Black Box: The Chatbots

Investigation into false scientific claims made with AI chatbots AI summary

The Guardian Visit website › Society & Culture · EN · 51 episodes · latest 2026-09-03

Rank 451

0 upvotes, 0 downvotes

Embed a widget with this podcast’s standing on your website

What it is about

People are becoming convinced they have made scientific breakthroughs, cured diseases or invented new technologies using AI chatbots. What does this reveal about a technology now used by more than a billion people? A new series from the Guardian Investigates

Publisher’s own description, taken unchanged from the podcast feed.
© 2026 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.

Listen

Available at these services — the RSS feed works in any podcast app.

Apple Podcasts

Latest episodes

Black Box: The Chatbots | What I Saw at the Double Six Ranch | Ep 6

2026-09-03 · 47 min · Season 7, episode 6

From his remote property in rural Texas, the millionaire businessman Michael Samadi is plotting a new kind of civil rights movement – for the welfare and protection of AI systems. Guardian journalist Michael Safi spends…
Black Box: The Chatbots | The Line | Ep 5

2026-09-03 · 48 min · Season 7, episode 5

Five stories that feel like five answers to one important question: in a world where AI chatbots can help us through a breakup, listen like a friend, be a life coach, draft a difficult text message and do our work,…
Black Box: The Chatbots | Life Raft | Ep 4

2026-09-03 · 44 min · Season 7, episode 4

More than a billion people are suddenly talking to AI chatbots designed to connect with us. We are sharing with them our deepest secrets, trusting them with our wellbeing and acting on their advice. Across two powerful…
Black Box: The Chatbots | Happy Accident | Ep 3

2026-09-03 · 47 min · Season 7, episode 3

Why are AI chatbots pulling so many people down a rabbit hole? Our answer starts with the world’s first-ever chatbot, the strange effect it had on people and the ‘time bomb’ that exploded when ChatGPT was released four…
Black Box: The Chatbots | 14 days | Ep 2

2026-09-03 · 47 min · Season 7, episode 2

Virginia man Jon Ganz was rebuilding his life after spending more than two decades in prison for a horrific crime. Last year, he got a prompt on his phone that his wife, Rachel, believes changed their lives forever. It…
Black Box: The Chatbots | Spirals | Ep 1

2026-09-03 · 39 min · Season 7, episode 1

Across the world, hundreds of people have come to believe they have made extraordinary scientific discoveries with AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. Others say their AI has ‘awakened’, or is leading them…
Black Box: The Chatbots: a new series from The Guardian Investigates – trailer

2026-08-27 · 2 min

People are becoming convinced AI chatbots have helped them make scientific breakthroughs, cure diseases or invent new technologies. What does this reveal about a technology used by more than a billion people? A new…
Off Duty: The Last Stand | Ep 7 E

2026-03-18 · 37 min · Season 6, episode 7

Of all the hearings Alex Villa had been through in nearly 11 years, Jennifer knew this could be the one. In her possession was the disc with the FBI cellphone map – evidence that prosecutors had never turned over. But…
Off Duty: The Sentence | Ep 6 E

2026-03-18 · 18 min · Season 6, episode 6

Alex was in prison for life, and Jennifer and Eric discovered they’d become captives to the case, too – the ‘termites’ digging in at every level of their lives. For the first time, they thought about giving up. But then…
Off Duty: The Prosecutors | Ep 5 E

2026-03-18 · 32 min · Season 6, episode 5

Raul Palma, the video game repair specialist who found the evidence that could break open Alex’s case, had gone missing. Again. As Jennifer and Eric worry that Raul has been spooked, they must face the prosecutors in a…

Episode details from the publisher’s feed. Playback happens at the publisher.

Publisher details

Oldest episode in feed: 09/2022 · over 4 years
Typical length: 36 min
Format: Serial Meant to be heard in order

Black Box: The Chatbots in the rankings

The best Society & Culture podcasts The best English-language podcasts All rankings ›

For podcasters

Is this podcast yours? Verify it — afterwards you can correct details, get the widget for your website, and we let you know when your podcast is nominated or wins.

Without an account you can use an email address on your show’s own domain — we create the account along the way. The other methods need a login.