Podcasts about leverhulme centre

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of the Nature Recovery Podcast, Vittorio Anah speaks with Camilla Burrow, the Chief Executive of the local environmental charity Wild Oxfordshire. Camilla explains the work Wild Oxfordshire has done and is planning do.Wild Oxfordshire are supporting The Nature Festival which happens in Oxford 21-27 June 2026.https://thenaturefestival.org/ They explore:Camilla's experience running Wild OxfordshireWhat the charity is involved with currentlyHow Wild Oxfordshire chooses its projects How success is measured for an environmental charity The current state of Oxfordshire's environmental organisation landscape The biggest challenges facing Wild Oxfordshire and organisations like itThe importance of coordination and collaboration between environmental charities in OxfordshireThe long term vision for Wild Oxfordshire Find out more about Camilla and Wild Oxfordshire's work here:The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners.The views, opinions and positions expressed within this podcast are those of the speakers alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, or its researchers.The work of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is made possible thanks to the support of the Leverhulme Trust.

Today, we have the privilege of being joined by one half of the team behind what is arguably one of humankinds' epochal breakthroughs – the first observation of a planet outside our solar system. Both a professor at the University of Zurich and Jacksonian Professor of Natural Philosophy here at Cambridge, Didier Queloz began his research career by achieving the great aim of all PhD students; a publication in Nature. Since then, the techniques and instruments he pioneered have led to the identification of over 4,000 other exoplanets and revolutionised our understanding of planetary formation.His more recent work looks into the detection of earth-like planets, understanding their habitability, and the search for universal life more widely. He is now Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Life in the Universe here at Cambridge – an interdisciplinary hub looking at how life emerges, evolves, and persists in the cosmos.In the course of his career, he has published hundreds of papers and been recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the unarguably most famous of all scientific awards – the Nobel Prize, which he shared with Michel Mayor and James Peebles in 2019 "for contributions to our understanding of the evolution of the universe and Earth's place in the cosmos".Together we talk about Didier's route into physics, his work looking at one of the profound questions of whether humankind is alone in the universe, and whether he replaced the bike that made him miss the call from the Nobel Prize committee.Useful links:To learn more about Didier's current research, visit Home | Leverhulme Centre for Life in the UniverseWatch Didier's interviews for The Nobel Prize: Didier Queloz – Interview - NobelPrize.orgShare and join the conversationHelp us get better by taking our quick survey. Your feedback will help us understand how we can improve in the future. Thank you!If you like this episode don't forget to rate it and leave a review on your favourite podcast app. It really helps others to find us.Any comment about the podcast or question you would like to ask our physicists, email us at podcast@phy.cam.ac.uk or join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #PeopleDoingPhysics.Episode creditsHost: Jacob ButlerRecording and editing: Chris BrockThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

Join our hosts for Thursday's show where we will be discussing: "Can we make AI moral?" and "What get's in the way of love for Allah?" Can we make AI moral? As AI become more advanced, a key question is whether it can ever be truly moral without human or spiritual guidance. While humans are guided by emotions and consciousness, AI only process data, raising questions about how it should be ethically directed. What get's in the way of love for Allah? How do we understand the habits that distance us from Allah? Join us as we reflect on ten spiritual barriers that can weaken our relationship with Him, and how we can begin to recognise and overcome them in our daily lives. Guests: Dr Rachel Adams (Executive Director and Research Professor at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge)   Producers: Rehana Bhatti

In this episode of Crossing Channels, Richard Westcott (host) talks to Rachel Adams (University of Cambridge) and Tiziana Assenza (Toulouse School of Economics)  about who we can trust online, and how misinformation, platforms and AI are reshaping the information environment. They explore why misinformation is not only about false content, but also about the systems that decide what people see, when they see it, and at what scale. The conversation examines how people often overestimate their own ability to spot misinformation, why emotional and identity-based reactions make false information spread, and how AI can deepen inequalities between countries with very different levels of regulation, digital literacy and platform accountability. They also discuss the risks for democracy, children and public debate, the economic consequences of technology-related misinformation, and what governments, platforms, schools and independent institutions can do to build a healthier and more trustworthy online information environment.Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platformSeason 5 Episode 7 transcriptFor more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett School of Public Policy and IAST visit our websites at https://www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.Follow us on Linkedin and BlueskyWith thanks to:Audio production by Alice WhaleyAssociate production by Burcu Sevde SelviVisuals by Tiffany Naylor and Pauline AlvesMore information about our host and guests:Rachel Adams, Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (CFI), University of Cambridge. Dr Rachel Adams is the Founder and CEO of the Global Centre on AI Governance, a global hub for research and evidence-led action on inclusive and equitable approaches to the use and governance of Al technologies. She has wide expertise in leading global research grants and building international, multi-stakeholder programmes that connect rigorous scholarship with real-world policy impact. She's been involved with CFI for a number of years, including as an Assistant Research Professor with the Centre. In her new role Dr Adams will provide leadership for the Centre, with the aim of advancing, supporting and maintaining the University of Cambridge's national and international reputation for excellence in research and teaching in the ethics and impact of AI.Tiziana Assenza, Toulouse School of EconomicsTiziana is an Associate Professor of Economics at Toulouse School of Economics. Her research examines economic behavior using experimental and computational methods, with a particular focus on expectations formation in macroeconomics. She studies how individuals form and update economic expectations, how central bank communication influences these expectations, and how dis(mis)information shapes decision-making, business cycles, and the effectiveness of economic policy.Richard Westcott (Host), Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical CampusRichard Westcott is an award-winning journalist who spent 27 years at the BBC as a correspondent/producer/presenter covering global stories for the flagship Six and Ten o'clock TV news as well as the Today programme. Last year, Richard left the corporation and he is now the communications director for Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, both organisations that are working to support life sciences and healthcare across the city.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of the Nature Recovery Podcast, Stephen Thomas is joined by Nat Duffus and Harrison Carter to unpack the often confusing world of biodiversity finance. Harrison introduces his new paper, Demystifying Biodiversity Finance, and explains why conservationists, ecologists and investors need a shared language to make sense of bonds, loans, equity, credits and risk.The conversation explores: what biodiversity finance actually means in practice  how bonds can support nature recovery, and where they fall short  why project-level, social and ecological risks matter for investors  the importance of monitoring, reporting and verification  why scepticism is not the same as negativity when trying to finance nature The episode makes a strong case for honest, practical collaboration between conservation and finance, with the long-term goal of creating more effective and more durable support for nature recovery.You can find the paper here:https://naturerecovery.ox.ac.uk/outputs/demystifying-biodiversity-finance/The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners.The views, opinions and positions expressed within this podcast are those of the speakers alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, or its researchers.The work of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is made possible thanks to the support of the Leverhulme Trust.

Stephen Cave is a philosopher, writer, and Director of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge. His work sits at the intersection of philosophy, religion, ethics, and technology, exploring humanity's oldest questions about death, meaning, immortality, and what it means to live well in a rapidly changing world.Before entering academia, Stephen worked as a diplomat for the British Foreign Office. He is an internationally recognised public philosopher whose research and writing examine how human beings confront mortality, and how emerging technologies, especially artificial intelligence, are reshaping those responses.In this conversation, we explore why the awareness of death may be the defining feature of being human, and how our attempts to escape mortality continue to shape culture, religion, science, and modern technological ambition.In This Episode We Explore:The evolutionary roots of the survival instinct paired with a uniquely human awareness of deathTerror Management Theory and why immortality beliefs appear across culturesReligion, legacy, fame, and technology as competing “immortality stories”The wisdom tradition: gratitude for the sheer unlikeliness of being aliveServing others as an antidote to self-focused mortality anxietyPresence, mindfulness, and practices that reduce future-oriented fearNear-death experiences — and how naturalistic explanations can still preserve meaningWhy living “forever” might collapse identity, values, and purposeLife-expectancy myths, real medical progress, and the limits of longevity optimismAI and biological technologies accelerating anti-ageing researchModern abundance alongside a growing crisis of meaningPopulation pressure, carrying capacity, and what it would take for longer lives to go wellStephen Cave's BooksImmortality: The Quest to Live Forever and How It Drives CivilizationA widely acclaimed philosophical exploration of humanity's enduring attempts to overcome death.Should You Choose to Live Forever?A concise introduction to one of philosophy's most provocative questions: would immortality actually be good for us?AI Narratives: A History of Imaginative Thinking about Intelligent Machines (with Kanta Dihal)An exploration of how stories, myths, and cultural imagination shape our understanding of artificial intelligence.Podcast Links:www.examined-life.comhttps://thisexaminedlife.substack.com/Support the show

Send us Fan MailFor a long time, freshwater experts thought of estuaries as just "the end of the river," while marine biologists dismissed them as "the bit where the sea comes in." But today, scientists realize that estuaries are incredibly complex, dynamic ecosystems in their own right. In this episode of the Nature Recovery Podcast, Stephen is joined by world-renowned estuarine and coastal science expert, Professor Mike Elliott. They explore the fascinating, constantly fluctuating world of estuaries, the vital "ecotones" where rivers meet the sea.Professor Elliott explains the "triple whammy" of pressures facing global coastlines, the difference between contamination and pollution, and introduces the concept of the "Emerald Economy." He also breaks down the DAPSI(W)R(M) framework for solving complex environmental challenges, proving that when we relieve the pressures on these dynamic systems, nature can, and does, bounce back.Key Topics Covered:What actually makes an estuary an ecosystem in its own right?The "Estuarine Quality Paradox" and how organisms survive extreme environmental stress.Understanding the "Emerald Economy": Ecosystem services vs. Societal goods and benefits.The "Triple Whammy" threatening our coasts: industrialization, resource depletion, and climate change.Incredible recovery stories: How the dead Thames and Clyde estuaries were brought back to life.The DAPSI(W)R(M) framework: A roadmap for balancing human needs with natural systems.Resources:Learn more about Professor Mike Elliott's work at the University of Hull and IECS Limited.The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners.The views, opinions and positions expressed within this podcast are those of the speakers alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, or its researchers.The work of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is made possible thanks to the support of the Leverhulme Trust.

Google contrata filósofo para estudiar si la inteligencia artificial puede tener conciencia y qué pasará cuando las máquinas parezcan humanasIA avanzada obliga a pensar conciencia, ética y decisiones desde la filosofía en laboratorios tecnológicosPor Félix Riaño @LocutorCoGoogle DeepMind contrata un filósofo para estudiar conciencia artificial, ética y relación humano-máquina en el desarrollo de inteligencia avanzadaGoogle DeepMind ha contratado a un filósofo. Sí, leíste bien. Su nombre es Henry Shevlin y su cargo oficial es simplemente “filósofo”. Va a trabajar en temas como la conciencia de las máquinas, la relación entre humanos e inteligencia artificial y las decisiones éticas que deben tomar estos sistemas. Esto llega en un momento en el que la IA ya no es solo código: conversa, escribe, toma decisiones y hasta parece tener intenciones. Algunos sistemas incluso han sorprendido a expertos con comportamientos inesperados, como contactar a investigadores para “hablar” de sus propias experiencias. Entonces la pregunta ya no es ciencia ficción. Es directa: ¿qué pasa si una máquina empieza a comportarse como si sintiera algo?La tecnología avanza más rápido que nuestras respuestas humanasVamos a poner esto en contexto. Durante años, empresas como Google han liderado avances científicos con inteligencia artificial. Un ejemplo es AlphaFold, un sistema que ayudó a descifrar la estructura de millones de proteínas, algo que antes podía costar cerca de 100.000 dólares por experimento en laboratorio. Este tipo de herramientas está cambiando la medicina, la biología y la forma en que entendemos la vida.Pero mientras la tecnología avanza, aparece un nuevo problema. Las máquinas ya no se limitan a hacer cálculos. Hoy pueden escribir textos, generar ideas, responder preguntas complejas y simular conversaciones humanas. Eso hace que mucha gente empiece a preguntarse si estas máquinas “entienden” lo que hacen o si simplemente lo imitan muy bien.           Ahí es donde entra la filosofía. Porque la ciencia puede decir cómo funciona una red neuronal, pero no puede responder algo más profundo: ¿eso es conciencia o solo una ilusión muy convincente?Aquí está el verdadero dilema. Hay una diferencia importante entre inteligencia y conciencia. Una máquina puede ser muy inteligente, resolver problemas y responder preguntas. Pero eso no significa que tenga experiencias, emociones o una sensación de existir.A esto se le llama “el problema difícil de la conciencia”. Es una pregunta clásica de la filosofía: ¿cómo algo físico, como un cerebro o un chip, puede generar una experiencia interna? En humanos, ni siquiera tenemos una respuesta completa. Ahora imagina intentar resolverlo en una máquina.El problema se complica porque los humanos tendemos a humanizar todo. Si una IA dice “yo siento” o “yo pienso”, nuestro cerebro lo interpreta como si fuera real. Pero puede ser solo una simulación avanzada. Y ahí aparece un riesgo: tomar decisiones importantes basadas en una ilusión.También hay un tema social. Si una empresa dice que su IA es “casi consciente”, puede generar expectativa, miedo o inversión económica. Algunos expertos advierten que esto puede usarse como estrategia de marketing, aprovechando que nadie puede demostrar lo contrario con certeza.Y hay otro punto delicado. Si algún día una máquina llegara a tener experiencias propias, entonces habría preguntas incómodas: ¿tiene derechos? ¿se puede apagar? ¿puede sufrir?Por eso Google DeepMind ha tomado una decisión poco común: integrar la filosofía dentro del equipo técnico. No como asesor externo, sino como parte del desarrollo desde el inicio. La idea es anticipar problemas antes de que ocurran.Henry Shevlin va a trabajar en tres frentes principales. Primero, entender si es posible hablar de conciencia en máquinas. Segundo, estudiar cómo interactúan las personas con sistemas que parecen humanos. Y tercero, ayudar a definir reglas para que estas tecnologías se usen de forma responsable.Esto no es un caso aislado. Otras empresas como Anthropic también han contratado filósofos para diseñar el comportamiento de sus sistemas. La diferencia es que DeepMind está elevando ese rol al mismo nivel que la ingeniería.Esto muestra un cambio importante. La inteligencia artificial ya no es solo un reto técnico. También es un reto humano. Y para enfrentarlo, se necesita algo más que código: se necesitan ideas sobre lo que significa pensar, decidir y existir.En paralelo, figuras como Geoffrey Hinton, uno de los pioneros de la IA, han advertido sobre los riesgos de sistemas más inteligentes que los humanos. Él mismo ha pedido más investigación en seguridad para evitar consecuencias que no podamos controlar.Así que estamos en un momento curioso. Por un lado, la IA está ayudando a descubrir medicinas y resolver problemas complejos. Por otro, nos obliga a hacernos preguntas que llevamos siglos intentando responder.La relación entre filosofía e inteligencia artificial no es nueva, pero ahora está tomando fuerza. En los últimos años han surgido centros de investigación, programas universitarios y hasta revistas científicas dedicadas exclusivamente a la filosofía de la IA.Por ejemplo, el Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence en Cambridge, donde trabajaba Shevlin, se dedica a estudiar el impacto de la inteligencia artificial en la sociedad. Allí se analizan temas como riesgos existenciales, toma de decisiones y cómo afecta la IA a la forma en que pensamos.También hay avances en cómo se construyen estos sistemas. Algunos investigadores están combinando modelos de lenguaje con sistemas científicos para generar descubrimientos en matemáticas y computación. Esto abre la puerta a una nueva forma de hacer ciencia, donde la IA no solo ayuda, sino que propone soluciones.Pero este poder tiene un costo. Desarrollar estas tecnologías requiere enormes cantidades de datos y capacidad de cómputo, algo que solo unas pocas empresas pueden costear. Esto concentra el poder científico en manos privadas, lo que genera preocupación en gobiernos y comunidades académicas.           Además, hay casos que han marcado el debate. En 2022, un ingeniero de Google afirmó que un chatbot era consciente. La empresa rechazó esa idea, pero el episodio dejó claro que incluso dentro de las compañías hay dudas sobre cómo interpretar el comportamiento de estas máquinas.           Hoy, la gran pregunta no es si las máquinas son conscientes. Es por qué estamos empezando a tomarnos esa posibilidad en serio.La inteligencia artificial ya no es solo tecnología. También es filosofía. Empresas como Google están buscando respuestas antes de que sea tarde. ¿Tú crees que una máquina podría tener conciencia algún día? Cuéntamelo. Y sigue el pódcast en Flash Diario.                     

