Communications of the ACM
Ears on AI and Data
According to DemandSage (https://www.demandsage.com/podcast-statistics/), at the end of 2022 there were 5 million active podcasts, and 464.7 million podcast listeners globally.
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A plethora of podcasts compete for our auricular attention. You can find somebody, somewhere—it seems—talking about just about anything, and artificial intelligence (AI) and data are no exceptions. Podcasting researchers are dissecting machine learning (ML) advances, entrepreneurs are analyzing AI integration in business, and journalists are unpacking the societal impacts of it all. From long-running series to new releases, following are some of the best AI/ data podcasts currently available to stream and download.
Once a month, Rashmi Mohan, Bruke Kifle, and Scott Hanselman of ACM's Practitioner Board host in-depth conversations on computer research and practice with expert guests. Archived episodes with an AI and data focus include Kristian Lum discussing predictive policing and criminal justice data collection, and Suchi Saria talking about ML and healthcare.
ACM's SIGGRAPH Spotlight podcast looks at AI through a computer graphics lens in episodes such as The Intersection of AI, VR, and Technology and Deepfakes.
Looking to trends and technologies beyond the U.S. and Europe, the AI Australia podcast recently relaunched with a focus on responsible AI. Hosts Natalie Rouse, general manager at data projects professional services business Eliiza, and Kobi Leins, associate director of data ethics for banking firm NAB, talk with researchers, artists, activists, and experts from organizations like Digital Rights Watch and tech companies like Signal Sciences.
In this statistics-focused podcast from India's English-language The Hindu newspaper, journalist Sonia Loganathan explores the data behind current affairs; perspectives are both India-focused and global. Recent episodes look at census data, caste discrimination in higher education institutions, and links between diabetes and wealth.
Launched in 2014 by host Kyle Polich, Data Skeptic's extensive archive contains hundreds of interviews with data experts. Polich's stated aims are to take a critical, evidence-based approach to data science and to reduce sensationalism in the field. Specific data methods and techniques, like k-means and multiple regression, are analyzed in detail; data-impacted societal topics, including fake news and election interference, are also covered.
This series of 27 talks and seminars in podcast form is produced by the U.K.'s Oxford University. Expert speakers from various faculties—including Michael Parker of Oxford's Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities, and Carina Prunkl, a research fellow in Oxford's Institute of Ethics in AI and a Senior Research Scholar in its Future of Humanity Institute—navigate the complexities of AI ethics via topics such as societal anxiety, algorithmic bias, transparency, and governance.
Twice a month, journalist Craig S. Smith hosts a deep-dive conversation with an AI pioneer. Episodes focus on a specific technology or subject, such as MLOps, synthetic data, No-Code AI, and national security. Smith and his guest come to grips with the technical nuance and global impact of their chosen topic. Guests have included Ben Goertzel, CEO of the decentralized AI platform SingularityNet; Kaifu Lee, CEO of Sinovation Ventures, and Fei-Fei Li, Sequoia Capital Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University and inventor of the visual database ImageNet.
Every Friday, The New York Times' recently launched podcast Hard Fork delves into the fast-moving tech scene. Content focuses on new products, headline-hitting controversies, and societal perspectives. AI and data feature prominently in the output. Hosts Kevin Roose and Casey Newton—both technology journalists—are joined by guests like Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom and Stability AI chief executive Emad Mostaque. Recent episodes cover Generative AI, M3GAN, and ChatGPT.
This business-focused podcast from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) features thought leaders from companies like PayPal, IKEA, eBay, LinkedIn, and 1-800-Flowers. Guests discuss AI integration at their enterprises with hosts Sam Ransbotham of Boston College and Shervin Khodabandeh of Boston Consulting Group. The archive spans five seasons. Available episodes include a discussion with Arti Zeighami, a member of the global leadership team of Boston Consulting Group's GAMMA practice, on fashion forecasting at clothing retailer H&M, and Kartik Hosanagar, founder of Jumpcut, a data-driven studio reimagining the way films and TV shows are developed, on data democratization in Hollywood.
More or Less: Behind the Stats
A BBC podcast hosted by Financial Times columnist Tim Harford. Concise episodes—released twice a week—unpack the meaning of statistics and data in everyday life. No topic is immune from statistical analysis, and surprising subjects feature regularly, including Irish pubs, birdsong, Minecraft, QAnon, and penalties in the Qatar World Cup. The archive includes extensive analysis of COVID-19 data. More or Less is available internationally via BBC Sounds, where you can also find The Reith Lectures on Living with Artificial Intelligence.
Produced by Ph.D. students and interns based at various U.S. and international universities, the Radical AI Podcast aims to shape dialogue around the future of AI by centering radical thinking, collaboration, and inclusion. Themed episodes with featured guests include Princeton University sociologist Ruha Benjamin discussing racism, discrimination, and agency in AI technologies, and University of Minnesota assistant professor of computer science and engineering Stevie Chancellor talking about predicting mental health with AI.
This podcast is part of the international Women in Data Science (WiDS) initiative. Hosts Margot Gerritsen of Stanford University and Cindy Orozco of Cerebras Systems talk all things data with leading women in the field, such as Spotify's Lillian Carrasquillo and biomedical data scientist Chiara Sabatti. Conversations explore a myriad of data-impacted topics from human rights and health to seismology and indigenous data sovereignty.
Featured podcasts are available from streaming platforms and/or directly on the show's website via the links in the text.
Is there an exceptional AI/data podcast you follow that is not on our list? Let us know below in the comments.
Karen Emslie is a location-independent freelance journalist and essayist.
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