The UK government has proposed banning under-16s from holding social media accounts - but does it actually protect children from AI?

Fiona and Holly are joined by child trauma psychotherapist Dr Catherine Knibbs, who isn't convinced the ban will work. They dig into what the ban is actually trying to fix, and whether removing access to named platforms touches the AI behind them - the recommendation algorithms widely described as addictive.

Covers: the UK social media ban explained, AI and addictive algorithms, will the social media ban work, what parents can actually do regardless of how the law lands.

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Official Government announcement

Dr Catherine Knibbs

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AI-powered toys are heading for this year's Christmas tree and in toy shop aisles right now, but what are they actually doing when your toddler talks to them?

Dr Emily Goodacre joins Fiona and Holly to dig into what AI toys, like Miko, mean for a young child's development, what data they might be collecting, and why a toy can't actually manage real social play the way a person can.

Covers: AI toys and child development, data and privacy risks in smart toys, and why AI can't replace real social interaction for toddlers.

Useful Links:

Dr Emily Goodacre’s research

Pedal Hub

Mattel and OpenAI partnership

Report where AI toy went rogue

AI Toy Miko

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This week Holly and Fiona get stuck into the topic of the environment, learning that measuring AI’s impact is not quite as simple as it may seem.

They’re joined by Dr Kelly Widdicks from the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology to talk about how some research suggests that the data centres behind AI have the same carbon footprint as the whole of NYC.

But it’s not all bad news as Kelly also explains that there are ways we can use AI for the good of the environment.

Useful Links:

Dr Kelly Widdicks

Carbon impact of AI research (Patterns - De Vries-Gao)

UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

How Bad Are Bananas? by Mike Berners-Lee

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Fiona hates driving and loves the idea of a world where automated cars are the norm, whereas Holly is pretty worried about the thought of it.

With driverless cars being tested on the streets of London there was no better time than now to ask Dr Nick Reed whether our kids will ever need to take a driving test.

Dr Nick is an expert in the safe deployment of driverless cars in the UK and tells us what it’s like to take a ride in a Waymo.

Useful Links:

Reed Mobility

Athlete running in sports day race

AI Confidential with Hannah Fry - Death by Driverless Car

Zoox

Waymo

Wayve

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The big question this week is whether Holly is feeling any more knowledgeable about AI.

Join Fiona and Holly as they reflect on what they’ve learned in the last few weeks and what they want to cover before the summer.

Useful Links:

askma.co.uk

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The music and graphics for this podcast have been created using AI. Credit to kaazoom for the catchy tune!

Holly has always considered coding a “safe-bet” career path, but now AI can code she’s not sure whether it’s a good path to encourage her daughter down.

Anne-Marie Imafidon, CEO of Stemettes, joins us on the podcast to talk about tech careers, unicorns and periods.

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Stemettes (sign up to the newsletter)

Link to Hannah Fry’s video about paperclips and mugs

Clip of James Acaster on The Great British Bake Off

She’s in Ctrl book

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Are we seeing the end of the Saturday job now AI is here?

We’re seeing headlines all the time about AI replacing people, and it’s apparently starting with the entry level jobs. So what does that mean for our kids trying to get their foot in the door?

Holly and Fiona chat to Julia Druck, whose son is heading into the world of work in less than 2 years time and she’s taking some pretty drastic steps to make sure he’s got a guaranteed job.

Useful Links:

serpin.ai

Lindy

Beijing robot marathon (BBC News)

Cloudflare blog about interns

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What does AI in schools look like? Is AI teaching our kids or just making things easier for teachers?

This week, Holly and Fiona chat about what concerns them most at the thought of AI in school.

They're joined by The AI Educator Dan Fitzpatrick, whose job it is to help schools understand and prepare for AI.

Useful Links:

The AI Educator

AI Algorithms in Covid times - BBC News Article

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The music and graphics for this podcast have been created using AI. Credit to kaazoom for the catchy tune!