Shows
Beyond the HypeDoes innovation have to come at the expense of ethics?Oliver Cronk is joined by Scott Logic’s Sophia Ashley and Alix Dunn from the ‘Computer Says Maybe’ podcast for a wide-ranging discussion which poses ethical questions that are frequently ignored in the race for technological innovation. Together, they explore the intersection of technology and power, and examine whether society is unwittingly allowing technology to reshape our world without adequate scrutiny or safeguards. As technological innovations continue to promote the atomisation and polarisation of society and the erosion of human agency, our guests consider what’s required to achieve the right balance of People, Planet and Profit. F...2025-05-1245 min
Ologies with Alie WardArtificial Intelligence Ethicology (WILL A.I. CRASH OUT?) with Abeba BirhaneWho’s babysitting AI? Will it steal your job? What happens when you’re rude to a chatbot? Cognitive scientist, Trinity College professor and Artificial Intelligence Ethicologist Dr. Abeba Birhane lets me ask her not-smart questions about legislation around AI, auditing datasets, environmental impacts, booby traps, doorbell narcs, commonly used fallacies, how the “godfathers’ of AI feel about their creation, robots doing your homework, and and whether or not AI is actually the root of all evil. Also: bacon ice cream and why Siri is a girl. Visit Dr. Birhane’s website and follow her on Bluesky and Google S...2025-05-081h 15
The Connected News PodcastAI and accountabilityWelcome to the latest episode of the Connected AI Podcast, a fortnightly podcast presented by Charlie Taylor, the Business Post’s technology editor, and Elaine Burke, one of our leading contributors. The Connected AI Podcast, which is brought to you in association with Expleo, aims to cut through the hype and get to the heart of AI for business, with expert guests offering their advice, and the hosts giving their take on big developments in the space. In the latest episode we’re talking to Abeba Birhane, a researcher who has previously been named as one of the 100 most influential people in...2025-03-261h 09
Computer Says MaybeLive Show: Paris Post-MortemKapow! We just did our first ever LIVE SHOW. We barely had time to let the mics cool down before a bunch of you requested to have the recording on our pod feed so here we are.ICYMI: this is a recording from the live show that we did in Paris, right after the AI Action Summit. Alix sat down to have a candid conversation about the summit, and pontificate on what people might have meant when they kept saying ‘public interest AI’ over and over. She was joined by four of the best women in AI poli...2025-02-1246 minComputer Says MaybeDefying Datafication w/ Dr Abeba Birhane (PLUS: Paris AI Action Summit)The Paris AI Action Summit is just around the corner! If you’re not going to be there, and you wish you were — we got you.We are streaming next week’s podcast LIVE from Paris on YouTube — register here🎙️On Tuesday, February 11th, at 6:30pm Paris time / 12:30pm EST, we’ll be recording our first-ever LIVE podcast episode. After two days at the French AI Action Summit, Alix will sit down with four of the best women in AI politics to break down the power and politics of the Summit. It’s our Paris Post-Mo...2025-02-071h 03
ADAPT RadioAI Policies To Prevent InequalityAs AI continues to shape our society, how can we make sure that it doesn't harm minority groups or exacerbate inequalities?
Today we hear from two experts who are a part of a brand new research group that is working to keep AI accountable. The AI Accountability Lab focuses on critical issues across broad topics such as the examination of opaque technological ecologies and the execution of audits on specific models and training datasets. We hear how researchers are trying to join the dots between evidence and policy and how better AI awareness is key to preventing harm.
Our guests...2024-12-0234 min
iAfrikan BYTESThe Fight For AI: Abeba Birhane On Bias, Big Tech, And Africa’s RoleWhat does it take to create Artificial Intelligence (AI) that serves humanity rather than exploits it? In this unmissable episode of the iAfrikan Bytes, cognitive scientist and Time Magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential People in AI honoree, Abeba Birhane, dives deep into the pressing ethical challenges and groundbreaking opportunities in AI.
