The Last Question

Silkpunk with Ken Liu

What happens at the intersection of technology and magic? How has storytelling shaped humanity? And why do airships have such an enduring influence on our imaginations? We talk to author Ken Liu about all of this through the lens of silkpunk - a technology aesthetic of his own invention based on a science fictional elaboration of traditions of engineering in East Asia’s classical antiquity.
A winner of the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy awards, Ken Liu (http://kenliu.name) is the author of the Dandelion Dynasty, a silkpunk epic fantasy series (starting with The Grace of Kings), as well as The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories and The Hidden Girl and Other Stories.
You can email us at DataFest@thedatalab.com or keep up to date with DataFest at https://datafest.global and on Twitter @datafest_
Your hosts are Gordon Johnstone - Head of DataFest at The Data Lab, Scotland's innovation centre for data and artificial intelligence hosted by the University of Edinburgh - and Lily Higham, Senior Automation Engineer at the BBC World Service.
Music provided by Post Coal Prom Queen.
 

Unconventional Computing with Adrian Tchaikovsky

Will unconventional computing lead to a general artificial intelligence? Will it aid humanity's quest to upload a human mind to a computer, essentially granting immortality? And what role do spiders, octopuses, and crabs play in this? Join us as we talk to award winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky (Children of Time, Shadows of the Apt, Cage of Souls) about how unconventional computing might (or might not) revolutionize the world.  We also talk about his upcoming book, Children of Memory, and the concept of uplifting animals to human intelligence.
You can email us at DataFest@thedatalab.com or keep up to date with DataFest at https://datafest.global and on Twitter @datafest_
Your hosts are Gordon Johnstone - Head of DataFest at The Data Lab, Scotland's innovation centre for data and artificial intelligence hosted by the University of Edinburgh - and Lily Higham, Senior Automation Engineer at the BBC World Service.
Music provided by Post Coal Prom Queen.

Quantum Biology with Jim Al-Khalili

Birds using quantum entanglement, plants utilising quantum coherence, cells harnessing quantum tunneling - biologists are having to face, for the first time, the effects of the subatomic world on their field.
Your hosts Lily and Gordon chat to Professor Jim Al-Khalili - quantum physics professor, broadcaster, and winner of the Stephen Hawking Medal - about the emerging field of quantum biology and what it might mean for our understanding of evolution, the future of renewable energy, and whether it can be harnessed.
You can email us at DataFest@thedatalab.com or keep up to date with DataFest at https://datafest.global and on Twitter @datafest_
Your hosts are Gordon Johnstone - Head of DataFest at The Data Lab, Scotland's innovation centre for data and artificial intelligence hosted by the University of Edinburgh - and Lily Higham, Senior Automation Engineer at the BBC World Service.
Music provided by Post Coal Prom Queen.

Quick Question: Megastructures and Alien Life with Giovanna Giardino

Our interviews on The Last Question always bring up so many fascinating concepts and ideas that we can’t squeeze into one episode. This mini series will explore some standalone questions that didn’t quite fit but are still fascinating.
In this "quick question" episode we ask ESA astronomer and instrument scientist Giovanna Giardino about the possibility of the James Webb Space Telescope picking up signs of extraterrestrial life.
You can email us at DataFest@thedatalab.com or keep up to date with DataFest at https://datafest.global and on Twitter @datafest_
Your hosts are Gordon Johnstone - Head of DataFest at The Data Lab, Scotland's innovation centre for data and artificial intelligence hosted by the University of Edinburgh - and Lily Higham, Senior Automation Engineer at the BBC World Service.
Music provided by Post Coal Prom Queen.

The James Webb Space Telescope with Giovanna Giardino

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured the public's imagination in a way we haven't seen in decades - the world has fallen in love with space again. We're delighted to have spoken to Giovanna Giardino - an astronomer and instrument scientist at the European Space Agency - about the telescope's incredible capabilities, what she's excited about so far, and what we might learn - from spectroscopy to cosmic rays to the dawn of time itself.
Giovanna’s currents scientific interests are connected with the astrophysical research that will be enabled by the NIRSpec instrument on board the JWST, with a particular focus to the studies of the formation and evolution of galaxies and the preparation of spectroscopic observations of the atmospheres of extra-solar planets. The JWST is a collaboration between NASA, the ESA, and the Canadian Space Agency.
You can email us at DataFest@thedatalab.com or keep up to date with DataFest at https://datafest.global and on Twitter @datafest_
Your hosts are Gordon Johnstone - Head of DataFest at The Data Lab, Scotland's innovation centre for data and artificial intelligence hosted by the University of Edinburgh - and Lily Higham, Senior Automation Engineer at the BBC World Service.
Music provided by Post Coal Prom Queen.

