Better together

Cooperation is at the heart of our society. Inventing the railway, giving birth to the Renaissance, and creating the Covid-19 vaccine all required people to combine efforts. But cooperation is so much more. It governs our education systems, healthcare, and food production. In this episode, Hannah meets the researchers working on cooperative AI, and hears about their work and influences from the famous American psychologist - and pigeon trainer -  BF Skinner to the strategic board game Diplomacy. For questions or feedback on the series, message us on Twitter @DeepMind or email podcast@deepmind.com Interviewees: DeepMind’s Thore Graepel, Kevin Mckee, Doina Precup & Laura Weidinger CreditsPresenter: Hannah FrySeries Producer: Dan HardoonProduction support: Jill AchinekuSounds design: Emma BarnabyMusic composition: Eleni ShawSound Engineer: Nigel AppletonEditor: David PrestCommissioned by DeepMind Thank you to everyone who made this season possible!  Further reading: Machines must learn to find common ground, Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01170-0Introduction to Reinforcement Learning, DeepMind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pWv7GOvuf0B.F. Skinner, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._F._SkinnerThe Tragedy of the Commons, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commonsStaving Off The Ultimate Tragedy Of The Commons, Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgebradt/2021/11/02/staving-off-the-ultimate-tragedy-of-the-commons-by-making-better-complex-decisions-cooperatively-in-glasgow/Understanding Agent Cooperation, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/understanding-agent-cooperationThe emergence of complex cooperative agents, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/capture-the-flag-science