The Ars Technicast

The Ars Technicast

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The Ars Technicast episodes

  • Ars Technicast Experimental #2.3: Rob Reid and Rodney Brooks, 3 of 3
    We start today’s installment with the very cliffhanger sentence yesterday’s installment ended with: Rodney saying “Yeah, let’s talk about deep learning.” This leads to an argument similar to yesterday’s point about self-driving cars, which takes us to super AI risk, which Rodney believes is quiet overblown.

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    31 min
  • Ars Technicast Experimental #2.2: Rob Reid and Rodney Brooks, 2 of 3
    We start with the new robotic era that dawned when Rethink Robotics launched its Baxter robot. Baxter and its successor, Sawyer, shifted the industry. We then consider the ancient legacy equipment and standards that still plague so much factory automation. Next, we dive into society’s urgent need for robots to assist with elder care in the coming years. We close with Rodney’s fascinating take on how a poor understanding of a technology’s history distorts perspectives on its near-future prospects.

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    28 min
  • Ars Technicast Experimental #2.1: Rob Reid and Rodney Brooks, 1 of 3
    Today’s segment introduces guest Rodney Brooke and includes a discussion of the rigid segregation between human workers and robots that reigned in almost all factories until recently. Brooks started his latest company to disrupt this status quo. Its roots lie in safety concerns, and the troubles that befall legacy robots in the presence of chaotic, imprecise humans.

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    29 min
  • Ars Technicast Experimental #3: Rob Reid and George Church, 3 of 3
    We start today’s installment by discussing an audacious project to resurrect the wooly mammoth—or at least certain of its genes, which allowed it to thrive in frigid regions. From mammoths, George and I turn to the topic of synthetic meats, which could enter our kitchens and bellies much sooner than most people think. We close by discussing an ambitious longevity project currently underway in George’s lab. It’s not about life extension—but aging reversal.

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    27 min
  • Ars Technicast Experimental #2: Rob Reid and George Church, 2 of 3
    We begin today’s installment with a discussion of the strengths and shortcomings of the CRISPR gene-editing technique, which George co-invented. Though CRISPR is a great improvement on the nine techniques that preceded it, it isn’t the be-all, and will surely be displaced by more powerful approaches in the future. George discusses this, as well a wish list of improvements that he hopes its successors will bring.

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    28 min
  • Ars Technicast Experimental #1: Rob Reid and George Church, 1 of 3
    Genomicist George Church talks about his disappointment with the Human Genome Project. He argues that his field’s true golden age began right after the Genome Project ended, and is now building extraordinary momentum. We discuss the blistering price/performance improvements in both DNA synthesis and sequencing. And for those who are new to this field, we arm you with highly accessible definitions of its four major domains (sequencing, DNA synthesis, DNA editing, and assembly).

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    33 min
  • Ars Technica Live #21: The tech boom and the fate of democracy
    Right now the U.S. tech economy is booming, but what will be the long-term effects of automation and AI? Are robots about to steal our jobs? Will Facebook throw the next election? Is social democracy doomed to be a casualty of the tech revolution? To answer these questions and more, we're turning to UC Berkeley economics professor Bradford DeLong. He's in conversation with Ars editor-at-large Annalee Newitz.

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    1 hr 5 min
  • Ars Live Episode 16: The Silicon Valley equality crisis

    Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz and Cyrus Farivar talk to Catherine Bracy, founder of the TechEquity Collaborative, about Silicon Valley's equality issues and how to make the tech industry work for everyone. Recorded live August 16, 2017 at Eli's Mile High Club in Oakland, CA.

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    46 min
  • Ars Live Episode 15: Military drones and whistleblowers

    Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz and Cyrus Farivar talk to Lisa Ling, former military drone tech and whistleblower about the dilemmas of drone warfare and surveillance, and also her experience as a whistleblower. Recorded live July 19, 2017 at Eli's Mile High Club in Oakland, CA.

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    43 min
  • Ars Live Episode 14: Government environmental data rescue

    Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz and Joe Mullin talk to Lindsey Dillon, UC Santa Cruz Environmental Studies Professor and chair of the EDGI (Environmental Data & Governance Initiative) steering committee, about rescuing EPA and other government data in the wake of the new US administration website removals. Recorded live June 21, 2017 at Eli's Mile High Club in Oakland, CA.

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    45 min

About The Ars Technicast

From the publisher's feed

The Ars Technicast is the official podcast from Ars Technica, where we bring you you the latest in the worlds of computing, technology, science, and everything else in between. Ars publishes original…

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