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After years of slow progress, robots have suddenly been getting a lot cleverer and more capable. The technology behind ChatGPT—large language models—has given machines in the real world a dramatic brain upgrade. How is artificial intelligence bringing about a renaissance in robotics and allowing them to finally work in the world of humans?Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Dinesh Jayaraman, Arjun Krishna and Jason Ma of the University of Pennsylvania; Tom Standage, Shailesh Chitnis and Trisha Parayil of The Economist.Want to learn more about generative artificial intelligence? Listen to our series on the science that built the AI revolution.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Have you ever had a visit from an angel, a ghost or perhaps even an alien? Plenty of people throughout history think they have. Some even report real, physical symptoms from their interactions with supernatural beings. But, although alien abductions and ghosts are not likely to be real, the stories around these paranormal events tell scientists a lot about how the human mind works. Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor, interviews Chris French, a psychologist and author of a new book, “The Science of Weird Shit”.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Narendra Modi is one of the most popular politicians on the planet. India’s prime minister is eyeing a third term atop the world’s biggest democracy. A tea-seller’s son, Mr Modi began life an outsider and the man behind the political phenomenon remains hard to fathom. India has become an economic powerhouse during his ten years in charge. But he’s also the frontman for a chauvinistic Hindu nationalist dogma. Can Mr Modi continue to balance both parts of his agenda and finish the job of turning India into a superpower? The Economist’s Avantika Chilkoti finds out what makes him tick. Launching June 2024.To listen to the full series, subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

A technological revolution is under way in the world of health care. In the second of two episodes on the potential of artificial intelligence to transform the field, we gaze into the future to ask: how will medical researchers and doctors use the latest AI models to understand and treat disease in completely new ways?Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Natasha Loder, The Economist's health editor; Frank Uhlmann of The Francis Crick Institute; Regina Barzilay of MIT; Parashkev Nachev of UCL; The Economist’s Trisha Parayil.Want to learn more about generative artificial intelligence? Listen to our series on the science that built the AI revolution.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Artificial intelligence is already making its mark in health care—but new, bigger, models promise to improve how patients access services, help doctors spot diseases faster and transform how medical research is done. In the first of two episodes on the potential of AI in health care, we ask: how will patients benefit from the technology behind ChatGPT? Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Natasha Loder, The Economist's health editor; Gerald Lip of NHS Grampian; Peter Kecskemethy of Kheiron Medical; Pranav Rajpurkar of Harvard Medical School; Hugh Harvey of Hardian Health.Want to learn more about generative artificial intelligence? Listen to our series on the science that built the AI revolution.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Earth’s southern pole has traditionally been neglected in the narrative around climate change, partly because scientists used to think that Antarctica was a relatively stable place. Their models, it turns out, were wrong. Some jaw-dropping events and extremes in recent years have shown that Antarctica is undergoing massive changes on land, sea and in the atmosphere. As a result, a new portrait of the continent is emerging which has, so far, received little attention. Polar scientists are warning of a “regime shift”. Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Catherine Brahic, The Economist’s environment editor; Jonathan Bamber of the University of Bristol; Nadine Johnston of the British Antarctic Survey.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Disinformation—falsehoods that are intended to deceive—is on the rise. AI is making it easier to create deceptive content, while social media enables it to spread faster than ever before. With half the world’s population heading to polls in 2024, this presents a growing threat to democracy. There is a glimmer of hope, though. Scientists are starting to understand the technology and tactics behind disinformation campaigns, opening up new possibilities to fight them. Can countries and companies come together to fend off fake media? Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Tom Standage, The Economist’s deputy editor; Hollie Berman, a news editor at The Economist; Ainslie Johnstone, our data and science correspondent.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Ever since there have been smartphones and social media, there have been concerns about how they might be affecting children. Over the past decade, doctors have seen a decline in mental health in the young in much of the rich world. But whether that rise can be attributed to technology is still a matter of fierce debate. Nevertheless, demands are growing to proactively restrict teenagers’ access to phones and social media, just in case. How concerned should parents and teachers be? Or is this just another moral panic? Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Tom Wainwright, The Economist's technology and media editor; Clare Fernyhough, co-founder of Smartphone Free Childhood; Carol Vidal of Johns Hopkins University; Pete Etchells, a psychologist at Bath Spa University and the author of “Unlocked: The Real Science of Screen Time”.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Humans are master communicators. It’s the reason our species has become so successful. But if it's so innate to our behaviour, why do people so often mess it up? Author Charles Duhigg set out to answer this question in his new book “Supercommunicators”. He joins host Alok Jha to explain the psychology and neuroscience that shape human interaction—and the secrets of those who do it best. They also examine how conversations are changing in the digital age and whether AI can offer insights into the scientific understanding of how communication works.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Scientists are still uncovering the myriad ways in which the gut microbiome affects human health. An out-of-kilter ecosystem of microbes can cause diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. But it has also been linked to obesity and conditions such as liver disease and Alzheimer’s. Understanding those connections opens up a new type of medicine. Is the era of microbiome treatments about to arrive?Host: Gilead Amit, The Economist’s science correspondent. Contributors: Désirée Prossomariti and Simon Goldenberg of St Thomas’ Hospital in London; Glenn Gibson of the University of Reading; Debbie Shawcross of King’s College London; Matt Cheng, boss of Kanvas Biosciences; Natasha Loder, The Economist's health editor. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Scenes of ghostly white coral reefs are among the most iconic images of the climate crisis. This year a mass coral bleaching event has hit the Great Barrier Reef, as global warming and the El Niño climate cycle have heated the Pacific Ocean to new extremes. Our science correspondent travels to Australia to meet some of the researchers on the frontlines of the fight to save these ecosystems. Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Abby Bertics, The Economist’s science correspondent; Joanie Kleypas of the National Center for Atmospheric Research; Annika Lamb of the Australian Institute of Marine Science.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Three decades ago, the discovery of the first planet outside the solar system launched a new field: exoplanet astronomy. It also energised the search for life beyond Earth. Since then, more than 5,500 exoplanets have been identified. Scientists believe there could be trillions more—and experts and amateurs alike are trying to locate them. How will the discovery of these new worlds shape scientists’s understanding of how the solar system (and life) evolved?Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor, talks to Jessie Christiansen, lead scientist of the NASA Exoplanet Archive at the California Institute of Technology.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

