Stochastic Parrots | Emily M. Bender - Professor of Computational Linguistics

Few people understand language quite like today's guest. Emily M. Bender is a Professor of Computational Linguistics at the University of Washington. She's also the person who coined the term 'Stochastic Parrots' in the now infamous paper that saw Google fire its Ethical AI lead; and the co-author of The AI Con, a book which is unflinching in its criticism of both AI boosterism and doomerism (in fact she objects to the term AI).I sat down with Emily to discuss topics such as:How language really worksWhat LLMs are actually doingWhat Stochastic Parrots really meansWhy doomers and boosters are two sides of the same, misleading coinWhere else you can listen⁠⁠⁠Youtube⁠⁠⁠ - https://www.youtube.com/@HumansintheLoopPod⁠Apple podcasts⁠⁠⁠ - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/humans-in-the-loop/id1831285114⁠Spotify⁠ - https://open.spotify.com/show/4BbslJR0KA5bfqrcYRhJER?si=b5a46211098b4f3eOr wherever you get your podcasts!Chapters00:00 Introduction to AI and Linguistics02:54 Understanding Computational Linguistics05:47 The Stochastic Parrots Paper08:32 The Implications of AI Terminology10:57 Skepticism Towards AI Claims12:58 The Illusion of Intelligence in AI15:55 The Dangers of AI in Professional Settings18:33 Democratization and Distrust in AI Development28:02 Doomers vs. Boosters: The AI Narrative32:57 Skepticism in AI: A Personal Journey36:30 The Rapid Evolution of AI: Are We Outdated?40:13 The Role of Software Engineering in AI48:14 Automation vs. Human Expertise: A Balancing Act53:02 Geopolitical Narratives: The AI Arms Race56:33 The Future of AI: Regulation and Ethical Use57:44 Pride in Expertise: Understanding Our ValueGet in touch⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ - https://www.instagram.com/humansinthelooppod/Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠Website: ⁠https://www.theuncommonfounder.com