FUTURES Podcast

Anthropologist Dr. Beth Singler shares her thoughts on the misconceptions surrounding artificial intelligence, the dangers of treating humans like machines, and whether virtual reality could provide us with quasi-religious experiences.

Dr Beth Singler is the Junior Research Fellow in Artificial Intelligence at Homerton College, University of Cambridge, where she is exploring the social, ethical, philosophical and religious implications of AI. As an associate fellow at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence she is collaborating on the AI Narratives and Global AI Narratives projects, as well as co-organising a series of Faith and AI workshops as a part of the AI: Trust and Society programme.

She has also produced a series of short films on the questions raised by AI, and the first, Pain in the Machine, won the AHRC Best Research Film of the Year Award in 2017. Beth has appeared on Radio4’s Today, Sunday and Start the Week, spoken at the Hay Festival as one of the ‘Hay 30’, the 30 best speakers to watch, as well as speaking at New Scientist Live, Edinburgh Science Festival, the Science Museum, Cheltenham Science Festival, and Ars Electronica. She was also one of the Evening Standard’s Progress 1000, a list of the most influential people, in both 2017 and 2018.

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CREDITS

Produced by FUTURES Podcast

Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason

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Astronomer Royal Lord Martin Rees shares his insights into the existential threats facing humanity, what it means to be a techno-optimist, and how we can plan for the long-term future.

Lord Martin Rees is a leading astrophysicist as well as a senior figure in UK science. He has conducted influential theoretical work on subjects as diverse as black hole formation and extragalactic radio sources, and provided key evidence to contradict the Steady State theory of the evolution of the Universe.

Martin was also one of the first to predict the uneven distribution of matter in the Universe, and proposed observational tests to determine the clustering of stars and galaxies. Much of his most valuable research has focused on the end of the so-called cosmic dark ages — a period shortly after the Big Bang when the Universe was as yet without light sources.

As Astronomer Royal and a Past President of the Royal Society, Martin is a prominent scientific spokesperson and the author of seven books of popular science. After receiving a knighthood in 1992 for his services to science, he was elevated to the title of Baron Rees of Ludlow in 2005.

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CREDITS

Produced by FUTURES Podcast

Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason

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Mechanical Engineer Shini Somara shares her thoughts on why we need impactful storytelling in science communication, how diversity drives innovation in STEM, and why imagination is key to understanding new technologies.

Dr. Shini Somara is a Mechanical Engineer specialising in Computational Fluid Dynamics and an award-winning media broadcaster. She deep dives into all topics on science, technology and innovation to deliver easily accessible and relatable pearls of wisdom for all ages and abilities. Shini speaks to audiences on TV, radio, XR/VR and live events. She has published 7 young persons STEM books and runs a podcast for Women in STEM called eSTEAMd Women. As a TEDx Speaker and mentor to MEng/PhDs at Imperial College in London - Shini is passionate about making science & technology accessible to all, especially amongst under-represented groups in engineering and innovation.

This episode was recorded in front of a live audience for an event in partnership with Engage Works.

ABOUT THE HOST

Luke Robert Mason is a British-born futures theorist who is passionate about engaging the public with emerging scientific theories and technological developments.

He hosts documentaries for Futurism, and has contributed to BBC Radio, BBC One, The Guardian, Discovery Channel, VICE Motherboard and Wired Magazine.

CREDITS

Producer & Host: Luke Robert Mason

Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @FUTURESPodcast

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Senior Research Fellows Dr. Eleanor Drage and Dr. Kerry McInerney share their insights on how artificial intelligence will impact society, using a feminist lens to rethink innovation and the importance of language in shaping our understanding of ‘good’ technology.

Dr Eleanor Drage is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge Centre for the Future of Intelligence. She teaches AI Professionals about AI ethics at Cambridge and presents widely on the topic. She specialises in using feminist ideas to make AI better and safer for everyone. She is currently building the world's first free and open access tool that helps companies meet the EU AI act's obligations. Eleanor is also an expert on women writers of speculative and science fiction from 1666 to the present - An Experience of the Impossible: The Planetary Humanism of European Women’s Science Fiction. Dr Kerry McInerney (née Mackereth) is a Senior Research Fellow at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge, where she co-leads a project on how AI is impacting international relations. Aside from The Good Robot, Kerry is the co-editor of the collection Feminist AI: Critical Perspectives on Algorithms, Data, and Intelligent Machines (2023, Oxford University Press) and the co-author of the forthcoming book Reprogram: Why Big Tech is Broken and How Feminism Can Fix It (2026, Princeton University Press).

This episode was recorded in front of a live audience for an event in partnership with SPACE4.

ABOUT THE HOST

Luke Robert Mason is a British-born futures theorist who is passionate about engaging the public with emerging scientific theories and technological developments.

He hosts documentaries for Futurism, and has contributed to BBC Radio, BBC One, The Guardian, Discovery Channel, VICE Motherboard and Wired Magazine.

CREDITS

Producer & Host: Luke Robert Mason

Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @FUTURESPodcast

Follow Luke Robert Mason on Twitter at @LukeRobertMason

Subscribe & Support the Podcast at http://futurespodcast.net

Futurist Ari Wallach shares his insights into why we need ethical long-term visions that prioritise humanity, the importance of transgenerational empathy, and how to co-construct inclusive stories that imagine better tomorrows.

Ari Wallach is a futurist and social systems strategist. He is the founder and Executive Director of Longpath Labs, an initiative focused on bringing long-term thinking and coordinated behavior to the individual, organizational, and societal realms in order to ensure humanity flourishes on an ecologically thriving planet Earth for centuries to come. Ari is the author of Longpath: Becoming the Great Ancestors Our Future Needs by HarperOne. Ari’s TED talk on Longpath has been viewed over 2.5 million times and translated into 19 languages. Wallach was also the founder and CEO of Synthesis Corp., a New York-based strategic innovation consultancy whose clients included CNN, Volkswagen Global, The UN Refugee Agency and the US State Department. Wallach was the co-founder of the 2008 presidential initiative “The Great Schlep with Sarah Silverman” and most previously hosted Fast Company magazine's Fast Company Futures with Ari Wallach. He was most recently adjunct associate professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, lecturing on innovation, AI and the futures of governance and public policy.

ABOUT THE HOST

Luke Robert Mason is a British-born futures theorist who is passionate about engaging the public with emerging scientific theories and technological developments.

He hosts documentaries for Futurism, and has contributed to BBC Radio, BBC One, The Guardian, Discovery Channel, VICE Motherboard and Wired Magazine.

CREDITS

Producer & Host: Luke Robert Mason

Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @FUTURESPodcast

Follow Luke Robert Mason on Twitter at @LukeRobertMason

Subscribe & Support the Podcast at http://futurespodcast.net