Abeba brings a fresh, African perspective to the global AI conversation, shedding light on its potential to amplify indigenous languages and preserve cultural heritage. But she doesn’t shy away from tough truths calling out Big Tech’s dominance, exposing the risks of biased datasets, and warning of AI’s role i...2024-11-2620 min
Digital CitizenExploring AI with Emily M. BenderJoin us on a journey to learn more about the intersection of linguistics and AI with special guest Emily M. Bender. Come with us as we learn how linguistics functions in modern language models like ChatGPT. Episode Notes Discover the origins of language models, the negative implications of sourcing data to train these technologies, and the value of authenticity. ▶️ Guest Interview - Emily M. Bender Learn more about Emily M. Bender Read On the Danger of Stochastic Parrots(2021) by Emily M. Bender, Timnit Gebru, Angelina McMillan-Major, and Margaret Mitchell. Check out the public...2024-06-2532 min
ADAPT RadioAI Accountability (Keynote)AI is developing at such a rapid pace that we can get caught up in its potential capabilities and role in our future. However, there are still a lot of issues to rule out.
ADAPT recently hosted the Annual Scientific Conference 2024 in Dublin and today we’re hearing one of the keynote speakers, Abeba Birhane. We learn about the potential dangers of large-scale datasets, such as AI hallucinations and the reinforcement of societal biases and negative stereotypes. She also explored strategies for both incremental improvements and guiding broader structural changes in AI.
Our expert guest has been exploring strategies for bo...2024-06-0445 min
Our World, ConnectedWhat does AI mean for equality and inclusion?‘AI’: two letters that conjure a whirlwind of questions, speculation, and, for many, concern. But what exactly is artificial intelligence, or ‘AI’, and how does this connect to human behaviour and society?
Join us as we peel back the layers of AI and go beyond the hype to uncover the human role behind the development and use of AI tools around the world.
In the studio, our host Christine Wilson speaks to Dr Abeba Birhane, a cognitive scientist working on responsible and ethical AI at Trinity College Dublin. Meanwhile, our expert on-the-ground, Malik Afegbua, brings us his s...2024-05-2241 miniAfrikan BYTESAbeba Birhane On Embodied Cognition And Cognitive Science In AICognitive scientist, Prof. Abebe Birhane, joined iAfrikan for an episode of iAfrikan BYTES, live at the University of Ghana during Deep Learning Indaba in September 2023.
Awarded Time Magazine's "100 Most Influential People in AI" Abebe helped establish the field of auditing publicly available AI training datasets. This is very important because it keeps dangerous datasets from being gathered, which could cause AI to inherently be biased, sexist, or racist.
In our conversation, Abebe shares insights on her recent paper, on how she and co authors came to the startling conclusion that AI models trained on larger datasets are more likely to d...2024-03-0619 min
Zenit#3 Guardare dentro i dataset delle Intelligenze ArtificialiLe intellegenze artificiali oggi si basano su grandi quantità di dati. Pochi, però, sanno cosa quest’ultimi contengono, con il rischio di promuovere stereotipi, violenze ed abusi. Abeba Birhane ed altri ricercatori stanno verificando alcuni di questi dataset pubblici, facendo emergere importanti risultati e promuovendo nuovi modelli. Per approfondire:ON HATE SCALING LAWS FOR DATA-SWAMPSAbeba Birhane. Cognitive ScientistSynthetic Data Is a Dangerous TeacherPer scoprire nuove storie, visita mangrovia.info o iscriviti alla newsletter mangroviasineglossa.substack.com Per domande, commenti o info, scrivici a podcast@mangrovia.info Mangro...2024-03-0107 min
Tomayto TomahtoStochastic Parrots and the Information Ecosystem with Emily M. BenderThere’s a lot that I can say about Emily M. Bender, but I think that a philosophy professor of mine said it best when he described her as the “cutting edge of technology and AI and linguistics and ethics.” Obviously some of her cutting-edge-ness concomitantly stems from the cutting-edge-ness of large language models, deep fakes, and 'artificial intelligence' inventions. But out of all the computational linguists, Emily M. Bender stands out to me because she's made the problem of unregulated AI pertinent and understandable to everyone—linguists, computer scientists, climate activists, lawyers, everyone. Her message about LLMs and other AI...2024-02-2552 min