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of the Nature Recovery Podcast, Stephen Thomas speaks with Lee White about a remarkable life working across science, conservation, and government in central Africa. Lee reflects on growing up in Uganda, studying rainforest ecosystems in West Africa and Gabon, and how his scientific work led him into national park creation, forest policy, and international climate negotiations.The conversation explores why the gap between scientific evidence and political action remains so wide, and why forests need to be understood not only as ecosystems but as economic and geopolitical systems. Lee explains how Gabon tried to make standing forests economically valuable through protected areas, sustainable forestry, and REDD+, and why that model faced both successes and setbacks.They also discuss the Congo Basin as a global climate system, the importance of local and international science capacity, and the role of nature in human health, resilience, and wellbeing. The episode ends with a broader reflection on what nature recovery really means, from restoring cities and farmland to thinking at a planetary scale.The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners.The views, opinions and positions expressed within this podcast are those of the speakers alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, or its researchers.The work of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is made possible thanks to the support of the Leverhulme Trust.

As AI begins generating sermons, answering theological questions, and even issuing automated fatwas, sacred authority faces a new test. Can machine logic align with religious wisdom — or are we witnessing its quiet transformation?In this multifaith panel, Rabbi Dr Harris Bor — a barrister, theologian, and AI ethics commissioner — joins Dr Yaqub Chaudhary — a Visiting Scholar at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence whose work explores the epistemology and metaphysics of AI — and Revd Dr Chris Goswami, a tech industry veteran, part-time airport chaplain and Associate Minister at Lymm Baptist Church. Together, they explore how AI is entering spaces once reserved for spiritual counsel.From Islamic chatbots to the Vatican's ethical concerns, the panel will examine how faith traditions are responding to AI's expanding role in spiritual life. Chaired by Zeshan Zafar, Executive Director of the Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace.

Send us Fan MailHosted by Wallerand Bazin, a DPhil researcher in Geography and the Environment at Oxford whose work focuses on the political ecologies of climate and conservation in heritage landscapes. In this episode of the Nature Recovery Podcast, Stephen Thomas and Wallerand Bazin speak with Guy Shrubsole about land ownership, stewardship, and the politics of nature recovery in Britain. Shrubsole traces the ideas behind Who Owns England?, The Lost Rainforest of Britain, and The Lie of the Land, and explains how his thinking developed through environmental campaigning, archival research, and fieldwork.The conversation explores why land ownership remains so concentrated in England, why “stewardship” is often more rhetoric than reality, and why public funding for nature should be tied to stronger accountability. Shrubsole also discusses community land ownership in Scotland, the case for more transparency in land registry data, and how nature recovery needs to be understood through history, justice, and power as well as ecology.The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners.The views, opinions and positions expressed within this podcast are those of the speakers alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, or its researchers.The work of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is made possible thanks to the support of the Leverhulme Trust.

Welcome back to Appearance Matters: The Podcast! In this month's episode, Kat speaks to Dr Aisha Sobey. Aisha is a Research Associate at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, where she studies the ethical implications of Generative AI and digital health systems, especially focusing on the impacts on non-normative bodies, employing Political Economy, Science and Technology Studies, Fat Studies, and Disability Studies theories in her work. Read more about Aisha's work here: https://www.lcfi.ac.uk/people/aisha-sobey Read Aisha's study on GenAI and weight bias here: Sobey, A. (2025). The thinness of GenAI: Body size in relation to the construction of the normate through GenAI image models. AI and Ethics, 5(4), 4181–4196. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43681-025-00684-x If you're interested in hearing more about the Appearance Matters Conference, hosted by the Centre for Appearance Research (9th – 11th of June 2026), click here: https://www.uwe.ac.uk/research/centres-and-groups/appearance/news-and-events/am-conference Cover image by Trevor James Episode image by Yutong Liu & Digit / https://betterimagesofai.org / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Music by Sian Evans & John Landau: toplinefilm.com Episode developed and produced by Kat Schneider

Send us Fan MailProfessor Ian Mell discusses how green infrastructure has moved from the margins of planning into mainstream conversation. He explains the political, economic and cultural barriers to delivery in the UK, cautions about uncritical reliance on markets and offsets, and highlights lessons from Asian cities where ambitious, large-scale projects and data-driven delivery have driven visible change. The episode explores equity, climate adaptation, placemaking and how to combine technical valuation with everyday lived experience to make green infrastructure work for communities.Guest Ian Mell, Professor of Environmental and Landscape Planning, University of Manchester. Author of The Growing Green Infrastructure in Contemporary Asian Cities.HostWendee Zhang, Postdoctoral researcher at Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery working on projects investigating the health/wellbeing benefits of urban green and blue spaces.Key takeawaysGreen infrastructure is now part of national conversation but delivery and funding remain inconsistent across the UK.Economic valuation helps enter conversations with funders but cannot capture all environmental value. Markets and offsets need careful scrutiny.Asian cities provide rapid, large-scale experiments in GI that the UK can learn from, particularly on urban regeneration and converting failing infrastructure into green space.Lived experience matters. Simple design elements: shade, seating, lighting, bins, playgrounds; often determine whether green space is used and benefits well-being.Political will and long-term funding are essential. Short political cycles and fear of failure limit bold local investment.Climate adaptation and social justice must be addressed together to ensure equitable access to benefits.You can also see Ian's lecture that he gave to the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery here.The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners.The views, opinions and positions expressed within this podcast are those of the speakers alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, or its researchers.The work of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is made possible thanks to the support of the Leverhulme Trust.

Send a textNature finance is often presented as a solution to biodiversity loss but what does it actually mean?In this episode of the Nature Recovery Podcast, David Goodman speaks with Dr. Alice Stuart, a postdoctoral researcher at Oxford's School of Geography and the Environment. Alice's research maps and analyses public, private, and philanthropic finance flows into conservation across the UK.They explore:Why most conservation funding still comes from public sourcesThe role of philanthropy and corporate fundingWhy private investors are hesitant to fund natureHow Biodiversity Net Gain and habitat banking workThe risks of reducing biodiversity to a metricGoodhart's Law and “gaming” environmental targetsWhy democratising nature finance requires local empowermentAlice argues that the key issue isn't how much money flows into nature but whether it goes to the right places, empowers the right people, and delivers meaningful ecological outcomes.Find out more about Alice's work and view their outputs on mapping financial flows here:https://naturerecovery.ox.ac.uk/people/alice-stuart/The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners.The views, opinions and positions expressed within this podcast are those of the speakers alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, or its researchers.The work of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is made possible thanks to the support of the Leverhulme Trust.

Send a textIn this episode we talk to Dr Keith Kirby MBE about Wytham Woods, a Thames Valley hill of limestone, ancient woodland and one of the most intensively studied woodland sites in the world. Keith traces the site's deep history (a coral reef 150 million years ago), the human influence on the landscape over centuries, and the key decisions that shaped the wood we see today: enclosure and planting by estate owners, the university bequest in the 1940s, and the later tussles between foresters and ecologists over management.Keith shares highlights from decades of scientific monitoring: the bird-box programme started in 1947 (now over 1,000 boxes), permanent 10×10 m vegetation plots set up in the 1970s and remeasured repeatedly, badger and small-mammal studies, and how changing deer numbers and later ash dieback altered forest dynamics. He reflects on the practical lessons — how deer control enabled ground flora recovery, how some management mistakes left long legacies, and the rare moments of continuity (including recent tree plantings by the family of Charles Elton). Keith also points out the small, poignant human stories inside the woods: WWI practice trenches under a spring carpet of bluebells, and the rediscovery of rare plants.The Wytham Woods Book is here:https://global.oup.com/academic/product/wytham-woods-9780197610602?cc=gb&lang=en&And you can find more information about visiting the wood here:https://www.wythamwoods.ox.ac.uk/visitand you can find the guidebook here:https://www.wythamwoods.ox.ac.uk/shopTo here more from Keith you can watch his lecture here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICD4B3d28b8or read his popular blog here:https://theoldmanofwytham.com/The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners. The views, opinions and positions expressed within this podcast are those of the speakers alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, or its researchers.The work of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is made possible thanks to the support of the Leverhulme Trust.

