Welcome to our first episode of Season 2 of Reinforcement Talking, UCL AI Society's Podcast!

This episode is an audio version of our recent AI Debate. It's difficult to think of a question with higher stakes. Some AI experts like Geoffrey Hinton think that AI should be considered just as risky as pandemics or nuclear war; others, like Melanie Mitchell, see the risks as vanishingly small.

It was a pleasure to host 4 experts on this topic, including

• Reuben Adams, a UCL AI PhD student
• Chris Watkins, Professor in Computer Science at Royal Holloway
• Jack Stilgoe, a Science Technology Professor at UCL
• Kenneth Cukier, Deputy Executive Editor at The Economist.

If you'd prefer to watch the YouTube version, here's the link.⁠

The more AI develops, the more questions we have as to how these advances will affect our lives. Will AI soon take our jobs? What will happen to our privacy and uniqueness of identity? Will it pose an existential risk to humanity?

This episode, paradoxically, is a debate between two AI agents. Generated mostly by AI it gives a rational perspective on how this technology is changing our lives, answering the questions we often wonder about. At the end of the day, it’s crucial to remember that at the moment AI is just a tool and it’s up to us how to use it.