The idea that artificial intelligence is taking our jobs can be scary – but in actuality, there are cases where this is a good thing. Dr Sara Webb (Swinburne University of Technology) shares one of these stories in today’s episode, which begins with a TedX talk in Melbourne and ends with a discussion of some of the many ways techniques developed for astrophysics are transforming seemingly unrelated fields. Sara is an astrophysicist based at Swinburne University and is also a published author with a talent for communicating complex ideas about our universe (and AI) for broad audiences. Listen in to hear more about the role AI is increasingly playing in astronomy, how she got into astrophysics in the first place, and more in this wide ranging episode that paints a picture of what a career in STEM can look like.

Episode credits:

Guest: Sara Webb

Co-hosts: Zena Assaad and Liz Williams

Producers: Zena Assaad, Robbie Slape, Liz Williams, Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio)

Thanks to the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science for letting us use their podcast studio to record this episode.

For the full episode transcript, visit https://algorithmicfutures.org

In the age of DALL-E and Stable Diffusion, what counts as art? And what can art tell us about AI? In this episode, we explore these questions and more with the help of Eryk Salvaggio, a US-based artist, designer and researcher whose work explores the fabric of artificial intelligence -- and often playfully defies its boundaries.

Credits

Guest – Eryk Salvaggio

Hosts – Zena Assaad and Liz Williams

Producers – Robbie Slape, Zena Assaad, Liz Williams

Audio Producer – Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio)

Thank you to the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science for allowing us to use their podcast studio for this episode.

For the full transcript or episode video, visit https://algorithmicfutures.org

It is the launch of season 3 of this podcast, and we thought it was high time for a positionality statement – er, episode. Why not align it with the start of a new season and our debut on YouTube? Listen in for an episode featuring our co-hosts, Liz Williams and Zena Assaad, in which we explore everything from relics, reactions, reciprocity, risk, and the complexities involved in creating and regulating AI systems in the real world.

Credits:

Co-hosts: Zena Assaad and Liz Williams

Producers: Robbie Slape, Zena Assaad, Liz Williams, and Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio)

Thanks to the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science for letting us use their podcast studio for recording.

We would also like to pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we recorded and edited this episode.

For show notes, the full (edited!) transcript, and maybe even a picture of the big blue ball, visit https://algorithmicfutures.org