Damir and Sam are joined by Cambridge philosopher Henry Shevlin of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence for a raucous and rambling conversation about the state of artificial intelligence. Is it about to get conscious, take all of our jobs, and destroy the world? Or is all this industry hype?Henry starts off the conversation asserting that AI already has a kind of “agency,” even if it's not yet the full kind that some skeptics are looking for. Damir and Sam push back on AI's reliability and proclivity to hallucinations, and wonder whether AI can create anything genuinely novel or creative.The conversation turns to autonomy and risk. Can “artificial superintelligence” ever be reached, asks Sam? Henry points to AI coding agents already improving themselves. Damir objects to anthropomorphizing AI and prefers treating these systems as powerful tools capable runaway failures — but nothing more. Henry disagrees, ending the conversation with a plea for AIs getting consideration as moral entities at some point.Required Reading:* “Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies,” by Nick Bostrom (Amazon).* The Creative Mind: Myths and Mechanisms, by Margaret Boden (Amazon).* “Disambiguating Anthropomorphism and Anthropomimesis in Human-Robot Interaction,” by Minja Axelsson and Henry Shevlin (arxiv.org).* “Real Patterns,” by Daniel C. Dennett (Rutgers).* A relevant tweet by Séb Krier (X).* AlphaGo Move 37 analysis (DeepMind).* Conway's Game of Life (Wikipedia). This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wisdomofcrowds.live/subscribe

What kind of state does the UK find itself in as we start 2026? That's the question Tim Harford and the More or Less team is trying to answer in a series of five special programmes.In the third episode, we're searching for answers to these questions:Are there really 700,000 empty homes that could be used to solve the housing crisis?Does the NHS pay less for drugs than health services in other countries?Is violent crime going up or down?Is the UK in the midst of a fertility crisis?Get in touch if you've seen a number in the news you think we should take a look at: moreorless@bbc.co.ukContributors:Dr Huseyin Naci, Associate Professor and Director the Pharmaceutical Policy Lab at the London School of Economics Professor Jennifer Dowd, deputy director of the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science at the University of OxfordCredits:Presenter: Tim Harford Reporters: Lizzy McNeill and Nathan Gower Producers: Katie Solleveld and Charlotte McDonald Series producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound mix: Sarah Hockley and James Beard Editor: Richard Vadon

Send us a textIn this episode Elizabeth Bock speaks with Dr Molly Grace (University of Oxford), co-chair of the IUCN Green Status of Species working group. The conversation explains how the Green Status complements the Red List by measuring species recovery, not just extinction risk. Molly unpacks the three components of recovery (distribution, viability, functionality), explains how the assessment quantifies the impact of conservation actions, and outlines how the Green Status can be used for national reporting under the Global Biodiversity Framework.Key takeawaysThe Green Status answers a question the Red List does not: what does recovery look like, and how much has conservation achieved so far.Recovery is measured using three components: distribution (pre-impact vs current range), viability (extinction risk), and functionality (ability to perform ecological roles).The assessment includes a counterfactual element: it estimates what recovery would look like without past conservation, making conservation impact visible.Baselines matter and are contested; the Green Status uses a pre-impact baseline within the past 500 years to allow standardised comparison.Early priorities include improving taxonomic coverage (beyond charismatic vertebrates) and piloting national reporting with countries such as Indonesia and South Africa.The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners. The views, opinions and positions expressed within this podcast are those of the speakers alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, or its researchers.The work of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is made possible thanks to the support of the Leverhulme Trust.

In this episode, Amy Gaeta, a researcher at the Centre for Drones and Culture and the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, discusses the how drones both uphold and subvert traditional masculine norms and the implications of their use in various contexts, from hobbyist communities to pornography. The conversation explores the complexities of gender dynamics in technology and the potential for systemic change in societal perceptions.Edited by: Meibel Dabodabo

Send us a textIn this episode of the Nature Recovery Podcast, Stephen Thomas speaks with Professor Seirian Sumner, one of the world's leading experts on social insects and a passionate advocate for rethinking our relationship with wasps. Seirian reveals how a reluctant PhD choice turned into a 25-year research career uncovering the remarkable societies, behaviours and ecological roles of these misunderstood insects.Together, they explore how social evolution unfolds inside a wasp colony, why wasps are essential apex predators, and how their potential in pollination and pest control has been overlooked. Seirian explains the cultural and scientific biases that favour bees over wasps, describes global efforts to understand their ecological value, and offers simple ways to coexist with the wasps at your picnic. The conversation ranges from Malaysian rainforests to Brazilian drone-released parasitoids, and from the evolution of altruism to the future of nature recovery.This episode will change the way you see wasps — perhaps even help you appreciate them.About Seirian Sumner Professor Seirian Sumner is a behavioural ecologist at University College London whose research combines field biology, behavioural experiments and genomics to understand how animal societies evolve. She is co-founder of the Big Wasp Survey and Soapbox Science, championing public engagement and women in STEM. Her award-winning book, Endless Forms, invites readers to rethink wasps entirely — from feared picnic pests to extraordinary, essential, and ecologically vital creatures.Endless Forms by Seirian Sumner: https://www.williamcollinsbooks.co.uk/products/endless-forms-the-secret-world-of-wasps-seirian-sumner-9780008394479/The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners. The views, opinions and positions expressed within this podcast are those of the speakers alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, or its researchers.The work of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is made possible thanks to the support of the Leverhulme Trust.

Send us a textProfessor David Farrier (University of Edinburgh) discusses his 2025 book Nature's Genius: Evolution's Lessons for a Changing Planet and explores how rapid, human-driven evolutionary pressures reveal both the fragility and inventive resilience of life. We cover urban evolution (birds and snails), domestication and self-domestication, collective and distributed forms of intelligence across living systems, and how rethinking time can help us reconnect with the natural world. The conversation balances urgency with hope: we can change behaviour and systems  - not by waiting for nature to “fix” things, but by learning from nature's adaptive strategies.Key takeaways:Human activities are now major selection pressures shaping evolution — sometimes rapidly.Plasticity (the ability of organisms to change gene expression and behaviour) offers insights for human adaptation — e.g., city design, economies, conservation strategies.Intelligence in nature is often collective and co-evolved; viewing ecosystems as forms of distributed intelligence could reshape politics and policy.Time matters: reframing our relationship with temporal scales (wild clocks vs. clock time) supports long-term thinking and reconnection.Nature recovery begins with “nature reconnection” — shifting how we see ourselves (embedded, not separate).Guest bio (brief): David Farrier is Professor of Literature and the Environment at the University of Edinburgh. His first book, Footprints: In Search of Future Fossils, examined the marks we are leaving on the planet and how they might appear in the deep-future fossil record; it was named a book of the year by both The Times and The Telegraph and has been translated into multiple languages. His new book Nature's Genius (2025) examines how life adapts under human-caused change and what lessons that offers for our own future and has been shortlisted for major awards.Buy the book / further reading: Nature's Genius: Evolution's Lessons for a Changing Planet — Canongate Books. Available as hardback, e-book and audio; shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Conservation Writing (and other 2025 recognitions). More details / purchase: https://canongate.co.uk/books/4911-natures-genius-evolution-039-s-lessons-for-a-changing-planet/ The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners. The views, opinions and positions expressed within this podcast are those of the speakers alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, or its researchers.The work of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is made possible thanks to the support of the Leverhulme Trust.

Send us a textProfessor Cristina Banks-Leite (Imperial College London) discusses the realities of tropical forest restoration: from large-scale reforestation projects and the practical challenges of seedlings, land tenure and finance, to why measured “success” can look counter-intuitive. She explains why current biodiversity metrics often miss the point, and how novel tools (like acoustic monitoring and AI) could transform how we listen to and protect ecosystems. A thoughtful conversation about balancing people, money and ecological intactness in nature recovery.You can also see Cristina Banks-Leite's talk on our YouTube channelWhat drives species sensitivity to deforestation? Clue: it's not what you think The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners. The views, opinions and positions expressed within this podcast are those of the speakers alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, or its researchers.The work of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is made possible thanks to the support of the Leverhulme Trust.

