The Turing Podcast

How can the study of ant colonies and evolutionary theory help us ensure the resilience and sustainability of global shipping? In this episode, host Amelia Jabry is joined by Professor Adam Sobey (Mission Director for Sustainability at the Alan Turing Institute) and Senior Applied Scientist Dr. Przemyslaw (Slaw) Grudniewski from Theyr. Together, they explore the ‘evolution’ of shipping route optimisation - from early concepts proposed by Alan Turing to cutting-edge Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithms. Discover how these ‘survival of the fittest’ models are being used to navigate the complex world of charter party agreements, fuel efficiency, and autonomous vessels. They also dive into the environmental impact of rerouting, discussing how a 1% change in fuel consumption can protect vital megafauna like whales, and what the melting Arctic means for the future of global trade.   Chapter Markers 0:30 | Co-Host Introduction: Professor Adam Sobey Introduction of Adam Sobey, Mission Director for Sustainability at the Alan Turing Institute and Professor at the University of Southampton. 1:20 | Guest Introduction: Dr. Przemyslaw (Slaw) Grudniewski Introduction of Slava, Senior Applied Scientist atTheyr The history of Adam and Slava’s collaboration, starting from Slava's PhD in 2015. 4:30 | The Path to Genetic Algorithms Why the team focused on genetic algorithms, including the influence of a talk at the University of Bristol on co-evolution mechanisms. 5:00 | Why Shipping Matters: The Ever Given Incident The significance of global trade by sea (80-90%) and the 2021 Suez Canal blockage by theEver Given. 6:20 | The Sustainability Imperative Shipping currently accounts for 2-3% of world emissions, emphasizing the massive need for reduced costs and improved sustainability. 7:15 | Defining Genetic Algorithms Explaining unsupervised learning algorithms based on "survival of the fittest" and evolutionary mechanics. 8:40 | Applying Evolutionary Principles to Route Optimisation How routes are treated as individuals that create "offspring" through crossover and mutation. 10:20 | Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithms "There is no one best route"—balancing conflicting goals like voyage time vs. fuel consumption. Explaining why multi-objective approaches provide a set of optimal solutions rather than a single answer. 11:00 | Charter Party Agreements & Alternative Fuels The complexity of "rental agreements" (charter parties) and the shift toward net-zero fuels like ammonia, hydrogen, and nuclear. 12:20 | The Rise of Fully Autonomous Vessels Navigating the challenges of crewless ships and how they allow for real-time route adjustments. 13:30 | Sustainability Benefits of Autonomy Removing crew-related weight can lead to estimated fuel reductions of around 20%. 14:40 | Safety and Regulation The role of the Alan Turing Institute and Lloyd’s Register in developing standards and validation for autonomous systems. 16:15 | Risks: Cyber Threats and Bad Actors Addressing piracy, cybersecurity risks, and the safety of alternative fuel sources. 18:00 | Why Genetic Algorithms Win Comparing genetic algorithms against local search methods like A* and Dijkstra for complex, real-world problems. 19:00 | Top Performance: cMLSGA ThecMLSGA (Convolutional Multi-Level Selection Genetic Algorithm) and its 7-8% improvement over other models. This represents a saving of 50 to 380 tonnes of fuel per day for large vessels. 20:20 | History: From Alan Turing to Today How the field traces back to Turing’s 1948 ideas of "child-like" intelligence that learns and evolves. 22:20 | Ants, Tribes, and Co-Evolution Using the study of ant colonies and human tribal behaviour to understand collective fitness and reproduction. 23:50 | Scaling Solutions through Collectives Applying the concept of "collectives" to solve large-scale optimisation problems through collaboration. 25:25 | Multi-Level Selection How "groups of individuals" (collectives) can compete and work together to look at different objectives simultaneously. 26:20 | Collective vs. Convergence-Based Algorithms Why maintaining diversity in a population is more effective than focusing on a single "perfect" solution too early. Diversity provides better and more informed choices with the data at hand. 28:00 | Success Stories: TVOS and Whale Protection TheTVOS (Theyr Voyage Optimisation Software) and its real-world impact. The importance of protecting marine life and megafauna. 29:50 | Navigating the Environment The difficulty of rerouting massive ships and the role of deep learning vs. genetic algorithms in icy environments. 32:50 | The Arctic and New Trade Routes How melting sea ice is opening new routes and the resulting need for specialized "ice-class" vessels. 35:50 | Industry Adoption and Client Surprises Overcoming the lack of maritime background to deliver results that surprise industry veterans. 38:30 | The Future: Power Prediction Models What’s next for the field, including more advanced predictive modelling. 41:00 | Summary and the Power of Collaboration A hopeful look at how the Alan Turing Institute acts as a convening power for sustainability research.

