A breakthrough unfolds

More from Google DeepMind: The Podcast All episodes →

1. 

   E6 · 16 Feb 2022 · 34 min

   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.

2. 

   E5 · 15 Feb 2022 · 33 min

   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.

3. 

   E4 · 8 Feb 2022 · 34 min

   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.

4. 

   E3 · 1 Feb 2022 · 35 min

   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. CTA: For questions or feedback on the series, message us on Twitter @DeepMind or email…

5. 

   E2 · 25 Jan 2022 · 38 min

   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…

6. 

   10 Jan 2022 · 3 min

   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.

7. 

   E8 · 17 Sep 2019 · 37 min

   Demis Hassabis: The interview

   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 [email protected].

8. 

   E7 · 10 Sep 2019 · 26 min

   Towards the future

   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 [email protected].

9. 

   E6 · 3 Sep 2019 · 29 min

   AI for everyone

   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 [email protected].

10. 

    E5 · 27 Aug 2019 · 31 min

    Out of the lab

    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…