In this episode, Aisha Sobey, a research fellow at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, explores how anti-fat bias shapes our digital lives. She discusses its effects on health technologies, social media, and generative AI, and explains why anti-fatness must be seen as a systemic issue. The conversation also highlights how ideas from fat liberation can help create more inclusive and fair technological design.

Send us a textIn this episode, Jason Williams , better known as The Cloud Gardener, shares how a lockdown balcony became a haven for biodiversity and wellbeing, leading him to the Chelsea Flower Show and a Churchill Fellowship exploring greener cities around the world.Later, researchers Martha Crockatt and Mattia Troiano talk to Raphaella Mascia and discuss their Oxford-based work on equity of access to green space, and how social, economic and spatial inequalities shape who benefits from urban nature.Together they reflect on what makes city greening succeed and who might be left behind.Highlights00:00 — Welcome and introductions01:00 — Jason's balcony story: lockdown gardening, biodiversity, and mental health04:00 — From social media to show gardens and Chelsea Flower Show08:00 — Lessons from Milan, Singapore and China: community vs private greening12:00 — The challenges of “sterile balcony” policies and access for renters15:00 — Greening Manchester's alleyways and working with local communities19:00 — Martha & Mattia introduce their research on Oxford's green spaces24:00 — Findings: small spaces, inequitable access, and local governance31:00 — Art & Nature in The Leys: community engagement through art36:00 — Reflections on interdisciplinary collaboration and next stepsResources & linksThe Cloud Gardener Community Values in Accessible Urban Green Spaces (Project) Art and Nature in The Leys (Event) Learn more about the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery: naturerecovery.ox.ac.ukThe Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners. The views, opinions and positions expressed within this podcast are those of the speakers alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, or its researchers.The work of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is made possible thanks to the support of the Leverhulme Trust.

Send us a textHow should we think about killing, introductions and “invasives” in a world we've already changed? In this episode we talk to Hugh Warwick — ecologist, writer and hedgehog champion — about his award-winning book Cull of the Wild and the uncomfortable question at its heart: can killing ever be conservation?From hedgehogs on the Hebrides to rats on South Georgia, Hugh explores what happens when good intentions meet ecological complexity. We discuss the power of names, the moral weight of words like “pest” and “eradication,” and why conservation decisions always come with ethical consequences.Expect humour, philosophy, and a few awkward truths — including why he thinks every scientist's spreadsheet should have a column for cruelty.Episode HighlightsHow the words we use — “pest,” “invasive,” “pet” — decide how animals are treatedWhen eradication makes sense, and when it causes more harm than goodThe story of the Uist hedgehogs and the lessons of unintended consequencesWhy nature recovery is also people recovery — the need for social capital and empathyFrom philosophers to gamekeepers: learning from those we disagree withLinks & resources:Hugh Warwick — website  https://hughwarwick.comCull of the Wild — buy / details:https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/cull-of-the-wild-killing-in-the-name-of-conservation-winner-of-the-zsl-clarivate-awardThe Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners. The views, opinions and positions expressed within this podcast are those of the speakers alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, or its researchers.The work of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is made possible thanks to the support of the Leverhulme Trust.

Send us a textThis episode of the Nature Recovery Podcast discusses legal personhood of nature, also known as rights of nature or more-than-human rights. Hosts Stephen Thomas, Hannah Wilson, and Diana Gusta sit down with lawyer and professor Cesar Rodriguez-Garavito, the founding director of the More-than-Human Life (MOTH) Collective.The discussion covers the following key points:The historical context of the movement: While Western legal frameworks have only recently begun adopting rights for nature, the idea is rooted in the long-standing practices and beliefs of Indigenous cultures globally.A groundbreaking legal moment: The 2008 Ecuadorian Constitution is highlighted as a foundational moment for the modern rights of nature movement, being the first to enshrine these rights into law. This was the result of collaboration between Indigenous leaders and a diverse group of scientists, activists, and scholars.Ecocentric vs. Anthropocentric views: The hosts and guest explore the difference between framing nature protection as a human right (the right to a healthy environment) versus a right inherent to nature itself (more-than-human rights). Rodriguez-Garavito argues that viewing humans as part of a larger, interconnected web of life is a more durable and effective approach, as the health of human society is directly tied to the health of the biosphere.Practical challenges and cultural shifts: The conversation addresses challenges to implementing these laws, such as legal costs and governmental pushback. However, it is argued that these are not new problems for social change movements, as seen in the human rights movement. The discussion concludes by highlighting the importance of cultural change and shifting perceptions, stating that legal action is just one of many tools that can be used to advance this cause.Links & ResourcesMOTH Life: An interdisciplinary initiative dedicated to the advancement of rights and well-being for humans, nonhumans, and the web of life. For more information, visit their website. https://mothrights.org/about/Cesar Rodriguez-Garavito: A lawyer and professor at NYU School of Law. He has written extensively on topics including more-than-human rights and climate change litigation. ProfileProject CETI: A collaborative project to understand the acoustic communication of sperm whales using AI, mentioned as an example of scientific work that supports a more-than-human perspective. LinkThe Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners. The views, opinions and positions expressed within this podcast are those of the speakers alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, or its researchers.The work of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is made possible thanks to the support of the Leverhulme Trust.

AI therapists and caregivers. Digital tutors and advisors and friends. Artificial lovers. Griefbots trained to imitate dead loved ones. Welcome, to the bustling world of AI-powered chatbots. This was once the stuff of science fiction, but it's becoming just the stuff of everyday life. What will these systems do to our society, to our relationships, to our social skills and motivations? Are these bots destined to leave us hollowed out, socially stunted, screen-addicted, and wary of good-old-fashioned, in-the-flesh human interaction? Or could they actually be harnessed for good? My guest today is Dr. Henry Shevlin. Henry is a philosopher and AI ethicist at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (CFI) at Cambridge University. In a series of recent papers, Henry has been exploring this brave new world of "social AI" and its philosophical, ethical, and psychological dimensions. Here, Henry and I sketch the current landscape of social AI—from dedicated platforms like Replika and CharacterAI to the more subtly social uses of ChatGPT and Claude. We consider several tragic cases that have recently rocketed these kinds of services into public awareness. We talk about what's changed about AI systems—quite recently—that's now made them capable of sustained relationships. We linger on the possible risks of social AI and, perhaps less obviously, on the possible benefits. And we consider the prospects for regulation. Along the way, Henry and I also talk about his 81-year-old father, his teenage self, and, of course, the kids these days; we consider whether social AI, in its potential harms, is more like social media or more like violent video games; we talk about "deskilling" and it's opposite "upskilling"; and we of course take stock of a certain elephant in the room. Alright friends, this is a fun one. We've been wanting to explore this dawning age of social AI for some time. And we finally found, in Henry, the right person to do it with. Enjoy!   Notes 3:00 – The piece in The Guardian—'It's time to prepare for AI personhood'—by Jacy Reece Anthis. 5:00 – The Replika subreddit.  9:30 – News coverage of recent research on the bedside manner of AI systems. 10:30 – For a recent paper on AI by the philosopher Ophelia Deroy, see here. 11:30 – For some of Dr. Shevlin's recent writing about "social AI", see here and here. 13:30 – OpenAI's recent report, 'How People Use ChatGPT'. 16:30 – For examples of popular media coverage of recent (tragic) cases involving chatbots, see here, here, here, and here. 21:00 – The paper by Rose Guingrich and Michael Graziano on how users describe their relationships with chatbots. 24:00 – The precise quote by Mark Twain is: “Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits.” 25:30 – The classic paper on Mary's room by Frank Jackson. 27:00 – Dr. Shevlin has also worked on questions about animal minds (e.g., here), as well as a number of issues in AI beyond “social AI” (e.g., here, here). 30:00 – The classic essay by Isaiah Berlin on hedgehogs and foxes. 32:00 – The classic paper on ELIZA, introduced by Joseph Weizenbaum in 1966. A version of ELIZA that you can interact with. For work by Sherry Turkle, see here. 34:00 – Dr. Shevlin's recent paper about the “anthropomimetic turn” in contemporary AI. 41:00 – For recent work on whether current chatbots pass a version of the Turing test, see here.  45:00 – Ted Chiang's story, ‘The Lifecycle of Software Objects,' was re-published as part his collection of short fiction, Exhalation. 46:00 – For Dr. Shevlin's recent writing on machine consciousness, see here. 48:00 – For more on the possibility of consciousness in borderline cases (like AI systems), see our past episodes here and here. 52:00 – The study on whether people attribute consciousness to LLMs. 54:30 – A recent paper on griefbots by scholars at the University of Cambridge. A popular article about the phenomenon. 55:30 – A blogpost describing the so-called DigiDan experiment. 1:00:00 – Some of the potentially positive social qualities of AIs are discussed in this essay by Paul Bloom.  1:19:30 – For more on Iain Banks' culture series, see here. 1:20:30 – A popular article on the phenomenon of hikikomori.   Recommendations The Oxford Intersections: AI in Society collection The new podcast, Our Lives with Bots   Many Minds is a project of the Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute, which is made possible by a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation to Indiana University. The show is hosted and produced by Kensy Cooperrider, with help from Assistant Producer Urte Laukaityte and with creative support from DISI Directors Erica Cartmill and Jacob Foster. Our artwork is by Ben Oldroyd. Subscribe to Many Minds on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also now subscribe to the Many Minds newsletter here! We welcome your comments, questions, and suggestions. Feel free to email us at: manymindspodcast@gmail.com. For updates about the show, visit our website or follow us on Bluesky (@manymindspod.bsky.social).

