Reading List Smart books for humans on artificial intelligence September 17, 2024 AI’s involvement in everyday life is ever-evolving, with significant implications for how we work, live, and traverse fields from education to healthcare. As this powerful technology is incorporated into more services and products that we rely upon, here are some books that can help us to embrace human agency and navigate this new digital age. Read More
Interview Leslie Valiant on The Importance of Being Educable March 26, 2024 We are at a crossroads in history. If we hope to share our planet successfully with one another and the AI systems we are creating, we must reflect on who we are, how we got here, and where we are heading. Read More
Reading List Books by (and for) women in STEM February 09, 2024 A significant gender gap has long plagued all areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines across our global community. While progress has been made in increasing women’s participation in these areas of research and higher education, they remain under-represented in STEM fields. Read More
Reading List Books for finding balance December 26, 2023 Research shows conclusively that overwork can be harmful to employees and humans at large, and yet it can be hard to find public examples of choices that support true balance, or guidance that puts health ahead of hustle. Read More
Podcast Listen in: Free Agents November 27, 2023 Scientists are learning more and more about how brain activity controls behavior and how neural circuits weigh alternatives and initiate actions. As we probe ever deeper into the mechanics of decision making, many conclude that agency—or free will—is an illusion. Read More
Essay How life evolved the power to choose October 27, 2023 In recent years, more threats to our notions of agency and free will have sprung up, from diverse areas of science. If we come prewired in ways that influence our decision-making, how free can we really be? Read More
Podcast Free Agents October 11, 2023 Scientists are learning more and more about how brain activity controls behavior and how neural circuits weigh alternatives and initiate actions. As we probe ever deeper into the mechanics of decision making, many conclude that agency—or free will—is an illusion. Read More
Essay What Hollywood gets wrong (and right) about neuroscience December 23, 2022 Become a martial arts expert by uploading the ability to fight directly to your brain. Build a new body and insert the mind of a lost loved one into this newly created person. Read More
Essay Is the human brain a biological computer? March 14, 2022 Electrically, the brain remains largely a black box. We send electrical signals in and we get electrical signals out, but what it all exactly means is open to a lot of interpretation and some intense controversy. Read More
Essay Why are habits so sticky? December 23, 2021 Nearly all of us have habits that we would like to get rid of. It might be as innocuous as saying “um” too often when we speak, or as serious as a pack-a-day smoking habit. Either way, we know that changing our behavior is really difficult, even when the stakes are high. Read More
Podcast What Makes Us Smart: The Computational Logic of Human Cognition October 08, 2021 At the heart of human intelligence rests a fundamental puzzle: How are we incredibly smart and stupid at the same time? No existing machine can match the power and flexibility of human perception, language, and reasoning. Read More
Essay The loneliest neuron June 04, 2021 There it lives, the loneliest neuron. The neuron that lies furthest from the outside world. Furthest from the inputs from your senses; furthest from the outputs to your muscles. Read More
Essay Is artificial intelligence today where brain research was 100 years ago? June 02, 2021 Babies are not born with randomly connected brains and turned on to learn. And yet, 100 years ago, neurobiologists were not so sure. Read More
Essay The dark neuron problem, or mind reading at 90% accuracy March 30, 2021 I’m going to read your mind. Right now. Ready? Don’t get freaked out. Deep breath. Here we go… Read More
Podcast On Task: How Our Brain Gets Things Done March 24, 2021 Why is it hard to text and drive at the same time? How do you resist eating that extra piece of cake? Why does staring at a tax form feel mentally exhausting? Why can your child expertly fix the computer and yet still forget to put on a coat? Read More
