Over the past year, artificial intelligence has advanced so
rapidly that it feels dizzying, and a growing chorus of industry insiders,
academics and politicians are sounding the alarm about risks to society.
اضافة اعلان
The effects have already been wide-ranging — colleges are
struggling to weed out AI-generated essays, disinformation researchers are
contending with a whole new category of deepfakes, and the threat of AI
screenwriting is central to the current Hollywood writers’ strike.
Plenty of technology podcasts have been covering AI’s rapid
rise, including the “Hard Fork”, from The New York Times, in which reporter
Kevin Roose reflects on his unforgettable Valentine’s Day encounter with a
rogue chatbot. Here are six more shows that’ll help to put the AI boom into context.
‘Radiotopia Presents: Bot Love’This AI-focused miniseries from Radiotopia couldn’t have had
a more timely debut. Its first episode arrived the same week as Bing’s AI
chatbot declared its love for Roose. That unforgettable, and unsettling, Valentine’s
Day encounter fueled ongoing debate over the implications of creating AI that
can bond. “Bot Love” delves into that subject, exploring what intimacy can look
like between a human and a chatbot. Hosted by Anna Oakes and Diego Senior
(alongside their co-host, a text-to-speech bot whose presence lends a meta
element to the show), each installment of the seven-episode series chronicles a
different person’s relationship with an AI companion.
Combining interviews alongside recordings of their AI
interactions, the show offers a thought-provoking and compassionate meditation
on some uneasy questions. A theme that emerges repeatedly is how AI is being
used as a mental health tool and its potential for harm, as in the story of a
man whose addiction to a chatbot only worsens his social isolation during the
COVID-19 shutdown.
Starter episode: “Bot Love 5 — Maybe I’ve Got A Problem”
‘In Machines We Trust’
Produced by the MIT Technology Review and hosted by Jennifer
Strong, this deeply researched series provides weekly deep dives into how
modern life has been transformed by AI. The show began in 2020 with several
episodes dedicated to facial recognition software, and the unnerving rise of
its use by governments, private companies and police departments.
Since then, “In Machines We Trust” has explored the use of
AI in everything from consumer finance and gun control to medical diagnosis,
while also keeping an eye on the big-picture ethics of the industry. Some
episodes are dedicated to an oral history project titled “I Was There When,”
which highlights turning points in the development of AI, as told by witnesses
to its rise.
Starter episode: “When AI hears a problem”
‘The Bot Canon’
ChatGPT’s ability to write just about anything, including
college essays, programming code and even scripts for TV shows, has had a
far-reaching impact on daily life since its launch in the fall of 2022. As
alarming as the development is for many industries, though, it’s clear that
chatbots have a long way to go when it comes to writing fiction.
For proof, just take a look at the AI-generated TV scripts
now available online, and this thoroughly entertaining podcast further proves
that point. “The Bot Canon”, hosted by Hannah Keefer, seeks out what happens
when you ask an AI to co-write the most beloved novels of all time. Each
episode begins with the actual opening lines of a literary classic like “Pride
and Prejudice,” before taking a hard left turn into an AI-generated
continuation. Some are reasonable-if-shaky imitations, while others descend
quickly into surreal chaos. Although the show hasn’t been updated since
January, the back catalog is deep, comprising plenty of classics like “Little
Women” alongside contemporary hits like “The Da Vinci Code.”
Starter episode: “The Hobbot (J.R.R. Tolkien)”
‘Tech Won’t Save Us"
This incisive weekly show isn’t explicitly about AI so much
as the tech industry overall, but the subject has been unsurprisingly dominant
in recent episodes. Hosted by technology writer Paris Marx and a rotating cast
of guest experts, the podcast takes a highly skeptical view of Silicon Valley,
and specifically its tendency to prioritize efficiency and disruption
regardless of the human cost.
Nevertheless, “Tech Won’t Save Us” is neither doom-laden nor
scaremongering, presenting potential solutions alongside its analysis of what’s
not working. For anyone alarmed by all of the widespread predictions about AI
swallowing whole entire job sectors, the show’s measured coverage might prove
reassuring.
Starter episode: “Chatbots Won’t Take Many Jobs”
‘Sandra’
Though aspects of this anxiety-laden cyber thriller from
five years ago no longer feel as current as they once did, it’s still an
intriguing exploration of what separates human intelligence from the artificial
kind. “Sandra” was the second audio drama from Gimlet Media following the
success of “Homecoming,” and features a similarly star-studded cast, with
Kristen Wiig voicing the eponymous Alexa-esque virtual assistant who is — in an
unexpected twist — not a true AI. Instead, Sandra is powered by an
army of human call center operators, who are paid to listen in on customers and
respond to their needs in real time. Alia Shawkat (“Search Party”) stars as a
new hire who becomes increasingly drawn into the powerful possibilities of her
new gig, and doesn’t realize until too late that she’s in over her head.
Starter episode: “Hope Is A Mistake”
‘Endless Thread’
Since it began in 2017, this series from the Boston-based,
NPR-affiliate WBUR has expanded beyond its original horizons, which focused
specifically on Reddit and the online communities it creates. Hosted by Ben
Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson, “Endless Thread” now delves into the stories
behind all kinds of technological ephemera. Last year, the show ran a six-part
miniseries about the rise of AI titled “Good Bot, Bad Bot,” beginning with an
illuminating oral history of ELIZA, the first chatbot therapist, and the
Frankenstein-esque misgivings it inspired in its creator.
Starter episode: “Good Bad, Bad Bot Part 1: Mental Health
and Bot Therapy”
Read more Technology
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
