The IDEMS Podcast

In this episode, Santiago Borio and David Stern delve into the development and growth of the Maths Camps initiative. They discuss the unique non-curricular and game-based methods used at the camps to engage students, moving away from conventional competitive educational models. The conversation also addresses the challenges and triumphs in scaling the camps, as well as their significant impact on...

Lucie and David discuss IDEMS’ aims to create digital opportunities for young people in rural areas. By building technology differently, and supporting local development, David shares how he has seen young people not only empower themselves, but also strengthen their local community.

In this 50th episode of the IDEMS podcast, co-founders David Stern and Danny Parsons celebrate the milestone by reflecting on the crucial role of observation in their professional journeys and its impact on IDEMS' development. They discuss the transition from observers to leaders, emphasizing the importance of taking a step back to gain a deeper understanding and insight, which has enabled thought...

This episode delves into the nuances of language discrimination, specifically focusing on the impact of language models like ChatGPT on linguistic perceptions and the inadvertent biases they might reinforce. Hosts Lily Clements and David Stern discuss a controversy that arose in Nigeria over the use of the word "delve," which some attributed to AI-generated content, highlighting broader issues of...

In this episode, Santiago Borio and David Stern delve into the use of language and its implications in today’s sensitive cultural landscape. Motivated by a prior discussion that mentioned 'white' and 'black' economies, and recognising the potential associations of this terminology, they explore how such terms have evolved and consider potential alternatives. They highlight the importance of tolera...

David and Kate, two of the three IDEMS directors, explore how to productively think about IDEMS’ multiple work streams as an overarching strategy. In doing so, they reflect on IDEMS’ role, and by extension technology’s role, in promoting “human flourishing”, as an enabler of human activities and interests.

David Stern talks to Moustapha Moussa about his work with communities in West Africa on processing centres to transform local food into nutritious products. They discuss how a chance encounter led to Moustapha working with the McKnight Foundation to build upon his research, and how focus shifted from urban areas to working in deep collaboration with women's groups in rural communities.

In this episode, David Stern talks to Bruce Hamaker, Distinguished Professor of Food Science at Purdue University. They discuss his projects in West and East Africa, making nutritious foods for local markets using local ingredients, and IDEMS’ role, through the McKnight Foundation, of providing research method support. They consider the transition of focus from urban to rural areas, the move to wo...

David Stern introduces Kate Fleming, IDEMS' incoming director, discussing her alignment with IDEMS' values and their shared focus on complex data and community problems. They touch on the challenges of merging technology with social impact, the importance of community-based tech initiatives, and the goal of scalable solutions within a social enterprise framework. The episode highlights their mutua...

In this episode, Santiago Borio and David Stern delve into the evolution of IDEMS internships, tracing their roots from the African Maths Initiative in Kenya to their expansion across Africa. They discuss the inspiration from university attachments at Maseno University, and lay the path towards potential structured programs that bolster capacity building and foster local innovation, emphasizing th...

In this episode, Dr Lily Clements and David Stern discuss the evolving landscape of skills for a world shaped by AI. They delve into the transformation of different job roles and the education system, proposing a future where critique, creativity, and human connection become increasingly important. This conversation highlights the supportive role of AI – aiming to enhance rather than replace human...

IDEMS has big ambitions, including to become redundant in our Research Methods Support (RMS) work for the Global Collaboration for Resilient Food Systems. David and Lucie discuss the ongoing RMS internship program in West Africa and how, through the program, we can expand and increase our impact in the region.

In this episode, Santiago Borio and David Stern explore the journey of transforming maths education in Africa through STACK internships. They discuss how former team members, now PhD students, and local talents leveraged STACK, an open-source tool, to innovate teaching methods. They highlight the initial challenges of training interns virtually, the pivotal role of face-to-face interaction, and th...

This episode features a conversation between Dr Lily Clements and David Stern on the influence of misinformation, initially focussing on the tobacco industry's attempts to distort statistics related to smoking and health. They discuss the historical context of smoking promotion, the transition to recognising its health risks, and the broader implications for responsible AI and the fight against ps...

A simple question, but not such an easy answer. Starting from their observations of street vendors and students in Burkina Faso and Niger, David and Lucie discuss what development could look like in this context. How does development in Niger, for example, compare to the developments needed in the UK?

In this follow-up to episode 035, Lily and David consider a recent development in the realm of AI image generation: Google’s Gemini model recently came under criticism for generating historically inaccurate images, seemingly as a result of overcorrecting for racial biases. They discuss topics including: how making mistakes can show that Google might be ahead of the competition; new AI regulations...

This episode is a follow-up to episodes 033 and 034, which were a conversation between Santiago and David on IDEMS’ vision and mission. Here, Danny and David respond to that discussion, further explicating how they view the vision and mission and taking a critical look at their current formulations.

Lily and David discuss the challenges of using AI to generate images, highlighting biases observed in the results – in particular, regarding race and gender. They discuss the importance of recognising and addressing these biases, proposing solutions such as creating specific guidelines for using AI tools ethically and advocating for diversity in AI development.

Following a more theoretical assessment of IDEMS’ vision and mission in the previous episode, Santiago challenges David to explicitly analyse how these apply to three IDEMS projects. These are explained and contextualised before exposing how the vision relates to them. The mission is revealed to be explicitly relevant to each project once the vision analysis is carried out.

Description David and Santiago delve deeply into IDEMS’ vision and mission. David explains how these guide most of what IDEMS does and engages in, while going into detail about their meaning and implications. Transcript [00:00:00] Santiago: Hi, and welcome to the IDEMS podcast. I am Santiago Borio, an Impact Activation Fellow, and I’m here with […]

Lily and David discuss the "Impact Activation Postdoctoral Fellow" role at IDEMS. They discuss the objectives and experiences of the fellowship program, and its impact on both individuals and the broader organisation. They explore the flexibility and opportunities provided by the fellowship to engage in diverse projects, the transition to more permanent roles within IDEMS, and the overall aim of m...

WARNING: This episode was recorded outside on a mobile phone, and the audio quality reflects this. If that kind of thing bothers you, you may want to skip this one! Reports based on current trends predict that the world could have its first trillionaire within the next few years. What does this say about our global society? What could, or should, a trillionaire do with that kind of money? In this...

Lucie and David discuss various forms of study, including opportunistic studies, surveys, questionnaires and experiments. They consider some best practices for good research, using anthropology and agroecology as examples. How might modern data science be able to employ existing data for new opportunistic studies? And who might typically be excluded from data as it is often collected?

How can students be assessed effectively if large language models can be used to generate good answers to examination questions? Lily and David look at the effects of AI on education, in both the present and the future. How must pedagogy change in order to embrace the latest technological advances, and do we need to change which skills we value as a society?

David and Lily discuss the possible effects that advances in AI might have on the world of work. It seems that AI has the potential to affect almost all work, but should we be worried? What skills do we value as a society, and can AI ever replicate human creativity?