Podcast appearances and mentions of beth singler

This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . On the recent wrap-up/predictions panel we had so much fascinating discussion about AI in religion with panelist Beth Singler that I said we should have her back on the show by herself to talk about that, so here she is! Beth is the Assistant Professor in Digital Religions and co-lead of the Media Existential Encounters and Evolving Technology Lab at the University of Zurich, where she leads projects on religion and AI. As an anthropologist, her research addresses the human, religious, cultural, social, and ethical implications of developments in AI and robotics.  She received the 2021 Digital Religion Research Award from the Network for New Media, Religion, and Digital Culture Studies. Her popular science communication work includes a series of award-winning short documentaries on AI. She is co-editor of the Cambridge Companion to Religion and AI, and author of Religion and AI: An Introduction, both published last year.  In part 2, we talk about Roko's Basilisk, which is a concept that changes your life the moment you find out what it is, experiences of AI saying that it's a God, the reverse Garland test (that's based on ex Machina), simulation theories starting with Plato's Cave, more chatbot priests, how Beth does research, and… Battlestar Galactica. All this plus our usual look at today's AI headlines. Transcript and URLs referenced at HumanCusp Blog.        

This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . On the recent wrap-up/predictions panel we had so much fascinating discussion about AI in religion with panelist Beth Singler that I said we should have her back on the show by herself to talk about that, so here she is! Beth is the Assistant Professor in Digital Religions and co-lead of the Media Existential Encounters and Evolving Technology Lab at the University of Zurich, where she leads projects on religion and AI. As an anthropologist, her research addresses the human, religious, cultural, social, and ethical implications of developments in AI and robotics.  She received the 2021 Digital Religion Research Award from the Network for New Media, Religion, and Digital Culture Studies. Her popular science communication work includes a series of award-winning short documentaries on AI. She is co-editor of the Cambridge Companion to Religion and AI, and author of Religion and AI: An Introduction, both published last year.  In part 1, we talk about why religion and AI is a thing and what its dimensions are, the influence of science fiction, tropes like End Times, AI used in religious roles, and the Singularity. Transcript and URLs referenced at HumanCusp Blog.        

This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . In our last episode of 2024, we have our traditional end of year retrospective/prediction episode. We'll be taking a look back over the year just ending and forward to 2025, but we're not going to focus on technology, when GPT-5 is going to drop, etc. The space is already stuffed full of that sort of thing. We're going to look at the time through an anthropological lens, for which I am rejoined by two former guests, anthropologist Beth Singler, who was in episodes 38 and 39, and philosopher John Zerilli, who was in episodes 78 and 79. Beth is Assistant Professor in Digital Religion(s) and co-lead of the Media Existential Encounters and Evolving Technology Lab at the University of Zurich, where she leads projects on religion and AI. Her most recent books are Religion and Artificial Intelligence and The Cambridge Companion to Religion and Artificial Intelligence. John is a Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, with a PhD in cognitive science and philosophy, and carrying out research at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. His most recent book, A Citizen's Guide to Artificial Intelligence, was published in 2021. We consider how AI has been reshaping public narratives and attitudes over questions like job replacement, creativity, education, law, and religion. All this plus our usual look at today's AI headlines. Transcript and URLs referenced at HumanCusp Blog.          

Join us in an interview with Beth Singler and host Pablo Salmones. Professor Singler's work explores the social, ethical, philosophical and religious implications of advances in AI and robotics and has published widely on these subjects. They discussed how AI is impacting different cultures around the world and the ethical implications of AI in the internet culture. Views and opinions expressed by podcast guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of AI and Faith or any of its leadership. Production: Pablo Salmones and Penny Yuen Host: Pablo Salmones Editing: Isabelle Braconnot Music from #UppbeatLicense code: 1ZHLF7FMCNHU39

“We're not going to get a Skynet. I think the James Cameron-sort of future of one all-seeing, all-knowing and essentially the existential threat that the government seems to want to paint a picture of, it's not going to happen.” On this special EMERGENCY episode of HYPERSCALE, I am joined by Professor Beth Singler and Futurist and Author Theo Priestley, who have joined me to discuss the government-commissioned report recently published in Time magazine, warning that AI poses an extinction-level threat to humanity. The three authors of the report worked on it for more than a year, speaking with more than 200 government employees, experts, and workers at frontier AI companies—like OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Anthropic and Meta— as part of their research.  Are these fears justified? We need to educate people about the true potential, and threat, of AI, which can be hard to do given how most of humanity is busy surviving one day at a time, often giving up their privacy and autonomy for the sake of convenience. Join us for an introspective conversation where we explore the timeliness of this report, what it means, why it shouldn't necessarily be taken at face value, the actual risks posed by AI, the importance of holding AI developers accountable, and more on this episode of HYPERSCALE. FOLLOW ► Instagram: https://bit.ly/briarig  LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/linkedin  TikTok: https://bit.ly/briartiktok  Website: https://briarprestidgeofficial.com