For Tech's Sakev2.15: What’s another year in tech?This week it’s just Elaine and Jenny as we round up 2023’s tech news – which took a long time to get through! And even at that, things have changed since this recording and the EU AI Act did in fact enter the next stage of its development, and we’ll be following up on that in the new year.In the meantime, we have plenty of suggestions to entertain you until we come back with season three. First of all, some episodes to listen back to:— v1.1: Space is ace (with Prof Tom Ray and Dr Pat...2023-12-131h 03
The Nine O'Clock ShowBest of the Week PodcastPhotographer Noel McIntyre and the Mullingar Fleadh, Dr Abeba Birhane and Artificial Intelligence, Ireland’s answer to Shapewear - ‘Vacious’ with sisters Mary Tierney and Sinead O’Brien, Filmmaker Ken Wardrop on his new documentary ‘So This Is Christmas’ and why Christmas isn’t a joyful time for all and The Slow Camera Exchange with Jessica Marbe2023-11-171h 29
The Nine O'Clock ShowDr Abeba Birhane on Artificial IntelligenceCognitive scientist Dr Abeba Birhane has been named as one of the 100 most influential persons in AI 2023. She joins Brendan to chat all things artifical intelligence.2023-11-1419 min
IRL: Online Life is Real LifeWith AIs Wide OpenAre today’s large language models too hot to handle? Bridget Todd digs into the risks and rewards of open sourcing the tech that makes ChatGPT talk.In their competitive rush to release powerful LLMs to the world, tech companies are fueling a controversy about what should and shouldn’t be open in generative AI.In this episode, we meet open source research communities who have stepped up to develop more responsible machine learning alternatives.David Evan Harris worked at Meta to make AI more responsible and now shares his concerns about the risk...2023-10-1022 min
Economista Jose GarciaQuien Lidera la Inteligencia Artificial? - Quien esta detrás de esta revolución? - OpenAI - Microsoft - Meta - Facebook - Stability - Anthropic - Inflection - IBM - X - Google - Amazon - CIA - Pentagon - Elon Musk - Sam Altman - Emad Mostaque - Larry PagePágina oficial del podcast: https://economistajosegarcia.comBlog de Economía: https://economistajosegarcia.com/blog-economicoConsultoría SEO: https://economistajosegarcia.com/consultoria-seoConsultoría Empresarial: https://economistajosegarcia.com/consultoria-estrategicaAgencia SEO en Alicante: https://seosanjuan.com****************Algunas fuentes:De verdad les preocupa la seguridad?https://www.wired.co.uk/article/abeba-birhane-ai-datasets CEO de Stability AI:https://youtu.be/-1OfG6DaGF4?feature=shared Gilman Louie. Dirige el Fondo de Capital riesgo de la CIA...2023-10-0914 min
AI Equation: The Future of Content CreationAI News 10/3/23: Shield AI and Interactive AIIn this episode of AI Equation, we delve into two exciting AI stories that are shaping the future. First, we explore Shield AI, a pioneering startup in autonomous drone technology for military applications, securing a massive $150 million investment and a valuation of $2.5 billion. Discover how their innovative software, Hivemind, is changing the game in navigation.
Next, we enter the realm of AI's future with Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of Google DeepMind, as he predicts the rise of interactive AI. Learn about the three waves of AI evolution and why interactive AI might be the next big thing.
Lastly, meet Abeba...2023-10-0303 minFor Tech's Sakev2.5: Please, AI responsiblyDr Patricia Scanlon is Ireland’s first AI ambassador, and she sees it as her duty to start a national conversation on AI and, especially, ethical AI. She joined us to talk about the kind of work that needs to be done to build better AI, and we wondered why that isn’t already the done thing.Patricia is also the founder of SoapBox Labs, which builds kid-focused speech recognition technology. Follow her @ScanlonPatricia and their work at @soapboxlabs on Twitter (we’re not calling it X).You can read m...2023-07-2645 min
shado-liteS1 Ep4: What is Apple hiding?Hello, we are scared of Big Tech and iPhones are cursed! This ep the girls are getting into the dark side of Apple: how was it able grow so exponentially in the noughties? We spin out into history of Chinese labour policy and emerging fin-tech in Africa, and the incredibly hard to pronounce ‘algorithmic colonialism’. The girls struggle to get their head around these massive supply chains that produce the little computers we’re all so addicted to. Tech girlies we need your advice, how do we bring down silicone valley? Or at least ma...2023-07-2444 min
This Machine Kills243. GPT-4 and the Politics of OpaqueAI (ft. Abeba Birhane)We are joined by Abeba Birhane — Senior Fellow in Trustworthy AI at the Mozilla Foundation — for a critical discussion about the release of GPT-4 and OpenAI. We also get into the excellent work that Abeba and colleagues have done mapping the specific values encoded into, and the surveillance pipeline that influences, the vast majority of AI/ML research.
