There’s a new science podcast in Portugal

In September, there will be a new science podcast in Portugal. Following the concept of the “INESC TEC Science and Society” magazine, first published in November 2020, the new podcast and videocast are underway; the first season will debut on September 6.

The first season, with four episodes, will focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Health – the first issue of the magazine.

In March 2023, several media –  including the New York Post and the Daily Mail – published news pieces about how a dog’s life was saved thanks to Chat GPT, after the tool provided the adequate diagnosis for an issue that veterinarians could not identify. We also know that, in Portugal, there are several pilot projects that resort to AI to reduce the burden on healthcare systems and to support patients, promoting personalised medicine and citizen-centred healthcare; it is also known that AI tools have even been tested with Alzheimer’s patients with an inconclusive initial diagnosis – with a success rate of 98%. What type of technologies exist already? What can we still achieve? What impact can these tools have on our day-to-day lives? Who develops them and who should use them? Will AI play a decisive role in the early detection of certain diseases, e.g., oncology, thus contributing to improve the living conditions and a possible reduction in mortality? And how should public policies address the relationship – that already seems inevitable – between healthcare and AI? These and other questions will be explored during the first season of the Science and Society podcast. One episode a week, always on Wednesdays, starting in September.

“Disseminate science to society. That is our main goal. We started this adventure in 2020, during the pandemic, addressing the urgent need to communicate science in a simpler and clearer way, in order to tackle misinformation and contribute to a more informed and prepared society. We started with a printed and digital magazine, and we will keep releasing more editions; but, in 2023, we will expand to other formats”, explained Artur Pimenta Alves, coordinator of the editorial board of the “INESC TEC Science and Society” magazine.

The podcast’s first season will welcome 10 guests, namely researchers from INESC TEC and other institutions, and five interviewers. In the first episode, which debuts on September 6, the participants explored the themes “Health, Science and Public Health Policies”. Joana Desport Coelho, head of the Communication Service of INESC TEC, and Mário Amorim Lopes, INESC TEC researcher and professor at FEUP, were the session’s moderators – which featured Mário Amorim Lopes, , Álvaro Almeida, professor at FEP, and former president of the Health Regulatory Entity and ARS, António Oliveira e Silva, former president of the Board of Directors of the Centro Hospitalar de S. João and doctor at the same hospital, and Artur Rocha, researcher at INESC TEC.

The second episode, set to premiere on September 13, will focus on “The impact of AI on Healthcare Support – The case of ChatGPT”, while the third, dedicated to “AI and Cancer – a Means for Early Detection?” will debut on September 20. The final episode of the season, focusing on “Active and Healthy Aging”, will air on September 27.

Watch here our trailer:

The podcast episodes will become available on INESC TEC’s Spotify profile, set to debut in September, as well as on other platforms (TBD). The videocast episodes will be available on the institution’s YouTube channel.

The episodes will be available only in Portuguese. Subscribers of the Magazine will receive the episodes firsthand via an exclusive link, provided one day before they become available to the general audience. The subscription can be made here.