The Age of AI with Lara Lewington and Ben Clark

AI promises to transform finance, but can it ever be trusted with people’s money?

Lara Lewington and Ben Clark explore one of the toughest frontiers for artificial intelligence: the financial system. From messy data and market volatility to the risks of automation at scale, finance is one of the hardest environments in which to deploy AI safely.

They’re joined by Usman Khan, co-founder and CEO of APEX:E3, a fintech company building AI-powered data and workflow tools for capital markets. With multiple startups behind him and deep experience in market infrastructure, Usman explains where AI genuinely works in finance and where the technology can break down.

Along the way, Lara and Ben unpack the latest headlines shaping the AI landscape, including the race toward self-driving cars between Waymo and the fast-rising challenger Wayve, the global push to develop local AI models beyond Silicon Valley, and the growing debate around safeguards and control of powerful AI systems.

From trust and regulation to data quality and the future of financial markets, this episode looks past the hype to ask a crucial question: how do you build AI systems that people can actually trust with their money?

The humans who make this programme would love to hear from you. Join us on social media or send us an email

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The Age of AI is brought to you by AIR, a launchpad for researchers to create innovative AI startups. Supported by Responsible Ai UK, an international ecosystem for responsible AI research and innovation, and delivered by Future Worlds, the tech startup accelerator at the University of Southampton.

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In this special Q&A episode of The Age of AI, Lara Lewington and Ben Clark tackle the questions listeners are really asking about how AI is reshaping everyday life.
From Waymo and the reality of self driving cars on public roads, to whether AI can genuinely help defeat bias in promotions and hiring, the episode explores where AI is helping, where it is risky, and where human judgement still matters most.
Plus, guest expert Sam Mundy joins the conversation to explain one of the most talked about AI problems of all: why AI hallucinates? Or rather gets things wrong in old speak!
The humans who make this programme would love to hear from you. Join us on social media or send us an email
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @theageofaipod
YouTube: @theageofaipod
Linkedin: The Age of AI
The Age of AI is brought to you by AIR, a launchpad for researchers to create innovative AI startups. Supported by Responsible Ai UK, an international ecosystem for responsible AI research and innovation, and delivered by Future Worlds, the tech startup accelerator at the University of Southampton.
Demo Day - Wednesday 4 March 2026
14:30 - 18:00
KPMG Canary Wharf
futureworlds.com/air
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Age of AI returns with Lara Lewington and Ben Clark tackling one of the biggest questions in society right now: will artificial intelligence destroy human creativity, or transform it?
We are joined by Aidan Meller, creator of Ai-Da, the world’s first ultra-realistic robot artist. From exhibitions at Oxford and the United Nations to portraits of world leaders, Meller explains how Ai-Da is built, how she creates art, and why he believes robots force us to confront uncomfortable questions about creativity, identity, power and control.
We'll also be delving into the biggest AI headlines, from eye-watering Big Tech investment bets to growing concerns about chatbots giving medical advice, and the rapid rise of voice AI company ElevenLabs. But when AI can clone a voice perfectly, can you really tell the difference between Lara and Ben and their digital doubles?
The humans who make this programme would love to hear from you. Join us on social media or send us an email
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @theageofaipod
YouTube: @theageofaipod
Linkedin: The Age of AI
The Age of AI is brought to you by AIR, a launchpad for researchers to create innovative AI startups. Supported by Responsible Ai UK, an international ecosystem for responsible AI research and innovation, and delivered by Future Worlds, the tech startup accelerator at the University of Southampton.
Demo Day - Wednesday 4 March 2026
14:30 - 18:00
KPMG Canary Wharf
futureworlds.com/air
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Age of AI, we open the floor to your biggest questions and take them head on.
Is it already too late for the little guys in AI? Have the tech giants locked down the future, or is there still space for startups, researchers and independent builders to shape what comes next?
We also explore whether AI can learn from the data on our wearables. Could your smartwatch one day predict illness before symptoms appear? Could personal data, used responsibly, genuinely save lives?
And then there’s the lighter side of the algorithm. What was really behind the wave of Victoria Beckham memes that flooded our feeds? Was it human creativity, machine amplification, or something more strategic happening beneath the surface?
The humans who make this programme would love to hear from you. Join us on social media or send us an email
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @theageofaipod
YouTube: @theageofaipod
Linkedin: The Age of AI
The Age of AI is brought to you by AIR, a launchpad for researchers to create innovative AI startups. Supported by Responsible Ai UK, an international ecosystem for responsible AI research and innovation, and delivered by Future Worlds, the tech startup accelerator at the University of Southampton. 
Demo Day - Wednesday 4 March 2026
14:30 - 18:00
KPMG Canary Wharf
futureworlds.com/air
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re constantly told we’re living in the Age of AI. But beyond the hype, what does that really mean for how we live, work and think?
In this first episode, Lara Lewington, tech journalist and author, and Ben Clark from Future Worlds at the University of Southampton, explore the AI stories that genuinely matter. From the truth behind the headlines to the developments that deserve to be making the news.
Each week we'll ask one big question and today we're exploring can AI really prevent burnout? Joining us is Reeva Misra, founder and CEO of WONE, an AI-powered stress coach used by high-pressure workplaces around the world. With a background in psychology and a career spanning science, health and technology, Reeva explains the science of stress, why modern work is pushing more people into chronic burnout, and how AI might help us recover in as little as 90 seconds.
The humans who make this programme would love to hear from you. Join us on social media or send us an email
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @theageofaipod
YouTube: @theageofaipod
Linkedin: The Age of AI
The Age of AI is brought to you by AIR, a launchpad for researchers to create innovative AI startups. Supported by Responsible Ai UK, an international ecosystem for responsible AI research and innovation, and delivered by Future Worlds, the tech startup accelerator at the University of Southampton. 
Demo Day - Wednesday 4 March 2026
14:30 - 18:00
KPMG Canary Wharf
futureworlds.com/air
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices