podcast

Season 2, episode 1

This second series of Mind Over Chatter is all about the future - and in this first episode we’re going to be considering what the future even is… Have you ever wondered how time works? It turns out, the answer is a lot more complicated than we thought.

Join our wondering and wonderful conversation with philosopher of science Dr Matt Farr, whose work focuses particularly on what it means for time to have a direction, professor of psychology Nicky Clayton, who looks at the evolution and development of intelligence in non-verbal animals and pre-verbal children, and professor of linguistics and philosophy, Kasia Jaszczolt whose research interests combine semantics, pragmatics, and the metaphysics of time 

We’ll be talking about everything from physics to linguistics… and from broken eggs to Einstein’s theory of relativity. 

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Key points

[04:28] - Does time actually go from past to present to future? And does time really ‘flow’?

[09:53] - How do B-theorists deal with entropy? Can you un-break an egg?

[14:12] - Recap of the first portion of the episode, reviewing A-theory, B-theory and C-theory of time

[18:58] - How the mind understands the subjective concept of time

[27:11] - The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis and how the way you talk about language affects the way you perceive and think about things

[30:21] - Recap of the second portion of the episode 

[34:02] - How do the mental and linguistic concepts around time fit with philosophical concepts and physics of time?

[45:46] - Is there a conflict between the psychological and linguistic models of time and the way physics handles time?

[48:20] - Recap of the last portion of the episode

Season 2, episode 2

We all have theories about what the future might look like. But what did the future look like in the past? And how have the advent of new technologies altered how people viewed the future? 

In this episode of Mind Over Chatter, we talked with curator of modern sciences and historian of Victorian science Dr Joshua Nall, professor of Digital Humanities and director of Cambridge Digital Humanities Professor Caroline Bassett, and Junior Research Fellow in the history of artificial intelligence, Dr Jonnie Penn in our attempt to understand how the future was thought of in the past. 

Along the way we discussed utopias and dystopias, the long history of science fiction, and how the future might come back to haunt us!

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Key Points

[02:15] - How did new science and technology (railways, telegraphic communication, mass printing) transform the 19th Century. 

[05:00] - Futures and utopias delivered by technology as opposed to magic. 

[09:30] - Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace, computers and the idea of the mind as a factory.  

[15:40] - Recap of the first part of the conversation

[24:45] - Mary Shelley and Frankenstein as an example of fiction grappling with a response to the feeling of chaos resulting from new technologies

[33:50] - Dominant beliefs and values in the 19th century that showed up in science fiction and actual scientific theories

[41:35] - Recap of second part of conversation

[50:05] - When and why did AI become scary or threatening? And the cyclical nature of unresolved fears around technology.

[54:28] - Current futures of AI and technology and the problematic idea of technology as being free and limitless versus the world ending

[56:10] - What’s coming up in technology in the next 100-ish years?

[1:03:28] - Recap of the last part of the conversation

[21:38] - How are new ideas about the future influencing the way people think about artificial intelligence and sci-fi in the 1900’s?

Season 2, episode 3

Our wellbeing is essential to our overall quality of life. But what is wellbeing? Why is it so hard to pin down? How is it different from mental health, and what can we do to understand, measure and improve it? 

In this episode of Mind Over Chatter, we talked with psychologist and neuroscientist Dr Amy Orben, who examines how digital technologies affect adolescent psychological well-being and mental health, psychiatrist Professor Tamsin Ford, who specialises in children's mental health, and welfare economist Dr Mark Fabian, whose research focuses on how policymakers and citizens understand well-being.  

In doing so, we learnt about the negative (and positive!) effects of the pandemic, how wellbeing differs for children and adults, and the influence of ever-evolving technology on our wellbeing. 

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Key points

03:00 - What's the difference between well being and mental health?

06:30 - Wellbeing and economics. How do we think about wellbeing outside of psychology? 

15:01 - We’ve reached the recap point

19:04 - Can wellbeing be factored into factors that measure societal progress, like productivity GDP?  

35:35 - How do we react to technological change as a society? The debate around screen time. 

37:20 - Time for another recap! 

50:05 - How is this new thinking about well being going to shape our lives in the future?For individuals and for governments and policymakers? 

Season 2, episode 4

Our society is more unequal than ever, as the top 1% control over 44% of the world’s wealth while 689 million people are living on less than $1.90 per day, according to the World Bank. 

