logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2025
52m 5s

619. How to Poison the A.I. Machine

Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
About this episode

When the computer scientist Ben Zhao learned that artists were having their work stolen by A.I. models, he invented a tool to thwart the machines. He also knows how to foil an eavesdropping Alexa and how to guard your online footprint. The big news, he says, is that the A.I. bubble is bursting.

 

  • SOURCES:
    • Erik Brynjolfsson, professor of economics at Stanford University
    • Ben Zhao, professor of computer science at the University of Chicago

 

 

Up next
Yesterday
How to Make Your Own Luck (Update)
Before she decided to become a poker pro, Maria Konnikova didn’t know how many cards are in a deck. But she did have a Ph.D. in psychology, a brilliant coach, and a burning desire to know whether life is driven more by skill or chance. She found some answers in poker — and she’s ... Show More
58m 7s
Jul 4
639. “This Country Kicks My Ass All the Time”
Cory Booker on the politics of fear, the politics of hope, and how to split the difference. SOURCES:Cory Booker, senior United States Senator from New Jersey. RESOURCES:"'When Are More Americans Going to Speak Up?'" by The New Yorker Radio Hour (2025)."Cory Booker’s Marathon Floo ... Show More
53m 46s
Jun 27
638. Are You Ready for the Elder Swell?
In the U.S., there will soon be more people over 65 than there are under 18 — and it’s not just lifespan that’s improving, it’s “healthspan” too. Unfortunately, the American approach to aging is stuck in the 20th century. In less than an hour, we try to unstick it. (Part three of ... Show More
54m 53s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2024
208. Can A.I. Companions Replace Human Connection?
What happens when machines become funnier, kinder, and more empathetic than humans? Do robot therapists save lives? And should Angela credit her virtual assistant as a co-author of her book? SOURCES:Robert Cialdini, professor emeritus of psychology at Arizona State University.Rei ... Show More
35m 31s
Aug 2019
AI, Robot
Forget what sci-fi has told you about superintelligent robots that are uncannily human-like; the reality is more prosaic. Inside DeepMind’s robotics laboratory, Hannah explores what researchers call ‘embodied AI’: robot arms that are learning tasks like picking up plastic bricks, ... Show More
32m 33s
Jun 2023
ChatGPT
What the hell is ChatGPT, and why are these pasty nerds telling us it's going to save the world? Hannah and Maia bring you a special, pre-season episode with a discussion of this new AI technology and what it means for the future of our world. The democratization of this smoo ... Show More
46m 40s
Aug 2019
Go to Zero
In March 2016, more than 200 million people watched AlphaGo become first computer program to defeat a professional human player at the game of Go, a milestone in AI research that was considered to be a decade ahead of its time. Since then the team has continued to develop the sys ... Show More
25m 40s
Mar 2023
Humans vs. Machines with Gary Marcus
From the producers of The World as You’ll Know It, a new series about the perils and promise of artificial intelligence with cognitive scientist, Gary Marcus. For all the progress in artificial intelligence over the last 70 years — computers can now beat people at chess and Go, d ... Show More
3m 33s
Dec 2024
#32 - Scott Aaronson - The Race to AGI and Quantum Supremacy
How fast is the AI race really going? What is the current state of Quantum Computing? What actually *is* the P vs NP problem? - former OpenAI researcher and theoretical computer scientist Scott Aaronson joins Liv and Igor to discuss everything quantum, AI and consciousness. We he ... Show More
2h 25m
Jun 16
Godfather of AI: I Tried to Warn Them, But We’ve Already Lost Control! Geoffrey Hinton
He pioneered AI, now he’s warning the world. Godfather of AI Geoffrey Hinton breaks his silence on the deadly dangers of AI no one is prepared for. Geoffrey Hinton is a leading computer scientist and cognitive psychologist, widely recognised as the ‘Godfather of AI’ for his pione ... Show More
1h 30m
Feb 2025
OpenAI researcher on why soft skills are the future of work | Karina Nguyen (Research at OpenAI, ex-Anthropic)
Karina Nguyen leads research at OpenAI, where she’s been pivotal in developing groundbreaking products like Canvas, Tasks, and the o1 language model. Before OpenAI, Karina was at Anthropic, where she led post-training and evaluation work for Claude 3 models, created a document up ... Show More
1h 14m
Jul 2022
Human justice and machine intelligence | Joanna Bryson
Should we be scared of AI?Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesJoanna Bryson discusses how she became interested in the ways different species use intelligence, how the typical tropes in science fiction misunderstand AI and the proble ... Show More
18m 46s
Jul 2024
The Best of 2024 (so far) with Sarah Guo and Elad Gil
Believe or not, we’re almost halfway through 2024. Sarah and Elad have spent the first of this year talking with some of the most innovative minds in the AI industry, so we’re taking a look at some of our favorite No Priors conversations so far featuring Dylan Field (Figma), Emil ... Show More
25m 56s