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SHIFT

Jennifer Strong

Hosted by Jennifer Strong, SHIFT is a weekly podcast taking a closer look at the far-reaching impact of automation on our daily lives.

From policy to process, we seek to understand how lives are changing alongside rapid breakthroughs in frontier technologies and artificial intelligence. Join us as we navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by this reshaped reality.

Hosted by Jennifer Strong, SHIFT is a weekly podcast taking a closer look at the far-reaching impact of automation on our daily lives.

From policy to process, we seek to understand how lives are changing alongside rapid breakthroughs in frontier technologies and artificial intelligence. Join us as we navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by this reshaped reality.

22hr 57min
Thumbnail for "Encore: The New Luddites".
Activists fighting back against generative AI are reclaiming a misunderstood label in the process.
Thumbnail for "Building Public AI".
It's the latest installment of our oral history project.
Thumbnail for "Geography is Everything".
Meet the founder of Esri, in the latest installment of our oral history project.
Thumbnail for "(AI)nvesting".
A live conversation with venture capitalists about the AI funding landscape.
Thumbnail for "Digital Citizens or Digital Subjects?".
A live conversation with philanthropist Frank McCourt about the future of the internet.
Thumbnail for "Architect of the EU AI Act Expresses Concerns".
Meet an architect and lead author of the EU AI Act, in the latest installment of our oral history project.
Thumbnail for "The Race to Superintelligence".
The final installment of a special series documenting the race to build superintelligent AI systems.
Thumbnail for "The Race to Superintelligence".
Part two of a special series documenting the race to build superintelligent AI systems.
Thumbnail for "The Race to Superintelligence".
The first installment of a special series documenting the race to build superintelligent AI systems.
Thumbnail for "Inside Disney’s AI Dystopia".
We celebrate the show's first anniversary by going to go back to where it all started.
Thumbnail for "Oral History: Get Ready for Interspecies Money? ".
There’s a world in which a group of mountain gorillas might one day be able to pay for their own protection.
Thumbnail for "What Makes Us Unique in the Age of AI? ".
Because if AI takes over decision-making, what’s irreplaceable about humans?
Thumbnail for "Shaping the Future of AI Assisted Music".
Head of the Grammys and Recording Academy on all things AI and music
Thumbnail for "Why Many Parents and Teens Think It’s Harder Being a Teen Today".
We unpack a new study from Pew Research Center.
Thumbnail for "Oral History: Companion Robots for Older Adults".
A founder questions the wisdom of the Turing Test as he works to address the loneliness epidemic among the elderly.
Thumbnail for "Oral History: Symbolic AI is Explainable".
Meet a man trying to solve AI’s black box problem with symbolic AI.
Thumbnail for "Oral History: Whistleblowers".
The latest installment of our oral history project.
Thumbnail for "Oral History:  AI Aids Hearing".
The latest installment of our oral history project.
Thumbnail for "Oral History: Helping Journalists Investigate".
The chief scientist of Neo4j joins our oral history project.
Thumbnail for "Encore: How Police are Using AI in Rwanda".
We hop into the backseat of a police car and learn how officers in Rwanda have deployed AI on the streets of Kigali.
Thumbnail for "Live: Delivering Education During Crisis".
Encore: How advances in AI powered programs for learning can help children in crisis.
Thumbnail for "Oral History: Human Centered AI".
We meet Fei-Fei Li in the latest edition of our oral history project.
Thumbnail for "Political Campaigns Can See What You Watch on TV".
Smart TVs provide a new trove of data, with little transparency on how it’s happening.
Thumbnail for "Live: Commercializing Our Space Age Future".
A live conversation with serial space entrepreneur Kam Ghaffarian.
Thumbnail for "Oral History: Minimizing the Risk of Mid-Air Collisions".
We meet Claire Tomlin in the latest installment of our oral history project.
Thumbnail for "Teachers Use AI to Grade Papers. Who Grades the AI?".
A growing number of school kids are getting their writing assignments back with grades and feedback given by AI software.
Thumbnail for "Building a Poison Pill for Generative AI".
We meet Nightshade Creator Ben Zhao from the University of Chicago.
Thumbnail for "Oral History: Journey to Quantum Advantage".
Meet the founder of Google's Quantum AI Lab
Thumbnail for "Live: AI's Role in Public Health".
A live conversation hosted by Boston University's School of Public Health.
Thumbnail for "Oral History: Discovering Drugs with Generative AI ".
A look at how AI is being used in the drug discovery process.
Thumbnail for "Feature: 'AI and the Holy Grail of Conservation' from Click Here".
A special episode from our friends at the Click Here Podcast
Thumbnail for "Oral History: (Ai)ding Cybercrime".
How AI helps and hurts cybersecurity
Thumbnail for "Video Calls in 3D - Hold the Glasses".
In this bonus episode, we tour Google's Project Starline at this year's TED Conference.
Thumbnail for "Oral History: Making Payments".
We explore the evolution of how we pay for things in the latest installment of our oral history project.
Thumbnail for "Oral History: Changing Our Stories".
