A simple parable about a drowning child sparks a moral revolution. Is building AI the way to do the most good in the world?

This is the third episode of our new four-part series about the stories shaping the future of AI.

Good Robot was made in partnership with Vox’s Future Perfect team. Episodes will be released on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts

For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable

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When a robot does bad things, who is responsible? A group of technologists sounds the alarm about the ways AI is already harming us today. Are their concerns being taken seriously?

This is the second episode of our new four-part series about the stories shaping the future of AI.

Good Robot was made in partnership with Vox’s Future Perfect team. Episodes will be released on Wednesdays and Saturdays over the next two weeks.

For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts

For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable

And please email us! [email protected]

We read every email.

Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members

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Before AI became a mainstream obsession, one thinker sounded the alarm about its catastrophic potential. So why are so many billionaires and tech leaders worried about… paper clips?

This is the first episode of our new four-part series about the stories shaping the future of AI.

Good Robot was made in partnership with Vox’s Future Perfect team. Episodes will be released on Wednesdays and Saturdays over the next two weeks.

For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts

For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable

And please email us! [email protected]

We read every email.

Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members

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This week on Unexplainable or Not, the newest member of our team, Julia Longoria, tries to figure out which of three scientific mysteries about the sea, the land, and the sky has actually been solved.

Guest: Admir Masic, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at MIT.

For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts

For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable

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We read every email.

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Dylan got malaria on purpose. And he thinks you should, too.

Guest: Dylan Matthews, senior correspondent at Vox’s Future Perfect

This episode was made in partnership with Vox’s Future Perfect team.

For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts

For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable

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We read every email.

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A neuroscientist argues that the focus on dreams has held back the scientific understanding of sleep. So he took dreams out of the picture and uncovered a new potential connection between the mind and body.

Guest: Mark Blumberg, behavioral neuroscientist at the University of Iowa

For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts

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Funding cuts and research censorship have shaken the foundations of America’s health and science agencies, leaving researchers shocked, confused, and afraid. What does this mean for the future of science?

For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts

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For thousands of years, there have been four basic tastes recognized across cultures. But thanks to Kumiko Ninomiya (a.k.a. the Umami Mama), scientists finally accepted a fifth. Could there be even more? (First published in 2022.)

Guests: Kumiko Ninomiya, biochemist and former director of the Umami Information Center; Gary Beauchamp, former director of the Monell Chemical Senses Center; Sarah Tracy, historian of science; Camilla Arndal Andersen, neuroscientist; Paul Breslin, professor at Rutgers University

For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts

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Some of the largest lakes in the world have been buried under miles of ice for millions of years. Is there life hiding down there? And if so, could life be found in even more extreme places … beyond our planet?

Guest: John Priscu, microbiologist at Montana State University

For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts

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Genetic libraries are treasure troves of information about life from around the world. They’re helping researchers develop everything from vaccines to crops to cosmetics. But who actually benefits from the discoveries scientists make using all this DNA and RNA?

Guests: Benji Jones, environmental correspondent at Vox’s Future Perfect; Deborah Fuller, professor of microbiology at the University of Washington

For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts

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