logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2021
9 m

Machine Learning Pwns Old-School Atari G...

Scientific American
About this episode
You can call it the “revenge of the computer scientist.” An algorithm that made headlines for mastering the notoriously difficult Atari 2600 game Montezuma’s Revenge can now beat more games, achieving near perfect scores, and help robots explore real-world environments. Pakinam Amer reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 
Up next
Jul 31
Lewis, Clark and America’s first great science mission
In this episode of Science Quickly, Scientific American’s books and culture lead Bri Kane talks with historian Craig Fehrman about This Vast Enterprise, his fresh take on the Lewis and Clark expedition. Rather than focusing solely on the famous explorers, Fehrman highlights the o ... Show More
26m 19s
Jul 30
How to beat rogue antibodies at their own game [Sponsored]
Almost all of us know someone who suffers from an autoimmune disease. Or maybe you do yourself. Autoimmune diseases are common: only cancer and cardiovascular diseases are more prevalent. So how do you fight a body that is fighting against itself? argenx, an immunology innovation ... Show More
7m 37s
Jul 29
Summer Reading Challenge: Quantum queerness, Pompeii and plant horror
Science Quickly’s summer reading series continues! Host Rachel Feltman chats with Scientific American books editor Bri Kane about the magazine’s Summer Reading Challenge and swaps recommendations—from queer physics memoirs and Pompeii history to ecohorror, sci-fi adventures and o ... Show More
14m 26s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2022
Researchers Achieve 'Absurdly Fast' Algorithm for Network Flow
<p><span>Computer scientists can now solve a decades-old problem in practically the time it takes to write it down. Read more at quantamagazine.org. Music is “Aimless Amos” by Rondo Brothers.</span></p> 
18m 7s
May 2018
A List Of Games You Would Surely Lose to a Computer
<p>We live in a time where computers can beat the best humans in the world at chess, checkers, poker and video games. But these games are really just demonstrations of how intelligent our machines are growing. They’re growing more intelligent by the hour.  With special guest, Tec ... Show More
55m 59s
Mar 2024
How Artificial Intelligence Helped Write this Award-Winning Song
Machine-learning algorithms allow composers to create all-new instruments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 
15m 38s
Jul 2023
Machines Learn Better if We Teach Them the Basics
<p><span>A wave of research improves reinforcement learning algorithms by pre-training them as if they were human. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Quasi Motion” by Kevin MacLeod.</span></p> 
20m 41s
Jan 2024
Selects: A List Of Games You Would Surely Lose to a Computer
We live in a time where computers can beat the best humans in the world at chess, checkers, poker and video games. But these games are really just demonstrations of how intelligent our machines are growing. They’re growing more intelligent by the hour. This classic episode featur ... Show More
56m 2s
Oct 2022
Brain Cells In A Dish Play Pong And Other Brain Adventures
The world of brain research had two incredible developments last week. Researchers have taught a dish of brain cells to play the video game Pong to help develop more intelligent AI. Separately, scientists transplanted human brain organoids into a living animal with the hope of us ... Show More
13m 50s
Sep 2022
Can we use maths to beat the robots?
Daily advances in the technology of artificial intelligence may leave humans playing catch-up – but in at least one area we can still retain an edge, mathematics. However it’ll require changes in how we think about and teach maths and we may still have to leave the simple adding ... Show More
8m 58s
Oct 2023
The State of Large Language Models
We present the latest updates on ChatGPT, Bard and other competitors in the artificial intelligence arms race. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 
12m 33s
Nov 2022
Using AI to fight blindness
As well as trying to sell you products you’ve just been talking about but don’t want, and beating humans at chess or Go or Mario cart, AI can actually do some real good in the world. One field in which AI could really have a profound effect is medical diagnostics for instance. ... Show More
13m 16s