

Arvind Narayanan
Princeton professor and co-author of AI Snake Oil. Contends that AI is powerful but ultimately controllable and slow to reshape society.
Top 10 podcasts with Arvind Narayanan
Ranked by the Snipd community

160 snips
Oct 7, 2024 • 54min
AI Agents: Substance or Snake Oil with Arvind Narayanan - #704
Join Arvind Narayanan, a Princeton professor and expert on AI agents and policy, as he unpacks the substance behind AI technology. He discusses the risks of deploying AI agents and the pressing need for better benchmarking to ensure reliability. Delve into his book, which exposes exaggerated AI claims and failed applications. Narayanan also highlights his work on CORE-Bench, aiming to enhance scientific reproducibility and reviews the complex landscape of AI reasoning methods. He wraps up with insights on the tangled web of AI regulation and policy challenges.

74 snips
Jan 30, 2025 • 57min
Ep 54: Princeton Researcher Arvind Narayanan on the Limitations of Agent Evals, AI’s Societal Impact & Important Lessons from History
Arvind Narayanan, a Princeton professor and co-author of AI Snake Oil, takes a deep dive into the nuanced landscape of AI. He discusses the limitations of AI benchmarks and the relevance of real-world applications. Exploring the future of AI in education, he draws parallels to past tech revolutions, emphasizing the ethical implications and the irreplaceable role of human educators. Narayanan also highlights the importance of regulation and transparency in AI usage, stressing the challenges of ensuring equitable access amidst rapid technological advances.

67 snips
Aug 28, 2024 • 52min
20VC: AI Scaling Myths: More Compute is not the Answer | The Core Bottlenecks in AI Today: Data, Algorithms and Compute | The Future of Models: Open vs Closed, Small vs Large with Arvind Narayanan, Professor of Computer Science @ Princeton
Arvind Narayanan, a Princeton professor and co-author of "AI Snake Oil," challenges the myth that simply adding more compute equates to better AI performance. He emphasizes that data quality, not just volume, is crucial for advancements in AI. The conversation dives into the future of AI models, debating whether we'll have a few large dominant models or many specialized ones. Narayanan critiques current generative AI pitfalls and stresses the importance of genuine user experiences over misleading benchmark scores. His insights offer a fresh perspective on AI's evolving landscape.

28 snips
Jun 4, 2025 • 1h 10min
AI DEBATE: Runaway Superintelligence or Normal Technology? | Daniel Kokotajlo vs Arvind Narayanan
In a thought-provoking debate, Daniel Kokotajlo, a former OpenAI researcher and author of AI 2027, argues for a rapid intelligence explosion, while Princeton professor Arvind Narayanan, co-author of AI Snake Oil, counters that AI remains controllable and slowly reshapes society. They explore the intersection of AI capabilities and power dynamics, the societal impact of AI development, and the crucial need for ethical governance. This captivating clash highlights contrasting visions for AI's future and its potential to revolutionize or stabilize our world.

12 snips
Jun 4, 2025 • 0sec
LIMITLESS - AI DEBATE: Runaway Superintelligence or Normal Technology? | Daniel Kokotajlo vs Arvind
In a riveting debate, Daniel Kokotajlo, a former OpenAI researcher and author of AI 2027, argues for a rapid intelligence explosion, while Arvind Narayanan, a Princeton professor and co-author of AI Snake Oil, asserts that AI is manageable and slow to reshape society. They tackle whether AI is just another technology or a new species, explore its potential economic transformations, and discuss the power dynamics involved in AI governance. Their contrasting perspectives provide a fascinating glimpse into the future of AI and its implications for humanity.

10 snips
Jan 2, 2025 • 11min
Not all AI is, well, AI
Arvind Narayanan, a computer science professor at Princeton and co-author of "AI Snake Oil," dives into the complex world of artificial intelligence. He discusses the hype surrounding AI and its implications in areas like criminal justice and healthcare, emphasizing ethical dilemmas in automated decision-making. Narayanan critiques the use of generative AI in politics, warning it undermines democracy. He also addresses the fears surrounding artificial general intelligence, advocating for balanced, evidence-based AI policies that consider real-world usage.

9 snips
Oct 17, 2024 • 54min
Interviewing Arvind Narayanan on making sense of AI hype
Arvind Narayanan, a computer science professor at Princeton and director of the Center for Information Technology Policy, delves into the realities of AI amidst the hype. He discusses the pitfalls of AI policy, emphasizing the need for harm-focused research. The conversation covers the risks of open-source foundation models, critiques of traditional AI in risk prediction, and the implications of scaling laws. Narayanan also sheds light on the balance between innovation and societal impact, highlighting the necessary collaboration between researchers and policymakers.

5 snips
Jan 28, 2025 • 58min
AI Snake Oil: Princeton Professor Exposes AI Truths | #867
Arvind Narayanan, a Princeton University professor and director at the Center for Information Technology Policy, discusses the pitfalls of AI hype based on his book, "AI Snake Oil." He reveals how to spot genuine AI solutions versus overhyped claims, especially in complex sectors like finance and education. The conversation dives into ethical concerns, consumer rights, and the need for accountability in AI deployment. Narayanan also emphasizes the importance of policy and regulation in ensuring that AI innovations genuinely create value rather than serve as deceptive marketing tactics.

Oct 2, 2024 • 1h 11min
Two Computer Scientists Debunk A.I. Hype with Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor
In this discussion, Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor, computer scientists at Princeton and authors of a revealing book on AI, debunk the overblown hype surrounding artificial intelligence. They clarify how much of what’s marketed as AI is actually just clever narratives or low-paid human labor. Dive into their insights on the environmental fallout of large models, the misconceptions about AI's capabilities, and the broader implications for society. Their critical take empowers listeners to navigate the murky waters of tech claims with skepticism.

Sep 29, 2024 • 36min
AI Snake Oil: Separating Hype from Reality
Arvind Narayanan, a Princeton computer science professor, and Sayash Kapoor, a PhD candidate, dive into the misconceptions surrounding AI in their discussion on their book. They explore the origins of 'snake oil' in AI claims, stressing the importance of human oversight in content moderation challenges. The duo also tackles the misinformation crisis, emphasizing that a loss of trust in media is at its core. Their insights encourage optimism and highlight corporate responsibilities to address the societal impacts of AI technology.