Use BBC.com or the new BBC App to listen to BBC podcasts, Radio 4 and the World Service outside the UK.
Episode details
Radio 4,04 Jun 2026,28 mins
Available for 34 days
Are we moving away from science as a strictly human endeavour? This is the view of Pushmeet Kohli, head of AI for Science at Google DeepMind. He joins Tom Whipple to discuss the use of the AI tool Co-Scientist as a collaborator in the lab, and the challenges in making Artificial Intelligence that works in science. Clare Bryant from the University of Cambridge also joins the conversation. We also delve into why truly random numbers are surprisingly hard to come by. That is until Professor Andreas Wallraff and his team at Zurich University in Switzerland found what might be the ultimate solution, thanks to quantum mechanics. And Steve Brusatte, Professor of Palaeontology at the University of Edinburgh, joins the program to talk about his new book, The Story of Birds, tracing a 150‑million‑year journey from small, feathered dinosaurs to the birds of today. Plus, science journalist Caroline Steel joins us to discuss the latest scientific discoveries that you might have missed. Presenter: Tom Whipple Producers: Dan Welsh and Kate White Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
Programme Website
