Project Astra: Exploring a Universal AI Assistant with Greg Wayne

More from Google DeepMind: The Podcast All episodes →

1. 

   E18 · 5 Jun 2025 · 45 min

   A Quest for a Cure: AI Drug Design with Isomorphic Labs

   In this episode, host Hannah Fry is joined by Max Jaderberg and Rebecca Paul of Isomorphic Labs to explore the future of drug discovery in the age of AI. They discuss how new technology, particularly AlphaFold 3, is revolutionizing the field by predicting the structure of life’s molecules, paving the way for faster and more efficient drug discovery.

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   E17 · 22 May 2025 · 45 min

   Redefining Robotics with Carolina Parada

   In this episode, Hannah is joined by Carolina Parada, Senior Director and Head of Robotics at Google DeepMind. They explore the recent leap forward in robotic capabilities, highlighting advancements in multimodal understanding and embodied reasoning, which enable robots to interact with the physical world with unprecedented generality. They dig into the two-system approach - ‘slow and fast thinking‘ - that enables both complex reasoning and rapid, reactive movements. Using examples from robots learning dexterous tasks such as tying shoelaces to adapting to entirely new scenarios in…

3. 

   E16 · 8 May 2025 · 37 min

   AI and the Future of Health with Joelle Barral

   In this episode, Professor Hannah Fry interviews Joelle Barral, Senior Director of Research at Google DeepMind, about AI in healthcare. They discuss existing AI applications including image analysis for diabetic retinopathy and the expansion of diagnostic tools as a result of multi-modal models. The conversation highlights AI's potential to improve healthcare delivery, personalize treatment, expand access worldwide, and ultimately, bring back the joy of practicing medicine.

4. 

   E15 · 24 Apr 2025 · 41 min

   Consciousness, Reasoning and the Philosophy of AI with Murray Shanahan

   In this episode, Hannah is once again joined by Murray Shanahan, Professor of Cognitive Robotics at Imperial College London and Principal Scientist at Google DeepMind, for a philosophical deep dive on AI. They explore everything from consciousness and metacognition in animals, to symbolic AI and neural networks. Murray also shares insights into his involvement with the film 'Ex Machina' and discusses the idea of reasoning, anthropomorphism, and the future of AI.

5. 

   E14 · 10 Apr 2025 · 50 min

   Is Human Data Enough? With David Silver

   In this episode of Google DeepMind: The Podcast, VP of Reinforcement Learning, David Silver, describes his vision for the future of AI, exploring the concept of the "era of experience" versus the current "era of human data". Using AlphaGo and AlphaZero as examples, he highlights how these systems surpassed human capabilities by engaging in reinforcement learning without prior human knowledge. This approach contrasts with large language models, which depend on human data and feedback. Silver emphasizes the need to explore this path to drive AI progress and achieve artificial superintelligence.

6. 

   E12 · 12 Dec 2024 · 49 min

   Gemini 2.0 and the Evolution of Agentic AI with Oriol Vinyals

   In this episode, Hannah is joined by Oriol Vinyals, VP of Drastic Research and Gemini co-lead. They discuss the evolution of AI agents, the complexity of scaling, and some of the new agentic capabilities recently released by Google DeepMind.

7. 

   E11 · 5 Dec 2024 · 53 min

   The Balancing Act: Regulation & AI with Nicklas Lundblad

   Join host Hannah Fry as she discusses the complexities of regulating artificial intelligence with Nicklas Lundblad, Director of Public Policy at Google DeepMind, who emphasizes the importance of a nuanced approach focused on adaptability and evidence-based policymaking.

8. 

   E10 · 26 Nov 2024 · 44 min

   Inside NotebookLM with Raiza Martin and Steven Johnson

   Join Raiza Martin and Steven Johnson from Google Labs, Google’s testing ground for products, as they guide host Hannah Fry through the technical advancements that have made NotebookLM possible. They'll explore the challenges of generating natural-sounding speech and maintaining listener engagement, as well as exciting new modalities on the horizon.

9. 

   21 Nov 2024 · 54 min

   AI for Science with Sir Paul Nurse, Demis Hassabis, Jennifer Doudna, and John Jumper

   Hear Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis and Nobel Laureates Sir Paul Nurse, Jennifer Doudna, and John Jumper discuss AI's impact on scientific discovery with Professor Hannah Fry.

10. 

    E8 · 11 Nov 2024 · 44 min

    The Ethics of AI Assistants with Iason Gabriel

    In this episode, host Hannah Fry and Google DeepMind Senior Staff Research Scientist Iason Gabriel discuss the ethical implications of advanced AI assistants.