For the final episode of series two, Jonah puts this year's most searched for AI questions to Smera - What is AI? Are AI detectors accurate? Has AI passed the Turing test? When will AI take over? Is AI good?

Although the questions seem relatively straightforward at first glance, you might be surprised how insightful Smera's answers are...

Episode notes

New Coca-Cola advert and Forbes article about it

404 article about AI generated films

*All statistics correct at time of recording and refer to 'AI' or 'Artificial intelligence' as the search term rather than AI related search terms such as gen AI tools etc.

Statistics and questions from Google Trends, Moz.com, Answerthepublic.com, Statistica, Semrush and Google's Year In Search

TOPICS

We began this series with an introduction to misinformation. What is it? How does it spread on social media? And what impact could it have on elections in this election packed year?

As we begin to conclude this series, Smera and Jonah invite Sam Stockwell from the Turing’s Centre for Emerging Technology and Security (CETaS) to answer our burning questions, and yours - did misinformation affect this years elections? Also, on this episode Smera and Jonah take a short trip into orbit, find that it is getting a bit crowded and explore how AI could be the key to keeping our galactic mess under control.

Topics

Episode sources

AI Misinformation

CETaS paper AI-enabled influence operations

Article on Taiwan’s LINE social media app which has the AI chatbot for source verification

FullFact and Logically Fact websites

Sam’s article on what voters can do to protect themselves against AI disinformation

A super year for elections - UNDP

Amnesty recommendations

AI Space Sustainability

Polaris Dawn

Europa probe

AI For Space

Space debris

Uni of Strathclyde partnership

Gov future space environment

NASA and AI

It's spooky Halloween and this month, Jonah and Smera are joined by experts in digital culture and heritage, Dr. Jenny Kidd of Cardiff University and Dr Eva Nieto McAvoy of King’s College London, to explore the eerie intersection of AI and digital immortality. Plus, Jonah and Smera break down the basics of quantum computing amid claims that 2025 is going to be a breakthrough year for the field, and the pair take a look at how AI is helping job seekers find work.

Topics discussed in this episode:

[00:00 - 01:00] Introduction and summary of topics [01:00 - 06:00] Discussion on how AI is changing the way we remember and interact with the dead [06:00 - 11:00] Exploration of personal digital remains and AI-powered "death bots" [11:00 - 16:00] Emotional impact and ethical questions around using AI to reanimate the dead [16:00 - 21:00] Legal and practical considerations around ownership and control of digital remains [21:00 - 26:00] Potential parallels between digital remains and organ donation [26:00 - 31:00] Explanation of quantum computing and its potential applications [31:00 - 36:00] Concerns around quantum computing's impact on digital security and encryption [36:00 - 43:00] Discussion on the use of AI in job application and recruitment processes [43:00 - 46:00] Concluding thoughts and show information

Resources mentioned in this episode:

[01:00 - 16:00] Digital Death

• Jenny and Eva Research - Synthetic Pasts
• Digital Death Conference

[26:00 - 31:00] Quantum Computing

• 2025 is Q year
• Quantum will have ChatGPT moment soon
• A guide to QC
• Hannah Fry explore QC (video)

[36:00 - 43:00] AI and Job applications

• 404 story
• Layoffs sweeping tech companies
• AI recruiting will be a game changer
• Optimise CV for AI

This month, Smera and Jessie dive deep into the intriguing world of conspiracy theories, welcoming Chris Thomas from the Turing to discuss the controversial "dead internet theory." They explore the notion that much of the internet is now a fabricated landscape, questioning the authenticity of online interactions and content.

In addition, the episode sheds light on the alarming trend of fake online obituaries and Smera asks whether we are currently experiencing an AI bubble as she explains the details of the financial dip in August 2024.

Sources

AI landlords update

Dead Internet Theory

The Dead Internet Theory, Explained (forbes.com)

Dead Internet Theory: Most of the Internet is Fake | Agora Road's Macintosh Cafe

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/apr/30/techscape-artificial-intelligence-bots-dead-internet-theory

The ‘dead internet theory’ makes eerie claims about an AI-run web. The truth is more sinister (theconversation.com)

AI Bubble

https://buttondown.email/maiht3k/archive/the-grimy-residue-of-the-ai-bubble/

https://qz.com/ai-stocks-dot-com-bubble-nvidia-google-microsoft-amazon-1851407019

https://www.reuters.com/markets/echoes-dotcom-bubble-haunt-ai-driven-us-stock-market-2024-07-02/

https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-internet-dotcom-bubble-tech-stocks-nvidia-market-crash-gordon-2024-5

Adtech and fake obituaries

https://checkmyads.org/fake-obituary-advertising-spam/

On this month's episode, Jonah and Smera push AI to the side and get all excited about data, as they travel around London to meet with some of the people behind London Data Week 2024. From feminist meme-making workshops to live brain scanning, plus, London Data Week’s co-founder, Jen Ding, gives us the inside scoop. Also this month, Smera looks into the AI landlords cropping up across the USA, and Jonah explores the Paris Olympics AI agenda.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• How Britain voted in 2024
• London Data Week
• GLA Wellbeing Flower
• Data Trusts
• Census
• Prospect Brixham
• Feminist Design
• LOTI
• Becky Inkster's The Laß

• AI Landlords
• Landlords using AI
• Gov landlord stats
• Guardian - Landlords
• Guardian - AI can help ficx housing crisis
• ProPublica
• King's Speech

• Olympics AI Agenda
• The Role of tech in the Paralympics
• Enhancing disabilities: transhumanism under the veil of inclusion?

We’re back for a brand new series of too long didn’t read!

This month Smera and Jonah are joined by Megan Hughes of the Turing’s Centre for Emerging Technology and Security to inform us about misinformation during election periods, and assures us to not always believe the hype. Smera and Jonah also discuss some of the latest breakthroughs with robotics and what that could mean for our workforces, and they explore the tricky topic of how generative AI is being used to create pornographic material, much of which is harmful.

Find out about the Centre for Emerging Technology and Security - cetas.turing.ac.uk/

Discover the Turing - turing.ac.uk

Topics discussed in this episode:

• Introduction [00:00:00]
• New Format for Season 2 [00:01:00]
• Misinformation During Elections [00:02:00]
• Examples of AI Misinformation [00:07:00]
• Impact of Misinformation on Elections [00:10:00]
• Authenticating Real Information [00:14:00]
• CETAS Report on AI Election Threats [00:19:00]
• Robotics and Figure01 [00:22:00]
• Impact of Robots on Jobs [00:27:00]
• Generative AI and Pornography [00:29:00]
• Responsible Use of Generative AI [00:34:00]
• Positive AI News: AlphaFold3 [00:35:00]

Resources mentioned in this episode:

[00:02:00] Misinformation during elections

• www.newscientist.com/article/2427842-deepfake-politicians-may-have-a-big-influence-on-indias-elections/
• www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240503-us-election-disinformation-targets-non-citizen-voting
• apnews.com/article/india-election-misinformation-meta-youtube-703a56c73f9341393f05400ea218b87d

[00:27:00] Impact of Robots on Jobs

• www.reuters.com/technology/meet-ashley-worlds-first-ai-powered-political-campaign-caller-2023-12-12/

[00:29:00] Generative AI and Pornography

• www.wired.com/article/2024/02/01/politics/election-deepfake-threats-invs/index.html

[00:35:00] Positive AI News

• www.newscientist.com/article/2429520-deepmind-ai-can-predict-how-drugs-interact-with-proteins/