Ep 5. Echo Chambers

This is an episode of another WHYY podcast called The Pulse. In a lot of ways, artificial intelligence acts as our personal butlers — it filters our email, manages the temperature in our homes, finds the best commute, shapes our social media, runs our search engines, even flies o ...  Show more

AI systems can be highly susceptible to bias. The potential for serious consequences is huge, especially when it comes to the AI increasingly used in police departments. 

This episode features two segments on the subject of disinformation. In the first, Rebecca Rand speaks with Dr. Shelby Grossman, a research scholar at the Stanford Internet Observatory, on recent research that looks at whether AI can write persuasive propaganda. In the second seg ...  Show more

Around the world, automated bot accounts have enabled some government agencies and political parties to exploit online platforms in dispersing messages, using keywords to game algorithms, and discrediting legitimate information on a mass scale. Through this they can spread junk n ...  Show more

Fake news can sway elections, tank economies and sow discord in everyday life. Data scientist Sinan Aral demystifies how and why it spreads so quickly -- citing one of the largest studies on misinformation -- and identifies five strategies to help us unweave the tangled web betwe ...  Show more

The past two weeks have seen a new debate arise in the world of online activism - what is the place of AI in conversations around raising awareness of important political issues? In this episode, Ione and Gina ask whether all is fair in getting All Eyes On Rafah or if we need ...