TechnoSlipstream

In TechnoSlipstream podcast episode 36 we discuss AI and whether or not Apple is really behind in the AI race.

In TechnoSlipstream podcast episode 35 we consider whether advanced AI models like LLMs are conscious, what it takes for AI to be conscious, and what it would take for us to know whether or not an AI is conscious. Join to support the show and for exclusive content, including episode notes, scripts, and other writings: patreon.com/kendallgiles .

In TechnoSlipstream Podcast episode 34 we examine the creation myth of the digital computer by doing a deep dive into the book Turing’s Cathedral: The Origins of the Digital Universe by George Dyson. Join to support the show and for exclusive content, including episode notes, scripts, and other writings: patreon.com/kendallgiles

How true are the myths and legends of Silicon Valley? To help us answer that question, starting with this episode, in a special two-part podcast series we'll work our way through the book The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America written by Margaret O'Mara. Follow on Twitter: twitter.com/kendallgiles Join to support the show and for exclusive content, including episode notes, scripts, a...

How true are the myths and legends of Silicon Valley? To help us answer that question, starting with this episode, in a special two-part podcast series we'll work our way through the book The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America written by Margaret O'Mara. Follow on Twitter: twitter.com/kendallgiles Join to support the show and for exclusive content, including episode notes, scripts, a...

"Public interest technology" is a growing field made up of those interested in developing technologies that serve the public good, such as those for the government and non-profits. So in Episode 31 we'll do a deep dive into the book Power to the Public: The Promise of Public Interest Technology by Tara McGuinness and Hana Schank.

Given the temptations around each one of us in the world and the decisions we need to make in our lives about what paths to take regarding future events it might at least be worthwhile to try to get a better understanding of risk, and so in Episode 30 I wanted to do a deep dive on exactly that--the history of and just what do we mean by risk. We'll do this by diving into the book Against the Gods:...

In Episode 29 we focus on the issues with the software engineering people, practices, and technologies currently used to create flawed machine learning and artificial intelligence systems. We'll do this by doing a deep dive into the book Responsible Machine Learning by Patrick Hall, Navdeep Gill, and Benjamin Cox. Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kendallgiles Join to support the show and for...

In Episode 28 we'll be looking at what philosopher Luciano Floridi calls the "infosphere". You may have heard of the "biosphere"--all the ecosystems on earth that support biological life. The infosphere then is the environment that supports information, which is another term for reality, if you look at today's reality from an informational perspective. Thus, in The Fourth Revolution: How the Infos...

In Episode 27 we will try to better understand the importance of the metaphysics for the statistics we use to power our machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms by doing a deep dive on the book  Revolutionary Mathematics: Artificial Intelligence, Statistics, and the Logic of Capitalism by Justin Joque. Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kendallgiles Join to support the show and...

In Episode 26 we will do a deep dive into Technology and the Virtues: A Philosophical Guide to a Future Worth Wanting by Shannon Vallor. This book is an expansion on the ideas she developed in her article "Moral Deskilling and Upskilling in a New Machine Age: Reflections on the Ambiguous Future of Character" that we explored back in Episode 7. This book argues the importance of virtue ethics as a...

For our first deep dive in our spring series we'll tackle The Nature of Technological Knowledge. Are Models of Scientific Change Relevant?,  edited by Rachel Laudan. Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kendallgiles Join to support the show and for exclusive content, including episode notes, scripts, and other writings: https://patreon.com/kendallgiles 

For our sixth and final Wintermas podcast episode, we end on an uplifting note by doing a deep dive into the book How to Live a Good Life: A Guide to Choosing Your Personal Philosophy. Follow on Twitter: twitter.com/kendallgiles Join to support the show and for exclusive content, including episode notes, scripts, and other writings: patreon.com/kendallgiles

For our fifth Wintermas podcast episode, in Episode 23 we explore the origins and mentality we have with the Internet and associated technologies--we do this by diving into the book To Save Everything, Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism by Evgeny Morozov. Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kendallgiles Join to support the show and for exclusive content, including episode notes,...

For our fourth Wintermas podcast episode, in Episode 22 we critique the advice that we should specialize in one field or skill and dedicate as many hours as possible in training or work in order to achieve maximum success or performance. This topic is especially important in our techno-postmodern hyperspecialized world.

For our third Wintermas podcast episode, in Episode 21 we'll discuss examples of how we are building AI systems and what can and is going wrong with the AI systems being developed, sold, and used today. And, of course, true to the many examples we've covered in previous TechnoSlipstream podcast episodes, we'll see that creating and designing technologies is not just a technical problem--it's a hum...

For our second Wintermas podcast episode, in Episode 20 I explore the unintended consequences of a technology you and I use every day -- email. We'll ground our discussions with Cal Newport's new book, A World Without Email. In this episode we'll see why email at first seemed like a good idea, but has really wreaked havoc with our productivity, time, and health. As a potential bright side, we'll a...

In Episode 19 we discuss interdisciplinarity--what it means, why it's so hard, and how to do it better. Follow on Twitter: twitter.com/kendallgiles Join to support the show and for exclusive content, including episode notes, scripts, and other writings: patreon.com/kendallgiles

In Episode 18 we take a retrospective look at stem cell research with an eye on scientific innovation, who benefits, who should, and how much is the science worth. For our grounding we dive into Ruha Benjamin's book *People's Science: Bodies and Rights on the Stem Cell Frontier*. Follow on Twitter: twitter.com/kendallgiles Join to support the show and for exclusive content, including episode notes...

Chris Voss was the FBI's lead international kidnapping negotiator, and so in Episode 17 we have a mini-episode featuring a look at Chris Voss's "The Art of Negotiation" Masterclass. Follow on Twitter: twitter.com/kendallgiles Join to support the show and for exclusive content, including episode notes, scripts, and other writings: patreon.com/kendallgiles

In Episode 16 we look at the role of hippies and interpretive thought in advances in physics and quantum mechanics in the 1970s.  Follow on Twitter: twitter.com/kendallgiles Join to support the show and for exclusive content, including episode notes, scripts, and other writings: patreon.com/kendallgiles

In Episode 15 we dig into the spark that transitioned the US from "little science" to "big science", leading to the view that science is an engine for prosperity. Follow on Twitter: twitter.com/kendallgiles Join to support the show and for exclusive content, including episode notes, scripts, and other writings: patreon.com/kendallgiles

In Episode 14 we look at the laboratory study "Lords of the Fly" by Robert Kohler. Follow on Twitter: twitter.com/kendallgiles Join to support the show and for exclusive content, including episode notes and scripts: patreon.com/kendallgiles

In Episode 13 we look at "laboratory studies" and what they reveal about the production of scientific knowledge. Follow on Twitter: twitter.com/kendallgiles Join to support the show and for exclusive content, including episode notes and scripts: patreon.com/kendallgiles

In Episode 12 we start a new deep dive podcast series on "Science in Modern America" with a look at four papers on examples of how social and cultural factors influenced how science was done in America during a time when both America and science were not quite modern. Follow on Twitter: twitter.com/kendallgiles Join to support the show and for exclusive content, including episode notes and scripts...