Episode 8. Inside the Silicon Empires: Prof. Nick Srnicek on Power, Profit and the New AI Cold War
In this final episode of Season 1 of The Intelligence Explosion podcast host Tamim Asey sits down with Professor Nick Srnicek of King’s College London who is a leading authority and one of the sharpest minds dissecting the intersection of artificial intelligence, capitalism and power.Prof. Srnicek, author of the upcoming book Silicon Empires: The Fight for the Future of AI, unpacks how the race for AI supremacy is reshaping global capitalism from compute monopolies and infrastructure control to the brewing AI Cold War between the U.S. and China.Together, they explore:•What exactly are “AI Empires,” and who controls them?•The hidden infrastructures — chips, clouds, and data pipelines — that decide the balance of digital power.•How the AI bubble might burst, and what comes next.•Why the future of capitalism itself may depend on who commands the algorithms.This conversation isn’t just about technology but it’s about the architecture of power, sovereignty and survival in the age of artificial intelligence.Tune in for a deep, thrilling, and eye-opening discussion that peels back the curtain on Silicon Empires and the global scramble for algorithmic dominance.
--------
1:06:23
--------
1:06:23
Episode 7. The Algorithmic Kill Chain: Dr. Lauren Gould on Data, Death and Deployment of AI in Warfare
In this episode, host Tamim Asey sits down with Associate Professor Lauren Gould, a leading scholar of conflict studies at Utrecht University. She is the Project Leader of the Intimacies of Remote Warfare and Realities of Algorithmic Warfare research programs and a Senior Researcher at the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Her publications and projects critically explore the politics of remote warfare, algorithmic decision-making, security assemblages and the militarization of digital infrastructures.The conversation centers on her co-authored paper "Tracing Algorithmic Harm: From Innovation to Deployment and Impact on Civilians" — written with Linde Arentze and Dr. Marijn Hoijtink. The paper examines the full lifecycle of military AI: from innovation and design in tech companies to deployment in programs such as Project Maven and Microsoft Azure and finally to the often-overlooked consequences for civilians on the ground.We discuss the expanding role of big tech firms in warfare, the accountability gaps created when algorithms make life-and-death decisions and how algorithmic harm is reshaping the ethics, politics and practice of contemporary conflict. This is a deep dive into the new frontiers of war where data, algorithms and corporate actors converge: raising profound questions about security, rights and the future of global order.
--------
1:02:56
--------
1:02:56
Episode 6. The Digital Underworld: Dr. Janos Mark Szakolczai on his forthcoming Book on Onlife Crime, Digital Harm and Tech Colonialism
In this episode of the Intelligence Explosion podcast, host Tamim Asey sits down with Dr. Janos Mark Szakolczai, author of the forthcoming book Onlife Criminology: Virtual Crimes and Real Harms (Bristol University Press, 2025).Together they explore how the digital and physical worlds have collapsed into one, creating new forms of crime, harm, and power. The discussion covers everyday surveillance and predictive policing, Big Tech’s business models of addiction and inequality, digital colonialism in the Global South, the erosion of trust through deepfakes and conspiracies, and Dr. Janos’s call for an “Offlife” future to reclaim autonomy in a hyperconnected world.It’s a thought-provoking conversation about the hidden architectures of control, the future of digital freedoms, and the urgent choices societies face. Tune in for an eye-opening journey into the Onlife.
--------
1:16:13
--------
1:16:13
Episode 5. The End of Human Past: Professor Andrew Hoskins on AI, Digital Memory and Epistemic Warfares in a Synthetic Age
In this episode of the Intelligence Explosion podcast, host Tamim Asey is joined by Professor Andrew Hoskins, Professor of AI, Memory & War at the University of Edinburgh. A leading authority on digital memory and conflict, Professor Hoskins has written extensively on how technology transforms the ways societies record, remember and forget.He currently leads the ERC/UKRI-funded WARSHARE project, a five-year study of digital participation in the Russian war against Ukraine. His landmark works include Radical War: Data, Attention & Control in the Twenty-First Century, and his forthcoming books Memorybot: AI and the End of the Human Past and The AI Memory Machine: Why the Past is All Over will push the debate even further.In this episode we cover:•How memory itself has become a frontline in contemporary conflict.•The rise of “epistemic warfare” and the battle for truth in the digital age.•How AI reshapes remembrance and orchestrates forgetting in real time.•The weaponisation of archives, testimony, and authenticity.•Digital participation in war and lessons from Ukraine.•What Memorybot and The AI Memory Machine reveal about the future of collective memory.Tune in for a wide-ranging and thought-provoking conversation on AI, war, and the weaponisation of memory.
--------
1:01:47
--------
1:01:47
Episode 4. Ghost Protocols: Dr. Zena Assaad on Trust, Autonomy and Human-Machine Teaming
Autonomous systems are no longer the stuff of science fiction - they are already reshaping our lives in many ways . In this episode of Intelligence Explosion, host Tamim Asey sits down with Dr. Zena Assaad award-winning researcher, engineer and podcast host of Responsible Bytes whose groundbreaking work explores the promise, peril and paradox of autonomy and human-machine teaming.Dr. Assaad has been recognized as one of the Top 10 Women in AI in Asia-Pacific, awarded the Women in AI Defence and Intelligence Award and named among the 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics. From unmanned aerial systems to human-machine teaming she has become a leading global voice on how we design, deploy and govern autonomous technologies responsibly.Together, we unpack:•The ethics and engineering of trust in autonomous systems.•How human–machine teaming is reshaping defense and security.•The risks and dilemmas of handing decision-making power to machines.•Why responsible AI frameworks are critical for defense innovation.•The future of autonomy: balancing control, responsibility, and trust.Join us for an insightful and deeply intriguing conversation that ventures into the uncharted frontiers of autonomous systems, technology and responsibility with Dr. Zena Assaad as our guide.
About Intelligence Explosion: Managing the coming wave of hybrid intelligence
This podcast decodes the AI revolution: how intelligence is exploding across science, tech and industry—what it means, and how we manage what comes next.
Listen to Intelligence Explosion: Managing the coming wave of hybrid intelligence, More or Less: Behind the Stats and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app
Ireland