233 - Guest: J. Craig Wheeler, Astrophysics Professor

233 - Guest: J. Craig Wheeler, Astrophysics Professor

Author: aiandyou December 2, 2024 Duration: 41:25
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . We are going big on the show this time, with astrophysicist J. Craig Wheeler,  Samuel T. and Fern Yanagisawa Regents Professor of Astronomy, Emeritus, at the University of Texas at Austin, and author of the book The Path to Singularity: How Technology will Challenge the Future of Humanity, released on November 19. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and Legacy Fellow of the American Astronomical Society, has published nearly 400 scientific papers, authored both professional and popular books on supernovae, and served on advisory committees for NSF, NASA, and the National Research Council. His new book, spanning the range of technologies that are propelling us towards singularity from robots to space colonization, has a foreword by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, who says, “The world is long overdue for a peek at the state of society and what its future looks like through the lens of a scientist. And when that scientist is also an astrophysicist, you can guarantee the perspectives shared will be as deep and as vast as the universe itself.” We talk about the evolution of homo sapiens, high reliability organizations, brain computer interfaces, and transhumanism among other topics. All this plus our usual look at today's AI headlines. Transcript and URLs referenced at HumanCusp Blog.          

The conversation around artificial intelligence is often filled with either breathless hype or dire warnings, leaving little room for grounded, practical understanding. Artificial Intelligence and You cuts through that noise. This isn't a lecture series from a distant ivory tower; it's a guided exploration meant for anyone curious about how these tools are reshaping the everyday. Each episode takes a focused look at a single facet of AI, from the algorithms curating your social media feed to the software that might change how you work. We break down complex concepts into clear, relatable terms, asking the questions that actually matter for your decisions and your future. You'll hear straightforward explanations of how different AI systems function, alongside thoughtful discussions about their real-world implications-the ethical dilemmas, the economic shifts, and the personal impacts that rarely make the headlines. The goal of this podcast is to replace confusion with clarity and anxiety with informed perspective. Whether you're a professional navigating new tools, a student planning a career, or simply a person living in an increasingly digital world, these conversations provide the context you need to form your own opinions. Join us as we move beyond the abstract to examine what AI genuinely means for your life, your community, and the kind of world we're all building together, one line of code at a time.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Artificial Intelligence and You
Podcast Episodes
305 - Guest: Rob May, Intellectual Troublemaker, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:58
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . Rapid advances in AI—especially the shift from training to real-world inference—are reshaping work, business strategy, and the roles of humans. They accelerate productivi…
304 - Guest: Virginia Dignum, Responsible AI Expert, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:29
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . AI abounds with paradoxes. I have been talking about those with Virginia Dignum, professor of responsible artificial intelligence at Umeå (OOMEO) university, about her ne…
303 - Guest: Virginia Dignum, Responsible AI Expert, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:33
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . AI runs not just broadly across human interest, but deeply. And at every level it seems to create paradoxes. How can it be useful without power; how can it be safe with p…
302 - Guest: Ricky Sethi, Artificial Metacognition Researcher, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:06
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . Have you ever thought about your thoughts? About what or how you’re thinking? It gets real meta real fast, doesn’t it? That’s called metacognition, and humans and certain…
301 - Guest: Ricky Sethi, Artificial Metacognition Researcher, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:26
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . Have you ever thought about your thoughts? About what or how you’re thinking? It gets real meta real fast, doesn’t it? That’s called metacognition, and humans and certain…
300 - Guest: Mark Peres, Civic Entrepreneur, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:16
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . Because AI touches our lives down to our core where our emotions and subconscious reside, we need to be touched with the important lessons that our fellow humans wish to…
299 - Guest: Mark Peres, Civic Entrepreneur, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:38
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . We shouldn’t learn the important lessons of AI through just exposition, through just descriptions, explanations, lessons, and textbooks. But because AI touches our lives…
298 - Guest: Holly Elmore, AI Pause Advocate, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:25
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . In 2023 a global movement called Pause AI started, advocating for a pause in the development of powerful AI, and on the show we have its co-founder, Holly Elmore. Their w…
297 - Guest: Holly Elmore, AI Pause Advocate, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:22
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . In 2023 a global movement called Pause AI started, advocating for a pause in the development of powerful AI, and on the show we have its co-founder, Holly Elmore. Their w…
296 - Guest: Maya Ackerman, Creative AI Pioneer, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:39
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . One of the great wounds people are experiencing around AI is in creativity. Look at the writers’ and actors’ strikes, for example. I continue talking about this very sens…