Quantum Computing with Elham Kashefi

Are we on the cusp of a revolution in quantum computing? What does it mean for security and cryptography? And will it get us closer to a general artificial intelligence? Lily and Gordon chat to Professor Elham Kashefi - quantum computing professor at the University of Edinburgh - to find out all of this and more.
Elham is the Personal Chair in Quantum Computing at the School of Informatics University of Edinburgh and also the co-founder of VeriQloud.
You can email us at DataFest@thedatalab.com or keep up to date with DataFest at https://datafest.global and on Twitter @datafest_
Your hosts are Gordon Johnstone - Head of DataFest at The Data Lab, Scotland's innovation centre for data and artificial intelligence hosted by the University of Edinburgh - and Lily Higham, Senior Automation Engineer at the BBC World Service.
Music provided by Post Coal Prom Queen.

Quick Question: A Panopticon of Our Own Making with Stephanie Hare

Our interviews on The Last Question always bring up so many fascinating concepts and ideas that we can’t squeeze into one episode. This mini series will explore some standalone questions that didn’t quite fit but are still fascinating.
In this "quick question" episode we ask technology ethicist Stephanie Hare about the panopticon of modern life.
You can email us at DataFest@thedatalab.com or keep up to date with DataFest at https://datafest.global and on Twitter @datafest_
Your hosts are Gordon Johnstone - Head of DataFest at The Data Lab, Scotland's innovation centre for data and artificial intelligence hosted by the University of Edinburgh - and Lily Higham, Senior Automation Engineer at the BBC World Service.
Music provided by Post Coal Prom Queen.

Technology Ethics with Stephanie Hare

In this episode Gordon and Lily chat to Stephanie Hare - technology ethicist and journalist - about what future holds for technology from an ethical perspective. Are governments able to keep up with technology? Should an artificial intelligence be able to hold a patent? Who is responsible for a AI that breaks the law? All of this and more in the latest episode of The Last Question.
You can email us at DataFest@thedatalab.com or keep up to date with DataFest at https://datafest.global and on Twitter @datafest_
Your hosts are Gordon Johnstone - Head of DataFest at The Data Lab, Scotland's innovation centre for data and artificial intelligence hosted by the University of Edinburgh - and Lily Higham, Senior Automation Engineer at the BBC World Service.
Music provided by Post Coal Prom Queen.

Quick Question: The Entropic Golem with Laura Tripaldi

Our interviews on The Last Question always bring up so many fascinating concepts and ideas that we can’t squeeze into one episode. This mini series will explore some standalone questions that didn’t quite fit but are still fascinating.
In this "quick question" episode we ask nanotechnologist Laura Tripaldi what we can learn about entropy from the golem of Jewish folklore.
You can email us at DataFest@thedatalab.com or keep up to date with DataFest at https://datafest.global and on Twitter @datafest_
Your hosts are Gordon Johnstone - Head of DataFest at The Data Lab, Scotland's innovation centre for data and artificial intelligence hosted by the University of Edinburgh - and Lily Higham, Senior Automation Engineer at the BBC World Service.
Music provided by Post Coal Prom Queen.

Nanotechnology and Material Science with Dr Laura Tripaldi

Join Gordon and Lily for their inaugural podcast as they talk to Dr Laura Tripaldi about the future of nanotechnology, material science, the search for extra-terrestrial life, spiders, and her fascinating book 'Parallel Minds: discovering the intelligence of materials'. What does the future of nanotechnology hold? How can spider silk change the world? Are our current definitions of life inadequate? These are just some of the questions Dr Tripaldi explores in this fascinating interview.
You can email us at DataFest@thedatalab.com or keep up to date with DataFest at https://datafest.global and on Twitter @datafest_
Your hosts are Gordon Johnstone - Head of DataFest at The Data Lab, Scotland's innovation centre for data and artificial intelligence hosted by the University of Edinburgh - and Lily Higham, Senior Automation Engineer at the BBC World Service.
Music provided by Post Coal Prom Queen.