A look at how journalism is evolving with AI in the latest installment of our oral history project.
Thumbnail for "People Think AI Should Credit its Sources".
Our thoughts about what's fair and what to trust with generative AI are evolving. 
Thumbnail for "Building Trustworthy AI".
The current AI ecosystem has plenty in common with the early days of the web. So, what have we learned?
Thumbnail for "Our Declining Trust in AI".
Our lack of trust might be the most bi-partisan thing about this US election cycle, especially our lack of trust in AI.
Thumbnail for "Live: Digital Citizens or Digital Subjects?".
A live conversation with philanthropist Frank McCourt about the future of the internet.
Thumbnail for "Live: Streamlining the Music Industry".
Explore how tech is revolutionizing the creation and distribution of music around the world.
Thumbnail for "Future of the Internet, Part Two".
Building an internet that works for everyone?
Thumbnail for "Future of the Internet, Part One".
The infrastructure underpinning the internet is increasingly under threat.
Thumbnail for "The New Luddites".
Activists fighting back against generative AI are reclaiming a misunderstood label in the process.
Thumbnail for "Oral History: Generating Tax Advice".
Would you trust generative AI to answer your tax questions?  
Thumbnail for "Live: What’s Your Digital Footprint? ".
New tools and privacy laws are starting to make it easier for people to take back their privacy.
Thumbnail for "AI Art Gets a Poison Pill".
Artists are starting to use AI to fight back against AI.
Thumbnail for "Unlearning Bad AI Behavior".
A new study explores how an AI model that’s been taught to lie might be brought back into line.
Thumbnail for "Oral History: Coding Gets an AI Assistant".
Meet one of the central figures behind generative coding tools.
Thumbnail for "Oral History: Crafting a National AI Strategy".
Meet one of the key figures behind Rwanda's AI policies.
Thumbnail for "Oral History: Personal Finance Gets Generative".
Meet Ryan Graciano, a cofounder of the personal finance company, Credit Karma. 
Thumbnail for "What to Watch: Tech Trends for 2024".
As this year draws to a close we’re bringing you a look at the tech trends we’ll be watching in 2024.
Thumbnail for "Breaking Language Barriers with AI".
Language translation increasingly falls to artificial intelligence—but AI still doesn’t speak many of the world’s languages.
Thumbnail for "Oral History: Educating Between the Lines".
Meet a man working to build edtech programs in under-resourced languages for out of school children.
Thumbnail for "Live: Delivering Education During Crisis".
How advances in education tech and AI programs for learning might help children in crisis.
Thumbnail for "Oral History: Symbolic AI is Explainable".
Meet a man trying to solve AI’s black box problem with symbolic AI.
Thumbnail for " Live: Advancing Digital Equity for Black Communities".
In an increasingly digital world, ensuring equitable access to broadband and digital tools has become a pressing societal issue.
Thumbnail for "Live: Understanding AI Governance ".
Privacy officers from Google, Microsoft, Meta and IBM discuss how they approach AI governance.
Thumbnail for "Unpacking the Executive Order on AI".
We explore what impact the U.S. President's executive order on artificial intelligence might have as governments across the globe move to regulate AI.
Thumbnail for "Manufacturing in Space".
What if the hardest part of making something in space is getting it back to Earth?
Thumbnail for "Oral History: Airbnb's Party Pooper".
Meet the woman overseeing Airbnb's efforts to build an anti-party AI system.
Thumbnail for "Measuring AI's Transparency".
Researchers measured the transparency of top AI foundation models–all failed.
Thumbnail for "Live: AI Ethics and Geopolitics".
We take you to the heart of New York City’s manufacturing center, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, for a conversation about AI ethics and geopolitics.
Thumbnail for "How Police Are Using AI in Rwanda ".
Hop into the backseat of a police car and learn how officers in Rwanda have adopted and deployed AI on the streets of Kigali.
Thumbnail for "The Commercially-Charged Era of Drone Warfare".
Advances in off the shelf commercial technologies have changed how drone combat works and who can wage it.
Thumbnail for "Live: Leveraging Soil Complexity".
A live episode taped in front of an audience at New York Climate Week.
Thumbnail for "Did the AI Pause Letter Change Anything? ".
Six months after an open letter called for a temporary pause on the development of certain types of AI we ask what's changed.
Thumbnail for "Inside Disney’s AI Dystopia".
Disney’s science-fiction thriller, The Creator, paints a picture of a future world at war—humans vs. artificial intelligence.
Thumbnail for "Welcome to SHIFT".
A podcast examining our ever-changing trust in automation and emerging tech.

Encore: The New Luddites

Thumbnail for "Encore: The New Luddites".
October 30, 202425min 31sec

Activists are fighting back against generative AI and reclaiming a misunderstood label in the process, says Brian Merchant in a new piece for The Atlantic.

Originally aired February 14, 2024.

We Meet:

Tech Journalist & Author Brian Merchant

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens, and it was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

Thumbnail for "Encore: The New Luddites".
Encore: The New Luddites
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