AI IRL

The discussion around whether AI can ever become alive or sentient is divisive. Some experts consider it a distraction from important research, while others say it's essential to ask the question. Neuroscientist and Westworld adviser David Eagleman argues that the possibility of AI developing consciousness is an important conversation to have. Former Google software engineer Blake Lemoine says his decision to go public with concerns that an AI bot had become sentient has kick-started conversations around regulation and led to greater transparency. Then, child psychologist Alison Gopnik explains why babies and young children’s ability to interact with the world around them provides a blueprint for artificial intelligence systems.

How can artificial intelligence shed light on the universe’s great unknowns? Bloomberg's Nate Lanxon and Jackie Davalos are joined by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson to discuss.

Militaries and defense contractors around the world are developing ways for artificial intelligence to complement technologies used on and over the battlefield. Bloomberg's Nate Lanxon and Jackie Davalos are joined by Anduril Industries co-founder Trae Stephens, DARPA official Dr. Kathleen Fisher and activist and writer Brett Wilkins to discuss how AI is redefining the battlefield.

Over the past ten years, the center of power in artificial intelligence has shifted from academic institutions to subsidiaries of some of the world's biggest tech companies. But who are the individuals making the decisions at those businesses? Bloomberg's Nate Lanxon and Jackie Davalos are joined by two of them: Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, and Joelle Pineau, head of Meta AI. They’ll give an insider’s account of how their work is changing everyone’s future.

The reality of artificial intelligence in healthcare today isn’t autonomous robotic surgeons, but smarter diagnoses and faster drug research. How else is AI helping doctors make the next major medical advancement? To find out, Bloomberg's Nate Lanxon and Jackie Davalos are joined by Eric Horvitz, Microsoft's chief scientific officer, Dr. Marzyeh Ghassemi, leader of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's "Healthy Machine Learning" group, and Dr. Peter Kecskemethy, co-founder of AI cancer diagnostics company Kheiron Medical.

"The rapid rise of generative AI tools like ChatGPT has academics questioning the role of human educators in the future. Bloomberg's Nate Lanxon and Jackie Davalos are joined by Dr. Pamela L Gay, and NYU’s Dr. Andrea Jones-Rooy – to understand how AI is changing their classrooms."

Machines can produce art, literature, music, poetry and more. But does it really count as "creativity?" Bloomberg's Nate Lanxon and Jackie Davalos are joined by internationally renowned digital artists and thought leaders to discuss the realities and ethics of AI in creative spaces.

As the capabilities of generative artificial intelligence increase, they are creating new ways for people to forge humanlike connections with machines. From virtual companions to robot therapists, some are finding that AI is getting close to the kind of emotional support, friendship and even sexual gratification they'd find in a person. But while the yearning for love and companionship is very human, the AI chatbots filling that void are very much not. And what's more, there are countless risks and unforeseen consequences to letting code-based connections into our lives. On this episode of AI IRL, Bloomberg's Nate Lanxon and Jackie Davalos are joined by Eugenia Kuyda, founder of Replika, and Bloomberg reporter Ellen Huet to discuss AI companionship. They also talk with James Arrowood, co-CEO of cryonics company Alcor, about how AI could help preserve human organs for future use.

Silicon Valley and Washington haven't always seen eye to eye. While business leaders often say regulation stifles innovation, some lawmakers insist it’s essential given the pace of technological advancement. When it comes to artificial intelligence, the stakes of that dynamic have gone sky high. On this episode of AI IRL, Nate Lanxon and Jackie Davalos are joined by venture capitalist James Cham of Bloomberg BETA, Atlantic Council Democracy and Technology Fellow Brittan Heller and US Representative Don Beyer to discuss the possibilities and pitfalls of machine-learning companies.

Science fiction has long used artificial intelligence as a theme, reflecting the anxieties of the modern world and projecting them into the future. Such portrayals have also at times served as inspiration for actual scientific discovery. On this episode of AI IRL, Bloomberg's Nate Lanxon and Jackie Davalos are joined by authors Cory Doctorow and Tom Merritt as well as Westworld showrunner Lisa Joy to understand the fast-blurring line between AI fact and fiction.

The increasing number of risks associated with artificial intelligence include repeating and amplifying the biases of its human creators. Can this danger be avoided? On this episode of AI IRL, Bloomberg's Nate Lanxon and Jackie Davalos discuss this troubling aspect of AI with Brian Christian, author of The Alignment Problem, Renee Cummings, an AI ethicist and criminologist, and Alex Hanna, Director of Research at the Distributed AI Research Institute. (Source: Bloomberg)

Bloomberg's Nate Lanxon and Jackie Davalos are joined by controversial AI researcher Eliezer Yudkowksy to discuss the danger posed by misaligned AI. Yudkowksy contends AI is a grave threat to civilization, that there's a desperate need for international cooperation to crack down on bad actors and that the chance humanity survives AI is slim.

The speed at which AI is advancing has shocked most experts in the field. Now the question is, if this pace of change keeps up, where will we be in a century? On this episode of AI IRL, Bloomberg's Nate Lanxon and Jackie Davalos are joined by futurists Amy Webb, Sinead Bovell and Kevin Kelly to discuss the changes AI could trigger in technology and the global economy.