interviewees: DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, Matthew Sadler, chess Grandmaster; Lead Researcher David Silver, Matt Botvinick, Director of Neuroscience Research; and Natasha Regan, women’s international chess master.

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 and Neuroscience: The virtuous circle Aug 20, 2019

Show notes

What can the human brain teach us about AI? And what can AI teach us about our own intelligence? These questions underpin a lot of AI research. In this first episode, Hannah meets the DeepMind Neuroscience team to explore these connections and discovers how our brains are like birds’ wings, what training a dog and an AI agent have in common, and why the simplest things for people to do are, paradoxically, often the hardest for machines.

If you have a question or feedback on the series, message us on Twitter (@DeepMind using the hashtag #DMpodcast) or email us at podcast@deepmind.com.

Further reading

Interviewees in this episode: Deepmind CEO and co-founder, Demis Hassabis; Matt Botvinick, Director of Neuroscience Research; research scientists Jess Hamrick and Greg Wayne; and Director of Research, Koray Kavukcuoglu.

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.