Promise

Season 7, Episode 9 - Making music from beyond the grave

We finish season 7 with a something out of left field. In short, a group of artists have used cells donated by a now-deceased experimental musician, to create new music using their electrical signals. This is a live exhibition viewable at the time of recording. Take a moment. How does that make you feel? In this one piece of news, art, science, technology and ethics explicitly combine to shape one another. As always with this and all the other pieces of news we share, we hope that you consider the reality that we live in and ask: what is the future you would like to build? Sean’s links: * Power bars for honeybees [https://news.wsu.edu/press-release/2025/04/15/new-pollen-replacing-food-for-honey-bees-brings-new-hope-for-survival/] * Humanoid robots mostly failing to run marathons [https://www.wired.com/story/beijing-half-marathon-humanoid-robots/] * Clarify Clinics clearing microplastics from blood [https://www.wired.com/story/this-startup-promises-to-clean-your-blood-of-microplastics-clarify-clinics/] * ‘Brain’ of late composer lives on in show [https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/03/27/brain-of-late-composer-lives-on-in-show-at-the-art-gallery-of-western-australia] Ben’s links: * We may have kinda sorta maybe, maybe not found life on another planet [https://scitechdaily.com/are-we-finally-not-alone-webb-detects-lifes-signature-on-distant-ocean-planet/] * We may have kinda sorta maybe, maybe not seen a new colour for the first time [https://www.livescience.com/health/neuroscience/scientists-hijacked-the-human-eye-to-get-it-to-see-a-brand-new-color-its-called-olo] * We may not actually understand anything about insect behaviour [https://phys.org/news/2025-04-insect-behavioral-laboratories.html] * Finding the key to curing cancer and growing hair in mitochondria [https://scitechdaily.com/this-tiny-cellular-gate-could-be-the-key-to-curing-cancer-and-regrowing-hair/] * This guy’s revolutionised the entire 3D-printing industry and its all freely available If you enjoyed this, subscribe for free to receive new episodes right to your inbox Otherwise, you can find Promise on your favorite podcast platforms: * Spotify [https://substack.com/redirect/a84ad4f5-bda1-4c28-8d01-d4968e55de19?j=eyJ1IjoicXl2ZzIifQ.9hivVxCTSDfj2an1P7rdIgOA3j4gkQef3Ycs6H8WbPU] * Apple Podcasts [https://substack.com/redirect/edb92eea-d626-45ae-a4b9-999bdde94415?j=eyJ1IjoicXl2ZzIifQ.9hivVxCTSDfj2an1P7rdIgOA3j4gkQef3Ycs6H8WbPU] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit promisefm.substack.com [https://promisefm.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Season 7, Episode 8 - Touching holograms, DNA robots, and liquid batteries

Without sounding too many alarm bells, we now have a study showing LLMs collaborating with one another to outwit their guardrails. Depending which side of the fence you stand on, this could be a miracle, or something much more sinister. Besides that, we cover everything from building DNA nanobots inside our cells, AI-powered IVF (3 guesses the dystopia these topics might lead to…), fluid non-metallic batteries that can take any shape, being able to touch and manipulate 3d holograms, and so much more. Enjoy. Sean’s links: * Using food scraps and seashells to pull water from desert air [https://cockrell.utexas.edu/news/archive/10158-from-scraps-to-sips-everyday-biomass-produces-drinking-water-from-thin-air] * LLMs collaborating to fool oversight systems [https://arxiv.org/pdf/2504.07831v1] * World first IVF baby conceived via AI-supported systems [https://www.genengnews.com/topics/artificial-intelligence/first-infant-conceived-and-born-using-fully-automated-intracytoplasmic-sperm-injection-system/] * US renewables exceeding other forms of power for the first time [https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy/renewables-fossil-fuels-us-grid] Ben’s links: * Debunking all that dire wolf resurrection “news” [https://www.science.org/content/article/dire-wolf-back-dead-not-exactly] * Building molecular robots inside cells [https://scitechdaily.com/dna-circuits-come-alive-scientists-build-molecular-robots-inside-living-cells/] * “the crystal that wasn’t supposed to exist”: 3d-printing metal quasicrystals [https://scitechdaily.com/the-crystal-that-wasnt-supposed-to-exist-now-its-reinventing-3d-printed-metal/] * Fluid batteries that can take any shape [https://techxplore.com/news/2025-04-fluid-battery.html] * Touching 3d holograms [https://www.livescience.com/technology/virtual-reality/in-a-first-breakthrough-3d-holograms-can-be-be-touched-grabbed-and-poked] If you enjoyed this, subscribe for free to receive new episodes right to your inbox Otherwise, you can find Promise on your favorite podcast platforms: * Spotify [https://substack.com/redirect/a84ad4f5-bda1-4c28-8d01-d4968e55de19?j=eyJ1IjoicXl2ZzIifQ.9hivVxCTSDfj2an1P7rdIgOA3j4gkQef3Ycs6H8WbPU] * Apple Podcasts [https://substack.com/redirect/edb92eea-d626-45ae-a4b9-999bdde94415?j=eyJ1IjoicXl2ZzIifQ.9hivVxCTSDfj2an1P7rdIgOA3j4gkQef3Ycs6H8WbPU] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit promisefm.substack.com [https://promisefm.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Season 7, Episode 7 - From mousepad to... MouthPad^?

A recent survey stated 75% of scientists want to leave the US. We look into what the knock on effects might be both for better and worse. Who benefits, and how do science and tech evolve as a result? Beyond that, we prompt questions like… Could predicting a heart attack end up causing one? Could the prestige of being a doctor drop as AI takes hold? Could we unleash a pandemic with fungal-based packaging? How does language change if we use tongues to navigate our devices? Sean’s links: * 3D-printing train stations in 2.5 hours [https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/03/26/japan/station-3d-printer/] * Turning coffee grounds and mushroom spores into plastic alternatives [https://www.washington.edu/news/2025/02/18/plastic-alternative-mushrooms-coffee-3d-printing/] * 75% of Scientists just want to leave the US. [https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00938-y] * Using your tongue as a controlling appendage 👅 [https://www.augmental.tech/] Ben’s links: * Rethinking how we train robotics to grasp things [https://techxplore.com/news/2025-04-tactile-sensors-important-robotic.html] * Predicting cardiac arrest weeks in advance [https://scitechdaily.com/ai-predicts-sudden-cardiac-arrest-days-before-it-strikes/] * Predicting Alzheimer’s years in advance [https://sasn.rutgers.edu/news/alzheimers-early-detection-tests-using-video-games-could-be-effective-blood-tests-and-boost] * China’s exhibit of when going green has had unintended consequences [https://www.newscientist.com/article/2474067-dramatic-cuts-in-chinas-air-pollution-drove-surge-in-global-warming/] If you enjoyed this, subscribe for free to receive new episodes right to your inbox Otherwise, you can find Promise on your favorite podcast platforms: * Spotify [https://substack.com/redirect/a84ad4f5-bda1-4c28-8d01-d4968e55de19?j=eyJ1IjoicXl2ZzIifQ.9hivVxCTSDfj2an1P7rdIgOA3j4gkQef3Ycs6H8WbPU] * Apple Podcasts [https://substack.com/redirect/edb92eea-d626-45ae-a4b9-999bdde94415?j=eyJ1IjoicXl2ZzIifQ.9hivVxCTSDfj2an1P7rdIgOA3j4gkQef3Ycs6H8WbPU] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit promisefm.substack.com [https://promisefm.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Season 7, Episode 6 - DNA electronics and the political sway of technology

