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The Beyond the Turing Test podcast wants to disprove that artificial intelligence will result in a real-life Terminator, all while discussing ethics in technology.

Co-hosted by second-year computer science student Arnav Mathur and third-year linguistics and computer science student Pranav Singh, the podcast launched Nov. 1 and is set to air biweekly. Focused on creating a discourse on the rapidly developing AI integrated into our day-to-day lives, Singh said the podcast aims to start a conversation about AI and ethics with the general public. The pair is looking forward to expanding the scope of who discusses ethics in AI, as it tends to be a very niche topic that is limited to academic circles, Mathur said.

We feel like nothing like this really exists and there is no real way to disseminate this kind of information to people in a consumable manner, Mathur said. A lot of what we see right now is in the form of research papers or journals, so we felt there was a lacking in getting the message out.

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When initially brainstorming the podcast, Singh said they had to consider how conversational or formal they wanted to make it. Academic podcasts require more attention from listeners to fully grasp the concepts, which Singh said presented a challenge as they first began. The pair ended up rerecording its first episode, as Mathur said they chose a conversational style for a more organic discussion that became a stream of consciousness rather than a structured piece. As the podcast is still in its beginning stages, its first iteration may not be perfect, and Singh said they are looking to gauge feedback and continuously improve their format.

Examining ethics alongside AI has been a challenge of presenting the technical information while distilling the topics to a level that anyone can understand, Singh said. As both hosts are computer science-oriented, Mathur said they have to check themselves to make sure they are delving into philosophical ideologies and giving ethics the value it deserves. Their ultimate goal is for listeners who do not have any scientific background to grasp the concepts, Singh said.

We have a twofold approach where we say we need to define the space of artificial intelligence and let people know what it actually is and dispel the myths surrounding it, Singh said. At the same time, we want to start the conversation and get people thinking about ethics in AI. Things need to be created with humans in mind.

The co-hosts goal for the near future is to involve more guest speakers, especially faculty that are leading the industry, Mathur said. Alex Alben, a professor at the UCLA School of Law, serves as a faculty advisor to the larger AI Robotics Ethics Society on campus and is set to be a guest on the podcast. He said the general public is hungry for knowledge and answers about AI, so any form of media that engages this topic will be popular.

Were at a very interesting point in time where AI-related technologies are becoming very rapidly adopted in our society, Alben said. And there is a growing recognition that artificial intelligence is shaping peoples lives in ways that they do understand and also in ways they dont understand.

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Mathur said they aim to reach people who might not initially consider the topic. In a more macro perspective, they naturally want it to be a staple that people listen to because it is relevant to current social discourse, Mathur said. They are hoping to expand on topics that apply to AIs incorporation into our daily lives. Beyond the Turing Point intends to have something for everyone as it combines creativity and technology, Singh said.

We are part of the only club nationwide devoted to ethics, AI and technology, Singh said. We have the world as our oyster, so we want to take as much advantage of that and grow it as much as we can.

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Podcast decodes ethics in artificial intelligence and its relevance to public - Daily Bruin