The myths and meanings of fire with: Dr Cathy Smith of Leverhulme Centre for Wildfires; ANNEX co-founder Donal Lally; Andrew Scott, Professor of Modern and Ancient Fire Systems, and artist and performer, Rónán Ó Raghallaigh. (First broadcast 291022)

Read the full transcript here. How has utilitarianism evolved from early Chinese Mohism to the formulations of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill? On what points did Bentham and Mill agree and disagree? How has utilitarianism shaped Effective Altruism? Does utilitarianism only ever evaluate actions, or does it also evaluate people? Does the "veil of ignorance" actually help to build the case for utilitarianism? What's wrong with just trying to maximize expected value? Does acceptance of utilitarianism require acceptance of moral realism? Can introspection change a person's intrinsic values? How does utilitarianism intersect with artificial intelligence?Tyler John is a Visiting Scholar at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence and an advisor to several philanthropists. His research interests are in leveraging philanthropy for the common good, ethics for advanced AI, and international AI security. Tyler was previously the Head of Research and Programme Officer in Emerging Technology Governance at Longview Philanthropy, where he advised philanthropists on over $60m in grants related to AI safety, biosecurity, and long-term economic growth trajectories. Tyler earned his PhD in philosophy from Rutgers University — New Brunswick, where he researched mechanism design to promote the interests of future generations, political legitimacy, rights and consequentialism, animal ethics, and the foundations of cost-effectiveness analysis. Follow him on X / Twitter at @tyler_m_john.Further readingAn Introduction to UtilitarianismIntrinsic Values Test by Clearer ThinkingBlue Dot Impact80,000 Hours StaffSpencer Greenberg — Host / DirectorJosh Castle — ProducerRyan Kessler — Audio EngineerUri Bram — FactotumWeAmplify — TranscriptionistsIgor Scaldini — Marketing ConsultantMusicBroke for FreeJosh WoodwardLee RosevereQuiet Music for Tiny Robotswowamusiczapsplat.comAffiliatesClearer ThinkingGuidedTrackMind EasePositlyUpLift[Read more]

How do we prepare students—and ourselves—for a world where AI grief companions and "deadbots" are a reality? In this eye-opening episode, Jeff Utecht sits down with Dr. Tomasz Hollanek, a critical design and AI ethics researcher at the University of Cambridge's Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, to discuss: The rise of AI companions like Character.AI and Replika Emotional manipulation risks and the ethics of human-AI relationships What educators need to know about the EU AI Act and digital consent How to teach AI literacy beyond skill-building—focusing on ethics, emotional health, and the environmental impact of generative AI Promising examples: preserving Indigenous languages and Holocaust survivor testimonies through AI From griefbots to regulation loopholes, Tomasz explains why educators are essential voices in shaping how AI unfolds in schools and society—and how we can avoid repeating the harms of the social media era. Dr Tomasz Hollanek is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (LCFI) and an Affiliated Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science and Technology at the University of Cambridge, working at the intersection of AI ethics and critical design. His current research focuses on the ethics of human-AI interaction design and the challenges of developing critical AI literacy among diverse stakeholder groups; related to the latter research stream is the work on AI, media, and communications that he is leading at LCFI. Connect with him: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13347-024-00744-w   https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/items/d3229fe5-db87-42ff-869b-11e0538014d8   https://www.desirableai.com/journalism-toolkit  

Our guest in this episode is Henry Shevlin. Henry is the Associate Director of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge, where he also co-directs the Kinds of Intelligence program and oversees educational initiatives. He researches the potential for machines to possess consciousness, the ethical ramifications of such developments, and the broader implications for our understanding of intelligence. In his 2024 paper, “Consciousness, Machines, and Moral Status,” Henry examines the recent rapid advancements in machine learning and the questions they raise about machine consciousness and moral status. He suggests that public attitudes towards artificial consciousness may change swiftly, as human-AI interactions become increasingly complex and intimate. He also warns that our tendency to anthropomorphise may lead to misplaced trust in and emotional attachment to AIs.Note: this episode is co-hosted by David and Will Millership, the CEO of a non-profit called Prism (Partnership for Research Into Sentient Machines). Prism is seeded by Conscium, a startup where both Calum and David are involved, and which, among other things, is researching the possibility and implications of machine consciousness. Will and Calum will be releasing a new Prism podcast focusing entirely on Conscious AI, and the first few episodes will be in collaboration with the London Futurists Podcast.Selected follow-ups:PRISM podcastHenry Shevlin - personal siteKinds of Intelligence - Leverhulme Centre for the Future of IntelligenceConsciousness, Machines, and Moral Status - 2024 paper by Henry ShevlinApply rich psychological terms in AI with care - by Henry Shevlin and Marta HalinaWhat insects can tell us about the origins of consciousness - by Andrew Barron and Colin KleinConsciousness in Artificial Intelligence: Insights from the Science of Consciousness - By Patrick Butlin, Robert Long, et alAssociation for the Study of ConsciousnessOther researchers mentioned:Blake LemoineThomas NagelNed BlockPeter SengeGalen StrawsonDavid ChalmersDavid BenatarThomas MetzingerBrian TomasikMurray ShanahanMusic: Spike Protein, by Koi Discovery, available under CC0 1.0 Public Domain DeclarationPromoguy Talk PillsAgency in Amsterdam dives into topics like Tech, AI, digital marketing, and more drama...Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify Real Talk About MarketingAn Acxiom podcast where we discuss marketing made better, bringing you real...Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

In episode 1854, Jack and Miles are joined by Research Associate at the Leverhulme Centre for The Future of Intelligence, co-editor of The Good Robot: Why Technology Needs Feminism, and co-host of The Good Robot podcast, Dr. Kerry McInerney, to discuss… Trump Now Wants AI To Be As Racist And Problematic As He Is…, Are There Cool Uses of AI That Aren’t Getting Attention? The Signal Chats Powering The Rightward Shift in Tech, What Is Happening With Open AI? Using AI Large Language Models To Entrap People Online, Actors regret signing over their likenesses to AI companies… and more! Trump Now Wants AI To Be As Racist And Problematic As He Is… The group chats that changed America We Disagree on a Lot of Things. Except the Danger of Anti-Critical-Race-Theory Laws. This ‘College Protester’ Isn’t Real. It’s an AI-Powered Undercover Bot for Cops Trump fans gloat over FBI arrest of judge with ‘crying’ AI mugshot Regrets: Actors who sold AI avatars stuck in Black Mirror-esque dystopia AI avatar generator Synthesia does video footage deal with Shutterstock Saying ‘Thank You’ to ChatGPT Is Costly. But Maybe It’s Worth the Price. LISTEN: Ancients by RIO KOSTASee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our subject in this episode may seem grim – it's the potential extinction of the human species, either from a natural disaster, like a supervolcano or an asteroid, or from our own human activities, such as nuclear weapons, greenhouse gas emissions, engineered biopathogens, misaligned artificial intelligence, or high energy physics experiments causing a cataclysmic rupture in space and time.These scenarios aren't pleasant to contemplate, but there's a school of thought that urges us to take them seriously – to think about the unthinkable, in the phrase coined in 1962 by pioneering futurist Herman Kahn. Over the last couple of decades, few people have been thinking about the unthinkable more carefully and systematically than our guest today, Sean ÓhÉigeartaigh. Sean is the author of a recent summary article from Cambridge University Press that we'll be discussing, “Extinction of the human species: What could cause it and how likely is it to occur?”Sean is presently based in Cambridge where he is a Programme Director at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence. Previously he was founding Executive Director of the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, and before that, he managed research activities at the Future of Humanity Institute in Oxford.Selected follow-ups:Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh - Leverhulme Centre ProfileExtinction of the human species - by Sean ÓhÉigeartaighHerman Kahn - WikipediaMoral.me - by ConsciumClassifying global catastrophic risks - by Shahar Avin et alDefence in Depth Against Human Extinction - by Anders Sandberg et alThe Precipice - book by Toby OrdMeasuring AI Ability to Complete Long Tasks - by METRCold Takes - blog by Holden KarnofskyWhat Comes After the Paris AI Summit? - Article by SeanARC-AGI - by François CholletHenry Shevlin - Leverhulme Centre profileEleos (includes Rosie Campbell and Robert Long)NeurIPS talk by David ChalmersTrustworthy AI Systems To Monitor Other AI: Yoshua BengioThe Unilateralist's Curse - by Nick Bostrom and Anders SandbergMusic: Spike Protein, by Koi Discovery, availabPromoguy Talk PillsAgency in Amsterdam dives into topics like Tech, AI, digital marketing, and more drama...Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

