Resources for Bio-Inspired AI - Podcasts

Ben Hoyle
May 8, 2020
4 min read

Here at Simibrum we love building bio-inspired artificial intelligence systems. It appears we are not alone. Over the last ten years, we have seen a huge increase in the number of resources available to researchers - you no longer need to be working in a world-beating research institution or a technology giant. In a series of short posts, we will set out some of the resources that have inspired us.

In this post we will look the world of podcasts.

There is a renaissance in ideas at the moment and much of this has been driven by the world of podcasts. Many of the podcasts below are unashamedly intellectual, and many of the hosts are world experts in their own right. This means we now have access to content, most of it for free, that would have never been found on radio or television in the past.

Click each of the images to be taken to the websites for the podcast, or search for the name in your favourite podcast app.

Brain Inspired

This is now one of our favourite podcasts. Paul Middlebrooks come from a neuroscience background and so covers the areas between neuroscience and artificial intelligence that we have found can be absent from many engineering-focused resources. Somehow Paul has managed to have long chats with many of the world's leading experts in the bio-inspired space, even during the Covid-19 lockdown. He also links to papers and books discussed during each episode. Our reading list is now a lot longer!

Talking Machines

Now with over 100 episodes this is one of our earlier finds. It's targetted at engineering and machine learning post-doc researchers and is a great way for research outsiders to get a taste of what is going on in academic and university research groups. The podcast started with Ryan Adams and then Neil Lawrence took over a few series in. Neil heads up the Amazon Research Centre in Cambridge UK, yet is also .a Professor of Machine Learning at Sheffield University and so nicely bridges the gulf between industry and academia.

Making Sense

Sam Harris gathers some of the best minds in popular neuroscience and psychology for long conversations about the deep issues, with areas such as sociology and history also getting a look-in. Sam has an interest in meditation and consciousness, and so many conversations touch on these topics in some way. You can access 30 minute extracts of Sam Harris' conversations for free, and a subscription is now £40/year. For over 200 episodes with the sharpest global minds, this feels good value.

Sean Carroll's Mindscape

Similar to Sam, Sean tackles many of the big issues in this podcast that touches on almost all fields, from science, to society, culture, and the arts. Conversations are between an hour and an hour and a half. Sean comes from a theoretical physics background (he's a Research Professor at Caltech) so many of the chats cover hot topics in popular science, including a wide range that cover the brain and artificial intelligence. Now coming up to nearly 100 episodes.

Future of Life Institute

The Future of Life Institute is an organisation that has been set up by several heavy hitters in the world of science and technology to study existential threats to humanity, with a focus on risks from artificial intelligence. They have a number of podcasts, including the main Future of Life podcast and a podcast on AI Alignment. These podcasts feature some deeps chats on ethical issues surrounding artificial intelligence and its effect on humanity. We at Simibrum like to listen to the conversations as a tool to get us to think about the ethical effect of our work, and of artificial intelligence in general.

The Reith Lectures

The Reith Lectures were set up in 1948 in tribute to the first Director General of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), in view of his belief that broadcasting should enrich the intellectual and cultural life of the nation. Each year an expert in their field is asked to give a series of lectures, and these now total close to 300. The scope of subjects is fairly general, ranging from the law, politics and science to the arts. The Reith Lectures are arguably the great-grandfellows of the recent line of intellectual podcasts we see today.

Hidden Brain

Hopping over the Atlantic to the US, NPR's the Hidden Brain podcast covers elements of psychology and sociology in 30 to 50 minute segments. There is a large back archive with some great episodes, and as you would expect from NPR, each program has a good write-up and set of links for further study. One of our favourite episodes is "What Monkeys Can Teach Us About Being Human".

The Life Scientific

In this Radio 4 podcast from the BBC, physicist Jim Al-Khalili talks to leading scientists about their work and their intellectual journey. It is a good format - lighter than some of the earlier podcasts given its origin as a 30 minute radio program - but the focus on the personal life behind the science is refreshing.