The Received Wisdom

Freelance journalist Brian Merchant joins the show to talk about the history of Luddism. They delve into environmental justice regarding air pollution, government concerns on carcinogenicity, and the legacy of resistance against big tech. The conversation highlights the impact of Luddites on modern technology debates and the rising skepticism towards major tech corporations.

Alondra Nelson, Harold F. Linder Professor, discusses CRISPR therapies for sickle cell disease, safety issues with Boeing, and the UK Post Office scandal. They explore the skepticism around gene editing therapies and accessibility concerns. They also discuss the role of humans in human-machine interactions and Alondra Nelson's accomplishments as a black woman and social scientist. The chapter emphasizes the importance of explainability and public accountability in AI.

TRANSCRIPTThis month, Shobita and Jack reflect on the recent COP meeting in the United Arab Emirates, recent AI news including the Biden Administration's Executive Order, the UK summit, and the fates of the two Sams: Altman and Bankman-Fried. And they chat with Sarah de Rijcke, Professor in Science, Technology, and Innovation Studies and Scientific Director at the Centre for Science and Technology Studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands.References:- D'Ignazio, C. and L. F. Klein.Data Feminism. The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2020. - Andreessen, M. (2023, October 16).The Techno-Optimist Manifesto. Andreessen Horowitz. - de Rijcke, S. (2023). Does science need heroes? Leiden Madtrics blog, CWTS, Leiden University.- Pölönen, J., Rushforth, A.D., de Rijcke, S., Niemi, L., Larsen, B. & Di Donato, F. (2023). Implementing research assessment reforms: Tales from the frontline.- Rushforth, A.D. & de Rijcke, S. (2023). Practicing Responsible Research Assessment: Qualitative study of Faculty Hiring, Promotion, and Tenure Assessments in the United States. Preprint. DOI: 10.31235/osf.io/2d7ax- Scholten, W., Franssen, T.P., Drooge, L. van, de Rijcke, S. & Hessels, L.K. (2021). Funding for few, anticipation among all: Effects of excellence funding on academic research groups. Science and Public Policy, 48(2), 265-275. DOI: 10.1093/scipol/scab018 https://academic.oup.com/spp/article/48/2/265/6184850- Penders, B., de Rijcke, S. & Holbrook, J.B. (2020). Science’s moral economy of repair: Replication and the circulation of reference. Accountability in Research, first published online January 27, 2020. DOI: 10.1080/08989621.2020.1720659.- Müller, R. & De Rijcke, S. (2017). Thinking with indicators. Exploring the Epistemic Impacts of Academic Performance Indicators in the Life Sciences. Research Evaluation. DOI: 10.1093/reseval/rvx023. Study Questions:1. What is techno-optimism, and how does it apply in the case of AI?2. How might we think about the strengths and weaknesses of current efforts to address AI governance by the U.S. government?3. What are some negative consequences of simplistic performance metrics for research assessment, and why do such metrics remain in use?4. How do large companies like Elsevier now extend their domain beyond publishing? How might this shape the trajectory of research assessment methods?5. What hopes exist for better performance metrics for research assessments?More at thereceivedwisdom.org

Ashley Shew, an Associate Professor at Virginia Tech and author of Against Technoableism, dives into the complexities of technology's role in society. She critiques recent tech biographies, emphasizing how they often overlook the disabled experience. The conversation moves to the implications of facial recognition in schools and its ethical dilemmas. They also discuss autism, advocating for a shift towards neurodiversity and community support. A compelling advocate for inclusion, Shew highlights the need for technology to embrace, rather than hinder, disability.

Jack and Shobita are back after a summer hiatus! We return talking about--of course--ChatGPT and other generative AI, the problem at Fukushima, and India's Chandrayaan Rover. Then we chat with Richard A.L. Jones, professor of material physics and innovation policy . He is also the Vice President for Regional Innovation and Civic Engagement at Manchester University.- Richard A.L. Jones (2022). "Science and innovation policy for hard times: an overview of the UK’s Research and Development landscape."The Productivity Institute.- Tom Forth and Richard A.L. Jones (2020). "The Missing £4 Billion." Nesta.- Richard A.L. Jones (2019). "A Resurgence of the Regions: rebuilding innovation capacity across the whole UK."- Richard A.L. Jones and James WIlsdon (2018). "The Biomedical Bubble."Nesta.Richard A.L. Jones.Soft Machines. Blog.- Jack Stilgoe (2023). "We need a Weizenbaum test for AI." Science. August 11.- Gil Scott-Heron, (1970) "Whitey on the Moon."Transcript and study questions available at thereceivedwisdom.org.

Jack and Shobita discuss the decline in humanities majors as the number of computer and data science majors rise, and why this is will have very bad consequences. Then they chat about emerging efforts to regulate both in vitro gametogenesis (creation of eggs and sperm using pluripotent stem cells) and generative AI. Finally, they talk to Cassidy Sugimoto, Professor and Tom and Marie Patton School Chair in the School of Public Policy at Georgia Institute of Technology, about her new book, Equity for Women in Science: Dismantling Systemic Barriers to Advancement.- Nick Anderson (2023). "College is remade as tech majors surge and humanities dwindle." The Washington Post. May 20.- Center for Genetics and Society (2023). "Whether or How to Use Artificial Gametes." April 12.- Cassidy Sugimoto (2023). Equity for Women in Science: Dismantling Systemic Barriers to Advancement. Harvard University Press.- Cassidy Sugimoto (2022). "Narrow hiring practices at US universities revealed." Nature. September 29.- Cassidy Sugimoto (2021). "Scientific success by numbers." Nature. May 3.- Cassidy Sugimoto (2019). "Rethinking impact factors: Better ways to judge a journal." Nature. May 28.- Hoppe, Travis A. et al. (2019). “Topic choice contributes to the lower rate of NIH awards to African-American/black scientists.” Science Advances. 5: eaaw7238.Transcript and discussion questions available at thereceivedwisdom.org.

