A podcast about the automation of everything. Host Jennifer Strong and the team at MIT Technology Review look at what it means to entrust artificial intelligence with our most sensitive decisions.
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Seeing Double: AI Births Digital Humans
Digital twins of humans capture the physical look and expressions of real humans. Increasingly these replicas are showing up in the entertainment industry and beyond and it gives rise to some interesting opportunities as well as thorny questions. We speak to: Greg Cross, CEO and co-founder of Soul Machines Credits: This episode was produced by Anthony Green with help from Emma Cillekens. It was edited by Jennifer Strong and Mat Honan, mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from Jacob Gorski.
Audio Postcard: Real-Time Farming
Who wants to take a walk around a California vineyard to explore how it’s deploying sensors and other forms of AI? Join us as for a field trip as we do something a little bit different this week. We meet: Dirk Heuvel, vice president of vineyard operations, McManis Family Vineyards Credits: This episode was produced by Jennifer Strong with help from Anthony Green and Emma Cillekens. It was edited by Mat Honan and mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from Jacob Gorski. Art direction by Stephanie Arnett.
How retail is using AI to prevent fraud
Retailers face an evolving landscape of fraud tactics each day. It’s why companies are increasingly turning to AI to try and catch threat patterns never seen before, and block attacks before they happen. While this approach lends itself to efficiency, it’s also one that relies on increasingly complex data profiles of consumers. In this episode, we peer into the world of retail fraud detection. We Meet: David Cost, VP of ecommerce and marketing at Rainbow Apparel Will Douglas Heaven, senior editor for AI at MIT Technology Review Rajesh Ramanand, co-founder & CEO at Signifyd Credits: This episode was reported by Jennifer Strong and produced by Anthony Green and Emma Cillekens, It was edited by Mat Honan and contains original music from Garret Lang and Jacob Gorski. Our mix engineer is Garret Lang and our artwork is made by Stephanie Arnett.
I Was There When: AI helped create a vaccine
I Was There When is an oral history project that’s part of the In Machines We Trust podcast. It features stories of how breakthroughs and watershed moments in artificial intelligence and computing happened, as told by the people who witnessed them. In this episode we meet Dave Johnson, the chief data and artificial intelligence officer at Moderna. CREDITS: This project was produced by Jennifer Strong, Anthony Green and Emma Cillekens. It was edited by Michael Reilly and mixed by Garret Lang with original music by Jacob Gorski. The art is from Eric Mongeon and Stephanie Arnett.
EmTech Digital: How to craft effective AI policy
A conversation about equity and what it takes to make effective AI policy taped before a live audience at MIT Technology Review’s annual AI conference, EmTech Digital. We Meet: Nicol Turner Lee, director of the Center for Technology at the Brookings Institution Anthony Green, producer of the In Machines We Trust podcast Credits: This episode was created by Jennifer Strong, Anthony Green, Erin Underwood and Emma Cillekens. It was edited by Michael Reilly, directed by Laird Nolan and mixed by Garret Lang. Episode art by Stephanie Arnett. Cover art by Eric Mongeon. Special thanks this week to Amy Lammers and Brian Bryson.
Can AI keep guns out of schools?
Amid a growing epidemic of gun violence, can AI be part of the solution? In this episode we look at some of the weapons detection technologies schools are using in an effort to try to keep students safe. We Meet: Gary Hough, superintendent of Fayette County schools Mark Keierleber, investigative reporter at The 74 Mike Ellenbogen, Founder, chief innovation officer at Evolv Technologies Donald Maye, head of operations at IPVM Sounds From: Spielberg, S. (2002). Minority Report. Twentieth Century Fox. Avigilon Athena Security integration for Gun Detection, via YouTube Credits: This episode was produced by Anthony Green and Emma Cillekens with reporting from Mark Keierleber. It was edited by Jennifer Strong, Rachel Courtland and Mat Honan, mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from Jacob Gorski and art from Stephanie Arnett.