The Arctic is undergoing rapid changes due to climate change, making sea ice forecasting increasingly important. In this episode of the Turing Podcast, hosts Amelia Jabry and Dr. Sophie Arana discuss the critical role of AI models like IceNet in predicting sea ice conditions and aiding conservation efforts. Featuring Dr. Ellie Bowler from the British Antarctic Survey, the conversation dives into the technical details of IceNet, its applications for wildlife conservation, and the challenges of predicting sea ice dynamics. The discussion also covers the importance of these predictions for indigenous communities and wildlife that rely on the frozen Arctic landscape. Learn how AI is revolutionising our approach to these urgent environmental challenges. Read more about our environmental forecasting work here: https://www.turing.ac.uk/blog/democratising-environmental-forecasting-age-ai  Explore IceNet: https://icenet.ai/ Find out more about Dr Ellie Bowler's publications: https://www.bas.ac.uk/profile/eller/ Read more about Dr Sophie Arana here: https://www.turing.ac.uk/people/dr-sophie-arana    Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to Arctic Climate Change 00:39 Meet the your host Amelia and co-host Dr Sophie Arana  00:57 Understanding the Role of a Research Application Manager 01:47 Introduction to ICE Net 02:47 AI vs. Traditional Physics-based Forecasting Models 03:40 Human Expertise and AI Collaboration 04:56 Introducing Dr. Ellie Bowler and her sea ice and caribou migration forecasting research 06:21 Challenges in Sea Ice Forecasting 10:01 Caribou Migration and Conservation 12:30 Impact of Human Activities on Arctic Wildlife 16:38 Innovative Conservation Methods 23:25 Future of ICE Net and AI in Conservation 26:54 Conclusion and Further Resources

New podcast - defending our critical national infrastructure.   Podcast host Amelia Jabry is joined by co-host and Turing Principal Research Scientist, Vasilios Mavroudis to explore how AI is reshaping both the defence and attack of vital systems like healthcare, energy and transport. With the help of special guest, Microsoft’s Director of Global AI & Cybersecurity Policy Nicholas Butts, they ask: how vulnerable are our power grids, water systems, and communications networks in the age of advanced AI? And what are organisations like the Alan Turing Institute and Microsoft are doing to protect these essential services? Episode Notes Please find below a list of resources and news articles that were mentioned in the podcast:  Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2024 Glossary - AIRC Staying ahead of threat actors in the age of AI | Microsoft Security Blog https://www.thestack.technology/ai-agent-whisperer-liberates-llm-to-spout-filthy-cardy-b-lyrics/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0el31nqnpvo https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czx1qp64wrno  

The Turing Podcast revisits Project Bluebird; a fascinating collaboration aiming to solve some of the biggest and most complex problems in air traffic control with digital twins and AI. Join Ed as he sits down with Nick Pepper of The Alan Turing Institute, George De Ath of the University of Exeter and Marc Thomas of NATS - the team behind Project Bluebird. First featured on our podcast in 2020, the team now provides a progress update at the midpoint mark. Learn how they are developing innovative AI to train a digital twin air traffic controller with the aim of enhancing aviation safety and functionality, and what the challenges are, integrating human expertise with machine intelligence.

This week we are joined by Manchester United women's footballer Aoife Mannion, Author and CEO of Glitch Seyi Akiwowo and Turing Researcher Pica Johansson to discuss online abuse suffered by football players and other athletes online. The Turing recently partnered with OfCom, who comissioned a report in relation to its upcoming role as the UK’s Online Safety regulator tracking abuse on Twitter against football players in the 2021-22 Premier League Season. You can read more on this report here: Tracking abuse on Twitter against football players in the 2021-22 Premier League Season | The Alan Turing Institute

In this episode, hosts Bea and Anneca are joined by Robert Blackwell, from CEFAS (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science), who tells us, among many other things, how an algorithm to detect different species of plankton developed in two weeks during a Turing DSG ended up being deployed six months later on a ship.

This week we welcome Dr Miguel Arana-Catania and Professor Rob Procter from the University of Warwick, along with Dr Felix-Anselm van Lier from Oxford University. The episode discusses their recent work in using machine learning to analyze large-scale peace dialogue transcripts from the war in Yemen, with the aim to assist conflict mediators.

This week the hosts are joined by David Beavan, a Senior Research Software Engineer and Dr Kasra Hosseini a Research Data Scientist, both of whom work in the Alan Turing Institute’s Research Engineering Group. The episode focusses on one of The Alan Turing Institute’s major research projects in the Digital Humanities known as “Living with machines”, which takes a fresh look at the history of the industrial revolution with data driven approaches. Find out more at https://livingwithmachines.ac.uk/

In this episode Christina catches up with two of her former collaborators, Prithviraj Pramanik and Dr. Subhabrata Majumdar. The three of them worked as volunteers at Solve for Good (a platform to connect social good organizations with volunteer data scientists to solve socially beneficial challenges). The team discusses their work with UNICEF to build a post-pandemic global air pollution model to help map child exposure to harmful air pollutants.