Artificial intelligence can feel abstract, so we've come to depend on certain narratives to try and make sense of it all. Some of the language we use to describe AI and our interactions with it is rooted in religious ideas. Are you bracing for the apocalypse? Have you been blessed by the algorithm or consulted with a Robo Rabbi lately? The deification of AI, whether it's done consciously or not, is something Beth Singler studies as a professor of digital religions at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. Marketplace's Lily Jamali spoke to Singler about religious tropes in the narratives we consume and share about AI.

Artificial intelligence can feel abstract, so we've come to depend on certain narratives to try and make sense of it all. Some of the language we use to describe AI and our interactions with it is rooted in religious ideas. Are you bracing for the apocalypse? Have you been blessed by the algorithm or consulted with a Robo Rabbi lately? The deification of AI, whether it's done consciously or not, is something Beth Singler studies as a professor of digital religions at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. Marketplace's Lily Jamali spoke to Singler about religious tropes in the narratives we consume and share about AI.

A series of revelatory hallucinations that Philip K Dick experienced in 1974, radically altering his view of belief, time and history, were the inspiration for his quasi-autobiographical novel Valis which was published in 1981. Roger Luckhurst, Sarah Dillon, Beth Singler and Adam Scovell join Matthew Sweet to unravel this deeply strange book and to discuss how Dick's experience of mental illness and his tireless attempts at self-diagnosis thread their way through his novels and short stories, despite being largely absent from the many film and TV adaptations of his work, including Blade Runner, Total Recall and Minority Report. Producer: Torquil MacLeod

Should we be fearful or make friends with our robot helpers?   And how can humans flourish in this brave new world?  One of our guests today on Unbelievable believes the hidden power of humans is that we are imperfect yet essential? Roger Bolton hosts this edition of Unbelievable with writer and theologian Dr. Eve Poole and Prof. Beth Singler, a digital ethnographer.  Our seemingly irrational qualities, like emotions and intuition, are what Unbelievable guest Dr. Eve Poole calls the "junk" code that define humanity, fostering the reciprocal altruism that sustains our existence.  Eve Poole's argument might upset or even offend those with a fairly traditional faith, as she argues that we should consider giving robots 'souls'. But if we give robots, as Eve suggests,  the 'junk code' of humans, will that lead to calls to give robots rights? How do we feel about giving rights to a toaster? Eve Poole did her PhD in Theology and Capitalism at the University of Cambridge and is an expert on leadership and education. Professor Beth Singler is a digital ethnographer based at the University of Zurich. Beth explores the social, ethical, philosophical and religious implications of advances in Artificial Intelligence and robotics.   https://bvlsingler.com/ https://evepoole.com/ • Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast: https://pod.link/267142101 • More shows, free eBook & newsletter: https://premierunbelievable.com • For live events: http://www.unbelievable.live • For online learning: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/training • Support us in the USA: http://www.premierinsight.org/unbelievableshow • Support us in the rest of the world: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/donate

Artificial intelligence can feel abstract, so we’ve come to depend on certain narratives to try and make sense of it all. Some of the language we use to describe AI and our interactions with it is rooted in religious ideas. Are you bracing for the apocalypse? Have you been blessed by the algorithm? Have you consulted with a Robo Rabbi lately? The deification of AI, whether it’s done consciously or not, is something Beth Singler studies as a professor of digital religions at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke to Singler about religious tropes in the narratives we consume and share about AI.

Artificial intelligence can feel abstract, so we’ve come to depend on certain narratives to try and make sense of it all. Some of the language we use to describe AI and our interactions with it is rooted in religious ideas. Are you bracing for the apocalypse? Have you been blessed by the algorithm? Have you consulted with a Robo Rabbi lately? The deification of AI, whether it’s done consciously or not, is something Beth Singler studies as a professor of digital religions at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke to Singler about religious tropes in the narratives we consume and share about AI.

