I began demystifying AI after I found myself attending a talk where the speaker, despite having no knowledge of computing, segued into a long speech about how ChatGPT would soon start producing robots to take over the world. Given my background in AI and human-computer interaction, I knew that the speaker was repeating a well-known trope of many science-fiction novels, however, other audience members did not and trusted this speaker.
So! I now give light-hearted, accessible talks to various organisations including the Women’s Institute with the aim of presenting a fact-based view of what AI can and cannot actually do.
Some of my talks are outlined below, along with a contact form.
Demystifying AI
In the news, we are constantly reading about how AI is going to self-evolve and take over the world, to which I say robots are welcome round my house anytime to take charge of the shopping, housework, and please can they can cook the dinner too? In this talk, I trace the recurring rise and fall of AI. From robots in Ancient Greece to present day ChatGPT whilst explaining exactly what AI can and can’t do.
You have filled in so much
Mary Evans
that I couldn’t understand.
When computers were women
The first computers were women and programming as originally imagined by Ada Lovelace, Countess of Byron, finally took form during WWII. Six female clerical workers figured out how to code the first computer using a mass of blueprints and mathematical skills and yet they were written out of history as the machine got all credit. In this talk, we trace the evolution of computers to see how this man’s world would have never progressed without the women which gave the field its name.
Digital anthropology
In the 1970s, anthropologists at the University of California, Berkeley, began studying up, applying anthropology – the scientific study of behaviour, culture and society – to how Westerners behave. With the rise of the WWW in the 1990s this has extended to our digital life and beyond.
From the first office anthropologists, via social animals on social media and undercover anthropologists in the World of Warcraft, to to artificial intimacy with chatbots and post-human aspirations, we consider what it means to be human in a digital world.
My mind is spinning!
Helen Kestle
So much incredible
information!
Bacon on ice-cream
When Macdonald’s withdrew its AI from the drive-thru after it kept putting bacon on ice-cream, most people were left baffled. In this talk, we take a peek under the hood of chatbots and speech recognition to see why machine learning would ‘think’ that bacon is a good topping for ice-cream. And, why it couldn’t possibly improve without human intervention which is probably why Macdonald’s decided to cut out the middleman. It is invariably quicker and cheaper to get a human to behave like a robot, rather than the other way round.
Contact Ruth
If you’d like to discuss the possibility of me giving a talk at your organisation, I’d be delighted to hear from you.
Contact me using the form below:
Last updated: 16/11/24