••• Abeba’s twitter: https://twitter.com/Abebab
••• Abeba’s paper – The Values Encoded in Machine Learning Research https://dl.acm.org/doi/fullHtml/10.1145/3531146.3533083
Stuff we referenced
••• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says AI will reshape society, acknowledges risks: 'A little bit scared of this' https://abcnews.go.com...2023-03-301h 18
The OIST PodcastConnectonomics #8 - Dr. Abeba Birhane on the limits and liabilities of artificial intelligence In episode #8 of the Connectomics podcast, Mark sits down with cognitive scientist and ethical AI researcher, Dr. Abeba Birhane. In this episode, they talk about Abeba's work auditing large image datasets, how they have discovered racial biases in these data sets, and what the implications of that are. They also talk about Abeba's work in embodied cognitive science, and how the understanding of the person that emerges from that work challenges some of the assumptions underlying the value of the 'predictive' algorithms that are being used more and more in, for ins...2023-02-081h 17The OIST PodcastConnectonomics #8 - Dr. Abeba Birhane on the limits and liabilities of artificial intelligence In episode #8 of the Connectomics podcast, Mark sits down with cognitive scientist and ethical AI researcher, Dr. Abeba Birhane. In this episode, they talk about Abeba's work auditing large image datasets, how they have discovered racial biases in these data sets, and what the implications of that are. They also talk about Abeba's work in embodied cognitive science, and how the understanding of the person that emerges from that work challenges some of the assumptions underlying the value of the 'predictive' algorithms that are being used more and more in, for ins...2023-02-081h 17
Connectomics#8 - Dr. Abeba Birhane on the limits and liabilities of artificial intelligenceIn episode #8 of the Connectomics podcast, Mark sits down with cognitive scientist and ethical AI researcher, Dr. Abeba Birhane.
In this episode, they talk about Abeba's work auditing large image datasets, how they have discovered racial biases in these data sets, and what the implications of that are.
They also talk about Abeba's work in embodied cognitive science, and how the understanding of the person that emerges from that work challenges some of the assumptions underlying the value of the 'predictive' algorithms that are being used more and more in, for instance, crime prevention.
2023-02-081h 17
The Good RobotChanging Computing Cultures with Abeba BirhaneIn this episode we speak to Abeba Birhane, senior research fellow at Mozilla, about how cognition extends beyond the brain, why why we need to turn questions like ‘why aren't there enough black women in computing’ on their head and actually transform computing cultures, and why human behaviour is a complex adaptive system that can’t always be modelled computationally. 2023-01-2434 minFor Tech's Sakev1.5: AI & UClaims of sentient AI have been largely debunked by experts, but there are still plenty of unsettling aspects of this technology that raise ethical questions.In this episode of For Tech’s Sake, Abeba Birhane, an expert in AI and cognitive science, helps us to better understand this fast-spreading technology and its limitations. We find out how AI can be at best unhelpful and annoying, and at worst prejudiced, powerful and completely opaque, particularly when the building blocks it's based on contain toxic materials.Read more about Abeba Birhane, th...2022-11-301h 02
