Hi, I’m Charley, and this is Untangled, a newsletter about our sociotechnical world, and how to change it.

* Come work with me! The initiative I lead at Data & Society is hiring for a Community Manager. Learn more here.

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* Last week I interviewed Mozilla’s Jasmine Sun and Nik Marda on the potential of public AI, and the week prior I shared my conversation with AI reporter Karen Hao on OpenAI’s mythology, Meta’s secret, and Microsoft’s hypocrisy.

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On to the show!

This week I spoke with Arvind Narayanan, professor of computer science at Princeton University and director of its Center for Information Technology Policy. I spoke with Arvind about his great new book with Sayash Kapoor, AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What it Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference. We discuss:

* The difference between generative AI and predictive AI, and why we’re both more concerned by the latter.

* Whether generative AI systems can ‘understand’ and ‘reason.’

* The difference between intelligence and power and why Arvind isn’t so concerned by the supposed existential threats of AI.

* Why artificial intelligence appeals to broken institutions.

* How Arvind would change AI discourse.

* How technical and social experts misunderstand one another.

* What a Trump second term means for AI regulation.

* What excites Arvind about how his children will experience new technologies, and what makes him nervous.

More soon,

Charley

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