Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas

301 | Tina Eliassi-Rad on Al, Networks, and Epistemic Instability

Jan 13, 2025

In this engaging discussion, Tina Eliassi-Rad, a leading computer scientist and expert on AI and networks, explores how big data shapes our lives and ethical choices. She addresses the challenges of developing accurate AI models, urging a critical approach beyond mere benchmarks. The conversation highlights the biases within AI systems and the consequences for human interaction. Eliassi-Rad also emphasizes the need for educational reform in the age of AI, advocating for skills that promote trust and critical thinking to navigate our increasingly algorithm-driven world.

01:09:21

Episode guests

Tina Eliassi-Rad

AI Summary

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

AI technologies are reshaping our societal norms and behaviors, necessitating a critical evaluation of their implications and limitations.

The overwhelming presence of big data challenges our ability to discern meaningful insights, often favoring trending choices over individual exploration.

The current technological landscape threatens epistemic stability, highlighting the urgent need for critical thinking education and trust-building in information sources.

Deep dives

Redefining First Encounters with Technology

The narrative around early encounters between indigenous peoples and European explorers is often skewed, portraying the explorers as divine beings. However, this narrative is largely fabricated, created to justify colonization. In the modern context, we are faced with another 'arrival,' this time from artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, which some people view with a similarly reverential lens. The complexities of these interactions with AI reveal that, unlike beliefs surrounding divine existence, there is a genuine need to understand and critically evaluate AI's capabilities and limitations.

Intro

5min

Exploring Networks in Machine Learning

10min

Navigating Prediction Accuracy in Machine Learning

2min

Understanding Benchmark Hacking in AI and Machine Learning

2min

Complexities of Networks and AI Influence

16min

Navigating Human-AI Communication and Collaboration

2min

Navigating AI Biases and Human Impact

18min

Navigating AI, Trust, and Education

16min

Big data is ruling, or at least deeply infiltrating, all of modern existence. Unprecedented capacity for collecting and analyzing large amounts of data have given us a new generation of artificial intelligence models, but also everything from medical procedures to recommendation systems that guide our purchases and romantic lives. I talk with computer scientist Tina Elassi-Rad about how we can sift through all this data, make sure it is deployed in ways that align with our values, and how to deal with the political and social dangers associated with systems that are not always guided by the truth.

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Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2025/01/13/301-tina-eliassi-rad-on-al-networks-and-epistemic-instability/

Tina Eliassi-Rad received her Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is currently Joseph E. Aoun Chair of Computer Sciences and Core Faculty of the Network Science Institute at Northeastern University, External Faculty at the Santa Fe Institute, and External Faculty at the Vermont Complex Systems Center. She is a fellow of the Network Science Society, recipient of the Lagrange Prize, and was named one of the 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics.

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