Promise

Hosted by Sean

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May 2025

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About the show

Welcome to Promise. Every episode we explore new technologies, how science-fiction is turning into science-fact; and pose the question: what is the world that we want to build? If you dream of shaping the future, you’ve come to the right place. promisefm.substack.com

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60 recent

May 5, 202552 min

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* Humanoid robots mostly failing to run marathons* Clarify Clinics clearing microplastics from blood* ‘Brain’ of late composer lives on in showBen’s links:* We may have kinda sorta maybe, maybe not found life on another planet* We may have kinda sorta maybe, maybe not seen a new colour for the first time* We may not actually understand anything about insect behaviour* Finding the key to curing cancer and growing hair in mitochondria* This guy’s revolutionised the entire 3D-printing industry and its all freely availableIf you enjoyed this, subscribe for free to receive new episodes right to your inboxOtherwise, you can find Promise on your favorite podcast platforms:* Spotify* Apple Podcasts 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

April 28, 202552 min

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* LLMs collaborating to fool oversight systems* World first IVF baby conceived via AI-supported systems* US renewables exceeding other forms of power for the first timeBen’s links:* Debunking all that dire wolf resurrection “news”* Building molecular robots inside cells* “the crystal that wasn’t supposed to exist”: 3d-printing metal quasicrystals* Fluid batteries that can take any shape* Touching 3d hologramsIf you enjoyed this, subscribe for free to receive new episodes right to your inboxOtherwise, you can find Promise on your favorite podcast platforms:* Spotify* Apple Podcasts 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

April 14, 202555 min

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* Turning coffee grounds and mushroom spores into plastic alternatives* 75% of Scientists just want to leave the US.* Using your tongue as a controlling appendage 👅Ben’s links:* Rethinking how we train robotics to grasp things* Predicting cardiac arrest weeks in advance* Predicting Alzheimer’s years in advance* China’s exhibit of when going green has had unintended consequencesIf you enjoyed this, subscribe for free to receive new episodes right to your inboxOtherwise, you can find Promise on your favorite podcast platforms:* Spotify* Apple Podcasts 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

April 8, 20251 hr 4 min

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* Using botox-based enzymes to fight Parkinson’s* ChatGPT shifting rightwards politically* Weaponised content and where it comes from* Google Health updates now riskily include crowd-sourced answers* Beijing making AI education mandatory* The enormous value creation of open-sourced software* Honourable mentions:* What does it take to get us to another planet?* A breakdown of China’s robotics strategyBen’s links:* Greener nuclear fusion* Using DNA to create self-assembling electronics* Genes influence our taste in music* Transistors like neuronsIf you enjoyed this, subscribe for free to receive new episodes right to your inboxOtherwise, you can find Promise on your favorite podcast platforms:* Spotify* Apple Podcasts 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

March 17, 202555 min

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

Much like past guest Billy Jeremijenko and his company Aquila 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* 3D-printing fish meat at scale* Pentagon saying the quiet part out loud* Internet of Light* Data centers on the moonBen’s links:* MRNA vaccines for cancer* Antidepressants doing more harm than good* Virtual reality food* Stretchable, distortion-free substrates for displaysIf you enjoyed this, subscribe for free to receive new episodes right to your inboxOtherwise, you can find Promise on your favorite podcast platforms:* Spotify* Apple Podcasts 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

March 3, 202546 min

Season 7, Episode 4 - Trapping light and using it as a battery?

In this episode we look at the latest examples where theoretical physics starts intersecting with reality: what if you could store light as energy, to use it again later? What if we could use light as code, to manipulate our own cells?These scientific breakthroughs are tempered by more ominous tech developments: what do we make of a world where Uber with Guns is mainstream? Or when humanoid robots are intentionally terrifying?All this and more coming right up.Sean’s links:* Uber with funs guns* Protoclone’s ominous preview here, and website here* Curing genetic diseases before birth* Developing a programming language for active materialsBen’s links:* Big tech’s latest quantum thingy* Fully recyclable Perovskite solar panels* “quantum” batteries* Supersonic flight minus the sonic boomIf you enjoyed this, subscribe for free to receive new episodes right to your inboxOtherwise, you can find Promise on your favorite podcast platforms:* Spotify* Apple Podcasts 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

February 24, 202552 min

Season 7, Episode 3 - "AI still can't give you a hug. Not yet."