What makes an emergency? This month, Jack and Shobita talk to Elizabeth Ellcessor, Associate Professor in the Department of Media Studies at University of Virginia, who studies how emergency alert systems shape our understanding of crisis, how this has changed with the rise of new consumer technologies, and the implications especially for communities who are marginalized. They also wrestle with the politics of science in US court decisions about abortion drugs, and recent calls for a moratorium on certain types of artificial intelligence.- Future of Life Institute (2023). Policymaking in the Pause: What can Policymakers Do Now to Combat Risks from Advanced AI Systems?- Future of Life Institute et al. (2023). Pause Giant AI Experiments: An Open Letter. - (2023). "In Support of FDA's Authority to Regulate Vaccines."- Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (April 7, 2023).- Elizabeth Ellcessor (2022). In Case of Emergency: How Technologies Mediate Crisis and Automate Inequality. NYU Press.- Elizabeth Ellcessor (2021). “COVID messages make emergency alerts just another text in the crowd on your home screen.” The Conversation. June 9.- Elizabeth Ellcessor (2018). "Academic Accessibility, a Flashback." April 16.- Matt Richtel (2023). "My Watch Thinks I'm Dead." The New York Times. February 3.Transcript and study questions available at thereceivedwisdom.org.

This month, Jack and Shobita talk about the challenges of ensuring that AI and gene editing reflect human values, and reflect on what the recent train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio tells us about the politics of knowledge. And they chat with Amy Moran-Thomas, Associate Professor of Anthropology at MIT, about her clarion call to address the racial biases embedded in the pulse oximeter, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in August 2020.- Amy Moran-Thomas (2020). "How a Popular Medical Device Encodes Racial Bias." Boston Review. August 5.- Amy Moran-Thomas (2021). "Oximeters used to be designed for equity. What happened?" WIRED. June 4.- Amy Moran-Thomas (2019). Traveling with Sugar: Chronicles of a Global Epidemic. University of California Press.- Kadija Ferryman (n.d.) "Framing Inequity in Health Technology: The Digital Divide, Data Bias, and Racialization." SSRC: JustTech.- Andrea Ballestero and Yesmar Oyarzun (2022). "Devices: A location for feminist analytics and praxis." Feminist Anthropology. 3(2):  227-233.- Yesmar Oyarzun, Juliann Bi, Eddie Jackson (n.d.) Undertones.Study questions and transcript available at thereceivedwisdom.org.

Happy New Year!! In this episode, Jack and Shobita discuss Alondra Nelson's departure from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the meaning for the position she created, Deputy Director for Science and Society. We also try to get beyond ChatGPT's hype to talk about some of the long-term implications. And we chat with Kelly Bronson, Canada Research Chair in Science and Society at the University of Ottawa, about her book The Immaculate Conception of Data: Agribusiness, Activists, and Their Shared Politics of the Future.- Kelly Bronson (2022). The Immaculate Conception of Data: Agribusiness, Activists, and Their Shared Politics of the Future. McGill-Queen's University Press.- Kelly Bronson (2022). "The dangers of big data extend to farming." The Conversation. June 27.- Kelly Bronson (2022). "Four reasons we should think twice about a data-driven approach to agricultural sustainability." September 26.- Kelly Bronson (2017). "Look twice at the digital agricultural revolution." September 7.- Billy Perrigo (2023). "Exclusive: OpenAI Used Kenyan Workers on Less Than $2 Per Hour to Make ChatGPT Less Toxic." Time. January 18.- Jill (2022). "ChatGPT is multilingual but monocultural, and it’s learning your values." December 6.Transcript available at thereceivedwisdom.org

This month, Shobita and Jack talk about the recent concerns about academic culture in the science and technology studies community, how to understand FTX's recent implosion, and the bizarre logics of effective altruism. And we chat with Boston University law professor Aziza Ahmed about how the politics of knowledge are shaping abortion politics in the United States.- Darren Tseng, Stephen Diehl, Jan Akalin (2022). Popping the Crypto Bubble: Market Manias, Phony Populism, Techno-Solutionism. Consilience Publishing.- Concerned.Tech (2022). "Letter in Support of Responsible Fintech Policy." - Aziza Ahmed (2022). "These are the gray areas for women’s privacy now in a post-Roe world." CNN Opinion. August 4.- Aziza Ahmed (2021). "The Future of Facts: The Politics of Public Health and Medicine in Abortion Law." University of Colorado Law Review. 92: 1151-1162.- Aziza Ahmed (2020). "Weaponizing Objectivity: The Politics of the CDC." Ms. Magazine. October 28. - Aziza Ahmed (2020). "Will the Supreme Court legitimate pretext?" SCOTUSblog. January 31.- Aziza Ahmed (2017). "Abortion in a Post-Truth Moment: A Response to Erwin Chemerinsky and Michele Goodwin." Texas Law Review. 95: 198-203.Transcript available at thereceivedwisdom.org.