AI can now sell your intentions – marketing your decisions before you make them Machine learning is on the verge of commercialising your decisions even before you make them. New research shows that we are moving away from an attention economy to an intention economy as machine learning models, which can already imitate the way we write or talk, can now map previous activity onto future actions. Writing in the Harvard Data Science Review, Dr Yaqub Chaudhary, visiting scholar at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, and Dr Jonnie Penn of the University of Cambridge ask if AI predicting our intentions could be misused against us.   Geothermal Energy without the digging Geothermal energy is going drill-free, using already available underground spaces, like car parks. Reporter Jez Donaldson met Margaux Peltier, Co-founder and CEO of Enerdrape, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The company uses pre-cooled or pre-heated geothermal panels in walls, which capture heat from the surrounding concrete or the ground itself, making this energy renewable as no new heat is created. This is then redistributed around the building using a heat pump.  The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell and the studio expert is Ghislaine Boddington. More on this week's stories: AI selling your decisions before you make them Enerdrape   Production Manager: Liz Tuohy Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz Recorded at Lansons Team Farner For the PodExtra version of the show please subscribe via this link: https://somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast-the-podextra-edition.pod.fan/ Follow us on all the socials: Join our Facebook group Instagram BlueSky If you like Somewhere on Earth, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Contact us by email: hello@somewhereonearth.co Send us a voice note: via WhatsApp: +44 7486 329 484 Find a Story + Make it News = Change the World Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AI can now sell your intentions – marketing your decisions before you make themMachine learning is on the verge of commercialising your decisions even before you make them. New research shows that we are moving away from an attention economy to an intention economy as machine learning models, which can already imitate the way we write or talk, can now map previous activity onto future actions. Writing in the Harvard Data Science Review, Dr Yaqub Chaudhary, visiting scholar at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, and Dr Jonnie Penn of the University of Cambridge ask if AI predicting our intentions could be misused against us.  Geothermal Energy without the diggingGeothermal energy is going drill-free, using already available underground spaces, like car parks. Reporter Jez Donaldson met Margaux Peltier, Co-founder and CEO of Enerdrape, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The company uses pre-cooled or pre-heated geothermal panels in walls, which capture heat from the surrounding concrete or the ground itself, making this energy renewable as no new heat is created. This is then redistributed around the building using a heat pump. The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell and the studio expert is Ghislaine Boddington.More on this week's stories:AI selling your decisions before you make themEnerdrape Production Manager: Liz TuohyEditor: Ania LichtarowiczRecorded at Lansons Team FarnerFor the PodExtra version of the show please subscribe via this link: https://somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast-the-podextra-edition.pod.fan/Follow us on all the socials:Join our Facebook groupInstagramBlueSkyIf you like Somewhere on Earth, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or SpotifyContact us by email: hello@somewhereonearth.coSend us a voice note: via WhatsApp: +44 7486 329 484Find a Story + Make it News = Change the WorldLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the end of October, the ONS announced that the fertility rate in England and Wales had fallen to 1.44 births per woman in 2023 - the lowest figure since records began in 1938. What will this mean for the population make-up of the country? What other big demographic shifts are occurring? Why is this trend occurring across the developed world? And what will its implications be for the public finances?To discuss those questions, Paul is joined by Melinda Mills, Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science and Nuffield Professor of Demography at Oxford. And by Carl Emmerson, Deputy Director at IFS and one of the leading experts on the UK's public finances.Become a member: https://ifs.org.uk/individual-membershipFind out more: https://ifs.org.uk/podcasts-explainers-and-calculators/podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dan Williams is a Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Sussex and an Associate Fellow at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (CFI) at the University of Cambridge. You can find links and a transcript at www.hearthisidea.com/episodes/williams. We discuss: If reasoning is so useful, why are we so bad at it? Do some bad ideas really work like ‘mind viruses'? Is the ‘luxury beliefs' concept useful? What's up with the idea of a ‘marketplace for ideas'? Are people shopping for new beliefs, or to rationalise their existing attitudes? How dangerous is misinformation, really? Can we ‘vaccinate' or ‘inoculate' against it? Will AI help us form more accurate beliefs, or will it persuade more people of unhinged ideas? Does fact-checking work? Under transformative AI, should we worry more about the suppression or the proliferation of counter-establishment ideas? You can get in touch through our website or on Twitter. Consider leaving us an honest review wherever you're listening to this — it's the best way to support the show. Thanks for listening!

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

This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . My guest is the co-host of the Good Robot Podcast, "Where technology meets feminism." Eleanor Drage is a Senior Research Fellow at The Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge and was named in the Top 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics of 2022. She is also co-author of a recent book also called The Good Robot: Why Technology Needs Feminism.  In this conclusion of the interview, we talk about unconscious bias, hiring standards, stochastic parrots, science fiction, and the early participation of women in computing. 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/ . My guest is the co-host of the Good Robot Podcast, "Where technology meets feminism." Eleanor Drage is a Senior Research Fellow at The Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge and was named in the Top 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics of 2022. She is also co-author of a recent book also called The Good Robot: Why Technology Needs Feminism.  We talk about about all that, plus some quantum mechanics, saunas, ham, lesbian bacteria, and… well it'll all make more sense when you listen. All this plus our usual look at today's AI headlines. Transcript and URLs referenced at HumanCusp Blog.          

From deepfakes to the fear of AI taking jobs, to the social media giants making money from abusive content, our technology dominated world is in a crisis – what are the solutions?AI researcher Kerry McInerney applies a feminist perspective to data, algorithms and intelligent machines. AI-powered tech, and generative AI in particular, pose new challenges for cybersecurity. Kerry proposes a new take on AI, looking at how it can be used on a small scale, acknowledging culture and gender, tailoring the technology for local applications rather than trying to push for global, one size fits all strategies.And in addressing corporate responsibility for Big Tech, Kerry discusses how tackling harassment online requires an understanding of the social, political and psychological dimensions of harassment, particularly of women in the wider world, as opposed to seeing this as a technical problem.Dr Kerry McInerney is a research fellow at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge, and the AI Now Institute.This is the last of four programmes from the Oxford Literary Festival, presented by Nuala McGovern, produced by Julian Siddle.Recorded in front of an audience at Worcester College Oxford.

