Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman iHeartPodcasts

What do charlatans have to understand about human perception? Why are you so bad at recognizing a real penny among fakes? What did Eagleman have to do with the redesign of the Euro, and why did he campaign to the European Central Bank that all their bills should be blank with a single hologram in the middle? In this episode, explore the crossroads of perception and deception. Brief appearance from special guest Adam Savage. 

We all have goals, and we all face temptations that get in the way. So what's happening in the brain when we act in a manner that isn't in accordance with who we want to be? Computers don’t have these problems, but being human can be tough. In the previous two episodes we exposed the rivaling networks battling it out under the surface. Today we’re going to talk about the gap between what you intend to do and what you actually do when temptation is there. 

What’s happening when you stand in the supermarket aisle and stare at the shelf full of options? It may not look like there’s much going on from the outside, but inside there’s a war of networks raging. How is your brain's decision-making influenced by price, emotions, and your group of friends? How would you choose between a nice candle and a chocolate bar in the shape of a computer keyboard? And what does any of this have to do with Starbucks or Tiger Woods or Burger King? 

Modern AI is blowing everyone’s mind. But is it intelligent like humans, or is it just playing impressive statistical games? Could AI reach or exceed our level of intelligence, and how would we know when it gets there? Traditional tests for intelligence (Turing test, Lovelace test, etc) have long been surpassed, so Eagleman proposes a new kind of test. 

Will writers, artists, and musicians find themselves unemployed by AI? What are the new capabilities we’re seeing and what does it all mean for human creativity? And what does this have to do with diamonds, Westworld, effort, Frankenstein, photography, Beethoven, and the Stark family in Game of Thrones?

Would you kill one person to save the lives of five others? Why do you find yourself on the horns of a dilemma when someone offers you a chocolate cake? How can you believe different things at once? Find out what's running under the hood in this first episode of a three-parter about our decision making -- and how a little knowledge of neuroscience can allow us to make better decisions.