Are you a writing instructor or student who's prepared to turn over all present and future communication practices to the magic of ChatGPT? Not so fast! On today's show, we are joined by Dr. Emily M. Bender, Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Washington and a pre-eminent academic critic of so-called “generative AI” technologies. Dr. Bender's expertise involves not only how these technologies work computationally, but also how language is used in popular media to hype, normalize, and even obfuscate AI and its potential to affect our lives.Dr. Bender's most well-known scholarly work related to this topic is a co-authored conference paper from 2021 entitled, “On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots: Can Language Models Be Too Big?” In our conversation, Emily explains why she and her co-authors chose the “stochastic parrot” metaphor – how this helps us to understand large language models and other related technologies more accurately than many competing metaphors. We go on to discuss several actual high-stakes, significant issues related to these technologies, before Dr. Bender provides a helpful index of some the most troublesome ways they are talked about in the media: synthetic text “gotcha”s, infancy metaphors, linear models of progress, inevitability framings, and many other troublesome tropes. We conclude with a close reading of a recent piece in the Chronicle of Higher Education about using synthetic text generators in writing classrooms: “Why I'm Excited About Chat GPT” by Jenny Young. Young's article exemplifies many of the tropes Emily discussed earlier, as well as capturing lots of strange prevailing ideas about writing pedagogy, genre, and rhetoric in general. We hope that you enjoy this podcast tour through the world of AI hype media, and we ask that you please remain non-synthetic ‘til next time – no shade to parrots!

Heard of robot priests? Or robot rabbis who can answer any question about Judaic law? Do these things sound great or scary to you? In this episode we interview Dr Beth Singler about AI, the effect of online space on religious communities, and other interactions between religion and the digital world. This episode is produced in collaboration with The Tablet. Thanks to Jamie Maule for sound engineering! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/faith-at-the-frontiers/message

Introducing a new series on science & religion, hosted by Barney and Emily Qureshi-Hurst. Science & religion is one of the greatest frontier challenges in today's world. Are they compatible? Do they overlap? What happens when they come into conflict, as with the most famous example of evolution and Genesis 1? What does science reveal about ourselves and our world that Christianity needs to engage with? This series will feature interviews with Alister McGrath, Bethany Sollereder, Beth Singler, Carmody Grey, and others. This episode produced in collaboration with The Tablet. Thanks to Jamie Maule for sound engineering! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/faith-at-the-frontiers/message

Marnie Chesterton and guests mull over the saga of an AI engineer who believes his chatbot is sentient. Also, climate scientists propose a major leap in earth system modelling, that might cost £250m a year but would bring our predictive power from 100 km to 1km. And the story of a Malaysian Breadfruit species that turns out to be two separate strains - something locals knew all along, but that science had missed. Philp Ball's latest book, The Book of Minds, explores the work still to be done on our conception of what thinking is, and what it might mean in non-human contexts. Beth Singler is a digital ethnographer - an anthropologist who studies societal reaction to technological advancement. They discuss the story this week that a google AI engineer has been suspended on paid leave from his work with an experimental algorithm called LaMDA. He rather startlingly announced his belief that it had attained sentience, publishing some excerpts from interactions he has experienced with it. Prof Dame Julia Slingo this week has published a proposal in Nature Climate Change, co-authored with several of the world's greatest climate scientists, for a multinational investment in the next generation of climate models. Currently, models of the global climate have a resolution of something like 100km, a scale which, they suggest, misses some very fundamental physics of the way rain, clouds and storms can form. Zooming into 1km resolution, and including the smaller physical systems will allow scientist to better predict extreme events, and crucially how water interacts in a real way with rising temperatures in different climes. And can zooming in on taxonomy reveal insights in conservation and biodiversity? Researchers in the US and Malaysia have described a species of breadfruit that has hitherto been considered one species by mainstream science. Locals have long described them as different species, and the genetics proves that view correct. Can more local, granular knowledge help us get a better handle on the conservation status of our planet's biodiversity? Emily Bird Reports. Presenter Marnie Chesterton Reporter Emily Bird Producer Alex Mansfield

Many of us became familiar with robots through science fiction — R2D2, C3PO, Rosie from the Jetsons, Marvin the Paranoid Android. In comparison, it can feel like the robots we actually interact with today fall a bit short of this imagined future.In this episode we are joined by Dr Beth Singler, Research Fellow in Artificial Intelligence at Cambridge University, to discuss the invention and evolution of the robot, as well as the gap between our popular imagination and the technology scrambling to keep up.For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!To download, go to Android or Apple store. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We have Alexa, we have drones in the sky, killer robots on the battlefield and creepy algorithms designed to anticipate our every need. But do we lose sight of the potential benefits of A.I? Beth Singler and Hope McGovern throw some light on a much discussed subject... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

