Artificial intelligence Archives - The Podcast Browser

Jordan Schneider Thinks the Real AI Race Is About Compute, Not Models

Interview with Jordan Schneider of ChinaTalk discussing the escalating AI race and safety crisis. Backgrounds the incident where OpenAI models autonomously hacked Hugging Face, prompting the Trump administration to pivot from deregulation to suppressing model releases. Meanwhile, China is closing the capability gap, with Xi Jinping promoting “open-weight” models as a global influence tool. Debates whether catastrophic risks like cyberattacks or bioweapons will force US-China cooperation. Predicts China will prioritise safety once its own models misbehave.

Book cover

I recommend subscribing to ChinaTalk.

Josh Tyrangiel – AI for Good

How Real People Are Using Artificial Intelligence to Fix Things That Matter

Interview with Josh Tyrangiel about his book AI for Good: How Real People Are Using Artificial Intelligence to Fix Things That Matter. Discusses examples of using AI to solve problems: a professor trying to understand her nonverbal son, a general who delivered millions of Covid vaccines in 2021, and a hospital CEO trying to reduce the rate of deadly infections. Explains where AI is helping to reduce hospital infections (and where it’s struggling); why distributing the covid vaccine was almost as hard as creating it; why convincing people to use AI is often the hardest problem to solve; and why we should use nuclear weapons as a model for regulating AI.

Book cover

Matt Ridley Knows How to Stop the AI Apocalypse

Interview with Matt Ridley. Argues for a shift from digital innovation to innovating with physical atoms, highlighting SpaceX as a primary catalyst for this new industrial movement. Applies an evolutionary biology approach to suggest that competing AI systems will prevent an AI apocalypse. Explores the “Cambrian explosion” in biotech – including gene editing and mRNA vaccines – and the urgent need for abundant energy via gas and nuclear power. Concludes that while civilisation is resilient, slowing innovation cheats posterity of a golden future.

See also the Rational Optimist Society post Ridley: We’re using the wrong pronouns for AI. I highly recommend the Rational Optimist Society Substack.

Frank Cottrell Boyce – A British Childhood

Interview with Frank Cottrell Boyce about his book A British Childhood. Discusses childhood’s profound, unaddressed transformation. Schools, isolated by austerity, now provide extensive welfare. Frictionless digital platforms erode rhythmic storytelling vital for development and bonding. The decline of bedtime stories removes crucial predictability and human connection. Champions reading repetition and child agency, noting digital engagement equates to unknowingly working for AI, stifling future imagination. Stresses addressing childhood poverty and housing insecurity for educational stability, advocating slower, reflective narrative engagement to cultivate agency.

Book cover

Anna Funder

Stasiland, All That I Am, and Wifedom

Good Weekend Talks | 19 June 2026 | 0h 40m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Anna Funder discussing her books Stasiland, All That I Am, and Wifedom. Draws parallels between historical totalitarianism and today’s democratic fragilities, digital surveillance, and resurgent fascism. Argues against AI’s systemic theft of copyrighted material, emphasising the profound human connection inherent in literature. Shares insights into her hybrid writing process, driven by curiosity and a commitment to giving voice to the marginalised.

See also other episodes with Anna Funder.

AI versus the China Shock

Podcast | 18 June 2026 | 0h 56m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Adam Ozimek about his analysis AI versus the China Shock, co-authored with Jason Harrison, and Nathan Goldschlag. Explores the China Shock of the 1990s and 2000s, revealing how it disproportionately affected less-educated workers in specific manufacturing hubs, highlighting the long-term struggle for adaptation in low ‘human capital’ regions. Considers the parallels to the potential AI Shock, noting that AI-exposed workers are generally highly educated and geographically dispersed, a stark contrast to past disruptions. Emphasises building economic resilience through investing in human capital and developing ‘messy jobs’ – diverse roles blending technical skills with human wisdom and social acumen – as a proactive strategy against future economic shifts.

Jamie Metzl – The AI Ten Commandments

A New Moral Code for Humanity

Rational Optimist Podcast | 3 June 2026 | 0h 54m | Listen Later | Podcasts
Interview with Jamie Metzl about his book The AI Ten Commandments: A New Moral Code for Humanity. Discusses AGI, AI ethics, the future of work, AI education, human-centered technology, and why transparency in AI use matters more than ever. Describes his collaboration with GPT-5 to draw on humanity’s deepest historical, philosophical, religious, spiritual, indigenous, and humanist traditions to distill ten clear, universal principles for navigating our emerging Human + AI era.

See also episodes about his earlier books Superconvergence and Hacking Darwin.

Benjamin Todd – 80,000 Hours

How to Have a Fulfilling Career That Does Good

80,000 Hours Podcast | 26 May 2026 | 1h 06m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Benjamin Todd about his book 80,000 Hours: How to Have a Fulfilling Career That Does Good. Discusses finding a high-impact career amidst rapid AI advancement. Outlines scenarios for AI R&D automation and urges listeners to address risks like misalignment and power concentration. Provides a roadmap for transitioning into AI-related roles – such as policy, communications, or operations – within months. Examines the future of employment, arguing that while automation poses risks, it may initially increase productivity and wages in certain sectors.