New Books in Science, Technology, and Society

In this engaging discussion, Alan F. Blackwell, a Professor at the University of Cambridge specializing in human-centered AI, delves into the urgent need for improved programming languages that prioritize societal benefit over mere efficiency. He critiques the current trajectory of AI development, advocating for a design philosophy rooted in ethics and human creativity. Blackwell explores the influence of science fiction on technological perspectives, shares insights on AI's ethical mechanics, and highlights the vital role of education in fostering responsible tech innovation.

Jeffrey Ding, an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Georgetown University, dives into how technological diffusion shapes economic competition among great powers. He critiques traditional innovation theories, focusing instead on how some nations excel at adopting new technologies. The conversation spans historical industrial revolutions, revealing how Britain, the U.S., and Japan navigated technological advances. Ding also discusses current U.S.-China dynamics in AI, emphasizing the role of skill formation and institutional adaptability in maintaining competitive edges.

Gerald Sim, an expert at the intersection of film and algorithmic literacy, dives into how movies shape our understanding of big data. He highlights films like 'Moneyball' and 'The Social Dilemma,' discussing their significant roles in tech discourse and raising ethical questions about data usage. Sim critiques how these cinematic portrayals influence societal norms and the need for systemic policy changes. The conversation also touches on the urgent call for increased algorithmic literacy as a tool for navigating today's digital landscape.

In this engaging discussion, Christian Wolmar, a railway and history expert, reveals the critical yet overlooked role of railway engineers during World War II. He shares astonishing stories of heroism, including how 10,000 men rebuilt a 135-mile railway in just three days while under fire. The podcast also explores logistics challenges faced by military leaders and the use of ingenious methods, like improvised signaling systems, that ensured the Allies' success. Wolmar highlights the significance of these unsung heroes in winning the war.

Paola Bertucci, an author and scholar, explores the intricate ties between science and cultural perceptions in the 18th century. She dives into Jean-Antoine Nollet's journey through Italy, revealing it as an undercover mission cloaked in scientific inquiry. The conversation unpacks the interplay of electrical medical claims, industrial espionage in silk production, and the fabrications that shaped public understanding of science. Bertucci draws parallels between historical misinformation and today's digital narrative curation, shedding light on the evolving nature of knowledge.

Amos C. Fox, a political science lecturer and military strategy expert, dives into modern warfare in this enlightening conversation. He explores the intricate causation of armed conflicts, emphasizing trends like urban warfare, attrition, and proxy wars. Fox critiques outdated military theories, advocating for a foundational shift in military thought. He also highlights the cyclical nature of warfare, drawing parallels between historical and contemporary conflicts, such as Ukraine. Overall, he urges a reevaluation of strategies that shape global security today.

Annette Kehnel joins Jana Byars to talk about The Green Ages: Medieval Innovations in Sustainability (Brandeis University Press, 2024). A fascinating blend of history and ecological economics that uncovers the medieval precedents for modern concepts of sustainable living. In The Green Ages, historian Annette Kehnel explores sustainability initiatives from the Middle Ages, highlighting communities that operated a barter trade system on the Monte Subiaco in Italy, sustainable fishing at Lake Constance, common lands in the United Kingdom, transient grazing among Alpine shepherds in the south of France, and bridges built by crowdfunding in Avignon. Kehnel takes these medieval examples and applies their practical lessons to the modern world to prove that we can live sustainably--we've done it before! From the garden economy in the mythical-sounding City of Ladies to early microcredit banks, Kehnel uncovers a world at odds with our understanding of the typical medieval existence. Premodern history is full of inspiring examples and concepts ripe for rediscovery, and we urgently need them as today's challenges--finite resources, the twilight of consumerism, and growing inequality--threaten what we have come to think of as a modern way of living sustainably. This is a stimulating and revelatory look at a past that has the power to change our future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-technology-and-society