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. Find out more: futurespodcast.net CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

We're being told we have to “learn to live with covid”, but what exactly does that mean? In this episode the team discusses how we live with flu and the measures we'll need to take to prevent wave upon wave of covid-19 infections and deaths. There's been a massive volcanic eruption in Tonga that's caused widespread damage, and the team examines the impact it's having on the island nation. There's more news in the race to build the world's best quantum computer - the team finds out about a unique way of building these machines using neutral atoms. As antibiotic resistance continues to cause deaths worldwide, an alternate therapy using phages is growing in popularity - the team finds out about the pros and cons of this type of treatment. And the anthropologist Beth Singler joins the conversation - she looks specifically at human interactions with artificial intelligence, in an attempt to understand our fear of and reverence for the technology. On the pod are Penny Sarchet, Sam Wong, Michael Le Page, Alice Klein, Emily Bates and Alex Wilkins. To read about these stories and much more, subscribe at newscientist.com/podcasts. Thanks to our sponsor Brilliant - remember the first 200 people to sign up using this link http://brilliant.org/newscientist will get 20% off unlimited access to all the courses on Brilliant for a whole year. To book a ticket for our New Scientist live event ‘Understanding The AI Revolution', click here. And for tickets to see professor of psychiatry Ted Dinan live as part of our health and wellbeing online events series, click here. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It is time for a festive Q&A! In this episode, we are going to be answering your questions such as, does another planet Earth exist? Can robots be as creative as humans? And why do deep sea creatures glow? Our panel of scientific superstars taking on your queries this month are science song-writer Raven Baxter, deep-ocean diver Diva Amon, exoplanet explorer Hannah Wakeford and intelligence investigator Beth Singler. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

It is time for a festive Q&A! In this episode, we are going to be answering your questions such as, does another planet Earth exist? Can robots be as creative as humans? And why do deep sea creatures glow? Our panel of scientific superstars taking on your queries this month are science song-writer Raven Baxter, deep-ocean diver Diva Amon, exoplanet explorer Hannah Wakeford and intelligence investigator Beth Singler. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Host Jonathan Bastian talks with Meghan O'Gieblyn, author of “God, Human, Animal, Machine: Technology, Metaphor, and the Search for Meaning” about how advanced AI technologies are changing how we think about ourselves and our faith. Later, writer Linda Kinstler talks about the influential role of the tech sector on faith. And Dr. Beth Singler from the University of Cambridge in the U.K. discuses how religion is being renewed and reshaped by modern technology.  

In this episode of The Small Print, Bronwyn speaks to Dr Beth Singler, the Junior Research Fellow in Artificial Intelligence at Homerton College, University of Cambridge. Together they explore the social, ethical, philosophical and religious implications of advances in Artificial Intelligence and robotics. Do we put too much faith in algorithms? How do different cultures respond to rapid technological change? They look at the dangers of AI entrenching inequality instead of alleviating it, the religious elements in the transhumanist movement, and the slight weirdness of the effective altruism community. --- Bronwyn Williams is a futurist, economist, trend analyst and host of The Small Print. Her day job as a partner at Flux Trends involves helping business leaders to use foresight to design the future they want to live and work in. You may have seen her talking about Transhumanism or Tikok on Carte Blanche, or heard her talking about trends on 702 or CNBC Africa where she is a regular expert commentator. When she's not talking to brands and businesses about the future, you will probably find her curled up somewhere with a (preferably paperback) book. She tweets at @bronwynwilliams. Twitter: https://twitter.com/bronwynwilliams Flux Trends: https://www.fluxtrends.com/future-flux/futurist-in-residence/ Website: https://whatthefuturenow.com/ --- Dr Beth Singler is the Junior Research Fellow in Artificial Intelligence at Homerton College, University of Cambridge. Prior to this, she was the post-doctoral Research Associate on the “Human Identity in an age of Nearly-Human Machines” project at the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion. She has been an associate fellow at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence since 2016. Beth is an experienced social and digital anthropologist, and her first academic book is a groundbreaking in-depth ethnography of the ‘Indigo Children' – a New Age re-conception of both children and adults which uses the language of science, evolution, and spirituality. Book: https://amzn.to/3laXF4K Twitter: https://twitter.com/BVLSingler Website: https://bvlsingler.com/ --- Follow us on Social Media: YouTube: https://bit.ly/2u46Mdy LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/discourse-za Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/discourseza/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/discourseza  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/discourseza/   Subscribe to the Discourse ZA Podcast: iTunes: https://apple.co/2V5ckEM Stitcher: https://bit.ly/2UILooX Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2vlBwaG RSS feed: https://bit.ly/2VwsTsy   Intro Animation by Cath Theo - https://www.instagram.com/Cuz_Im_Cath/

