In this episode, we examine a series of Sam’s conversations centered around social media’s impact on the information landscape. We begin with Sam’s second conversation with Tristan Harris, which was conducted shortly after the release of Tristan’s documentary, The Social Dilemma. The documentary lays out Tristan’s thesis on how social media is causing the deterioration of both individual and societal welfare. Author and technologist Jaron Lanier follows, echoing Tristan’s concerns and shifting the conversation to social media’s unique business model, addressing how perverse incentives reliably produce such detrimental outcomes. We then hear from Jack Dorsey, the former CEO of Twitter. Sam and Dorsey’s conversation took place when Dorsey was still working at Twitter, and Sam still had an account. However, the questions they pose—relating to issues of content moderation and corporate transparency—are even more relevant today. Next, psychologist Jonathan Haidt presents the alarming findings from his research on the psychological effects of social media, detailing how teenage girls are bearing the brunt of a mental health crisis.  Shifting to a more political lens, Sam and Cass Sunstein discuss Sunstein’s book, #Republic, and Sunstein addresses one of Sam’s most pressing fears of the last seven years: how social media is warping our opinions on politics. We then narrow down on this issue, with Zeynep Tufekci explaining the real-life consequences of social media’s influence on protest movements. Finally, Sam and technology analyst Nina Schick dive into one of the most urgent concerns of the AI boom: deepfakes and how they might be weaponized to further pollute and degrade our information landscape.   About the Series Filmmaker Jay Shapiro has produced The Essential Sam Harris, a new series of audio documentaries exploring the major topics that Sam has focused on over the course of his career. Each episode weaves together original analysis, critical perspective, and novel thought experiments with some of the most compelling exchanges from the Making Sense archive. Whether you are new to a particular topic, or think you have your mind made up about it, we think you’ll find this series fascinating.  

Sociologist Zeynep Tufekci discusses concerns about AI's implications on manipulation, control, and decision-making. The impact of biases in widespread AI deployment is explored. Privacy infringement, accessibility, and translation capabilities are highlighted as risks and benefits of AI. Regulation of technology, particularly facial recognition software, is discussed, including positive steps taken in the United States. The challenges in regulating AI models and the role of governments are examined, ending on a hopeful note.

Topics include woke AI creating diverse images, interview with Libs of TikTok founder, the impact of long COVID on society and trust in institutions, navigating challenges of long COVID, and the importance of journalism in providing contextual understanding.

When Zeynep Tufekci penned a New York Times op-ed at the onset of the pandemic challenging the prevailing public health guidance that ordinary people should not wear masks, she thought it was the end of her public writing career. Instead, it helped provoke the CDC to reverse its guidance a few weeks later, and medical professionals privately thanked her for writing it. While relieved by the reception, she also saw it as a sign of a deeper dysfunction in the scientific establishment: why should she, a programmer and sociologist by training, have been the one to speak out rather than a credentialed expert? And yet realizing her outsider status and academic tenure allowed her to speak more freely than others, she continued writing and has become one of the leading public intellectuals covering the response to COVID-19. Zeynep joined Tyler to discuss problems with the media and the scientific establishment, what made the lab-leak hypothesis unacceptable to talk about, how her background in sociology was key to getting so many things right about the pandemic, the pitfalls of academic contrarianism, what Max Weber understood about public health crises, the underrated aspects of Kemel Mustapha’s regime, how Game of Thrones interested her as a sociologist (until the final season), what Americans get wrong about Turkey, why internet-fueled movements like the Gezi protests fizzle out, whether Islamic fundamentalism is on the rise in Turkey, how she’d try to persuade a COVID-19 vaccine skeptic, whether public health authorities should ever lie for the greater good, why she thinks America is actually less racist than Europe, how her background as a programmer affects her work as a sociologist, the subject of her next book, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Note: This conversation was recorded on July 14th, 2021, before the FDA granted full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter  Follow Zeynep on Twitter Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.  Thumbnail photo credit: Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society

Sam Harris speaks with Zeynep Tufekci about the problem of misinformation and group-think. They discuss the Covid-19 pandemic, the early failures of journalists and public health professionals to make sense of it, the sociology of mask wearing, the problem of correcting institutional errors, Covid as a dress rehearsal for something far worse, asymmetric information warfare, failures of messaging about vaccines, the paradox of scientific authority, the power of incentives, how to reform social media, and other topics. If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all full-length episodes at samharris.org/subscribe.  

Experts Andrew Gelman and Zeynep Tufekci discuss the failures of polling in recent elections, questioning its impact on democracy. They delve into the reasons behind polling errors and the need for improvement. Anthony Wells sheds light on the functioning of the polling industry beyond elections.

In this engaging discussion, Zeynep Tufekci, an influential advocate for common sense pandemic policies, delves into the missteps of our COVID-19 response. She emphasizes the critical importance of credible information and transparent communication. Tufekci shares her challenges in promoting mask usage amidst misinformation and critiques media narratives that skew public perception. Additionally, she argues for institutional reform to ensure better public health management in the future. With her background and insights, Tufekci offers valuable lessons for navigating crises.

Zeynep Tufekci, an influential voice on Twitter and a researcher from the University of North Carolina, shares her unique journey from growing up in Turkey to becoming a technosociologist. She discusses her early warnings about the pandemic, the societal risks exposed by interconnectedness, and her transformative experiences, including overcoming homelessness. Tufekci also reflects on the impacts of digital technology on democracy, cautioning against the influence of big data and targeted advertising on public discourse.

Our online lives are now entirely interwoven with our real lives. But the laws that govern real life don't apply online. This hour, TED speakers explore rules to navigate this vast virtual space. Guests include Edward Snowden, misinformation expert Claire Wardle, sociologist Zeynep Tufekci, EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager, and social psychologist Adam Alter.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Expert Zeynep Tufekci discusses surveillance capitalism, AI marketing, press health. They cover topics like ransomware attacks, fake news, impact of internet on reality, social media manipulation, ethical concerns in persuasion tactics, historical ties between media and propaganda, influence of AI in advertising.