Lex Fridman PodcastPamela McCorduck: Machines Who Think and the Early Days of AI | Lex Fridman Podcast #34
Episode Details
EPISODE INFO
- Released
- August 23, 2019
- Duration
- 1h 0m
- Channel
- Lex Fridman Podcast
- Watch on YouTube
- ▶ Open ↗
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
Pamela McCorduck is an author who has written on the history and philosophical significance of artificial intelligence, the future of engineering, and the role of women and technology. Her books include Machines Who Think in 1979, The Fifth Generation in 1983 with Ed Feigenbaum who is considered to be the father of expert systems, the Edge of Chaos, The Futures of Women, and more. Through her literary work, she has spent a lot of time with the seminal figures of artificial intelligence, includes the founding fathers of AI from the 1956 Dartmouth summer workshop where the field was launched. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep34-sb See below for timestamps, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. *CONTACT LEX:* *Feedback* - give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey *AMA* - submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama *Hiring* - join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring *Other* - other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact *OUTLINE:* 0:00 - Introduction 1:51 - Machines Who Think 4:17 - Founding fathers of AI 6:45 - Early days and the possibilities of AI 14:23 - Roots of how we think about AI 18:59 - McCarthy and Frankenstein 23:30 - AI in the context of broader CS community 29:46 - AI winter 37:09 - Santa Fe Institute and complexity 44:58 - Timeline of AI 46:51 - AI assistants and personal robotics 52:05 - Existential threats and the male gaze *PODCAST LINKS:*
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SPEAKERS
Lex Fridman
hostPamela McCorduck
guestNarrator
other
EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of Lex Fridman Podcast, featuring Lex Fridman and Pamela McCorduck, Pamela McCorduck: Machines Who Think and the Early Days of AI | Lex Fridman Podcast #34 explores pamela McCorduck recalls AI’s mythic roots and scientific audacity Pamela McCorduck, author of *Machines Who Think*, reflects on the early days of artificial intelligence, when the field’s founders saw themselves as launching something historically important despite being scientific outsiders. She traces AI’s roots beyond math and computer science into ancient myths, religious tensions, literature, and long-standing human desires to create intelligence outside the human brain.
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