Author Archives: Pat

TRC #697: Did Hedy Lamarr Invent Wi-Fi? + Name That: Spot the Fake

We have some very special guests on this week’s episode as TRC alumni Pat and Cristina join us with some great segments. Cristina looks at the truth behind a viral meme that says that famous actress Hedy Lamarr invented Wi-Fi, … Continue reading

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TRC #679: A Chat With Author Darren McKee: Uncontrollable

The crew gets to interview TRC’s very own Darren McKee, author of the critically acclaimed book, ‘Uncontrollable: The Threat of Artificial Superintelligence and the Race to Save the World’. We chat about the challenges of writing a first book, some … Continue reading

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TRC #678: Darren’s AI Book is Out!

Wondering what the heck is going on with AI?  Why are some people so concerned? Darren’s new beginner-friendly book Uncontrollable: The Threat of Artificial Superintelligence and the Race to Save the World addresses exactly those questions. In an engaging and … Continue reading

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TRC #677: Interview with Yoshua Bengio

  World-renowned AI expert Yoshua Bengio talks with Darren McKee and Adam Gardner about his long career, why advanced AI could be harmful, and whether open-source of powerful AI models is a risk. Download direct: mp3 file http://traffic.libsyn.com/therealitycheck/TRC_677.mp3

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TRC #676: Phenylephrine Ineffective? + Bees Are Doing Fine

Cristina delves into the latest FDA advisory announcement shedding light on the ineffectiveness of phenylephrine, a widely used ingredient in several nasal decongestants. Adam revisits the myriad of news stories and worries surrounding bees and the issue of colony collapse … Continue reading

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TRC #675: Mashup: The Centrifuge Brain Project + Avril Double + V-Steaming

It’s another mashup where we give you three segments from previous shows.  First we revisit Pat’s deep dive on a viral video of an amusement park ride.  Next Adam takes on an Avril Lavigne conspiracy that she died and was … Continue reading

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TRC #674: How Does AI Image Generation Work? + Why Is A Bug Called A Bug?

Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, Dall-e. Darren digs into an explanation of how artificial intelligence generates images and whether or not it is just copying.  Cristina looks at the fascinating history of why a computer glitch is called a bug.  Download direct: mp3 … Continue reading

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TRC #673: UFO Whistleblower? + Will We Make Great Pets For An Artificial Super Intelligence?

Adam digs into recent headlines about UFOs and whistleblower David Grusch.  Does this give any promising evidence that aliens may be among us?  Next Darren ponders how our future AI overlords might treat us. Assuming they don’t eliminate us, will … Continue reading

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TRC #672: Are Fingerprints Really Unique? + What’s A Buttload? + Why AI Researchers Don’t Quit

Cristina kicks off the show with a deep dive into the history of forensic fingerprinting and challenges a commonly accepted notion that no two fingerprints are alike. Adam brings us a buttload of a segment when he probes into the … Continue reading

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TRC #671: Uncertainty And AI Risk + Spot The Fake

Darren shares some thoughts and leads an interesting discussion about what might be reasonable approaches to the difficult and complicated topic of artificial intelligence. Pat brings us another smashing game of “Name That: Spot The Fake.” Can you do better … Continue reading

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