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 (https://promisefm.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)
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
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* 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)
28 Apr 2025
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)
14 Apr 2025
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)
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