logo
episode-header-image
May 2023
27m 45s

What's the deal with chips?

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Tech Life explores the chips found in everyday tech, and why governments are competing to make them. We hear how scientists in New Zealand are turning underground broadband cables into a source of earthquake detection. Also in this programme how simulation tech is helping a South African HIV organisation reach more people and how AI could transform your next work out.

(Photo: Jim Wilson/Getty An employee holds a silicon wafer with chips etched into it)

Up next
Jul 8
AIs on the road
This week on Tech Life, we speak to the company behind an AI safe driving device that's fitted to thousands of delivery vans and fleet vehicles around the world. Using cameras and an onboard AI system, it assesses how safely a vehicle is being driven. And it warns both the driver ... Show More
26m 29s
Jul 1
The future of the internet is up for debate
The way the internet will operate in the future is being discussed at the moment. Will it remain as it is now, or could governments become more involved and take more control ? We speak to ICANN, one of the technical institutions which help to keep the internet functioning, about ... Show More
26m 28s
Jun 24
Digital twin cities
What are the advantages of creating a digital mirror of a city – or an entire island? We speak to a company making digital twins to create simulations of the real world. Then we hear from a real set of twins about their award-winning carbon capture project. And the company sendin ... Show More
26m 29s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2023
The AI Chip Chat 🤖💻 (Ep. 243)
Dive into the cool world of AI chips with us! 🚀 We're breaking down how these special computer chips for AI have evolved and what makes them different. Think of them like the superheroes of the tech world! Don't miss out! 🎙️🔍 #AIChips #TechTalk #SimpleScience 
32m 10s
Jan 2022
Internet connectivity still patchy in Tonga
Connectivity to Tonga partially restored but undersea cable repair could take weeks. The underwater volcanic eruption severed the country’s only underwater network cable and ash clouds have made satellite connectivity impossible. Professor Nicole Starosielski from NYU, an expert ... Show More
43m 48s
Mar 2024
Chips Are the Future of AI. They’re Also Incredibly Vulnerable. With Chris Miller
Beneath the race to train and release more powerful AI models lies another race: a race by companies and nation-states to secure the hardware to make sure they win AI supremacy. Correction: The latest available Nvidia chip is the Hopper H100 GPU, which has 80 billion transistors. ... Show More
45m 16s
Apr 2020
Could fitness trackers track COVID-19?
Could your smart fitness device detect if you were coming down with respiratory symptoms? A project collecting data from smart wearable devices to see if they can plot outbreaks of disease symptoms by reporting data in real time and giving it a geographical tag has been launched. ... Show More
52m 39s
Mar 2023
Peter Ma on Using AI to Find Promising Signals for Alien Life - Ep. 191
Peter Ma was bored in his high school computer science class. So he decided to teach himself something new: how to use artificial intelligence to find alien life. That’s how he eventually became the lead author of a groundbreaking study published in Nature Astronomy. The study re ... Show More
34m 10s
Jul 2023
Tech and AI: 6. What is AI?
Artificial Intelligence has been in the news constantly this year, from a chatbot that can write anything you can imagine, in any style, to scientists and world leaders warning that AI needs to be controlled. With the big tech firms all rushing to make their AI products available ... Show More
13m 50s
Jul 2021
Analyzing the Impact of A.I. and Technology on Society and Cybersecurity
Technology is advancing at pace never seen before and the newest tech, applications and widgets are being widely adopted at an even quicker rate. Just look at A.I. and machine learning tools,which are now used to identify things once thought unimaginable — whether it's to figure ... Show More
49m 58s
Dec 2023
"Maturing Your Digital Transformation" (Ep. #9): AI in Aerospace Part Three
Welcome to Talking Aerospace Today – a podcast for the aerospace and defense industry. A place that brings the promise of tomorrow’s technology to the ears of our listeners today.This series has covered many topics related to artificial intelligence and the A&D industry, from why ... Show More
13m 14s
Nov 2023
Coding for Gold: The UAE Unveils a Million-Dollar AI Prize!
In today's episode, we dive into the latest tech updates from around the world. Discover the UAE's exciting announcement of a 1 Million Dhs Prize for their upcoming AI competition, unraveling the groundbreaking advancements in AI. Get the latest scoop on X's reported sale of user ... Show More
20m 10s