Share
Babbage from The Economist
OK computer: how voice AI will change the world
•
Talking to computers can be frustrating—ask anyone who’s been on the phone recently to automated customer services. A decade ago, the arrival of voice assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri was supposed to mark a new era in how humans interacted with machines, but their limitations quickly became apparent. In recent months, though, computerised voices seem to have moved light-years ahead. You can now have a conversation with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. You can clone your own voice. You can even generate and interact with a personalised podcast, where AI presenters will discuss any documents you like. The voice AI revolution has finally arrived. How will it change the way we interact with the digital world?
Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Alex Hern, our AI correspondent; Vasco Pedro of Unbabel; Mati Staniszewski of ElevenLabs; Steven Johnson of Google Labs.
For more on this topic, listen to our sister podcast “The Weekend Intelligence”, which asked: can AI help us communicate with the dead?
Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.
Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.
For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.
More episodes
View all episodes
The dangers of obsessing over metrics
37:16|The mechanisms of games are often used to motivate people—from tracking health to scrolling social media feeds and even the way school is graded. But C. Thi Nguyen is worried we’re over-obsessing about keeping score. He wants us to focus more on the things we enjoy doing, rather than letting metrics hijack our lives. Guests and hosts:C. Thi Nguyen, a philosopher at the University of Utah and author of “The Score”Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editorTopics covered:GamesMetricsSocial mediaTranscripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.
AI catastrophe could be around the corner
47:28|The spat between America’s government and Anthropic has some alarming implications. In AI development, it appears speed is being prioritised over safety. Artificial intelligence could not only give bad actors the capabilities to unleash destruction, evidence is building that the models themselves are becoming more capable of deceit. Is a catastrophe imminent?Guests and hosts:Alex Hern, The Economist’s AI writerAdam Beaumont, director of Britain’s AI Security Institute (AISI)Jade Leung, Chief Technology Officer at AISIAlok Jha, host of “Babbage”Watch Zanny Minton Beddoes, The Economist's editor-in-chief, interview Dario Amodei, Anthropic’s boss, on “The Insider”.Topics covered:Anthropic vs America’s governmentAI safetyCyber security Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.
Why better chips will need more extreme physics
37:17|Making computer chips is not easy. The machines that etch patterns onto silicon wafers already use some astonishing engineering. To make the next generation of computer chips, though, engineers will need to get even more radical.Guests and hosts:Shailesh Chitnis, The Economist’s global business correspondentBruno La Fontaine, a physicist at the Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryNicholas Kelez, CEO and CTO of xLightAlok Jha, host of “Babbage”Topics covered:Extreme ultraviolet lithographyChipmakingASMLTranscripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.
Science is winning the war on cancer
40:21|The rates of deaths from cancer have fallen dramatically in recent decades. And the good news doesn’t stop there. By teasing out the reasons why some cancers take hold, while others don’t, scientists are opening up new ways to prevent even more cases of the disease. Guests and hosts:Slavea Chankova, The Economist’s health-care correspondentJoanna Fowler, senior staff scientist at the Wellcome Sanger InstitutePhil Jones, an oncologist at the University of Cambridge and the Wellcome Sanger Institute Alok Jha, host of “Babbage”Topics covered:Cancer researchTumour preventionCarcinogensTranscripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.
How to think like a chess pro
34:36|How do the world’s best chess players operate? What does the game itself reveal about thinking and memory? In this episode, Jennifer Shahade explains how thinking like a chess champion can help you make better decisions in life.Guests and hosts:Jennifer Shahade, Woman Grandmaster and author of “Thinking Sideways”Alok Jha, host of “Babbage”You can watch Alok and Jennifer play their chess game here.Topics covered:ChessCognitive scienceArtificial intelligenceTranscripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.
Can “world models” fix AI’s blind spots?
42:04|Modern artificial intelligence is seemingly unstoppable. But large language models have an undeniable blind spot: an incomplete understanding of physical reality and the laws of physics. Could “world models” be the solution—and how are AI labs building them?Guests and hosts:Alex Hern, AI writer at The EconomistYann LeCun, AI pioneer and executive chairman at AMI LabsShlomi Fruchter, research director at Google DeepMindCristóbal Valenzuela, CEO at Runway AIAlok Jha, host of “Babbage”Topics covered:Large language modelsWorld modelsGoogle's Project GenieTranscripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.
NASA’s Artemis: humans are returning to the Moon
38:29|NASA’s much-delayed Artemis II mission is set to launch in early March. For the first time since 1972, astronauts will fly around the moon—if all goes well, that means humans could walk on the lunar surface once again in a subsequent mission. But, if China succeeds in its own ambitions, those astronauts might not be alone. A new Moon race has begun.Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Guests: The Economist’s Tim Cross and Oliver Morton; and Teasel Muir-Harmony of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.For more on America’s Moon programme, listen to our podcast on the inception of NASA’s giant (and pointless) SLS rocket.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.
Jimmy Wales: Wikipedia’s founder on surviving AI
40:25|Wikipedia, a volunteer-written encyclopedia, has defied the odds to become one of the world's most popular—and trusted—websites. Today, the project is under threat from divisive politics and the rise of generative AI. But Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia’s resilient founder, argues that the encyclopedia—and the human values which underpin it—are more relevant than ever.Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Guests: Andrew Palmer, host of The Economist’s “Boss Class” podcast; and Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia and the author of “The Seven Rules of Trust: Why It Is Today's Most Essential Superpower”.Andrew’s new series of “Boss Class”, which explores how to master management in the age of AI, is out on January 29th.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.
Custom cures: tailor-made drugs for rare diseases
42:27|A teenage girl in Britain recently received a custom-made drug to fix a fault in her genetic code. Doctors hope that it will treat her ultra-rare neurodegenerative condition. It is also part of a medical trial that could transform the way that customised medicines are made available to people who otherwise have no alternatives. Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Guests: Natasha Loder, The Economist's health editor; Julia Vitarello of EveryONE medicines; Paul Gissen of UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.