Rage Inside The Machine: Algorithmic Bias and What It Means to be Human, with Dr Robert Smith
I\u2019m very excited today to talk to Dr Robert Elliot Smith, who \u2013 after a thirty-year career working in AI and working with algorithms - has written one of the best books I\u2019ve ever read about artificial intelligence and the impact of algorithms on society \u2013 Rage Inside the Machine. More than this, though, it\u2019s really about\u2026 the dangers that can arise from trying to boil down complex aspects of what it means to be human, or what is valuable and important, to numbers and metrics which can be processed by these machines. Which I think is a much more fundamental issue, and lies at the heart of a great deal of systemic injustice and misunderstanding, even before the age of algorithms came along to turbo-charge all of these problems.
We had a wonderful, wide-ranging interview and Dr Smith was very patient and willing to deal with my pretty scattershot questions attempting to cover a lot of what is in his book. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed our conversation.
Thank you for listening to this episode of Physical Attraction, and thanks again for Dr Smith for coming on the show. His book, Rage Inside The Machine, is one of the most brilliant texts you\u2019ll read on AI \u2013 a glorious mix between technical detail explained in a way that\u2019s not too oversimplified, personal stories profound insight into this interface between computers and algorithms and what it means to be human. It\u2019s genuinely great, we just scratched the surface here really, and I know I\u2019ll end up reading it multiple times for the full detail of what\u2019s being said\u2026 and just because it\u2019s also one of those books where you feel your brain expanding when you read it. In a good way. Do get a copy.
You can find that at Rage Inside The Machine.com where you will also find Rob\u2019s blog and some of his other appearances on podcasts if you are interested. He\u2019s also an occasional Tweeter at Dr RE Smith, so go check it out.
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