Artificial intelligence has advanced so rapidly that it feels dizzying, and a growing chorus of industry insiders, academics and politicians are sounding the alarm about risks to society. Colleges are struggling to weed out AI-generated essays, disinformation researchers are contending with a whole new category of deepfakes, and the threat of AI screenwriting is central to the current Hollywood writers’ strike.
Here are six podcasts to help put the AI boom into context.
Radiotopia Presents:Bot Love
It arrived the same week as Bing’s AI chatbot declared its love for Roose. That unforgettable Valentine’s Day encounter fuelled ongoing debate over the implications of creating AI that can bond. Bot Love delves into that subject, exploring what intimacy can look like between a human and a chatbot. Hosted by Anna Oakes and Diego Senior (alongside their co-host, a text-to-speech bot), each instalment chronicles a different person’s relationship with an AI companion. Combining interviews alongside recordings of their AI interactions, the show offers a thought-provoking and compassionate meditation on some uneasy questions.
In Machines We Trust
Produced by the MIT Technology Review and hosted by Jennifer Strong, this provides deep dives into how modern life has been transformed by AI. The show began in 2020 with episodes dedicated to facial recognition software, and the unnerving rise of its use by governments, private firms and police departments. The show has explored the use of AI in consumer finance and gun control to medical diagnosis, while also keeping an eye on the big-picture ethics of the industry.
The Bot Canon
ChatGPT’s ability to write just about anything has had a far-reaching impact on daily life. As alarming as the development is for many industries, though, it’s clear that chatbots have a long way to go when it comes to writing fiction. Just take a look at the AI-generated TV scripts available online. The Bot Canon, hosted by Hannah Keefer, tells what happens when you ask an AI to co-write some beloved novels. Each episode begins with the actual opening lines of a literary classic like Pride and Prejudice, before taking a hard left turn into an AI-generated continuation. Some are reasonable-if- shaky imitations, while others descend quickly into surreal chaos.
Tech Won’t Save Us
This isn’t about AI so much as the tech industry overall. Hosted by technology writer Paris Marx and guest experts, the podcast takes a sceptical view of Silicon Valley, specifically its tendency to prioritise efficiency and disruption regardless of the human cost. Nevertheless, the show is neither doom-laden nor scaremongering, presenting potential solutions alongside analysis. For anyone alarmed by predictions about AI swallowing entire job sectors, its coverage might prove reassuring.
Sandra
This is an exploration of what separates human intelligence from the artificial kind. Sandra features a star-studded cast, with Kristen Wiig voicing the Alexa-esque virtual assistant who is not a true AI. Instead, Sandra is powered by an army of human call centre operators, who are paid to listen in on customers and respond to their needs in real-time. Alia Shawkat stars as a new hire who becomes increasingly drawn into the powerful possibilities of her new gig, and doesn’t realise until too late that she’s in over her head.
Endless Thread
Since it began in 2017, this series from the Boston-based, NPR-affiliate WBUR has expanded beyond its original horizons. Hosted by Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson, Endless Thread now delves into the stories behind all kinds of technological ephemera. Last year, the show ran a six-part miniseries about the rise of AI titled Good Bot, Bad Bot, beginning with an illuminating oral history of ELIZA, the first chatbot therapist, and the Frankenstein-esque misgivings it inspired.
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