You, AI and US

Zoe Hanson, The Podcast Lady, catches up with Yaseen Mohammed Osman, Postgraduate Researcher, to explore how bringing AI closer to home could make it more sustainable and private. By developing in-house models, Yaseen is investigating how organisations can keep greater control of their data while reducing unnecessary data transfers and dependence on third-party systems hosted online.

We also chat with guests from across the You, AI and US series, Vic Briggs, Theatre-maker, and Will Hunt, Postgraduate Researcher, to hear what they’ll be bringing to the British Science Festival and what visitors can look forward to. From thought-provoking conversations and creative performances to hands-on activities, discover how their work will bring AI tolife in fresh, surprising and accessible ways.

British Science Festival starts today! 16-20 September | Bookyour free tickets here: https://britishsciencefestival.org/

Zoe Hanson, The Podcast Lady is catching up with guests from across the You, AI and US series to hear what they’ll be bringing to the British Science Festival and what visitors can look forward to. From thought-provoking conversations and science comedy performances to hands-on activities, discover how their work will bring AI to life in fresh, surprising and accessible ways. In this episode we’re joined by MatthewPartridge and Les Carr, who share a preview of what to expect from the festival. Here’s your warm-up to five inspiring days of discovery in Southampton from 16th-20th September.

Book your free tickets: British Science Festival | homepage

Can AI uncover hidden shipwrecks? In this episode of You,AI and US, host Zoe Hanson talks to Dr Alexandra Karamitrou, Lecturer in Archaeology and AI at the University of Southampton, and Sam Bossman, Artistic Director of Deadman Theatre. Alexandra explains how she is training AI using satellite imagery and environmental data from known wrecks to identify previously undiscovered sites. Locating wrecks helps preserve maritime heritage and reveal their environmental impact. Researchers can then monitor them for signs of pollution from leaking fuel or corroding metals, using AI to protect marine ecosystems.

Alexandra and Sam are also transforming this fascinating research into a live performance for the British Science Festival, exploring AI’s role through theatre, storytelling and real shipwreck artefacts. Bringing the hidden stories from beneath the waves to the stage.

You can book your free tickets to their performance on 19th September at the British Science Festival here:

https://ticketing.mayflower.org.uk/54367/54373

What if the River Itchen could speak for itself?

In this episode, Zoe Hanson, The Podcast Lady, joins Electronics and Computer Science Postgraduate Researchers Angelina Spilnyk and Andrei Sontea to explore Talking Itchen. Developed with a group of home-educated children, this innovative project uses environmental sensors and AI to transform river data into a conversation - making conservation more accessible. Discover how people can ask the river, “How are you feeling today?” and receive responses based on real environmental data.

Meet the Talking Itchen team at the British Science Festival, try the prototype for yourself and ask the river your own questions. Future AI: Play and imagine | British Science Festival

Episode 5: Science Comedy: Laughing at AI

Can artificial intelligence really be funny - and can comedyhelp us see AI in a different light?

In this episode Zoe Hanson, The Podcast Lady, is joined by Professor Les Carr, Deputy Director of the Web Science Institute, and Will Hunt, a postgraduate researcher in Electronics and Computer Science and science comedian. Together, they explore the surprising connections between AI, humour and misdirection. From whether a machine can write a genuinely good joke to comedy’s power to challenge bold claims about AI, this lively conversation takes a playful look at the serious questions surrounding AI.

For more science-themed stand-up, stories and silliness,catch Les, Will and fellow University of Southampton researchers in Science Stand-Up Spectacular at the British Science Festival on Friday 18th September.

https://britishscienceassociation-tickets.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173683857

In this episode of You, AI and Us, Zoe Hanson, The Podcast Lady, chats to Vic Briggs, creative producer and theatre-maker, and Nadera Assim, a podiatrist and Black Futures Scholar at the University of Southampton. Funded by NIHR ARC Wessex, Nadera’s doctoral research explores theintersection between the UK asylum system and foot care among people living with type 2 diabetes. The study is informed by a Community Advisory Group with relevant lived experience and cultural knowledge.

Created as part of a British Science Festival collaborationwith MAST Mayflower Studios, this early-stage scratch theatre piece pairs University of Southampton AI researchers with artists to explore AI research in new and creative ways. Together, they look at AI bias in healthcare through the lens offoot health, sharing the human stories behind the research and asking how AI can support fairer, more inclusive healthcare for people whose experiences, needs and data may not always be fully represented.

The performance will take place at MAST Mayflower Studios on Saturday 19th September from 19:30-20:30. Book your free ticket here: Generate: Creative responses to AI research

What can a marble run teach us about artificialintelligence? In this episode, Zoe Hanson, The Podcast Lady, sits down with Matthew Partridge, Senior Enterprise Fellow at the University of Southampton and part of The Future Chemistry Hub, to explore how a rolling marble’s twists, turns and choices can help explain how machine learning systems process data, identify patterns and improve over time.

Come along to The Future Chemistry Hub on 16th - 17thSeptember to explore this and other hands-on approaches to AI for yourself.

Please note: The Future Chemistry Hub is running alongside the British Science Festival as a Satellite event independently organised and delivered by the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the University of Southampton.

In this episode, Zoe Hanson, The Podcast Lady, sits down with Antonia Marcu, New Frontiers Fellow at the University of Southampton, to explore how AI models really “think” and to talk about her selection for an Award Lecture at this year’s British Science Festival in September.

Zoe also catches up with Damian Smith, Electronics andComputer Science Postgraduate Researcher, to discuss the role of AI in improvisation and how Generative AI can contribute fresh, unexpected perspectives that shape a performance from beyond the room.

You can learn more about the British Science Festival 2026 here.

In this episode Zoe Hanson, The Podcast Lady, chats with Dr Chiying Lam, Lecturer in Community Music and Social Justice, and Dr Tan Viet Tuyen Nguyen, New Frontiers Fellow in AI, about their inspiring project with Dr Bindi Shah using generative AI and a charming little robot called 'Buddy' to help schoolchildren create climate-action stories.

You can meet Buddy for yourself at the AI Arts Festival in Winchester on 22nd March 2026.

Chiying also shares insights into another project with Tuyen, where she explores how collaborative music‑making can help refugee women navigate and confidently engage with GenAI technologies.