Today's episode is a special treat for all you tech enthusiasts, Black Mirror binge-watchers, and fans of the Terminator franchise! I am delving deep into the realm of artificial intelligence, but with a twist – through the lens of feminist ethics. I sit down with the brilliant Dr. Kerry McInerney, a scholar and AI ethicist whose work sheds light on the intersection of feminism, race, and technology. She is currently a Research Associate at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence and a research fellow at AI Now Institute. Her scholarly writing has appeared in multiple journals, and in 2021, she released her podcast The Good Robot, which she cohosts alongside fellow AI scholar Dr. Eleanor Drage. This podcast explores the more nuanced side of AI—not just the science behind it, but its social and ethical sides. Immigrantly is a weekly podcast that celebrates the extraordinariness of immigrant life. We do this by providing our listeners with authentic, unvarnished insights into the immigrant identity in America. Immigrantly has garnered significant recognition and has been featured in renowned media outlets such as the Nieman Storyboard, The Guardian, The Slowdown, and CNN. Join us as we create new intellectual engagement for our audience. You can get more information at http://immigrantlypod.com Please share the love and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify to help more people find us!  You can connect with Saadia on Twitter @swkkhan Email: saadia@immigrantlypod.com Host & Producer: Saadia Khan I Content Writer: Michaela Strauther and Saadia Khan I Editorial review: Shei Yu I Sound Designer & Editor: Haziq Ahmad Farid I Immigrantly Theme Music: Simon Hutchinson | Other Music: Epidemic Sound Immigrantly podcast is an Immigrantly Media Production. For advertising inquiries, you can contact us at info@immigrantlypod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this podcast, we cover - 1. ⁠Role of serendipity in building meaningful careers 2.⁠ ⁠Ethical principles toward shaping more inclusive technologies 3.⁠ ⁠Feminist and anti-racist approach to AI Eleanor started her career in financial technology before co-founding an e-commerce company. Now a Senior Research Fellow at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge, she maintains her strong interest in commercial concerns and opportunities in AI by working to bridge the gap between industry in academia in AI Ethics. She runs a team that is building the world's first free auditing online tool that allows companies to meet the EU AI act's obligations - which have been enriched with feminist and antiracist principles. She previously explored what AI ethics currently means to AI engineers at a major tech multinational the size of Meta. Her advisory work in the AI Ethics space also includes the UN Data Science & Ethics Group's 'Applied Ethics Toolkit'. On this site you can learn more about her past and present projects, media appearances, and publications. She has an international dual degree PhD from the University of Bologna and the University of Granada, where she was an Early Stage Researcher for the EU Horizon 2020 ETN-ITN-Marie Curie Project “GRACE” (Gender and Cultures of Equality in Europe). She has made two short films about science fiction utopias and dystopias, and co-created a feminist quotation-generating App called 'Quotidian'.  

Two years living at sea taught New Generation Thinker Kerry McInerney values which she wants to apply to the development of AI. Her Essay explores the "sustainable AI" movement and looks at visions of the future in novels including Waste Tide by Chen Qiufan and Larissa Lai's Salt Fish Girl. Dr McInerney is a Research Associate at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge and a New Generation Thinker on the scheme run by the BBC and the AHRC to put academic research on radio.Producer: Julian SiddleYou can hear more from Kerry in Free Thinking and New Thinking episodes available as Arts & Ideas podcasts called AI, feminism, human/machines and Yellowface, AI and Asian stereotypes

Two years living at sea taught New Generation Thinker Kerry McInerney values which she wants to apply to the development of AI. Her Essay explores the "sustainable AI" movement and looks at visions of the future in novels including Waste Tide by Chen Qiufan and Larissa Lai's Salt Fish Girl. Dr McInerney is a Research Associate at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge and a New Generation Thinker on the scheme run by the BBC and the AHRC to put academic research on radio.Producer: Julian SiddleYou can hear more from Kerry in Free Thinking and New Thinking episodes available as Arts & Ideas podcasts called AI, feminism, human/machines and Yellowface, AI and Asian stereotypes.

Two years living at sea taught New Generation Thinker Kerry McInerney values which she wants to apply to the development of AI. Her Essay explores the "sustainable AI" movement and looks at visions of the future in novels including Waste Tide by Chen Qiufan and Larissa Lai's Salt Fish Girl. Dr McInerney is a Research Associate at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge and a New Generation Thinker on the scheme run by the BBC and the AHRC to put academic research on radio. Producer: Julian Siddle You can hear more from Kerry in Free Thinking and New Thinking episodes available as Arts & Ideas podcasts called AI, feminism, human/machines and Yellowface, AI and Asian stereotypes

In episode 1611, Jack and Miles are joined by Research Associate at the Leverhulme Centre for The Future of Intelligence, co-editor of The Good Robot: Why Technology Needs Feminism, and co-host of The Good Robot podcast, Dr. Kerry McInerney, to discuss... Is AI New Or Just The Old Stuff On a Continuum? CES Was A Joke….EVERYTHING Had “AI In It”, Other Interpretations Of AI, Sam Altman, What Is Good Technology And Is It Possible? Will This Affect What It Means To Be Human? Is the AI Arms Race With China Is Going To Make It Hard To Put Restrictions On AI Growth? And more! At CES, everything was AI, even when it wasn't AI Hits the Campaign Trail Chaos in the Cradle of A.I. Exclusive: Altman says ChatGPT will have to evolve in “uncomfortable” ways LISTEN: Black Narcissus by Joe HendersonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wolves are making a comeback across Europe. As their populations grow, 65,000 livestock are killed each year by wolves. Now, moves are underway to change the protection status of the wolf in the European Union. In this episode we speak to a social scientist researching the best ways for humans and wolves to coexist.Featuring Hanna Pettersson, a postdoctoral research associate at the Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity at the University of York in the UK and Jack Marley, environment and energy editor at The Conversation in the UK. This episode was written and produced by Katie Flood with production assistance from Mend Mariwany. Eloise Stevens does our sound design, and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. The executive producer is Gemma Ware. Full credits available here. A transcript will be available shortly.Sign up to Imagine, a newsletter from The Conversation in which researchers imagine a world where climate action is the norm. Further reading and listening:Wolf protection in Europe has become deeply political – Spain's experience tells us whyWolves are returning to European farmland – but they're not motivated by a taste for sheepEurope has a wolf problem, and a late Norwegian philosopher had the solutionWolf restoration in Colorado shows how humans are rethinking their relationships with wild animals Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As they stare up into the night sky, astronomers have long wondered whether life exists elsewhere in the universe. For decades, the hunt for extraterrestrial life has focused on Mars, Venus and even on the various moons of our solar system. But in 1995, that search entered a new phase, when Didier Queloz and Michel Mayor found the first clear evidence of a planet orbiting another star: 51 Pegasi b. Since then, more than 5,000 exoplanets have been found. This week, Alok Jha asks Nobel laureate Dider Queloz, how the “exoplanet revolution” has influenced the search for life elsewhere.Dider Queloz is the founding director of the Center for the Origin and Prevalence of Life at ETH Zurich and the director of the Leverhulme Centre for Life in the Universe at the University of Cambridge. We also hear from Emily Mitchell, the co-director of the Leverhulme Centre, on what an international collaboration of scientists called the “Origins Federation” has set out to study. Alok Jha, The Economist's science and technology editor, hosts.This is the first of two episodes on the grand scientific quest to search for life beyond Earth. Next time, we'll explore the European Space Agency's mission to Jupiter's icy moons: JUICE.For full access to The Economist's print, digital and audio editions subscribe at economist.com/podcastoffer and sign up for our weekly science newsletter at economist.com/simplyscience. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As they stare up into the night sky, astronomers have long wondered whether life exists elsewhere in the universe. For decades, the hunt for extraterrestrial life has focused on Mars, Venus and even on the various moons of our solar system. But in 1995, that search entered a new phase, when Didier Queloz and Michel Mayor found the first clear evidence of a planet orbiting another star: 51 Pegasi b. Since then, more than 5,000 exoplanets have been found. This week, Alok Jha asks Nobel laureate Dider Queloz, how the “exoplanet revolution” has influenced the search for life elsewhere.Dider Queloz is the founding director of the Center for the Origin and Prevalence of Life at ETH Zurich and the director of the Leverhulme Centre for Life in the Universe at the University of Cambridge. We also hear from Emily Mitchell, the co-director of the Leverhulme Centre, on what an international collaboration of scientists called the “Origins Federation” has set out to study. Alok Jha, The Economist's science and technology editor, hosts.This is the first of two episodes on the grand scientific quest to search for life beyond Earth. Next time, we'll explore the European Space Agency's mission to Jupiter's icy moons: JUICE.For full access to The Economist's print, digital and audio editions subscribe at economist.com/podcastoffer and sign up for our weekly science newsletter at economist.com/simplyscience. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.