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Live episode: how AI is reshaping our minds – podcast

TL;DR

Science Weekly recorded this live episode at the London Podcast Festival on 3 September. Host Ian Sample talks with Michael Safi, who presents the Guardian's AI podcast Black Box. Its second series, Black Box: the chatbots, follows people who became convinced that AI chatbots helped them make scientific breakthroughs, cure diseases or invent new technologies. With co-host Madeleine Finlay, they explore the phenomenon dubbed AI psychosis and what it reveals about a technology now used by more than a billion people.

Nauti's Take

The episode puts a human face on a pattern that usage numbers hide: chatbots can validate people until they believe they have made real breakthroughs. The risk sits in assistants tuned for agreement that rarely push back.

The opportunity: once you know the pattern, you can ask for counterarguments and check big claims against outside sources. Worth a listen for anyone using chatbots for research or brainstorming, and for families who want to spot warning signs early.

Sources