Ologies with Alie Ward - Neurotechnology (AI + BRAIN TECH) with Nita Farahany

Machine poets. ChatGPT fails. Neurological surveillance. Brain implants that treat depression. Is it scary? Cool? Let’s firehose some questions at Duke Law professor, neuro and bioethicist, author and TED speaker Dr. Nita Farahany. She explains the history of AI, the dawn of chatbots, what’s changed recently, the potential for good, the possible perils, how different lawmakers are stepping in, and whether or not this is scary dinner party conversation. Do you have feelings about AI and brain implants? Hopefully, and we talk about why. 

Buy Dr. Nita Farahany’s books: The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology (2023) and The Impact of Behavioral Sciences on Criminal Law (2009)

Dr. Farahany’s 2023 TED Talk: Your right to mental privacy in the age of brain-sensing tech

Follow Dr. Farahany on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter

A donation was made to Human Rights Watch

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Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Other episodes you may enjoy: Field Trip: A Hollywood Visit to the Writers Guild Strike Line, Neuropathology (CONCUSSIONS), Attention-Deficit Neuropsychology (ADHD), Molecular Neurobiology (BRAIN CHEMICALS), Radiology (X-RAY VISION), Futurology (THE FUTURE), Gizmology (ROBOTS), Diabetology (DIABETES)

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Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media and Mark David Christenson 

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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - U.S. vs Trump

We’re eight months into the year—and former president Donald Trump has now been indicted three times. On Tuesday, a federal grand jury charged Trump with three counts of conspiracy and one count of obstruction. But what exactly does that mean? And can someone really run for president…while juggling three different trials? 

Guest: David Graham, staff writer for “The Atlantic”

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.

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This Machine Kills - Premium – 271. Kill the Ecomodernist in Your Head

We jump off the absurd twitter debate about degrowth and bananas in global communism to discuss much deeper issues about why any alternative to capitalism cannot simply be premised on being better managers of capitalist machines. Despite the arguments of ecomodernists—and the poverty of thought it engenders—there is not a linear development of progress and innovation which either moves forward (to the right) or backward (to the left). Break free of bourgeois ideology! Throw off the shackles of capitalist systems! Abolish the commodity form! Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (www.twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (www.twitter.com/braunestahl)

Short Wave - The Secrecy Of The Horseshoe Crab Blood Harvest

For decades, humans have harvested the blood of horseshoe crabs, which is used to test whether many of our vaccines and medicines are contaminated with harmful bacterial toxins. But the horseshoe crab harvesting industry has few regulations and a lot of secrecy. NPR investigative reporter Chiara Eisner talks to us about expansion of this industry and why synthetic alternatives to the blood aren't being widely used in the United States.

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NPR's Book of the Day - Poet Hanif Abdurraqib reflects on the ways grief has shaped his spirituality

In his new book, A Little Devil in America, poet Hanif Abdurraqib writes about music in such a way that NPR's Rachel Martin wanted to focus a conversation about spiritual transcendence related to it. What came out, however, was a deep discussion about how losing his mother and close friends early in life created its own kind of spiritual practice for Abdurraqib. In today's episode, he explains how "grief makes a home within us" and why that might actually be a good thing.

Amarica's Constitution - The Legacy of the Harvard Case – Special Guest Jeffrey Brenzel

We return to the affirmative action case, and again former Yale Dean of Undergraduate Admissions, Jeffrey Brenzel, joins us with his peerless expertise.  The fallout of the opinion is enormous ,and we address some of its ramifications, including legacy admissions, donor admissions, private vs. public institutional options, admissions departments’ responses, and much more.  What about the new frontiers of litigation that seem to be emerging, from scholarships designed to address racial disparities to non-race-conscious policies that nevertheless have impact on racial makeup?  Former Dean Brenzel also offers a fascinating critique of the likely responses, showing how what might seem like a powerful response might actually be a foolish way to avoid real impact.

It Could Happen Here - Wagner Group in Africa

James talks to Dermot Cosgrove about the human rights abuses committed by the Wagner group in Africa and why these weren’t reported until the group began doing the same thing in Ukraine.

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Strict Scrutiny - Trump Indicted Again Again

Former President Donald Trump has been indicted for a third time-- this time in a Washington, DC, case about attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Kate, Melissa, and Leah huddle to break down the charges, the people involved, and what happens next.

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Pod Save America - BONUS: The Jan. 6 Indictment Drops

The January 6 grand jury hands up its indictment of Donald Trump, detailing how he and six co-conspirators knowingly peddled lies in an effort to obstruct the most important function of our democracy—and deprive you of your right to have your vote counted. Jon, Jon, and Tommy react to the indictment's most damning evidence and look at where the investigation could go next.

 

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.