Volcanoes. Trees. Drunk butterflies. Mars missions. Slug sex. Death. Beauty standards. Anxiety busters. Beer science. Bee drama. Take away a pocket full of science knowledge and charming, bizarre stories about what fuels these professional -ologists' obsessions. Humorist and science correspondent Alie Ward asks smart people stupid questions and the answers might change your life.
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
More episode sources and links
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)
Transcripts and bleeped episodes
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Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media and Mark David Christenson
Transcripts by Emily White of The Wordary
Website by Kelly R. Dwyer
Theme song by Nick Thorburn