Rankable79. Language Technology, NLP, and SEO ft Dr. Rachael TatmanIn episode 79, Dr. Rachael Tatman stops by to share her thoughts on how language modeling can be used to enhance your SEO efforts.Dr. Tatman details what impact things like Google's BERT have on an SEO campaign and how machine learning capabilities can help to analyze and improve a strategy.She also educates us on the pitfalls and shortcomings of language modeling and why you should never depend on it as your only resource.(0:00) Intro(3:02) How BERT Impacts Google Search(6:45) Why Does Language Modeling Make Search Better?2022-08-2430 min
Upaya Zen Center's Dharma PodcastDP 2032_Abeba Birhane_Complexity and Machine Learning_Varela International Symposium 2022 (6 of 8).mp32022-08-1059 min
Weird StudiesLeaving the Mechanical Dollhouse: On Abeba Birhane's "The Impossibility of Automating Ambiguity"
Like Caligula declaring war on Neptune and ordering his troops to charge into the Mediterranean Sea, our technological masters are designing neural networks meant to capture the human soul in all its oceanic complexity. According to the cognitive scientist Abeba Birhane, this is a fool's errand that we undertake at our peril. In her paper "The Impossibility of Automating Ambiguity," she makes the case for the irremediable fluidity, spontaneity, and relationality of people and societies. She argues that ongoing efforts to subsume the human (and the rest of reality) in predictive algorithms is actually narrowing the human experience, as...2022-07-061h 16
Science S*heroesSelbst lernen oder Maschinen lernen lassen? Von Künstlicher Intelligenz über Sailor Merkur bis zum MisgendernBenjamin Paaßen wurde 2019 mit einer Dissertation zu "Metric Learning for Structured Data" promoviert und hat mittlerweile die stellvertretende Leitung des Educational Technology Labs des Deutschen Forschungszentrums für künstliche Intelligenz in Kaiserslautern inne.Benjamins Forschungsschwerpunkte sind unter anderem künstliche neuronale Netze für strukturierte Daten, Educational Data Mining in der Informatikausbildug, Handprothesenkontrolle und algorithmische Fairness.LinklisteBenjamins WebseitePraktisch Theoretisch mit Friederike EysselQueer in AITimnit GebruAbeba BirhaneLiteraturtippCathy O'Neil: Weapons of Math Destruction (dt. Titel: Angriff der Algorithmen)Wir danken Almut Schwacke für unser Intro und Julius Herold für seine Unterstützung beim Cover.Science S*heroes...2022-06-291h 17
Two Psychologists Four BeersA Face For PodcastingYoel and Alexa discuss a recent study that examines the facial features that people perceive as "smart," "dorky," "trustworthy," or a number of other traits. The study quickly captured a lot of attention, eliciting both fascination and anger. The cohosts turn to Twitter, and to Alexa's undergraduate students, to attempt to gain a deeper understanding of the criticisms and suspicions expressed about the work. In the process, they consider whether glasses make you look smart, and whether babies can be trusted.Sponsored By:FindingFive: Link and promo code for users in the European Union Promo Code...2022-05-011h 05
Habesha in TechMy Tech Journey with Abeba Birhane (PhD)Our guest is Abeba Birhane (PhD), a cognitive science PhD researcher at the Complex Software Lab in the school of computer science at University College Dublin, Ireland. She hails from the beautiful city of Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. She was a brilliant student. You may not guess how she earned her first salary, by being a DJ. She is now living in Ireland. Abeba completed her PhD in Cognitive Science from Complex Software Lab in the school of computer science at University College Dublin, Ireland. Congrats to her.