What made AI models generative? In 2022, it seemed as though the much-anticipated AI revolution had finally arrived. Large language models swept the globe, and deepfakes were becoming ever more pervasive. Underneath it all were old algorithms that had been taught some new tricks. Suddenly, artificial intelligence seemed to have the skill of creativity.  Generative AI had arrived and promised to transform…everything.This is the final episode in a four-part series on the evolution of modern generative AI. What were the scientific and technological developments that took the very first, clunky artificial neurons and ended up with the astonishingly powerful large language models that power apps such as ChatGPT?Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Lindsay Bartholomew of the MIT Museum; Yoshua Bengio of the University of Montréal; Fei-Fei Li of Stanford University; Robert Ajemian and Greta Tuckute of MIT; Kyle Mahowald of the University of Texas at Austin; Daniel Glaser of London’s Institute of Philosophy; Abby Bertics, The Economist’s science correspondent. On Thursday April 4th, we’re hosting a live event where we’ll answer as many of your questions on AI as possible, following this Babbage series. If you’re a subscriber, you can submit your question and find out more at economist.com/aievent. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

An article from The Economist read aloud. Our science and technology section reports on the recent test flight of Elon Musk’s Starship. While the rocket failed to return to Earth, it’s a step nearer to the stars.For more on Starship, check out our Babbage podcast from 2022.

What made AI take off? A decade ago many computer scientists were focused on building algorithms that would allow machines to see and recognise objects. In doing so they hit upon two innovations—big datasets and specialised computer chips—that quickly transformed the potential of artificial intelligence. How did the growth of the world wide web and the design of 3D arcade games create a turning point for AI?This is the third episode in a four-part series on the evolution of modern generative AI. What were the scientific and technological developments that took the very first, clunky artificial neurons and ended up with the astonishingly powerful large language models that power apps such as ChatGPT?Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Fei-Fei Li of Stanford University; Robert Ajemian and Karthik Srinivasan of MIT; Kelly Clancy, author of “Playing with Reality”; Pietro Perona of the California Institute of Technology; Tom Standage, The Economist’s deputy editor.On Thursday April 4th, we’re hosting a live event where we’ll answer as many of your questions on AI as possible, following this Babbage series. If you’re a subscriber, you can submit your question and find out more at economist.com/aievent. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

How do machines learn? Learning is fundamental to artificial intelligence. It’s how computers can recognise speech or identify objects in images. But how can networks of artificial neurons be deployed to find patterns in data, and what is the mathematics that makes it all possible?This is the second episode in a four-part series on the evolution of modern generative AI. What were the scientific and technological developments that took the very first, clunky artificial neurons and ended up with the astonishingly powerful large language models that power apps such as ChatGPT?Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Pulkit Agrawal and Gabe Margolis of MIT; Daniel Glaser, a neuroscientist at London’s Institute of Philosophy; Melanie Mitchell of the Santa Fe Institute; Anil Ananthaswamy, author of “Why Machines Learn”.On Thursday April 4th, we’re hosting a live event where we’ll answer as many of your questions on AI as possible, following this Babbage series. If you’re a subscriber, you can submit your question and find out more at economist.com/aievent. Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

An article from The Economist read aloud. Our business section reports that brain-boosting substances are all the rage but their utility is debatable.

What is intelligence? In the middle of the 20th century, the inner workings of the human brain inspired computer scientists to build the first “thinking machines”. But how does human intelligence actually relate to the artificial kind?This is the first episode in a four-part series on the evolution of modern generative AI. What were the scientific and technological developments that took the very first, clunky artificial neurons and ended up with the astonishingly powerful large language models that power apps such as ChatGPT?Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Ainslie Johnstone, The Economist’s data journalist and science correspondent; Dawood Dassu and Steve Garratt of UK Biobank; Daniel Glaser, a neuroscientist at London’s Institute of Philosophy; Daniela Rus, director of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory; Yoshua Bengio of the University of Montréal, who is known as one of the “godfathers” of modern AI.On Thursday April 4th, we’re hosting a live event where we’ll answer as many of your questions on AI as possible, following this Babbage series. If you’re a subscriber, you can submit your question and find out more at economist.com/aievent. Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating condition, affecting 1.8m people worldwide. It occurs when a patient’s immune system attacks the fatty tissue that insulates the nerve cells. In 2022, scientists identified the trigger for this reaction: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a common pathogen that causes glandular fever (the “kissing disease”). That discovery opened up new treatment options for MS and raises a tantalising question—could the disease one day be eliminated entirely with a vaccine?Host: Alok Jha, The Economist's science and technology editor. Contributors: Petros Iosifidis, who describes his experience living with MS; Evan Irving-Pease of the University of Copenhagen; Ruth Dobson of Queen Mary University of London; Jessica Durkee-Shock of the National Institutes of Health. Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.