Show Notes
Right now, your washing machine is subject to more safety rules than AI. Every carton of milk that you see in the grocery store is subject to safety rules and inspection. Or think about the aeroplanes we get on - you can get on a plane in London, you can fly to Athens or New York. Either way, that plane has been certified so that it’s considered safe by the aircraft regulators in both countries. We know how to do this for other products. We should build on that knowledge and start to think about how to apply it to AI.” Will Bain speaks to Brad Smith, Microsoft President and Vice-Chairman, about adapting to AI. The 59-year-old American joined the global technology giant in 1993 as part of its legal team. Over the next two decades, he worked his way to the top of the corporation and became President in 2015 before taking on the additional role of Vice-Chairman six years later. As one of the most influential figures in the global technology industry, Smith has spent decades working alongside world leaders, governments and regulators, helping to navigate some of the most complex challenges facing the digital age, from cyber security and data privacy to market competition and the growing power of big tech. Smith observes AI’s rapid development closely, and although he understands the many opportunities it will create, he also supports regulation. Thank you to the Big Boss Interview team for their help in making this programme.
The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Arm CEO Rene Haas, AI expert Parmy Olson, and astronaut Victor Glover. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Will Bain Producers: Olie D'Albertanson and Ben Cooper Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Brad Smith Credit: Zed Jameson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Rebecca Kesby speaks to Israeli film-makers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. Abraham and Szor gained international attention last year with their self-distributed film, No Other Land, made in collaboration with two Palestinian film-makers. The film, which won the 2025 Academy Award for best documentary feature, recorded the forced displacement of Palestinian families from their homes in the occupied West Bank. The pair’s latest critically-acclaimed documentary, Naza, investigates civilian casualties from Israel's ongoing military operations in Gaza. Naza is the word used by Israeli forces to describe collateral damage. The film includes the testimonies of 24 unidentified Israeli military and intelligence officers, and they explain how artificial intelligence was used to identify possible targets in Gaza during the war, which was triggered by the deadly Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023. Its premiere at the Venice international film festival saw the documentary win the special jury prize and also receive a record-breaking 25-minute standing ovation. However, the film has angered many people back home, including Israel's culture minister, who has called for Abraham and Szor to be stripped of their citizenship over what he called "treason against the state". (Image: Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham Credit: Marilla Sicilia/Getty Images)
“When we suffered under apartheid, those were immoral laws, they institutionalised racism. Where could we go for relief? And I yearned for a better system of law based on values.”
“There's a toxic narrative around displacement which has been politicised and part of the fund is to re-humanise and make the connection because those people who have the great fortune to be housed, to be in nations that are free of conflict at the moment, we're being asked to be displaced from our humanity. And so art, the foundation of art is to allow people to make pathways of connection to remind us that we have more in common with people who are displaced than we realise.” Katie Razzall speaks to double Oscar-winning actor Cate Blanchett. The 57-year-old Australian, best-known for her roles in Hollywood blockbusters such as Elizabeth, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, has long used her public profile to champion humanitarian causes around the world. A decade ago, Blanchett was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency. Two years later, she addressed the UN Security Council drawing attention to Rohingya refugees fleeing violence and persecution in Myanmar. Last year, Blanchett helped launch the Displacement Film Fund, an initiative supporting filmmakers who have experienced displacement, as well as films exploring the lives of those forced to flee their homes. Five filmmakers were awarded grants through the fund, each telling individual stories of displacement from places including Ukraine, Somalia and Iran. One of the filmmakers, Hasan Kattan, joined Blanchett for this interview to talk about his experience of fleeing Syria. Thank you to the Newsnight team for their help in making this programme.
“Diplomacy is about talking to lots of people with whom you don't agree. And that's what diplomats do. And I think we would do that... The Vatican has always had very little difficulty, perhaps too little difficulty, in dealing with all sorts of political actors, all sorts regimes, all sorts of political systems.” Julie Etchingham speaks to Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations and one of the Catholic Church’s more senior diplomats. The 72 year old, who was born and brought up in Liverpool, was appointed to the post in 2014 by Pope Francis and is frequently referred to as the Vatican's foreign minister. Although a tiny city state, the Vatican has significant reach and influence on the world stage, being a permanent observer at the United Nations and having diplomatic relations with 184 countries. Its diplomats pursue a policy of ‘positive neutrality’ - supposedly an impartial moral authority which allows it to dialogue with all sides. With no signs of various geopolitical tensions subsiding, the Archbishop’s role in navigating these instabilities on behalf of the more than 1.4 billion Catholics around the world has arguably never been more important. Thank you to the Sunday team for their help in making this programme.
“When I was writing it I didn’t think it would touch such a universal chord, you know, because it seemed to me so weird, my childhood and my mother and my life, it was, but of course, everybody has something. And a lot of people I meet have said this to me and that it helped them see their parents as human beings and not just parents.” Ishadrita Lahiri speaks to acclaimed author and activist, Arundhati Roy. One of India’s most celebrated writers and outspoken political voices Roy rose to international fame in 1997 with her Booker Prize-winning debut novel The God of Small Things. Since then she has become as well known for political activism as for her fiction, challenging those in power and using her writing to engage with questions of inequality, nationalism and human rights. In her latest book, Mother Mary Comes to Me, Roy reflects on her complex relationship with her mother and the ways it shaped her life and work. We explore her literary journey, political convictions and what’s shaped her writing.