Audio Long Reads, from the New Statesman

The prime minister and the AI that solved the climate crisis

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Episode notes

After the extreme heat of summer 2024, which saw children stretchered out of their exams, Britain’s prime minister calls a press conference in Westminster Hall. He has one eye on life after office (skiing in Aspen, a big gig in Silicon Valley), but before he leaves, he wants to unveil something truly ground-breaking: a large language model that has been trained by the best minds to solve the climate crisis.

In this satirical work of speculative fiction, the New Statesman’s business editor Will Dunn explores the government’s love affair with Big Tech, fast-forwarding to the dying days of a Conservative government. Climate protestors have been cleared from the roads - but the tarmac is melting and people want answers. Could an advanced AI called Tom provide the prime minister’s moonshot moment?

Written and read by Will Dunn. You can read the text version at newstatesman.com

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy Edward Docx reading Boris Johnson: the death of a clown.

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