In this episode of Mind Over Chatter, we asked our guests what the future of fairness, justice, and equality should look like, and how their research can help to bring about a fairer society. 

We cover topics ranging from distributive justice, the virtues and vices of empathy, and the role AI will play in shaping equality in the years to come. 

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Dr Alexa Hagerty, whose research looks at the global societal impacts of emerging technologies and Dr Natalie Jones, who focuses on global injustice and the rights of (indigenous) peoples, shared how injustice can be thought of as an existential risk to humanity. 

Anthropologist, Professor Esra Ozyurek, who seeks to understand the tension between politics and religion in Turkey and in Europe, introduced us to the importance of understanding that different people have different needs, making equality insufficient to bring about justice. 

Key points

[02.07]- what do we mean by fair when it comes to societies?

[06:45]- the difference between fairness, justice, and equality

13:13]- cognitive empathy and emotional empathy distinction

[13:50]- Time for recap 1: summary so far

[20:21]- how to link global injustice and different voices to existential risk

[20:44]- participatory futures intro

[21:21]-global justice causing existential risk

Season 2, episode 5

Artificial Intelligence can be found in every aspect of our lives. From A-level grade predicting algorithms to Netflix recommendations, AI is set to change the choices we make and how our personal information will be used. 

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In this episode of Mind Over Chatter, we explore the future of AI - its potential benefits and harms. We cover topics ranging from how to make AI ‘ethical’, how the media representation of AI can colour the public’s perception of what the real issues are, and the importance of an international AI regulatory system. 

Dr Beth Singler, whose research explores the social, ethical, philosophical and religious implications of advances in Artificial Intelligence and robotics, told us about the different cultural consequences of AI, and how the way we think about the future of AI reflects more about society today than the future itself.  

Dr John Zerilli, author of ‘A citizen’s guide to artificial intelligence’ shared his views on the consequences of AI for democratic decision-making. 

Finally, Futurist-in-Residence at the Entrepreneurship Centre at the Judge School, Richard Watson, urged us to conceive of the future of AI in terms of ‘scenario planning’, rather than predicting the future directly. 

Key points: 

[10:09]- how we think about the future as reflecting on what we think about the present

[13:38]- Time for the first recap! 

[17:55]- the relationship between AI and religion, and the cultural impact of AI

[20:35]- being ‘blessed’ and ‘cursed’ by the algorithm

[22:04]- democracy and AI. How are we to expect citizens to be informed enough to exercise their voting rights in the best way?

[32:27]- Time for recap number two! 

[45:01]- loss of free agency… or did we never have any?

[58:05]- Thinking about the benefit of AI can teach us about what makes a good life

Season 2, episode 6

Our reproductive capabilities are changing in exciting ways, altering our fundamental understanding of fertility, reproduction, and even parenthood. 

In this episode of Mind Over Chatter, we ask our guests what the consequences of novel reproductive technologies are likely to be, and how they will impact the future of human reproduction. 

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We cover topics ranging from egg-freezing, so-called ‘three-parent-babies, and the importance of studying the embryonic development of primates.

Historical demographer, Dr Alice Reid, who researches fertility, mortality and health in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, tells us how reproduction has changed over the last 200 years and how it has been influenced by improvements in gender equality, as well as discussing the likely demographic impact of assisted reproduction.

Dr Lucy Van de Wiel, whose research focuses on the social and cultural analysis of assisted reproductive technologies such as egg freezing, introduces the important ways in which reproductive technologies must be considered in the context of wide social and political issues. 

Finally, Dr Thorsten Boroviak shares his cutting-edge research on developing new reproductive technologies – the ability to generate your own egg or sperm from any cell of your body – and the importance of studying the embryonic development of primates.

Key points:

[2:10]- change of human reproduction over the last 200 years

[5:45]- egg freezing and changing meaning of what it means to be ‘fertile’

[12:05]- higher levels of gender equity can produce higher levels of fertility

[23:19]- generating eggs and sperms from any human cell

[24:02]- can a man produce an egg?

[40:37]- when should one freeze their eggs?

[64:54]- reproductive justice and reproductive equity. Ensuring reproductive autonomy while ensuring non-exploitation

[65:59]- Final question: what is the most exciting thing that will happen to humankind in the future?