Where What If Becomes What's Next

What if a small startup transformed the future of artificial intelligence in the blink of an algorithm?

This conversation explores the transformative impact of DeepSeek, a groundbreaking AI chatbot that has disrupted the AI landscape by offering competitive performance at a fraction of the cost of its counterparts. Plus, DeepSeek’s open source model offers transparency and crowdsourced improvements while providing greater access to ...

What role should new technologies – such as robots, artificial intelligence and virtual reality – play in theatrical arts? And how are educators preparing their students for the future of this art form?

This episode explores the future of arts education, particularly in theater, focusing on how educators are preparing students for a tech-driven world. It discusses the importance of arts education for social-emotional learning, the c...

What if AI and an emerging new technology called quantum science could save millions of lives from diseases like cancer or pneumonia? In this second part on Healing with Intelligence  –  we're exploring how quantum science has the potential to transform healthcare by helping doctors to better diagnose, monitor, and treat illness.

We meet a pioneer in quantum science and health care – Sridhar Tayur - the Ford Distinguished Resear...

In today’s episode – the first of a two-parter on Healing with Intelligence –  we're exploring how robots, artificial intelligence, and an emerging new technology called quantum science are transforming healthcare by helping doctors to better diagnose, monitor, and treat illness.

In part one, we provide a sampling of some of those new technologies – including a head-worn device that can command a robot to help those with limite...

Welcome to Season 2 of Where What If Becomes What's Next, a podcast from Carnegie Mellon University where we ask the bold questions that will become innovations for the betterment of humanity. You'll hear about breakthroughs at CMU from scientists, researchers, innovators and artists at the forefront of artificial intelligence, robotics, health science and the arts. 

With host Randy Scott, every other Thursday we’ll introduc...

While we’re working on Season 2 of Where What If Becomes What’s Next, we’d like to introduce you to a new Carnegie Mellon University podcast - DOES COMPUTE — from our School of Computer Science – where CMU experts, alumni and students along with host Stephanie Stricklen will explore what’s next in computer science, robotics and artificial intelligence.

In this sample episode from DOES COMPUTE – the first of a two-part episode on ...

Artificial intelligence is already revolutionizing almost every aspect of society.  But what additional advancements will we see in the near future?  And what ethical issues should we address along the way?

In this, the second of a two-part episode – and our Season One finale – we explore what’s next for AI in areas such as disaster response, robotics, creativity, health care and transportation. And we discuss the ethical consider...

If you think that Artificial Intelligence was recently invented, think again. The roots of AI go back decades, centuries, even to ancient mythology.  So how did AI go from myth to reality?

In this, the first of a special two-part episode, we present a brief history of AI.  We start with the first imagined robot in ancient Greece, fast-forward to Alan Turing’s groundbreaking work in computer science and then to the seminal 1956...

What if paleontologists could create robot replicas of dinosaurs to better understand them – and how they moved – and in turn learn more about us?

In this episode, we’re talking about the intersection of paleontology, robotics, and artificial intelligence. That includes paleobionics… an emerging field at Carnegie Mellon University – that uses robotics and soft robotics to help scientists better understand how dinosaurs and oth...

What if a robot could be a compassionate companion - an antidote to loneliness as we age – and in some cases – help those suffering from dementia?

Loneliness among the elderly has become something of an epidemic.  According to a recent national survey, about 37 % of American adults aged 50 to 80 experienced loneliness, and about 34% of respondents said they felt socially isolated. Companion robots have the potential to allevia...

Robots and artificial intelligence are transforming the healthcare industry, from drug development to surgical procedures to personalized healthcare plans. 

In this, the first of a two-part episode, we'll take a big picture look at these transformational technologies and meet a leader in the emerging field of soft robotics, the creation of robots and wearable devices that look, feel, and move more like humans.  And we'...

What’s next for autonomous self-driving cars?  In this episode we explore the development of self-driving autonomous vehicles and the role of AI in improving their reliability, safety, and economic viability.

We discuss the history of self-driving vehicles, including the DARPA Challenges which kick-started self-driving automobile development, and the challenges and advancements in the industry. The conversation also focuses on...

What does it take to teach a robot to pick an apple? Let’s find out.  In today’s episode, we will explore how AI technologies are helping agriculture solve some of the world’s biggest problems – from world hunger to protecting the environment to a labor shortage down on the farm.  

Robots, drones and machine learning are being used by farmers around the world to monitor crop health, soil conditions and weather patterns -- so t...

What if artificial intelligence and robotics – including  drones – are used to revolutionize disaster response?

It's already happening. The use of drones – particularly small consumer drones – has become standard in disaster response due to their affordability and ease of use. AI is used to enhance disaster response by predicting natural weather disasters and helping first responders make better decisions about resource alloca...

What if AI could discover new black holes and unlock the secrets of the universe? 

On this episode, we're diving deep into the cosmos and back in time to explore how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing astrophysics and astronomy at warp speed.  From discovering black holes to modeling the birth of the universe to helping map the sky as part of a new wide-field survey, AI is reshaping our understanding of the cosmos. 

Whe...

What if AI transformed your job so you had four-day weekends or never even had to work again?

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence is poised to dramatically transform the landscape of work. As routine tasks are automated by AI, new efficiencies are created, freeing up time for workers — but what should they do with that time? Use it for higher-level thinking and decision-making? Reduce their work hours and have a four-d...

What if AI can help discover new black holes and help scientists unravel the greatest mysteries of our cosmos?  

In this preview of an upcoming episode, we journey into space with AI – which is revolutionizing astrophysics, uncovering the mysteries of the cosmos and shaping the future of space exploration.  We’ll show you how AI is helping to discover new galaxies, new exoplanets and black holes that hold the secrets to the origins...

What if researchers could run thousands of experiments all at the same time to solve some of the world's greatest problems -- like sickle cell anemia, Alzheimer’s or cancer?  We take you inside what's next for scientific research -- automated science.

Automated science is where AI and hands-on robotic experiments power automated research and self-driving labs, while pushing the boundaries of science altogether.  Automa...