Ep. 21 – The Scorpion and the Frog

The Upgrade: Beyond the Hype

Tamara McCleary started her career as a trauma nurse in the 1980s rescuing patients in helicopters and performing end of life care through hospice – an experience that gave her a keen interest in existential topics around life and death. In her work, Tamara strives to constantly upskill and update herself. That openness to change has led to many career transitions from healthcare compliance and medical legal consulting to her current role as CEO of the social media marketing agency Thulium. Tamara recently went back to school to study the ethical and social aspects of artificial intelligence at Harvard.

On this week’s episode of The Upgrade, host Peter Bittner talked with Tamara about her academic work which uses a philosopher’s eye to consider the social impact of AI’s use in a range of technologies and sciences from autonomous vehicles to genetic engineering and sex dolls.

(Show Notes)

(2:31) Going to Harvard in your mid-50s

(6:02) AI’s ability to deceive

(6:52) How an AI lied to get past a captcha

(10:11) Potential scenarios for AI to go off the rails

(14:55) Tamara tells a fable that offers a powerful lesson for understanding AI

(17:06) The cautionary tale of an AI that sought to turn all matter in the universe into paperclips

(19:59) Looking at AI through the lens of confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance

(23:40) Tamara’s research about the possibility of AI-powered sex dolls

(26:49) Philosophizing on the ethics of AI

(30:10) How AI will integrate into different aspects of our lives

(32:50) AI and education

(34:54) Solutions to help resolve some of the problems posed by AI
(37:22) Tamara describes the podcast she's developing about the challenges and ethical dilemmas that come with progress

Connect with Tamara on LinkedIn

Learn more about The Upgrade and our online courses

Connect on LinkedIn with Peter Bittner, The Upgrade’s founder and CEO

Special thanks to Mitch Walker for helping to design the podcast’s artwork