Episode 2172: Pedro Domingos on how AI can radically democratize American politics

Keen On

As the author of the bestselling Master Algorithm, University of Washington professor Pedro Domingos is one of the world’s most respected AI experts. So I was a little surprised that his new book, 2040, is a science-fictional satire of American politics & Silicon Valley. In 2040, Domingos is, however, also using fiction to write a critique of the current Silicon Valley mania for AI. The book is both a warning about the technological limits of AI as well as an investigation of the way that it could truly democratize American politics. And so, by 2040, Domingos promised me, we really might be close to the reality of what he calls “an agora in a Presibot”.

Pedro Domingos is a leading AI researcher and the author of the worldwide bestseller "The Master Algorithm", an introduction to machine learning for a general audience. He is a professor of computer science at the University of Washington in Seattle. He won the SIGKDD Innovation Award and the IJCAI John McCarthy Award, two of the highest honors in data science and AI, and is a Fellow of AAAS and AAAI. He has written for the Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, Wired, and others, and is a highly sought-after speaker.

Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.

Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe