too long didn’t read

For the final episode of series two, Jonah puts this year's most searched for AI questions to Smera - What is AI? Are AI detectors accurate? Has AI passed the Turing test? When will AI take over? Is AI good?

Although the questions seem relatively straightforward at first glance, you might be surprised how insightful Smera's answers are...

Episode notes

New Coca-Cola advert and Forbes article about it

404 article about AI generated films

*All statistics correct at time of recording and refer to 'AI' or 'Artificial intelligence' as the search term rather than AI related search terms such as gen AI tools etc. 

Statistics and questions from Google Trends, Moz.com, Answerthepublic.com, Statistica, Semrush and Google's Year In Search

TOPICS

We began this series with an introduction to misinformation. What is it? How does it spread on social media? And what impact could it have on elections in this election packed year?

Topics

Episode sources

AI Misinformation 

CETaS paper AI-enabled influence operations 

Article on Taiwan’s LINE social media app which has the AI chatbot for source verification  

FullFact and Logically Fact websites  

Sam’s article on what voters can do to protect themselves against AI disinformation 

A super year for elections - UNDP 

Amnesty recommendations 

AI Space Sustainability 

Polaris Dawn 

Europa probe 

AI For Space 

Space debris 

Uni of Strathclyde partnership 

Gov future space environment 

NASA and AI 

It's spooky Halloween and this month, Jonah and Smera are joined by experts in digital culture and heritage, Dr. Jenny Kidd of Cardiff University and Dr Eva Nieto McAvoy of King’s College London, to explore the eerie intersection of AI and digital immortality. Plus, Jonah and Smera break down the basics of quantum computing amid claims that 2025 is going to be a breakthrough year for the field, and the pair take a look at how AI is helping job seekers find work.

Topics discussed in this episode:   

[00:00 - 01:00] Introduction and summary of topics

Resources mentioned in this episode:    

[01:00 - 16:00]  Digital Death 

• Jenny and Eva Research - Synthetic Pasts

[26:00 - 31:00] Quantum Computing 

• 2025 is Q year

[36:00 - 43:00]  AI and Job applications 

• 404 story 

Join Jonah and Smera as they dive into current AI and data science news.

Sources

Law enforcement 

Argentina are going all Minority Report  

More 

Some UK Police want AI for admin 

ProPublica have covered bias and ethics and more 

justice in forensic algorithms act 

Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O’Neil  

Race After Technology by Ruha Benjamin 

AI Treaty 

UK signs first international treaty to implement AI safeguards and here’s CETaS explainer 

Turing research to support the treaty 

HUDERIA scores high on Algorithm Audit 

Dual-use technology 

China's robotic dogs still a novelty to most - as firms grapple with military using tech as weapons | Science & Tech News | Sky News 

Dual use conundrum  

Dual use export controls 

00:00 Introduction and Hosts

00:29 AI in Education and Legal Developments

00:48 DeepMind's Protein Binders and AI in Law Enforcement

01:27 Minority Report and AI in Crime Prediction

04:39 Interview with Dr. Melina Kuna

07:03 AI in Healthcare: Benefits and Drawbacks

10:34 Human Reliance on AI

14:17 Ethical and Psychological Implications of AI in Law Enforcement

18:22 Philosophical Debate on AI Surveillance

22:14 Future of AI and Education

23:13 Parental Attitudes Towards Technology

23:40 The Importance of AI Accessibility

24:21 International AI Treaty and Its Implications

25:18 Council of Europe and Human Rights

27:30 AI Lifecycle and Human Rights

29:12 Turing's Role in AI Regulation

34:50 Dual-Use Technology and Its Challenges

42:39 Future of AI and Dual-Use Concerns

45:04 Conclusion and Key Takeaways

This month, Smera and Jessie dive deep into the intriguing world of conspiracy theories, welcoming Chris Thomas from the Turing to discuss the controversial "dead internet theory." They explore the notion that much of the internet is now a fabricated landscape, questioning the authenticity of online interactions and content.

In addition, the episode sheds light on the alarming trend of fake online obituaries and Smera asks whether we are currently experiencing an AI bubble as she explains the details of the financial dip in August 2024.

Sources

AI landlords update

Dead Internet Theory 

The Dead Internet Theory, Explained (forbes.com) 

Dead Internet Theory: Most of the Internet is Fake | Agora Road's Macintosh Cafe 

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/apr/30/techscape-artificial-intelligence-bots-dead-internet-theory  

The ‘dead internet theory’ makes eerie claims about an AI-run web. The truth is more sinister (theconversation.com) 

AI Bubble 

https://buttondown.email/maiht3k/archive/the-grimy-residue-of-the-ai-bubble/  

https://qz.com/ai-stocks-dot-com-bubble-nvidia-google-microsoft-amazon-1851407019  

https://www.reuters.com/markets/echoes-dotcom-bubble-haunt-ai-driven-us-stock-market-2024-07-02/  

https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-internet-dotcom-bubble-tech-stocks-nvidia-market-crash-gordon-2024-5 

Adtech and fake obituaries 

https://checkmyads.org/fake-obituary-advertising-spam/ 

On this month's episode, Jonah and Smera push AI to the side and get all excited about data, as they travel around London to meet with some of the people behind London Data Week 2024. From feminist meme-making workshops to live brain scanning, plus, London Data Week’s co-founder, Jen Ding, gives us the inside scoop. Also this month, Smera looks into the AI landlords cropping up across the USA, and Jonah explores the Paris Olympics AI agenda. 

