Episode 4: Intelligence as a Political Construct

We've mapped how intelligence has been used. Now: what do we actually want from AI?What is it about "AGI" that's captured the imagination? Through the course of this series we've uncovered uncomfortable truths. Now: the ELIZA effect, the human impulse to anthropomorphize, and what a positive AI future might actually require.Our host is Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, leading thinker and developer of safe, secure and responsible AI. You can learn more about her at www.rummanchowdhury.comWe also have a companion substack, also called Thinking about Thinking. Find us at https://substack.com/@rummanchowdhury1 

When productivity becomes the measure of a mind, who gets left behind?What is AGI? How has the definition evolved across researchers and corporations? This episode tracks OpenAI's fully economic definition — "all tasks of economic value" — and asks what happens when intelligence becomes synonymous with productivity.Our host is Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, leading thinker and developer of safe, secure and responsible AI. You can learn more about her at www.rummanchowdhury.comWe also have a companion substack, also called Thinking about Thinking. Find us at https://substack.com/@rummanchowdhury1 

Intelligence has always been weaponized. What happens when AI enters that lineage?Intelligence as a history of exclusion — used to exclude women, justify slavery, and deny citizenship. AI is the first time we are facing an intelligence ostensibly "greater" than ours, as defined by our own societal values.Our host is Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, leading thinker and developer of safe, secure and responsible AI. You can learn more about her at www.rummanchowdhury.comWe also have a companion substack, also called Thinking about Thinking. Find us at https://substack.com/@rummanchowdhury1 

Who decides what counts as intelligent — and who gets rights because of it?The fraught history of defining human intelligence — and how we conflate intelligence with sentience. Edge cases: end-of-life care, infant cognition, fitness for trial. Intelligence matters because it ascribes rights.Our host is Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, leading thinker and developer of safe, secure and responsible AI. You can learn more about her at www.rummanchowdhury.comWe also have a companion substack, also called Thinking about Thinking. Find us at https://substack.com/@rummanchowdhury1 

From chimps to ant colonies: what non-human intelligence tells us about AI.How have other fields studied intelligence in non-humans — from chimps to lobsters to ant colonies? And what does swarm intelligence tell us about AI's scaling ambitions? This episode blurs the boundary between intelligence and sentience.Our host is Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, leading thinker and developer of safe, secure and responsible AI. You can learn more about her at www.rummanchowdhury.comWe also have a companion substack, also called Thinking about Thinking. Find us at https://substack.com/@rummanchowdhury1 

What is intelligence — and why does our definition matter more than ever?What is intelligence, really? This opening episode traces the industrial origins of IQ tests, interrogates how AI benchmarks may be new tools for old hierarchies, and asks: if we're on the wrong path to AGI, what would the right one look like?Our host is Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, leading thinker and developer of safe, secure and responsible AI. You can learn more about her at www.rummanchowdhury.comWe also have a companion substack, also called Thinking about Thinking. Find us at https://substack.com/@rummanchowdhury1