I Was There When: AI became the DJ
I Was There When is an oral history project that’s part of the In Machines We Trust podcast. It features stories of how breakthroughs and watershed moments in artificial intelligence and computing happened, as told by the people who witnessed them. In this episode we meet Gustav Söderström, who helped create algorithms aiming to understand our taste in music. CREDITS: This project was produced by Jennifer Strong, Anthony Green and Emma Cillekens. It was edited by Michael Reilly and mixed by Garret Lang, with original music by Jacob Gorski. Artwork by Eric Mongeon.
Who watches AI watching students?
A boy wrote about his suicide attempt. He didn’t realize his school's software was watching. While schools commonly use AI to sift through students' digital lives and flag keywords that may be considered concerning, critics ask at what cost to privacy. We Meet: Jeff Patterson, CEO of Gaggle Mark Keierleber, investigative reporter at The 74 Teeth Logsdon-Wallace, student Elizabeth Laird, director of Equity in Civic Technology at Center for Democracy & Technology Sounds From: "Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of Your Fist" from the band Ramshackle Glory's 2011 album Live the Dream. "Spying or protecting students? CBS46 Investigates school surveillance software" from CBS46 in Atlanta, GA on February 14, 2022. "Student Surveillance Software: Schools know what your child is doing online. Do you?" from WSPA7 News in Greenville, SC on May 5, 2021. "Spying or protecting students? CBS46 Investigates school surveillance software" from News 5 in Cleveland, OH on February 5, 2020. Credits: This episode was produced by Anthony Green and Emma Cillekens with reporting from Mark Keierleber. It was edited by Jennifer Strong and Michael Reilly, and mixed by Garret Lang with original music from Jacob Gorski. Art by Stephanie Arnett. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/oct/12/school-surveillance-dragnet-suicide-attempt-healing https://www.the74million.org/contributor/mark-keierleber/ You can support our journalism by going to http://www.techreview.com/subscribe.
Encore: When an Algorithm Gets It Wrong
The team that brings you In Machines We Trust has much to be grateful for—a brand new season of this show, a big awards nomination for The Extortion Economy, a show about ransomware that we made with ProPublica, and our new investigative series, Curious Coincidence. We celebrate how far we've come with a look back at where it all started! -- What happens when an algorithm gets it wrong? In the first of a four-part series on face recognition, Jennifer Strong and the team at MIT Technology Review explore the arrest of a man who was falsely accused of a crime using facial recognition. The episode also starts to unpack the complexities of this technology and introduce some thorny questions about its use. We meet: Robert and Melissa Williams Peter Fussey, University of Essex Hamid Khan, Stop LAPD Spying Coalition Credits: This episode was reported and produced by Jennifer Strong, Tate Ryan-Mosley and Emma Cillekens. We had help from Karen Hao and Benji Rosen. We’re edited by Michael Reilly and Gideon Lichfield. Our technical director is Jacob Gorski. Special thanks to Kyle Thomas Hemingway and Eric Mongeon.
Welcome to Curious Coincidence
This is a detective story that’s unsolved. Hosted by investigative reporter Antonio Regalado, Curious Coincidence dives into the mysterious origins of Covid-19 by examining the genome of the virus, the labs doing sensitive research on dangerous pathogens, and questions of whether a lab accident may have touched off a global pandemic. A five-part investigation from MIT Technology Review.