These days the bicycle often appears as an interloper in a world constructed for cars. An almost miraculous 19th-century contraption, the bicycle promises to transform our lives and the world we live in, yet its time seems always yet-to-come or long-gone-by. In Bicycle (Bloomsbury, 2024) Dr. Jonathan Maskit takes us on an interdisciplinary ride to see what makes the bicycle a magical machine that could yet make the world a safer, greener, and more just place.This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose forthcoming book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-technology-and-society

Listenings (Spuyten Duyvil, 2023) is a collection of meditations on the art of experiencing sound. The writings reflect Jason Weiss's passion for illuminating details, momentary experiences, and the most subtle and brief of auditory stimulations to consider their role in thought and emotion. The chapter-sections, each on a particular subtheme, invite us to visit concerts, to analyze music, to interpret sounds far and near, from friends, parents, relatives, and strangers, and to appreciate and esteem them as a key part of the human condition.Listenings summons readers to reflect but also to consider listening as an artform, a dialogue, and a locus of experiences – to make music by listening. Jason Weiss adroitly argues that to listen is not merely to perceive sound as a stimulus but to interpret, to participate, to reflect, to engage in an activity that can shift from a passive one toward a new creative beginning.This conversation includes Jason Weiss, Jeffrey Herlihy-Mera and Jorge Rodríguez Acevedo of the Departamento de Humanidades at the Universidad de Puerto Rico-Mayagüez (UPR-M). They discuss listening as a creative resource; the importance of listening in memory; Weiss’s precise and harmonious approach to linking language, sound and listening; the role of technology how we interpret sound; and the role of listening in the author’s life, experiences and creative process.This interview, our podcast, and the Instituto Nuevos Horizontes were made possible by generous support from the Mellon Foundation.This is our second episode on Listenings - the first, on New Books Network en español, is available here.Topics discussed in the interview: Listening in translingual environments. Music, performance, concerts. Travel, distance, and new language contexts. Technology and sound. When Jason Weiss met Jorge Luis Borges in Paris. The circumstances surrounding Roland Barthes’s death. Jason Weiss’s book The Lights of Home: A Century of Latin American Literature in Paris and our podcast episode on that title. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-technology-and-society

Why do we assume that computers always get it right?Today’s book is: Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World (MIT Press, 2019), in which Professor Meredith Broussard argues that our collective enthusiasm for applying computer technology to every aspect of life has resulted in a tremendous amount of poorly designed systems. We are so eager to do everything digitally—hiring, driving, paying bills, even choosing romantic partners—that we have stopped demanding that our technology actually work. Broussard, a software developer and journalist, reminds us that there are fundamental limits to what we can (and should) do with technology. With this book, she offers a guide to understanding the inner workings and outer limits of technology—and issues a warning that we should never assume that computers always get things right. Making a case against technochauvinism—the belief that technology is always the solution—Broussard argues that it's just not true that social problems would inevitably retreat before a digitally enabled Utopia. To prove her point, she undertakes a series of adventures in computer programming. She goes for an alarming ride in a driverless car, concluding “the cyborg future is not coming any time soon”; uses artificial intelligence to investigate why students can't pass standardized tests; deploys machine learning to predict which passengers survived the Titanic disaster; and attempts to repair the U.S. campaign finance system by building AI software. If we understand the limits of what we can do with technology, Broussard tells us, we can make better choices about what we should do with it to make the world better for everyone.Our guest is: Professor Meredith Broussard, who is Associate Professor at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute of New York University and Research Director at the NYU Alliance for Public Interest Technology. She is the author of Artificial Unintelligence, and of More Than A Glitch. Her work has been featured in the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Atlantic, the Economist, and more. She appears in the 2020 documentary Coded Bias and serves on the advisory board for the Center forOur host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, the producer of the Academic Life podcast. She holds a PhD in history, which she uses to explore what stories we tell (and why) and what happens to those we never tell.For listeners who want to learn more:More Than A GlitchWelcome to Academic Life, the podcast for your academic journey—and beyond! You can support the show by posting, assigning or sharing episodes. Join us again to learn from more experts inside and outside the academy, and around the world. Missed any of the 200+ Academic Life episodes? You’ll find them all archived here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-technology-and-society