Ethical Machines Reid Blackman

Ethical Machines on hiatus until 20 June 2024.

There’s good reason to think AI doesn’t understand anything. It’s just moving around words according to mathematical rules, predicting the words that come next. But in this episode, philosopher Alex Grzankowski argues that AI may not understand what it’s saying but it does understand language. In this episode we do a deep dive into the nature of human and AI understanding, ending with strategies for how AI researchers could pursue AI that has genuine understanding of the world.

Imagine we’re awash in high quality AI-generated creative content. Books, poems, podcasts, images, TV and Film. And imagine it’s every bit as moving as human-generated art. We cry, we laugh, we’re inspired. Does it matter that it was generated by an AI? Does it undermine the experience? I think it does, and I’ll try to convince you of just that point.

We’re told that algorithms on social media are manipulating us. But is that true? What is manipulation? Can an AI really do it? And is it necessarily a bad thing? These questions and more with philosopher Michael Klenk.


Michael Klenk is a tenured Assistant Professor of Ethics and Philosophy of Technology at TU Delft. He earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Utrecht University, graduating with the highest possible distinction. Before becoming a professional philosopher, he earned Business Administration and Psychology degrees and worked as a management consultant. Focusing on resolving foundational philosophical issues with practical implications, Klenk investigates the ethical dimensions of emerging technologies. His recent work is on manipulation, particularly in online contexts. He co-edited the Philosophy of Online Manipulation with Fleur Jongepier (Routledge, 2022), and his work has appeared in journals such as American Philosophical Quarterly, Analysis, Synthese, Erkenntnis, Philosophy and Technology, and Ethics and Information Technology.

Unless you don't mind decreased autonomy and increased narcissism

How bad is it and what could possibly fix it?


Countering Disinformation Effectively: An Evidence-Based Policy Guide
https://carnegieendowment.org/2024/01/31/countering-disinformation-effectively-evidence-based-policy-guide-pub-91476



Jon Bateman is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he focuses on global technology challenges at the intersection of national security, economics, politics, and society. His research areas include techno-nationalism, cyber operations, disinformation, and AI.

Bateman is the author of U.S.-China Technological “Decoupling”: A Strategy and Policy Framework (2022). Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, in his foreword, called it “a major achievement” that “stands out for its ambition, clarity, and rigor” and “will remain a touchstone for years to come.” Bateman is also the co-author of Countering Disinformation Effectively: An Evidence-Based Policy Guide (2024). His other major works include a military assessment of Russia’s cyber operations in Ukraine and a proposal to reform cyber insurance for catastrophic and state-sponsored events.

Before joining Carnegie, Bateman was a special assistant to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph F. Dunford, Jr., serving as the chairman’s first civilian speechwriter and the lead analyst in the chairman’s internal think tank. Bateman previously worked in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, developing several key policies and organizations for military cyber operations, and at the Defense Intelligence Agency, leading teams responsible for assessing Iran’s senior leadership, decisionmaking, internal stability, and cyber activities.

Bateman’s writings have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, Politico, Slate, Harvard Business Review, Foreign Policy, and elsewhere.  His TV and radio appearances include BBC News, NPR Morning Edition, and C-SPAN After Words. Bateman is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Johns Hopkins University.


Dean Jackson was project manager of the Influence Operations Researchers’ Guild, a component of the Partnership for Countering Influence Operations at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He specializes in how democracies and civil society around the world can respond to disinformation, influence operations, and other challenges to a free, healthy digital public square. From 2013 to 2021, Jackson managed workshops and publications related to disinformation at the International Forum for Democratic Studies, a center for research and analysis within the National Endowment for Democracy. Prior to his time at the National Endowment for Democracy, he worked in external relations at the Atlantic Council. He holds an MA in international relations from the University of Chicago and a BA in political science from Wright State University in Dayton, OH.