Ed & Rachel are joined by Dr Tim Hobson, Senior Research Software Engineer and resident Bitcoin enthusiast at The Alan Turing Institute! Tim offers his take on the phenomenon that is Bitcoin, the future of its adoption and how the underlying technology relates to his research interests.

The latest episode of the Turing Podcast features a special roundtable discussion with our strategic partner Accenture about career options in the data science sector. The latest episode of the Turing Podcast features a special roundtable discussion with our strategic partner Accenture about career options in the data science sector. Our hosts Jo Dungate and Bea Costa Gomes were joined by three influential figures in AI and data science - Henrietta Ridley (Data Science Manager at Accenture), Alice Aspinall (Senior Manager at Mudano), and Kirstie Whitaker (the Turing’s Director for the tools, practices and systems programme). Our guests brought their different experiences and perspectives to an insightful discussion on various aspects of the data science industry, from how they first got into their fields, their career motivations and lessons learned along the way. The episode concludes with each guest offering advice to anyone at the beginning of their career.

This week on The Turing Podcast, the hosts chat with Dr James Geddes, who is a Principial Research Data Scientist in the Research Engineering Group at the Alan Turing Institute. The discussion revolves around an all-important question: What actually is AI? James breaks down three categories of computer programs that could be considered AI: Simulations, Symbolic AI and Machine Learning, and the hosts debate which, if any of these, are really intelligent! This week the podcast is hosted by Ed Chalstrey and introduces Christina Last.

In this episode we talk to Dr Nira Chamberlain, president of The Institute of Mathematics and its Applications. We talk with Nira about Black History Month, mathematicians though history that have inspired him, and how mathematics can cross racial, geographical and cultural boundaries.

We chat about all things science communication with two Turing colleagues: Ethics Research Fellow Mhairi Aitken and Science Writer James Lloyd. They discuss why we need science communicators in the first place, what makes for good communication, and what specific challenges are associated with communicating data science and AI research to the general public.

This week on the podcast, we bring you a conversation the hosts had last December with PhD candidate Elizabeth Seger. Elizabeth studies at The University of Cambridge and is a research assistant at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence. Talking about her work with The Alan Turing Institute, she explains how informed decision making in democracies is being impacted by modern technology, and in particular how online misinformation has affected the pandemic response. Find out more about the research here: https://www.turing.ac.uk/blog/infodemics-and-crisis-response?_cldee=ZWNoYWxzdHJleUB0dXJpbmcuYWMudWs%3d&recipientid=contact-9b098e61071be911a974002248014773-9d06c72d733d47418edbfd23c7e38bcb&esid=2e510c56-7d14-eb11-a813-0022483ed0bb

In this episode hosts Jo Dungate and Rachel Winstanley speak to Andrew Holding, a Senior Research Associate at Cancer Research UK's (CRUK) Cambridge Institute and Turing Fellow. Andrew discusses how his research is using machine learning to understand the biology that underlies breast cancer to help improve treatments.

The hosts chat with to Professor Robert Foley, who works on Human Evolution at the University of Cambridge and is a Fellow of The Alan Turing Institute. The conversation takes a broad view of how our understanding of human evolution has changed in recent decades and focusses in on the Turing institute’s Palaeoanalytics project, which involves applying data science and machine learning methods to non-genomic data. Find out more about this project here: https://www.turing.ac.uk/research/research-projects/palaeoanalytics

AI is widely lauded as a way of reducing the burden on human online content moderators. However, to understand whether AI could, and should, replace human moderators, we need to understand its strengths and limitations. In this episode our hosts speak to the researchers Paul Röttger and Bertie Vidgen to discuss how they are attempting to tackle online hate speech, in particular through their work on HateCheck - a suite of tests for hate speech detection models.

In an interview recorded last year, Jo & Ed are joined by Dr Omar A Guerrero, an Economist & Computational Social Scientist at The Alan Turing Institute & UCL Department of Economics, whose research focusses on economic behaviour and institutions from an interdisciplinary angle. The episode focusses on Policy Priority Inference (PPI); a technology developed in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme. PPI is intended to be used to optimise government policy to meet sustainable development goals and identify the policy priorities that governments need to set if they are to adopt a specific development strategy. Read more about the research discussed in this episode here: https://www.turing.ac.uk/research/research-projects/policy-priority-inference

This week on the podcast, the hosts are joined by Sören Mindermann & Mrinank Sharma who are PhD students from Oxford University. Mrinank works as part of Oxford's Future of Humanity Institute, whilst Sören is a member of Oxford Applied and Theoretical Machine Learning Group and the episode focuses on the research they've recently had published on inferring the effectiveness of government interventions against Covid-19, during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020. You can find the research article for this work here: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/371/6531/eabd9338