AI Unfiltered

Two hundred episodes of AI Unfiltered! To celebrate the milestone, Ian and Michael turn the podcast on itself, using AI to analyse nearly 200 episodes of conversation, tangents, recurring themes, speaking time, and geographical reach. Along the way, they revisit the creation of AI-generated contributor Emma Williams, discover just how thoroughly speech recognition has mangled their names, and invite ChatGPT to deliver both a roast and a serious critique of the show. It’s a chance to reflect on how far the podcast has come, what makes its wandering conversations distinctive, and what on earth it’s all about. Here’s to 200 episodes, listeners in 100 countries, and the next chapter of making sense of the digital era, one tangent at a time! (This description was written with the help of AI; this episode features AI-generated content)

This week Ian and Michael discuss electric cars, the merits of short-term leasing, and whether car-sharing could offer a sensible alternative to owning a vehicle. From there, the conversation takes a detour through politicians whose main contribution seems to be posting on Twitter, the gradual migration from computers to phones and tablets, and the risks of relying on cloud services for everything. The highlight may be the discovery that internet-connected beds really can stop working when the cloud goes down. (This description was written with the help of AI)

This week Ian and Michael discuss the prospect of robotic carers, from cooking and cleaning to driving, shopping and keeping people company. From there the conversation wanders through robot soldiers, flatpack furniture, the automation of delivery jobs, and the possibility that people may eventually get so fed up with AI that they simply switch it off. They eventually arrive at the great Finnish famine of the 1860s, and wonder why such a devastating episode of Finnish history is so little commemorated. (This description was written with the help of AI)

This week Ian and Michael discuss the recent wave of AI doomsday predictions, starting with the claims that artificial intelligence could wipe out humanity within just a few years. They question whether these scenarios are justified, or whether the genuine risks are being obscured by sensational headlines, dubious probabilities and the need to grab people's attention. Along the way, the conversation touches on AI in education, the dangers of outsourcing our thinking to machines, and sycophantic chatbots. Plus, our AI-generated contributor Emma Williams returns with a new instalment of Emma's Artificial Reflections!(This episode features AI-generated content and speech)

This week Ian and Michael begin with the pronunciation of their names before wandering through science-fiction films, Planet of the Apes, and teaching rats to drive. The conversation eventually settles on the polarisation of English-language skills in Finland, including the somewhat linguistic abilities of Finnish politicians and the question of whether speaking English really is essential for getting on in life. As usual, one subject leads to another, the thread gets lost somewhere along the way, and nobody seems particularly concerned about finding it again.