taylor owen

AI's existential risks: Why Yoshua Bengio is warning the world

AI's existential risks: Why Yoshua Bengio is warning the world

In this episode of GZERO AI, Taylor Owen, host of the Machines Like Us podcast, reflects on the growing excitement around artificial intelligence. At a recent AI conference he attended, Owen observes that while startups and officials emphasized AI's economic potential, prominent AI researcher Yoshua Bengio voiced serious concerns about its existential risks. Bengio, who's crucial to the development of the technology, stresses the importance of cautious public policy, warning that current AI research tends to prioritize power over safety.

AI is turbocharging the stock market, but is it all hype?

AI is turbocharging the stock market, but is it all hype?

In this episode of GZERO AI, Taylor Owen, host of the Machines Like Us podcast, explores how artificial intelligence is turbocharging the stock market and transforming our economy. With AI driving the S&P 500 to new heights and drastically boosting NVIDIA's stock, researchers predict a future where we could be 1,000 times wealthier. However, Owen raises critical questions about whether this rapid growth is sustainable or simply a bubble ready to burst.

How is AI shaping culture in the art world?

How is AI shaping culture in the art world?

In this episode of GZERO AI, Taylor Owen, host of the Machines Like Us podcast, recounts his conversation with media theorist Douglas Rushkoff about the cultural implications of the ongoing AI revolution, which raised a couple of questions: Will AI enhance cultural production, similar to Auto-Tune and Photoshop, or produce art that truly moves society. Will people even care about its role in cultural production? However, Owen notes that current AI-generated content often lacks the cultural depth that our art and culture demand.

How AI models are grabbing the world's data

How AI models are grabbing the world's data

In this episode of GZERO AI, Taylor Owen, host of the Machines Like Us podcast, examines the scale and implications of the historic data land grab happening in the AI sector. According to researcher Kate Crawford, AI is the largest superstructure ever built by humans, requiring immense human labor, natural resources, and staggering amounts of data. But how are tech giants like Meta and Google amassing this data?

How neurotech could enhance our brains using AI

How neurotech could enhance our brains using AI

In this episode of GZERO AI, Taylor Owen, host of the Machines Like Us podcast, explores the immense potential of neurotechnology. On the heels of Elon Musk's brain implant company Neuralink making the headlines again, he examines how this technology, now turbocharged by artificial intelligence, could transform our lives. However, it is not without potential pitfalls, which call for regulatory discussions surrounding its use.

Israel's Lavender: What could go wrong when AI is used in military operations?

Israel's Lavender: What could go wrong when AI is used in military operations?

In this episode of GZERO AI, Taylor Owen, professor at the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University and director of its Centre for Media, Technology & Democracy, examines the Israeli Defence Forces' use of an AI system called Lavender to target Hamas operatives. While it reportedly shares hallucination issues familiar with AI systems like ChatGPT, the cost of error on the battlefront is incomparably severe.

Social media's AI wave: Are we in for a “deepfakification” of the entire internet?

Social media's AI wave: Are we in for a “deepfakification” of the entire internet?

In this episode of GZERO AI, Taylor Owen, professor at the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University and director of its Centre for Media, Technology & Democracy, looks into the phenomenon he terms the "deepfakification" of social media. He points out the evolution of our social feeds, which began as platforms primarily for sharing updates with friends, and are now inundated with content generated by artificial intelligence.