We take a hard look at how AI tools shape the way we think. We recorded this just before all the tariff news. Its since emerged the list of countries affected and how, have strong signs of AI-led decision making. In some cases, being confidently incorrect. As the font of all wisdom of our time, do we care at all where these generated outputs fit on the sociopolitical spectrum, or where the sources of info come from? Beyond that, we do cover some weird and wonderful science like non-breathing animals and self-assembling electronics using DNA. But, its still hard to avoid these consequential announcements. Sean’s links: * Discovering the first non-breathing animal [https://www.livescience.com/first-non-breathing-animal.html] * Using botox-based enzymes to fight Parkinson’s [https://phys.org/news/2025-03-enzyme-method-destroys-disease-proteins.html] * ChatGPT shifting rightwards politically [https://www.psypost.org/chatgpt-is-shifting-rightwards-politically/] * Weaponised content and where it comes from [https://www.recordedfuture.com/research/russia-linked-copycop-uses-llms-to-weaponize-influence-content-at-scale] * Google Health updates now riskily include crowd-sourced answers [https://blog.google/technology/health/the-check-up-health-ai-updates-2025/] * Beijing making AI education mandatory [https://www.businessinsider.com/china-beijing-ai-education-mandatory-classrooms-elementary-schoolers-2025-3?op=1] * The enormous value creation of open-sourced software [https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/24-038_51f8444f-502c-4139-8bf2-56eb4b65c58a.pdf?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email#page=31.22] * Honourable mentions: * What does it take to get us to another planet? [https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2025/03/28/can-an-interstellar-generation-ship-maintain-a-population-on-a-250-year-trip-to-a-habitable-exoplanet/] * A breakdown of China’s robotics strategy [https://techbuzzchina.substack.com/p/unitree-humanoid-hype-vs-robotic] Ben’s links: * Greener nuclear fusion [https://www.newscientist.com/article/2473042-nuclear-fusion-fuel-could-be-made-greener-with-new-chemical-process/] * Using DNA to create self-assembling electronics [https://techxplore.com/news/2025-03-dna-scaffolds-enable-3d-electronic.html] * Genes influence our taste in music [https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-03-genes-enjoyment-music.html] * Transistors like neurons [https://techxplore.com/news/2025-03-advancing-semiconductor-devices-ai-transistor.html] If you enjoyed this, subscribe for free to receive new episodes right to your inbox Otherwise, you can find Promise on your favorite podcast platforms: * Spotify [https://substack.com/redirect/a84ad4f5-bda1-4c28-8d01-d4968e55de19?j=eyJ1IjoicXl2ZzIifQ.9hivVxCTSDfj2an1P7rdIgOA3j4gkQef3Ycs6H8WbPU] * Apple Podcasts [https://substack.com/redirect/edb92eea-d626-45ae-a4b9-999bdde94415?j=eyJ1IjoicXl2ZzIifQ.9hivVxCTSDfj2an1P7rdIgOA3j4gkQef3Ycs6H8WbPU] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit promisefm.substack.com [https://promisefm.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Season 7, Episode 5 - The internet of Light, curing cancer, and killer robots.

Much like past guest Billy Jeremijenko and his company Aquila [https://promisefm.substack.com/p/episode-4-building-the-internet-of] are doing for reinventing energy transportation, we cover moonshot projects aiming to transfer data with light, and put data centers on the moon. Does this start a scramble for lunar space and a reinvention of copywright law? A little more controversial is we now live in a reality where we have cancer vaccines that work, and that, however you might feel about the current adminstration, the Pentagon is saying the quiet part out loud about “killer robots”. What do these futures look like if you had your say? Sean’s links: * An open-sourced nuclear fusion power plant [https://www.wsj.com/articles/german-startup-publishes-open-source-plans-for-nuclear-fusion-power-plant-7b2b6241] * 3D-printing fish meat at scale [https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/researchers-reveal-a-new-3d-printing-method-for-scaling-fish-fillet-production-236636/] * Pentagon saying the quiet part out loud [https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2025/02/pentagon-may-break-tech-offices-acquisition-policy-shift/403167/] * Internet of Light [https://www.wired.com/story/plaintext-google-taara-chip-internet-by-light/] * Data centers on the moon [https://spectrum.ieee.org/data-center-on-the-moon?] Ben’s links: * MRNA vaccines for cancer [https://www.mskcc.org/news/can-mrna-vaccines-fight-pancreatic-cancer-msk-clinical-researchers-are-trying-find-out] * Antidepressants doing more harm than good [https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-warn-that-antidepressants-may-do-more-harm-than-good-in-dementia-patients/] * Virtual reality food [https://scitechdaily.com/virtual-food-is-here-and-you-can-actually-taste-it/] * Stretchable, distortion-free substrates for displays [https://phys.org/news/2025-02-transparent-stretchable-substrate-image-distortion.html] If you enjoyed this, subscribe for free to receive new episodes right to your inbox Otherwise, you can find Promise on your favorite podcast platforms: * Spotify [https://substack.com/redirect/a84ad4f5-bda1-4c28-8d01-d4968e55de19?j=eyJ1IjoicXl2ZzIifQ.9hivVxCTSDfj2an1P7rdIgOA3j4gkQef3Ycs6H8WbPU] * Apple Podcasts [https://substack.com/redirect/edb92eea-d626-45ae-a4b9-999bdde94415?j=eyJ1IjoicXl2ZzIifQ.9hivVxCTSDfj2an1P7rdIgOA3j4gkQef3Ycs6H8WbPU] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit promisefm.substack.com [https://promisefm.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]