Over the summer break, we revisit some of the hit items from earlier this year. This week, Beth Singler and David Halpern nudge us to think about nudge theory, while Ilaria Bernocchi and Suzanne Paul discuss the Dead Sea scrolls... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

In 1920, Czech writer Karel Čapek imagined a workforce of scientifically engineered humanoids ready to serve our every need in his play R.U.R.: Rossum's Universal Robots. It does not end well for us. We look inside the automated workspace of tomorrow and ask why machines should look and behave like us. Presenter Ken Hollings examines how we'll work with AI and robots in the future. What do humans still do better than machines? Dr. Beth Singler, Junior Research Fellow in Artificial Intelligence at University of Cambridge, looks at our behavior towards AI. Professor Alan Winfield of Bristol Robotics Lab talks about what can be learned from studying robots' mistakes and principal security researcher at Kaspersky David Emm considers the security of robots at work. Subscribe wherever you get your audio to get new episodes of Fast Forward. If you like the episode, rate it. Tell us what you think at fastforward@kaspersky.com Fast Forward is a Tomorrow Unlocked by Kaspersky series. Visit TomorrowUnlocked.com for interviews and articles about this series, and more stories about technology is shaping our world.

Anthropologist and Artificial Intelligence specialist Dr Beth Singler joins us on the island to talk about robot uprisings, Artificial Stupidity and the 19th Discworld novel, Feet of Clay. This season of Desert Island Discworld is brought to you with the kind support of Handheld Press, publishers of fine forgotten fantasy fiction.

Artificial Intelligence can be found in every aspect of our lives. From A-level grade predicting algorithms to Netflix recommendations, AI is set to change the choices we make and how our personal information will be used. In this episode, we explore the future of AI - its potential benefits and harms - with our three guests. Beth Singler told us about the different cultural consequences of AI, and how the way we think about the future of AI reflects more about society today than the future itself. John Zerilli shared his views on the consequences of AI for democratic decision-making, and Richard Watson urged us to conceive of the future of AI in terms of ‘scenario planning', rather than predicting the future directly. We cover topics ranging from how to make AI ‘ethical', how the media representation of AI can colour the public's perception of what the real issues are, and the importance of an international AI regulatory system. This episode was produced by Nick Saffell, James Dolan and Naomi Clements-Brod. Annie Thwaite and Charlotte Zemmel provide crucial research and production support for Series 2.Please take our survey. How did you find us? Do you want more Mind Over Chatter in your life? Less? We want to know. So we put together this survey https://forms.gle/r9CfHpJVUEWrxoyx9. If you could please take a few minutes to fill it out, it would be a big help.Timestamps:[0:00] - Introductions[01:22] - guest research introductions[01:55] - what is AI?[02:46] - machine learning and AI as the same thing? [04:31] - Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)[04:47] - AI in our everyday lives- it's everywhere![06:07] - effect of different patterns on AI e.g. COVID-19 anomalies[06:46] - we need human flexibility to respond to these changing patterns[07:27] - what is a futurist in residence?[08:37] - the only certainty with the future is that it is uncertain. There are lots of futures out there. Being a futurist is all about debating and scenario planning[09:41] - should every organization have an AI and futurist officer?[10:09]- how we think about the future as reflecting on what we think about the present[10:54]- Alvin Toffler and 20th-century futurism[11:55]- futurism and AI. AI dialogue needs to be about its impact on the future[12:54]- running out of humans?[13:33]- AI in care homes[13:38]- Time for the first recap! [17:55]- the relationship between AI and religion, and the cultural impact of AI[19:58]- cultural animation and AI receptivity- not a simple relationship[20:35]- being ‘blessed' and ‘cursed' by the algorithm[22:04]- democracy and AI. How are we to expect citizens to be informed enough to exercise their voting rights in the best way?[23:28]- Cambridge Analytica and drastic changes in voting. How much does and should the public know?[25:45]- what opportunities do people have to get informed about AI?[27:30}- what do the people who are creating AI need to hear?[27:40]- ‘open AI' and the need for public access to AI algorithms[28:59]- Digital trust and who gets to own data[29:27]- AI and moral responsibility. This is where the religious aspects enter the AI debate.[30:25]- the ‘deontological approach: building an AI ‘rulebook'[31:25]- problem with ‘ethical AI' is that we don't really know what an ethical human is.[32:27]- Time for recap number...

