EconTalk
Economics Brought to Life, brought to you by the Library of Economics and Liberty.
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Gary Marcus on the Future of Artificial Intelligence and the Brain
Gary Marcus talks with host Russ Roberts about the future ...
Gary Marcus talks with host Russ Roberts about the future of artificial intelligence (AI). While Marcus is concerned about how advances in AI might hurt human flourishing, he argues that truly transformative smart machines are still a long way away and that to date, the exponential improvements in technology have been in hardware, not software. Marcus proposes ways to raise standards in programming to reduce mistakes that would have catastrophic effects if advanced AI does come to fruition. The two also discuss "big data's" emphasis on correlations, and how that leaves much to be desired.
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James Otteson on the End of Socialism
James Otteson talks to host Russ Roberts about his new ...
James Otteson talks to host Russ Roberts about his new book, The End of Socialism. Otteson argues that socialism (including what he calls the "socialist inclination") is morally and practically inferior to capitalism. Otteson contrasts socialism and capitalism through the views of G. A. Cohen and Adam Smith. Otteson emphasizes the importance of moral agency and respect for the individual in his defense of capitalism. The conversation also includes a discussion of the deep appeal of the tenets of socialism such as equality and the impulse for top-down planning.
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Nick Bostrom on Superintelligence
Nick Bostrom talks with host Russ Roberts about his book, ...
Nick Bostrom talks with host Russ Roberts about his book, Superintelligence. Bostrom argues that when machines dwarfing human intelligence exist they will threaten human existence unless steps are taken now to reduce the risk. The conversation covers the likelihood of the worst scenarios, strategies that might be used to reduce the risk and the implications for labor markets, and human flourishing in a world of superintelligent machines.
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Emily Oster on Infant Mortality
Emily Oster talks with host Russ Roberts about why U.S. ...
Emily Oster talks with host Russ Roberts about why U.S. infant mortality is twice that in Finland and high relative to the rest of the world, given high income levels in the United States. The conversation explores the roles of measurement and definition along with culture to understand the causes of infant mortality in the United States and how it might be improved.
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Vernon Smith on Adam Smith and the Human Enterprise
Nobel Laureate Vernon L. Smith talks to host Russ Roberts ...
Nobel Laureate Vernon L. Smith talks to host Russ Roberts about how Adam Smith's book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments has enriched his understanding of human behavior. He contrasts Adam Smith's vision with the traditional neoclassical models of choice and applies Smith's insights to explain unexpected experimental results from the laboratory.
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Becky Liddicoat Yamarik on Palliative Care and End-of-Life Medical Issues
Becky Liddicoat Yamarik, Hospice Palliative Care Physician, talks to host ...
Becky Liddicoat Yamarik, Hospice Palliative Care Physician, talks to host Russ Roberts about the joys and challenges of providing care for terminally ill patients. The two discuss the services palliative care provides, how patients make choices about quality of life and when to stop receiving treatment, conflicts of interest between patients and families, and patients' preparedness to make these decisions.
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Daron Acemoglu on Inequality, Institutions, and Piketty
Daron Acemoglu talks with host Russ Roberts about his new ...
Daron Acemoglu talks with host Russ Roberts about his new paper co-authored with James Robinson, "The Rise and Fall of General Laws of Capitalism," a critique of Piketty, Marx, and other thinkers who have tried to explain patterns of data as inevitable "laws" without regard to institutions. Acemoglu and Roberts also discuss labor unions, labor markets, and inequality.
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Robert Solow on Growth and the State of Economics
Nobelist Robert Solow talks with host Russ Roberts about his ...
Nobelist Robert Solow talks with host Russ Roberts about his hugely influential theory of growth and inspiration to create a model that better reflected the stable long-term growth of an economy. Solow contends that capital accumulation cannot explain a significant portion of the economic growth we see. He makes a critical distinction between innovation and technology, and then discusses his views on Friedman and Keynes.
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Luigi Zingales on Incentives and the Potential Capture of Economists by Special Interests
Luigi Zingales talks with host Russ Roberts about Zingales's essay, ...
Luigi Zingales talks with host Russ Roberts about Zingales's essay, "Preventing Economists' Capture." Zingales argues that just as regulators become swayed by the implicit incentives of dealing with industry executives, so too with economists who study business: supporting business interests can be financially and professionally rewarding. Zingales outlines the different ways that economists benefit from supporting business interests and ways that economists might work to prevent that influence or at lease be aware of it.
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Russ Roberts and Mike Munger on How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life
EconTalk host Russ Roberts is interviewed by EconTalk guest Michael ...
EconTalk host Russ Roberts is interviewed by EconTalk guest Michael Munger about Russ's new book, How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness. Topics discussed include how economists view human motivation and consumer behavior, the role of conscience and self-interest in acts of kindness, and the costs and benefits of judging others. The conversation closes with a discussion of how Smith can help us understand villains in movies.
