Taking a break from our nuclear fusion odyssey this week, I have a very special episode for you today. This week, our guest is Dr Kate Devlin. She\u2019s a senior lecturer in computer science who studies artificial intelligence and human-robot interaction, and she wrote a magnificent book: Turned On, Science, Sex and Robots. Now, the tagline is that the book is about love and sex with robots \u2013 and there is a great deal of fascinating stuff in there about that \u2013 but it\u2019s also a wonderful history of humanoid robotics, in reality and in fiction, and a great survey of the academic research into human-robot interactions in general. As artificial intelligence and chatbots become more omnipresent, and also take on a bigger role in our culture, whole new fields of psychology and sociology open up. We\u2019ve already talked a little about chatbots in past episodes, and Dr Devlin\u2019s book was one of the best and most entertaining works that I\u2019ve read about artificial intelligence and robots in a long time, so I was super excited to get this interview.
Thanks for listening to this episode of Physical Attraction, and many thanks to our guest, Dr Kate Devlin. You can find her book \u2013 Turned On, Science, Sex and Robots \u2013 where-ever good books are sold, but I also highly recommend the audiobook\u2026 if, like me, you\u2019re getting those monthly Audible credits, it\u2019s wonderfully narrated by the author. You can also find out more about her work at www.drkatedevlin.com , and if you Google around, there are some Ted Talks and things of that variety to keep you entertained.
And now for our housekeeping. A reminder that I\u2019m still planning this 100th episode competition, but the due date is being continually extended \u2013 send your answers to the question \u201cWhat Is Physics?\u201d in text or audio format via the contact form on our website, and you\u2019ll be in with a chance to win books from some of our previous interview guests and a place on the show.
The nuclear fusion series will be resuming shortly, and I can\u2019t wait to share it all with you, but I\u2019m also not averse to puncturing it with a few off-topic breaks now and then as a palate-cleanser. But if you have any comments, questions, or concerns about the show, you can contact us via the contact form at www.physicspodcast.com, and you can find me on Twitter @physicspod. If you want to support the show, we have a Patreon account, at www.patreon.com/PhysicalAttraction \u2013 and I\u2019ve actually just put up some \u201cb-sides\u201d, there, shows that I recorded but didn\u2019t release for one reason or another, that subscribers can now enjoy listening to \u2013 alongside all the bonus episodes on Alien Attacks, Free Energy Scams, and failed end-of-the-world-predictions. Of course, if you don\u2019t want to donate, the best thing you can do to support us is always always to tell as many people about the show as you possibly can.
Until next time, then, take care!