We already guessed it, but now we have the science to back it up: bots successfully drive up engagement of online platforms, but also drive down human connection in the process. For all the clamor, excitement, and maybe dread about an AI-powered future, we did settle on the fact its human connection that still matters most. But is that the path we’re headed down?Beyond this, we also look into hydrocarbon-producing leaves, underwater habitation, not-so-forever chemicals, using light to make AI computations, and much more.Please, enjoy.Sean’s links:* Bacteria can now eat forever chemicals and their toxic byproducts* Bots ⬆ user engagement, but ⬇ human connection* Real life Bioshock* OpenAI competitor for made with $50Ben’s links:* Artificial leaves that make hydrocarbons* Using light to make AI computations* AI-powered self-healing sustainable asphalt* Battery made of yarn and powered by seawaterIf you enjoyed this, subscribe for free to receive new episodes right to your inboxOtherwise, you can find Promise on your favorite podcast platforms:* Spotify* Apple Podcasts 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

February 10, 20251 hr 2 min

Season 7, Episode 2 - Science, and who trusts it.

We find ourselves increasingly unable to avoid politics on this show. However, we did approach the topic from a scientific perspective: finally, someone has done cross-border research to see whether trust in science is declining, and whether political affiliation had an impact. The answers, if the science is to be believed, may surprise you.We also highlight the student-led uprising in Serbia, and its novel form of governance. Beyond the politics, we also cover everything from battery-less personal devices, to DNA chirality, to self-replicating AI and more.Please, enjoy the show.Sean’s links:* The world’s biggest battery from the least likely suspect?* Global trust in science is strong! EXCEPT…👀* Transmitting power over skin* A brief rundown of the student uprising in Serbia* Confronting risks of “mirror” life with DNA/RNA chiralityBen’s links:* The discovery of mirror chirality building blocks in outer space* Geoengineering climate change away* Rethinking the Carnot heat engine* DeepSeek (of course)* Self replicating AI (because that’s exactly what we need)…If you enjoyed this, subscribe for free to receive new episodes right to your inboxOtherwise, you can find Promise on your favorite podcast platforms:* Spotify* Apple Podcasts 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

February 3, 20251 hr 2 min

Season 7, Episode 1 - Who holds the power?

We start off with a literal bang: people are successfully achieving nuclear fusion out of their kitchens. Beyond that, we chat about discovering new properties for the element bismuth, the world’s thinnest pasta, 3D-printing your own airplane, and of course much more in the realm of AI.One of these articles concerns US government intervention on AI driving rent prices up across the country. In the week since we recorded this, the official White House sources for the case have been taken down, in a general purge of information the new administration is conducting.With that in mind, what is the future you would like to build?Sean’s links:* AI algorithms driving rents up* What is the value of labor in the world of AI?* 3D print your own airplane for $120 (Titan Dynamics website here)* Influencers getting elected to Indonesian parliament* Nuclear fusion in your kitchenBen’s links:* The world’s thinnest pasta* Bismuth quesadilla = future PCBs?* Bismuth magnetic properties = more sustainable electronics?* AI does well diagnosing by the book, fails to diagnose real patientsIf you enjoyed this, subscribe for free to receive new episodes right to your inboxOtherwise, you can find Promise on your favorite podcast platforms:* Spotify* Apple Podcasts 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

December 23, 20241 hr 4 min

Season 6, Episode 12 - What is the future you would like to build?

In the final episode of 2024 we look at growing new teeth, quantum computing breakthroughs, growing diamonds in 15 minutes, turning them into diamond batteries that last for 5000 years, materials that can learn and adapt, and much more.Again, we do discuss the sentiments surrounding the insurance industry right now. This is especially pertinent with proposed new forms of corporate and public governance that we look into.Finally, we finish off the season strong with some profound words from resident science communicator Ben. Listen in, enjoy, and we’ll speak again soon.Sean’s links:* Growing new teeth* Willow, Google’s latest quantum computing development* Potential downstream effects and opportunities of this quantum breakthrough; courtesy of Stefan and Wyatt’s Alts newsletter* Past episode with Dr. Chris Ferrie on democratizing quantum access* Diamond batteries lasting 5000 years* Using citizen assemblies to determine public company investment (paywall)* Live example of a citizen assembly in action with Norway’s sovereign wealth fundBen’s links:* Growing diamonds in 15 minutes cheaply* Materials that can “learn” and change as needed* Learning about genetic changes that influence autism and schizophrenia* Breakthrough 3D printing method to alter structural properties of the filament on the flyIf you enjoyed this, subscribe for free to receive new episodes right to your inboxOtherwise, you can find Promise on your favorite podcast platforms:* Spotify* Apple Podcasts 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