Episode 161: Kenneth Cukier
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Framing, Re-Framing, and Perspective Taking
With all of the recent advances in machine learning, what’s left for us humans to do? Well, according to Ken Cukier, there is plenty: humans have not and may not ever be matched when it comes to thinking thru frames and models, using imagination to think through what is not in the data as much as what is in the data.
Ken Cukier is a Senior Editor at The Economist, and host of its weekly podcast on technology. He is also an associate fellow at Said Business School at Oxford, researching artificial intelligence. His most recent book is, “Framers: Human Advantage in an Age of Technology and Turmoil,” c0-authored with xxxx which is a follow up to the earlier book “Big Data: A Revolution That Transforms How We Live, Work, and Think” he co authored with Viktor Mayer-Schönberger. He is also the author of “Learning with Big Data: The Future of Education.”
Listen as Ken and Greg discuss framing, re-framing, learning by teaching, and the educated elite.
Episode Quotes:
Fundamental difference between AI & humans
“Human beings are able to visualize things that don't exist. We don't have to run the experiment, we can run it in our minds in our imaginations. The computers cannot do that. Artificial intelligence has no ability to conceptualize information that it doesn't have. It can only rely on information that it does have. That is the fundamental difference: that we are able to see things that are not there.”
Liberal perspectivism
“Isn't it interesting that people are bristling in 2022 of trying to adopt the position of other people to walk in their shoes, to see things through their lens. You wouldn't have expected that.”
Encouraging reframing
“By the time you're in your late thirties, and you've touched a little bit of authority and responsibility and a little bit more income and business class lounges, what's the likelihood that you're going to risk that by coming up with a new idea? I mean, unless you're already in a venture backed startup, probably not. So we do such a terrible job as a society at encouraging that reframing and that fresh thinking, we need to get better at it.”
Cognitively lazy people
“I think some people are more primed to being more dynamic. Stand up comedians are probably the least cognitively (or good ones at least), are probably the least cognitively lazy in the world. They thrive on newness of changing their act, developing things.”
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Guest Profile:
Faculty Profile at Saïd Business School
Professional Profile at The Economist
Speaker Profile at TEDTalk
Ken Cukier on TEDSalon Berlin
His Work:
Former Host of the Babbage Podcast