Resources mentioned in this episode:    

• How Britain voted in 2024

• AI Landlords

• Olympics AI Agenda

As the UK’s general elections approach, we take a closer look at some of the novel characters emerging in the race to leadership.

This month Smera and Jonah are joined by Michael Katell, an Ethics Fellow in the Turing’s Public Policy Programme, to discuss AI Steve – the chatbot standing in this year’s election.

Smera gives the lowdown on Scarlett Johansson’s legal battle with OpenAI, in a story of life imitating art, imitating life, and Jonah gets all Dr Doolittle at the thought of talking to the animals with the help of AI.

Find out about the Turing’s Public Policy Programme - Public Policy | The Alan Turing Institute

Topics discussed in this episode:

00:00 Introduction to Too Long, Didn't Read

00:35 AI Steve: The UK's First AI Candidate for Parliament

03:45 Exploring AI's Role in Politics with Dr. Mike Cattell

23:20 Mike Katell's Vision for a Better Society

25:15 AI and the Music Industry

26:00 Scarlett Johansson vs. OpenAI

27:42 Legal Implications of AI

31:42 Gender and AI Voices

36:54 Animal Communication Breakthroughs

48:32 Conclusion and Thanks

Resources mentioned in this episode:    

AI Steve

• AI Steve in Guardian

The voice of Her

• Scarlett Johansson sues Open AI

Animal communications

• Scientists enlist AI to interpret meaning of barks - BBC

Positive

• Could AI put an end to animal testing?

We’re back for a brand new series of too long didn’t read!

This month Smera and Jonah are joined by Megan Hughes of the Turing’s Centre for Emerging Technology and Security to inform us about misinformation during election periods, and assures us to not always believe the hype. Smera and Jonah also discuss some of the latest breakthroughs with robotics and what that could mean for our workforces, and they explore the tricky topic of how generative AI is being used to create pornographic material, much of which is harmful.

Find out about the Centre for Emerging Technology and Security - cetas.turing.ac.uk/ 

Discover the Turing - turing.ac.uk

Topics discussed in this episode:  

• Introduction [00:00:00] 

Resources mentioned in this episode:  

[00:02:00] Misinformation during elections 

• www.newscientist.com/article/2427842-deepfake-politicians-may-have-a-big-influence-on-indias-elections/  

[00:27:00] Impact of Robots on Jobs  

• www.reuters.com/technology/meet-ashley-worlds-first-ai-powered-political-campaign-caller-2023-12-12/ 

[00:29:00] Generative AI and Pornography  

• www.wired.com/article/2024/02/01/politics/election-deepfake-threats-invs/index.html 

[00:35:00] Positive AI News  

• www.newscientist.com/article/2429520-deepmind-ai-can-predict-how-drugs-interact-with-proteins/ 

In this special episode ahead of series two, Smera and Jonah give us a whistle-stop tour of the UK’s national showcase of data science and AI - AI UK.  

The event’s producer, Lillian Hughes talks us through some of the programme highlights and Smera and Jonah chat to participants including Michael Wooldridge (University of Oxford), Doug Gurr (The Alan Turing Insitute), Rebecca Cosgriff (NHS England), Stephen Meers (DSIT) and Jake Elwes (ZiZi Project). 

https://ai-uk.turing.ac.uk/ 

https://www.youtube.com/@AI_UK 

In this, the final episode of this season of tldr, Smera and Jonah delve into their post bag and attempt answer some listeners’ questions. Also, Jonah asks Smera about some of the stories that didn't make the cut for this series.  

With new developments in artificial intelligence happening at lightning speed, it can be hard to keep up. That's where too long didn't read comes in. We know you're busy, so we'll get right to the main points on how breakthroughs in machine learning, neural networks, and other AI systems could impact your life. No AI degree required! We're not here for hype or fear mongering. Just balanced coverage to keep you up-to-date. Think of us as your shortcut to AI literacy. 

Join us as we read between the lines on artificial intelligence every week right here on too long didn't read. 

Episode Sources

Mike Wooldridge Turing Lecture

https://youtu.be/2kSl0xkq2lM?si=tzAi0sAqftQICLdq

Julia Shaw on Life Scientific 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0014p73 

Speaker knows you’re drunk  

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/smart-tech-can-use-tongue-twisters-to-tell-if-youre-drunk-ttf6203k7 

AI Headteacher 

https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/abigail-bailey-schools-ai-principle-headteacher 

Less sperm 

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20231102/Study-links-heavy-mobile-phone-use-to-lower-sperm-count.aspx#:~:text=Men%20using%20mobile%20phones%20at,in%20this%20group%20of%20men.