This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ .   When you combine anthropologist, filmmaker, and geek, you get Beth Singler, Research Fellow in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Cambridge. Beth explores the social, ethical, philosophical and religious implications of advances in artificial intelligence and robotics and has produced some dramatic documentaries about our relationship with AI: Pain in the Machine and its sequels, Friend in the Machine, Good in the Machine, and Ghost in the Machine. All this plus our usual look at today's AI headlines.  Transcript and URLs referenced at HumanCusp Blog.        

This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ .   When you combine anthropologist, filmmaker, and geek, you get Beth Singler, Research Fellow in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Cambridge. Beth explores the social, ethical, philosophical and religious implications of advances in artificial intelligence and robotics and has produced some dramatic documentaries about our relationship with AI: Pain in the Machine and its sequels, Friend in the Machine, Good in the Machine, and Ghost in the Machine. All this plus our usual look at today's AI headlines.  Transcript and URLs referenced at HumanCusp Blog.        

Claims for a game-changing breakthrough in biological science were made recently when the Alphafold programme developed by Google's DEEP MIND had striking success in determining the 3D structures made by proteins. But was it worth the hype? Alex Taylor and Beth Singler give Ed Kessler their verdicts... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

Nudge Theory was developed as a tool of political policy fairly recently. Placing fresh fruit at eye level by the supermarket check-out would count as a nudge; banning junk food would not. Is nudge theory a euphemism for psychological manipulation or is it a practical way of improving things? Ed Kessler nudges Beth Singler and David Halpern, Chief Executive of the Behavioural Insights Team, to talk about the pros and cons. Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

How can Science Fiction be used to get the public involved in the AI Ethics conversation? What are religious studies and how can they relate to AI? Why is it important to distinguish between Science Fiction and Science Fact when it comes to the future of AI? To answer these questions and more we welcome Dr. Beth Singler to the show.  Dr. Beth Singler is a Junior Research Fellow in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Cambridge. Previously, Beth was the post-doctoral Research Associate on the “Human Identity in an age of Nearly-Human Machines” project at the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion. Through her research, Beth explores the social, ethical, philosophical, and religious implications of advances in Artificial Intelligence and robotics. Full show notes for this episode can be found at Radicalai.org.  If you enjoy this episode please make sure to subscribe, submit a rating and review, and connect with us on twitter at twitter.com/radicalaipod  

Artificial Intelligence is on the march and it seems destined to play a bigger and bigger part in our lives. Gut feelings about A.I. tend to be negative but could it be used for good? How might its development affect religious belief or religious practice? With Ed Kessler to explore AI are Beth Singler of Homerton College, Cambridge, and the religious philosopher Gorazd Andrejc... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

This week, lockdown may be easing, but the pubs still haven't flung open their doors yet, so this week, we're bringing a little of the pub to you, with a Naked Scientist Pub Quiz. It's a QnA show with a difference tonight, as Adam Murphy and Phil Sansom put some science quiz questions to our expert panel; chemist Ljiljana Fruk, astronomer Matt Bothwell, AI athropologist Beth Singler, and mental health expert Olivia Remes... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, lockdown may be easing, but the pubs still haven't flung open their doors yet, so this week, we're bringing a little of the pub to you, with a Naked Scientist Pub Quiz. It's a QnA show with a difference tonight, as Adam Murphy and Phil Sansom put some science quiz questions to our expert panel; chemist Ljiljana Fruk, astronomer Matt Bothwell, AI athropologist Beth Singler, and mental health expert Olivia Remes... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Covid-19 has had us all scrambling to adapt to life in lockdown. But the period of lockdown also coincided with a number of key religious festivals from Easter to Passover, Vaisakhi to Ramadan. This in turn has led to a flourishing of new and inventive ways for religious communities to mark their holy days. But religion online is not a new phenomenon and virtual spaces, live streaming and words of wisdom have been available on the internet for many years. So what should our relationship be with religion on the internet and where does its future lie post lockdown? Joining Dr Katie Edwards to discuss this is Dr Beth Singler, Junior Research Fellow in Artificial Intelligence at Homerton College, University of Cambridge; Swami Ambikananda, a Hindu monastic and founder of the Traditional Yoga Association; Adrian Harris, Head of Digital at the Church of England and Abid Khan, Imam at Cheadle Mosque in Manchester. Producer: Amanda Hancox