Abeba is fearless to challenge the status quo whenever she sees injustice and i...2022-01-231h 27
The ThinkND PodcastTechnology & Power, Part 3: Machine Learning and PowerEpisode Topic: Machine Learning and PowerMachine learning purports to make accurate predictions and decisions about everything from prison recidivism rates to cancer diagnoses to mortgage approvals. But time and time again, scholars, activists, and journalists have demonstrated that machine learning algorithms often digitize and replicate inaccuracies, historical prejudices, and institutional harms. With so much on the line, machine learning models and the data used to train them may deserve more scrutiny.Featured Speakers: Abeba Birhane, PhD Candidate in Cognitive Science, University College DublinNoopur Raval, Postdoctoral Researcher, AI Now InstituteRead this e...2021-12-0659 min
Greater Than Code215: Gathering Data in Machine Learning with Abeba Birhane01:41 - Descartes was wrong: ‘a person is a person through other persons’
Abeba Birhane on a person is a person through other persons
Cartesian Thinking
Individualism
13:59 - Predicting How People Behave and Act via Machine Learning is Ethically Flawed
“Measuring” People
Simon’s Ant
Abstraction
Greater Than Code Episode 038: Category Theory for Normal Humans with Dr. Eugenia Cheng
Order Out of Chaos by Ilya Prigogine and Isabelle Stengers
Collecting Data
Confirmation Bias
34:21 - Examining Machine Learning Models and Data
Means Testing
Generalized Empathy
“When you get rid of what you don’t want, you do not nec...2020-12-301h 01
#causeasceneAbeba BirhaneWithin these social spheres, when you try, when you create algorithmic systems to predict social outcomes are you not only making a scientifically dubious claim because that’s impossible? But also you are doing something that’s ethically a red flag that harms people that harms minoritized communities. Abeba Birhane is currently a Ph.D. candidate […]2020-12-0252 min
Let's Chat EthicsWho Decides What is Ethical?In this weeks episode we tackle the topic of who gets to define what is ethical - looking at ethical guidelines and "The Algorithmic Colonization of Africa" by Abeba Birhane.
2020-10-0827 min
Spanner in the System: ETC Group Podcast#5: Algorithmic Colonisation with Abeba BirhaneIn this podcast episode, ETC Group speaks to Abeba Birhane, a PhD candidate in cognitive science at University College Dublin in the School of Computer Science. Birhane talks about her work on the algorithmic colonisation of Africa, why we need to normalise critical thinking on new technologies and if there is such a thing as “ethical" AI.2020-09-1820 min
The Radical AI PodcastRobot Rights? Exploring Algorithmic Colonization with Abeba BirhaneShould we grant robots rights? What is moral relationality and how can it be useful for designing machine learning algorithms? What is the algorithmic colonization of Africa and why is it harmful? To answer these questions and more The Radical AI Podcast welcomes Abeba Birhane to the show.
Abeba Birhane is a PhD candidate in cognitive science at University College Dublin in the School of Computer Science. She studies the relationships between emerging technologies, personhood and society. Specifically, Abeba explores how technology can shape what it means to be human. Abeba’s work is incredibly interd...2020-05-2756 min
The TWIML AI Podcast (formerly This Week in Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence)Algorithmic Injustices and Relational Ethics with Abeba BirhaneToday we’re joined by Abeba Birhane, PhD Student at University College Dublin and author of the recent paper Algorithmic Injustices: Towards a Relational Ethics, which was the recipient of the Best Paper award at the 2019 Black in AI Workshop at NeurIPS. In our conversation, break down the paper and the thought process around AI ethics, the “harm of categorization,” how ML generally doesn’t account for the ethics of various scenarios and how relational ethics could solve the issue, and much more.2020-02-1341 min
#bodymindself#6 - Relational & Interdisciplinary Thinking with Abeba Birhane & JFL - bodymindself™In this sixth episode of the bodymindself™ podcast psychologist and cognitive scientist John Francis Leader (JFL) meets cognitive science researcher Abeba Birhane ( https://twitter.com/Abebab https://abebabirhane.wordpress.com/ ) to discuss the topics of relational & interdisciplinary thinking.
The bodymindself™ podcast, newly launched in 2017, is an ongoing series of conversations between JFL and others on the topics of applied psychology and cognitive science, experiential learning, perception, virtual and mixed reality, embodiment, mental processes and identification.
The aim of the series is to include the voices of people from very diverse backgrounds, ranging from academia to those working on the frontline in a...2017-12-011h 29
The Middle Way SocietyEpisode 124: Abeba Birhane on a person is a person through other personsOur guest today is Abeba Birhane. Abeba is an Ethiopian Cognitive science PhD student presently living in Dublin. She blogs regularly at https://abebabirhane.wordpress.com on topics including philosophy, psychology, feminism, anthropology. She recently drew quite a bit of attention on the internet in an article for Aeon entitled “Descartes was wrong: ‘a person is a person through other persons’ and this will be the topic of our discussion today.2017-08-1223 min