TechStuff

David Eagleman is a neuroscientist, author, entrepreneur and host of the podcast Inner Cosmos. In his podcast, he explores how our brains interpret the world and construct reality. Eagleman sits down with Oz to discuss AI relationships, the human urge to anthropomorphize chatbots and the benefits of living on the exponential curve.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if AI could read your mind? This week in the News Roundup, Oz and producer Eliza Dennis explore the latest tech investment in the US, Meta’s brain-to-text breakthrough and the creation of the woolly mouse. On TechSupport, 404 Media’s Jason Koebler takes us to an AI-generated film festival… spoiler: the tech isn’t there yet. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bradley Hope is a journalist, author and co-founder of Project Brazen, a narrative non-fiction production studio. His piece in Wired, ‘A Spymaster Sheikh Controls a $1.5 Trillion Fortune. He Wants to Use It to Dominate AI,’ outlines how one Gulf royal – Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed al Nahyan – came to control vast sums of sovereign wealth. Hope sits down with Oz to discuss Sheikh Tahnoun’s early obsession with AI, his path to becoming the UAE’s national security advisor and the country's role in the global AI race. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Oz is on the road, at the Web Summit Qatar, and he’s not alone. Joining him from the iHeart pop-up studio in Doha is a very familiar figure, Jonathan Strickland. Oz and Jonathan sit down to discuss some of the highlights of the Web Summit, including the future of the AI chip race, advances in augmented reality and how news organizations are grappling with AI.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ben Taub is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and staff writer at The New Yorker. His piece, “Russia’s Espionage War in the Arctic,” covers tensions at the Russian border with Norway, an area Russia uses as a testing ground for future intelligence operations. Taub sits down with Oz to discuss the technology being used for survival and for espionage, as the war in Ukraine has escalated tensions with NATO.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, TechStuff teams up with Part-Time Genius for a special crossover episode. Oz and Mangesh Hattikudur, host of Part-Time Genius, discuss a largely misunderstood group of machine destroyers. The Luddites. Joining them is tech journalist Brian Merchant, author of Blood in the Machine, to dig into the history of humans fighting against job automation, why we equate Luddites with technophobes and what we can learn from these 19th century rebels in the age of AI.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hany Farid, a UC Berkeley professor and expert in digital forensics, discusses the critical battle against digital misinformation. He shares his journey into the field and highlights the alarming rise of deepfakes, emphasizing their impact on public trust and societal norms. The conversation tackles the ethical concerns around digital immortality and AI likenesses, questioning the implications of consent in these technologies. Farid also offers insight into navigating today's misinformation landscape, advocating for caution around social media.

Emanuel Maiberg, a writer for 404 Media, joins the discussion focusing on a thought-provoking study about AI's impact on our critical thinking skills. The conversation tackles the complexities of outsourcing cognitive tasks to technology and how this might affect our mental abilities. Additionally, the podcast dives into the UK government's controversial request for Apple to create a backdoor for iPhones. The hosts also explore Elon Musk's relationship with government funding and its implications for innovation and taxpayer risk.

In this engaging conversation, Geoffrey Hinton, a Nobel Prize-winning computer scientist and the 'Godfather of AI,' shares insights on his transformative journey in artificial intelligence. He discusses the existential threats posed by advanced AI without proper regulation and reflects on how his personal experiences with grief influence his outlook. Hinton also humorously recounts his surprise at winning the Nobel Prize and delves into the delicate balance between innovation and control in AI technologies.

Joseph Cox, a reporter for 404 Media, dives into the thrilling world of encrypted technology and its implications for law enforcement. He reveals how the FBI collaborates with an encrypted phone company to crack down on criminal networks, highlighting the cat-and-mouse game of security and privacy. The discussion also touches on ethical concerns surrounding AI, including a papal warning about misinformation, and the innovative use of AI in everyday applications like Gmail, demonstrating the blurred lines between assistance and intrusion.