Welcome to The Extortion Economy
This week we're sharing another tech show we made that we think you're going to love. It's called The Extortion Economy and it's a five-part series about the ransomware epidemic produced with ProPublica. See you soon with a whole new season of In Machines We Trust!! -- A new-age iteration of the old-age extortion problem. A ransomware vigilante, a piracy (as in actual boats) expert, a school administrator, and a kidnapping victim share their experiences. This is part one. We Meet: Fabian Wosar, CTO, Emsisoft Doug Russell, Director of Technology, Haverhill Public Schools Lisa Forte, Co-founder, Red Goat Cyber Security Credits: This series is hosted by Meg Marco and produced by Emma Cillekens, Tate Ryan-Mosley and Anthony Green. It’s inspired by reporting from Renee Dudley and Daniel Golden from ProPublica. We're edited by Bobbie Johnson, Michael Reilly, Mat Honan and Robin Fields. Our mix engineer is Erick Gomez with help from Rebekah Wineman. Our theme music is by Jacob Gorski. Art is from Lisa Larson-Walker and Eric Mongeon. Emma Cillekens is our voice coach. The executive producers of The Extortion Economy podcast are Meg Marco and Jennifer Strong. Sounds From: Video: Colonial Pipeline CEO Joseph Blount testifies at the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Source: CNBC Television, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcYePKjI_mc Video: Roving Report Italy, Source: AP, http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/8b08bfc68a0b203d238aa8e0c4316e61 Video: CBS Evening News 1989-12-14, Source: CBS, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHsbZEX5pQw
Encore: The AI of the beholder
Computers are ranking the way people look—and the results are influencing the things we do, the posts we see, and the way we think. Ideas about what constitutes “beauty” are complex, subjective, and by no means limited to physical appearances. Elusive though it is, everyone wants more of it. That means big business and increasingly, people harnessing algorithms to create their ideal selves in the digital and, sometimes, physical worlds. In this episode, we explore the popularity of beauty filters, and sit down with someone who’s convinced his software will show you just how to nip and tuck your way to a better life. We meet: Shafee Hassan, Qoves Studio founder Lauren Rhue, Assistant Professor of Information Systems at the Robert H. Smith School of Business Credits: This episode was reported by Tate Ryan-Mosley, and produced by Jennifer Strong, Emma Cillekens, Karen Hao and Anthony Green. We’re edited by Michael Reilly and Bobbie Johnson.
Encore: What’s Behind a Smile
Researchers have spent years trying to crack the mystery of how we express our feelings. Pioneers in the field of emotion detection will tell you the problem is far from solved. But that hasn’t stopped a growing number of companies from claiming their algorithms have cracked the puzzle. In part one of a two-part series on emotion AI, Jennifer Strong and the team at MIT Technology Review explore what emotion AI is, where it is, and what it means. We meet: Rana El Kaliouby, Affectiva Lisa Feldman Barrett, Northeastern University Karen Hao, MIT Technology Review Credits: This episode was reported and produced by Jennifer Strong and Karen Hao, with Tate Ryan-Mosley and Emma Cillekens. We had help from Benji Rosen. We’re edited by Michael Reilly and our theme music is by Jacob Gorski.
Encore: Attention Shoppers, You’re Being Tracked
Cameras in stores aren’t anything new—but these days there are AI brains behind the electric eyes. In some stores, sophisticated systems are tracking customers in almost every imaginable way, from recognizing their faces to gauging their age, their mood, and virtually gussying them up with makeup. The systems rarely ask for people’s permission, and for the most part they don’t have to. In our season 1 finale, we look at the explosion of AI and face recognition technologies in retail spaces, and what it means for the future of shopping. We meet: RetailNext CTO Arun Nair, L'Oreal's Technology Incubator Global VP Guive Balooch, Modiface CEO Parham Aarabi Biometrics pioneer and Chairman of ID4Africa Joseph Atick Credits: This episode was reported and produced by Jennifer Strong, Anthony Green, Tate Ryan-Mosley, Emma Cillekens and Karen Hao. We’re edited by Michael Reilly. Our theme music is by Jacob Gorski.
How AI is giving a woman back her voice
Voice technology is one of the biggest trends in the healthcare space. We look at how it might help care providers and patients, from a woman who is losing her speech, to documenting healthcare records for doctors. But how do you teach AI to learn to communicate more like a human, and will it lead to more efficient machines? We Meet: Kenneth Harper, VP & GM, Healthcare Virtual Assistants and Ambient Clinical Intelligence at Nuance Bob MacDonald, Technical Program Manager, Project Euphonia, Google Julie Cattiau, Project Manager, Project Euphonia, Google Andrea Peet, Project Euphonia user David Peet, Attorney, husband of Andrea Peet Hod Lipson, Professor of Innovation in the Department of Mechanical Engineering; Co-Director, Maker Space Facility, Columbia University. Sounds: The Exam of the Future Has Arrived - via Youtube Credits: This episode was reported and produced by Anthony Green with help from Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens. It was edited by Michael Reilly. Our mix engineer is Garret Lang and our theme music is by Jacob Gorski.