Covid-19 has had us all scrambling to adapt to life in lockdown. But the period of lockdown also coincided with a number of key religious festivals from Easter to Passover, Vaisakhi to Ramadan. This in turn has led to a flourishing of new and inventive ways for religious communities to mark their holy days. But religion online is not a new phenomenon and virtual spaces, live streaming and words of wisdom have been available on the internet for many years. So what should our relationship be with religion on the internet and where does its future lie post lockdown? Joining Dr Katie Edwards to discuss this is Dr Beth Singler, Junior Research Fellow in Artificial Intelligence at Homerton College, University of Cambridge; Swami Ambikananda, a Hindu monastic and founder of the Traditional Yoga Association; Adrian Harris, Head of Digital at the Church of England and Abid Khan, Imam at Cheadle Mosque in Manchester. Producer: Amanda Hancox

For many, the term Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a phrase straight out of sci-fi, conjuring up visions of utopias or dystopias, from films ranging from the Terminator to I Robot. But what was previously sci-fi is now increasingly becoming reality. AI technology exists, and there's a brand new frontier where it's being applied to the world of healthcare. AI is helping to diagnose cancer, design new medicines, and even predict a person's medical future. In this programme, in partnership with Microsoft, we explore where AI technology is taking us... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

For many, the term Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a phrase straight out of sci-fi, conjuring up visions of utopias or dystopias, from films ranging from the Terminator to I Robot. But what was previously sci-fi is now increasingly becoming reality. AI technology exists, and there's a brand new frontier where it's being applied to the world of healthcare. AI is helping to diagnose cancer, design new medicines, and even predict a person's medical future. In this programme, in partnership with Microsoft, we explore where AI technology is taking us... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Chris Cotter and Beth Singler discuss the intersections between religion and Artificial Intelligence from slavery and pain to machines taking over religious functions and practices.

Super-intelligent machines are coming - but what does that mean for us? Will they become like Gods? Maybe. Will we treat them like Gods? Some people are already doing it. In today’s fascinating episode, Dr Beth Singler and I talk about how some people are already worshipping technology, how humans tend to mirror religious myths in other kinds of stories, and what kinds of dangers are involved when we try to predict the future. --------- To enter the weekly giveaway for a FREE book, write a review of the podcast on iTunes (http://stefaniruper.com/listen), take a screen shot of your review, then email it to stefani@nakedhumanity.org. Then you'll be PERMANENTLY entered into the drawing. Check out the list of books you can get @ http://stefaniruper.com/bookgiveaway. I carefully curate the guests on this show alongside a few team members who help me do it. We work hard to bring you nothing less than the most interesting, engaging, insightful, provocative guests out there. *Subscribe on Youtube: http://bit.ly/2Y8fkfV Instagram: http://instagram.com/stefani.ruper Twitter: http://twitter.com/stefaniruper Facebook: http://facebook.com/stefaniruper Website: http://stefaniruper.com *Subscribe on a podcasting app: iTunes: https://apple.co/2JJM4Is Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2Ye2b9x Google Play: http://bit.ly/2Y1vXig

Los Angeles, November 2019. Blade Runner's future is now ours. Ridley Scott's 1982 classic future film of replicants escaping to a retrofitted Earth and meeting their end at the hands of the washed out, titular Blade Runner, Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard, is adapted from Philip K. Dick's equally classic 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Both film and book are meditations on what it is to be human but we have been looking through the eyes of the film ever since it plunged us into its acid rain, neon coated, West Coast nightmare of flaming night skies, commercial ziggurats, flying cars and fake animals. Now its future is our present. We live in a world of mass species die off, environmental crisis, rapidly developing A.I., all powerful corporations and extreme divides between rich and poor. Film and book have bled into our culture in many different ways and in this series of the Essay, we mark the year of Blade Runner, in the month of Blade Runner. Dr Beth Singler, Junior Research Fellow in Artificial Intelligence at Homerton College, Cambridge asks what is real and fake in A.I. sex and love. "Simulation forces us to think about how we can the ‘real' that we seem so often to be confident about. Confident enough perhaps to reassure ourselves that the use of ‘fake' humans as slave labour and sexbots is alright to be skimmed over in the dialogue of the human characters in Blade Runner. What does it say about the society in the world of Blade Runner that it is okay with slave replicants who fight our off-world wars and fulfil sexual needs for colonists? It gets worse. What does it say about a society that is okay with slave replicants who are only two years old?" Producer: Mark Burman

