Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Professor Gerd Gigerenzer – a world-leading psychologist, author and internationally acclaimed expert in decision-making, risk literacy, and bounded rationality.

Formerly a Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago and John M. Olin Distinguished Visiting Professor at the School of Law at the University of Virginia, Professor Gigerenzer has reshaped how we understand human intuition, heuristics, and the ways in which we make decisions under uncertainty.

A long-time director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development with decades of groundbreaking research to his name, he is currently director of the Harding Center for Risk Literacy at the University of Potsdam and vice-president of the European Research Council (ERC).

Having trained managers, doctors, and U.S. federal judges in dealing with risks and uncertainties, Professor Gigerenzer has received a litany of awards, from the German Psychology Prize and Communicator Prize, to the award for the best journal article in the behavioral sciences by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Switzerland’s prestigious Duttweiler Institute has named Gigerenzer one of the 100 most influential thinkers in the world, and it is there – at their International Trends Day – that I met him, sharing a stage exploring our perpectives around the impacts of digital noise, the current use of LLMs, and how we might more wisely navigate an increasingly complex and uncertain world.

His talk was one of my highlights of the event, and so it is with great pleasure that I share this conversation with you today.

BOOKS

https://www.gerd-gigerenzer.com/books

WEBSITES

• https://www.gerd-gigerenzer.com/
• https://www.mpg.de/en
• https://www.hardingcenter.de/en
• https://erc.europa.eu/homepage

CHAPTERS

02:32 Technological Paternalism and Human Agency

05:36 The Role of Intuition in Decision Making

08:45 The Impact of Algorithms on Human Interaction

11:35 Human Intelligence vs. Algorithms

14:48 Understanding Stable and Unstable Worlds

17:43 The Risks of Predictive Policing

20:33 Deep Fakes and Disinformation

23:42 The Accountability Shift in AI

26:36 The Influence of Tech Oligarchs

29:27 Changing the System for Better Leadership

32:37 Reclaiming Agency in a Digital World

35:34 Hope for the Future of Digital Literacy

36:32 The Cost of Freedom in Social Media

38:38 Conditioning and the Need for Critical Thinking

41:28 Mental Health and Cognitive Challenges in the Digital Age

45:24 The Shift from Extrinsic to Intrinsic Motivation

51:36 Rediscovering Joy Beyond Screens

56:39 The Future of Technology and Human Connection

Today I have the distinct pleasure of speaking with Professor Sue Black, OBE - a multi-award-winning computer scientist, social entrepreneur, and technology evangelist with over 25 years of experience driving change at the intersection of technology, equity, and public policy.

Recognised as one of the Forbes World Top 50 Women in Tech and in the Top 20 Most Influential Person in UK Tech, Sue’s work spans bias in AI, digital inclusion, culture change, and community transformation.

She has advised the UK government on digital skills, founded TechUPWomen to support underserved women into tech careers, and was the pioneering mind who led the successful campaign to save Bletchley Park.

Currently serving as a trustee at Comic Relief and the Institute for the Future of Work, Sue’s mission is to ensure technology works for everyone, not just the few. And it is precisely her focus and work around responsible AI, inclusive leadership, and tech for good that inspired me to speak with her today.

WEBSITES

• https://sueblack.co.uk/
• https://www.skool.com/women-in-tech-power-network/about
• https://www.techup.ac.uk/contact-us/

CHAPTERS

05:01 The Role of Technology in Society

10:00 Education and Technology Literacy

17:00 The AI Opportunity Gap

23:11 Navigating AI and Technology Myths

27:07 Harnessing Positive Technologies for Everyday Life

27:31 Understanding Gender Disparities in AI Adoption

28:25 Skepticism vs. Adoption: A Deeper Look at AI

30:25 The Importance of Diversity in Tech Development

32:23 Breaking Down Silos: The Value of Intergenerational Perspectives

34:33 Using Technology for Pro-Social Outcomes

35:53 Empowering Women in Tech: Challenges and Solutions

41:50 The Need for Diverse Leadership in Tech

42:13 Creating a Diverse Board for Ethical Tech Decisions

43:37 Current Focus: Empowering Women in Technology

In this episode, I speak with Carl Miller: an author, journalist and researcher at Demos, a London think tank where he co-founded the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media in 2012. A renowned speaker, Carl has given address in Parliament, to NATO, at TED, the Web Summit, the Hay Literary Festival, Oxford University, the British Academy, the Mayor of London, Latitude and many more.

As a journalist, he has written on everything from living in a political technology commune and visiting an information warfare base, to meeting fake news merchants in Kosovo. He’s conducted longterm, immersive investigations into the digital democrats in Taiwan, hackers in Las Vegas and assassination markets on the dark net, and he's the host of the multi-award-winning, 7-country #1 podcast, Kill List.

The author of several books, including The Death of the Gods: The New Global Power Grab (which won the 2019 Transmission prize), Carl has led over 40 major projects to research the digital world. He highlighted the influence of conspiracy theories in 2010, called for digital literacy education in 2012. He warned about the rise of crypto-currencies in 2013, and how the digital world was transforming policing. With the former Director of GCHQ, he coined 'SOCMINT', social media intelligence.

In 2015 he led a team monitoring the rise of digital politics over the General Election. In 2016 he worked on using machine learning to measure how social media was targeting minority groups for abuse. From 2019 onwards, he has focussed on confronting the rise of shadowy forms of influence, disinformation and information warfare.

And this, dear listeners, is what we’ll be exploring today…

WEBSITES

• www.carlmiller.co
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlmiller/
• http://www.demos.co.uk/people/carl-miller
• https://demos.academia.edu/CarlMiller
• www.demos.co.uk

BOOKS & RESOURCES

Book: The Death of The Gods – Carl Miller (https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/436073/the-death-of-the-gods-by-carl-miller/9781786090126)

Writing: https://carl-miller-website.webflow.io/writing

Podcast: Kill List (Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/kill-list/id1769072368 / Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0MKZSB39sSnSYHzey11SPF)

CITED

Demos Waves Project - https://demos.co.uk/project/waves/

Estonia's X-Road Digital Identity System - https://e-estonia.com/solutions/interoperability-services/x-road/

CHAPTERS

06:06 The Role of Technology in Society

11:18 Information Warfare and AI

17:00 Civic Engagement and Digital Literacy

25:41 The Challenge of Digital Identity and Security

28:17 The Evolution of Internet Trust and Fraud

30:28 The Implications of AI on Identity and Trust

33:53 Innovations in Digital Democracy: The Waves Project