The Guardian Science Weekly x Black Box
How AI is reshaping our minds
London Podcast Festival
Our relationships change us. So what about the ones we develop with chatbots? How are the machines we speak to reshaping our minds? The Guardian’s chart-topping podcast Black Box is coming back for a second series, exploring the collision between AI and us. To mark its return, journalist and host of Black Box: The Chatbots, Michael Safi, joins Guardian science editor Ian Sample and Science Weekly co-host Madeleine Finlay for a live recording of the Guardian’s Science Weekly podcast.
Most of us have used an AI chatbot by now, but have you ever wondered what they’re actually doing to our minds and how they might be changing our sense of reality?
Stories are emerging of people claiming to have brought their chatbots to life, making groundbreaking scientific discoveries with them, or gaining knowledge no one else has.
But these digital delusions are only the most extreme edge of something much bigger. AI is quietly reshaping what and how we think. So what are chatbots doing to our minds? And how do we future-proof our thinking for the age of AI?
Science Weekly is the Guardian’s bi-weekly delve into the world of health, tech and the environment hosted by the Guardian’s award-winning science editor Ian Sample and science writer and producer Madeleine Finlay. They go behind the headlines and TikTok trends, dig into the research and talk to the experts so you don’t have to.
In 2024, the Guardian released Black Box, a six-part series on the collision between humanity and AI. This autumn, Michael Safi returns with a new series on the rise of the Chatbot.
Join Ian, Madeleine and Michael for a live recording of the Guardian’s Science Weekly podcast.
This event will last approximately 90 minutes, without an interval.
Concessions & Under 30s tickets
Kings Place Concessions Tickets
We want to ensure that people who may be struggling financially to purchase a ticket can still enjoy visiting Kings Place. A limited number of tickets are allocated for certain events (if the ticket type does not show in the booking pathway, it means they are not available for this event or have all been sold). Concessions tickets are accessible for people on the following criteria (for more information visit our FAQs)
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
- Disability Benefit
- Income Support or Job Seekers allowance
- Students
£10 ‘Under 30s’ tickets
A limited number of £10 tickets are available for certain shows to attendees aged under 30. To access Under 30s tickets, your account needs to be updated with your Date of Birth. Please visit the account centre to add your Date of Birth and go to ‘Other Preferences’ to opt in to the Under 30s Scheme.
If £10 tickets are available, the ticket discount will apply automatically at checkout. If the discount does not apply, this means all ‘Under 30s’ tickets have sold out for the performance.
Please note that proof of age may be requested at the venue.
Plan your visit
Getting here
Kings Place is situated just a few minutes’ walk from King’s Cross and St Pancras stations, one of the most connected locations in London and now the biggest transport hub in Europe.
Our address is:
90 York Way, London, N1 9AG.
The Venue
Our performance spaces are situated on the lower ground floor. Hall One, Hall Two and St Pancras are located in level -2, reached by stairs, escalator and lift from the ground floor entrance level.
Event Times
Door times indicate auditorium entrance times only. Visitors are welcome to enjoy the Kings Place seating areas, gallery-level art, canal-side terrace, café, restaurant and bar throughout the day and evening.
- Our events begin promptly at the advertised start time. Typically, there is no support unless otherwise stated.
- We recommend arriving in good time before the performance. The Hall doors will open 30 minutes before the performance to allow time to take your seats, or to choose a space for standing shows.
- Latecomers will be admitted at a suitable break in the performance where possible
Access
We aim to make your visit to Kings Place as comfortable as possible. For more information about the accessibility of Kings Place, including details about our Access Scheme, please visit this page.
If you would like to discuss your access requirements with a member of our team, please get in touch with the Box Office team at info@kingsplace.co.uk.
Food & Drink
Rotunda Bar & Restaurant
Rotunda, situated on the ground floor of Kings Place, offers a unique dining and drinking experience alongside Regent’s Canal. The concert bar in the venue foyer will also be open for select events.
Green & Fortune Café
Recently re-furbished and now open with a new look, the Green & Fortune Café is open for selected concerts. Serving hot and cold food and drinks, including sandwiches, salads, soup, stew and a pie of the day, alongside a choice of cakes made by the on-site bakery team. See here for selected concert dates and standard opening hours.
About Ian Sample
Ian Sample is science editor of the Guardian and host of the Science Weekly podcast. His award-winning reporting covers everything from breakthrough gene therapies and AI advances to the first evidence of cow tool use. His book, Massive, chronicles the decades-long multimillion dollar efforts in search of the “God particle”, the Higgs Boson.
About Madeleine Finlay
Madeleine Finlay is host and producer on Science Weekly, unpacking the science stories you need to know about twice a week. Madeleine is the author of two children’s science books, the first of which was nominated for the Royal Society’s Young People’s Book Prize 2022.
About Michael Safi
Michael Safi is the presenter of Black Box, a Guardian investigative podcast series about AI and us. The first season went to number one in the UK news charts and was an Apple Podcasts best of 2024. He is the former host of the Guardian’s award-winning daily news podcast, Today in Focus, and before that was a foreign correspondent based in Beirut and Delhi.
Official partners of the London Podcast Festival