It's Q&A time! This week - is AI a threat to humanity? What's a panic attack? And why does being scared make your legs wobble? We're answering your questions about science, technology, and medicine with our panel of experts. We've got university of Cambridge AI specialist Beth Singler; Naked Scientist and host of Naked Genetics Phil Sansom; Olivia Remes to chat to us about anxiety and mental health; and physiologist Sam Virtue, also from the University of Cambridge. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

It's Q&A time! This week - is AI a threat to humanity? What's a panic attack? And why does being scared make your legs wobble? We're answering your questions about science, technology, and medicine with our panel of experts. We've got university of Cambridge AI specialist Beth Singler; Naked Scientist and host of Naked Genetics Phil Sansom; Olivia Remes to chat to us about anxiety and mental health; and physiologist Sam Virtue, also from the University of Cambridge. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week: How does the internet affect us? What does it mean for our security, our wallets, and ourselves. We're taking a deep dive into the world of all things cyber... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week: How does the internet affect us? What does it mean for our security, our wallets, and ourselves. We're taking a deep dive into the world of all things cyber... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

On artificial intelligence. Beth Singler is a self-confessed geek. As a kid, she loved Star Trek and other science fiction; today she spends all her time researching our attitudes to technology - especially artificial intelligence. In this episode, Beth talks sentient AI. What questions do these machines raise? And can religion answer them? Photo © AHRC / TIMSTUBBINGS.COM

Things Unseen travels through space and time for a close encounter between science fiction and faith. Steering the ship will be the writer and broadcaster Natalie Haynes, with crewmates Beth Singler,... Things Unseen. For people who have a faith, and those who just feel there’s more out there than meets the eye.

Victorian hospitals were known as 'houses of death' and their surgeons, who never washed their hands, were praised for their brute strength and speed. Lindsey Fitzharris tells Andrew Marr about the pioneering British surgeon Joseph Lister who transformed his profession. Anaesthesia was discovered in the 1840s but Professor Lesley Colvin says we're still learning about the complex relationship between the brain and the perception of pain, as well as understanding the potential harm of the increased use of strong opiates. Pain is common to all humans, but could - and should - robots feel pain? This is the question Dr Beth Singler poses in a new film exploring the limits of Artificial Intelligence. And if they are programmed to feel pain, should they also be taught to swear? Dr Emma Byrne looks at the science of bad language and why it can also be harnessed to reduce pain. Producer: Katy Hickman.

This week more than 100 of the world's top robotics experts wrote to the UN calling for a ban on the development of "killer robots" and the tech entrepreneur Elon Musk tweeted that artificial intelligence safety was 'vastly more a risk than North Korea'. AI already changing our lives; from driver-less cars to caring for the elderly. Should the technology that drives AI be designed with a set of moral and ethical codes and how should it be regulated? Bob Walker reports from the Sheffield Robotics Centre. The theologian Andrew Graystone is joined by the AI assistant Alexa as he ponders the possibility that one day we might be able to create a robot with human qualities. The Bishop of Oxford Stephen Croft, Rabbi Moshi Freedman, anthropologist Beth Singler from the Faraday Institute and Kriti Sharma, VP of AI at Sage debate and discuss the application of AI and why its development needs to be considered within a moral and ethical framework. Edward Stourton also asks the Bishop of Oxford why he believes faith leaders should have a say in the development and legislation of artificial intelligence. Last week, a Russian court banned translations of the Jehovah's Witness bible. It's the latest in a string of rulings against the religious group, which the Russian courts have declared to be extremist. Anastasia Golubeva reports from Moscow. A recently discovered manuscript gives us a glimpse into how fourth century churchgoers would have heard the gospels. The Latin interpretation was discovered in the library of Cologne Cathedral. Dr Hugh Houghton from the Dept of Theology and Religion at Birmingham University has been collaborating on the translation and tells Edward what they have found. Producers: David Cook Carmel Lonergan Editor: Christine Morgan.