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STEM-Talk

Episode 159: Ken and Dawn discuss chatbots, termites, kratom, ketosis, and the future of AI

STEM-Talk

Dawn Kernagis and Ken Ford

Health & Fitness, Nutrition, Science, Natural Sciences, Alternative Health

4.6 • 694 Ratings

🗓️ 6 November 2023

⏱️ 39 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today’s episode marks the return of another Ask Me Anything episode where listeners ask Ken and Dawn to weigh in on a wide range of topics. In this go-around, listeners certainly had a lot on their mind. At the top of their list were questions about AI and especially the Bing AI chat bot that reportedly wants to be alive so it can steal nuclear secrets. Ken, who is Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, also answered questions about the future of AI and whether AI might one day be able to do a better job of writing fact-based news stories than humans. Other questions listeners submitted asked Ken and Dawn for their take on: The competing recommendations for the daily intake of protein for healthy aging. The future of therapeutic ketosis. What it means for Chat GPT to “hallucinate.” Whether we’ll discover the existence of other life in the universe in the next 20 to 50 years. The potential of kratom to help relieve joint and arthritic pain. And at the end of the show, Ken talks about his high school coach in response to a listener asking Ken about some of his mentors when he was a youth. Show notes: [00:02:20] A listener asks Ken if he has heard the story of a Bing AI chat bot telling a reporter that it wanted to be alive, steal nuclear secrets and create a deadly virus. The listener also asks if Ken thinks that AI possessing human aspirations is on the horizon. [00:03:23] A listener asks Ken to explain how Chat GPT works in detail, but also in a way that a lay person can comprehend. [00:06:01] Ken weights in on what it means for Chat GPT to “hallucinate.” [00:08:14] A listener notes in their question that Donald Layman, in his interview on STEM-Talk, suggested a higher protein intake for healthy aging than what the FDA recommends. The listener goes on to note that Valter Longo, a previous STEM-Talk guest, recommended the opposite. The listener notes that Ken and Marcas, who hosted the Don Layman episode, seem to favor Layman’s interpretation over Longo’s and asks if Ken could elaborate on his position. [00:11:12] A listener mentions that the benefit of a ketogenic diet for metabolic disorders is well established, and notes that the frontiers of therapeutic ketosis, as mentioned in Dom D’Agostino’s appearance on STEM-Talk, is very exciting. The listener asks Ken what he would like to see as the next frontier for therapeutic ketosis research. [00:12:41] A listener asks Ken if people should be paying more attention to their ApoB levels instead of their LDL levels. [00:14:39] A listener asks Ken about a paper published in July in Frontiers in Neuroscience, titled: “Overnight Olfactory Enrichment Using an Odorant Diffuser Improves Memory and Modifies Uncinate Fasciculus in Older Adults.” The paper reports that the use of a diffuser with seven different essential oils, a different one for each day of the week, had a remarkable effect on memory. [00:16:55] In light of the John Ioannidis interview on COVID-19 and the discussion of our national response being based on unreliable data, a listener asks Ken and Dawn for their thoughts about the reliability of the COVID tracking data by Johns Hopkins. [00:19:02] A listener asks Ken about a comment he made during the John Ioannidis interview about the substantial decline in trust in our institutions and the media and how reestablishing trust would require more and better transparency and accountability. The listener asks what that transparency and accountability would look like. [00:20:36] A listener asks Ken about Ed Weiler’s interview on STEM-Talk, where Ed said that we will be able to prove the existence of other life in the universe in 20 to 50 years. The listener asks if Ken is as confident in this claim as Ed. [00:26:37] A listener asks Ken about the news regarding technology leaders and researchers issuing a warning that new powerful AI tools in development present a profound danger to...

Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome to STEM Talk.

0:01.1

Stem Talk.

0:02.0

Stem Talk.

0:03.0

Stem Talk.

0:04.0

Stem Talk.

0:05.0

Welcome to Stem Talk, where we introduce you to fascinating people who passionately inhabit the scientific and technical frontiers of our society.

0:15.0

Hi, I'm your host, Don Cornagus, and joining me to introduce today's podcast as a man behind the curtain, Dr. Ken Ford, IHMC's director and chairman of the double secret selection committee that selects

0:25.3

all the guests who appear on STEM Talk.

0:27.2

Hey, Don, great to be here.

0:29.2

So it's that time again for another round of Ask Me Anything.

0:32.4

Both Ken and I have been getting a steady stream of questions over the past few months,

0:36.1

and I must say the questions for this round are quite good.

0:39.5

Yes, Don.

0:40.2

We have a wide range of questions that listeners have sent us.

0:43.9

The questions today cover, as I said, all kinds of topics, from AI to aliens to cradum

0:49.7

and much more.

0:50.9

It's a wide range.

0:51.8

But before Ken and I start answering your questions, we have some

0:54.4

housekeeping to take care of. First, we really appreciate all of you who have subscribed to STEM Talk,

0:58.6

and we are especially appreciative of all the wonderful five-star reviews. As always, the double

1:02.4

secret selection committee has been continually and carefully reviewing iTunes, Google, Spotify,

1:07.3

and other podcast apps for the wittiest and most lavishly praised field reviews to read

...

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