In the first half, USC professor and AI researcher Bart Kosko spoke about the rapid evolution and societal impact of artificial intelligence, as well as his research into noise. Explaining the technical foundations behind conversational AI like Alexa, he characterized it as advanced pattern recognition rather than true understanding. Further, he noted the extraordinary scale of modern models, such as Google's Gemini with over a trillion parameters, which predict language with "stupid accuracy" despite not "thinking" in a human sense.
Now on the horizon are agentic AI systems that collaborate autonomously to complete tasks, effectively democratizing access to expert-level assistance. In education, this could pave the way for personalized AI tutors that adapt to your skill set, enabling faster learning. Such AI agents could also provide individualized legal and accounting support, raising complex privacy and law-enforcement issues as they might inundate systems with automated legal actions. In other ethical and legal challenges, he touched on a tragic case where a chatbot allegedly encouraged a young man’s suicide. Kosko, who also holds a law degree, delved into the complexities of liability and the difficulty in programming AI with moral constraints without introducing bias.
Exploring the dual nature of noise as both harmful and beneficial, he highlighted how it disrupts sleep and raises blood pressure but also plays a crucial role in technologies like generative AI, where noise injection improves image generation. Kosko emphasized practical strategies for managing noise: using a fan or white noise to mask disruptive sounds during sleep, taking "noise fasts" by retreating to quiet natural environments, and deliberately training focus by reading or working in noisy settings.
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In the latter half, Donna Marks, a therapist and addictions counselor with over 30 years of experience, discussed the nature of happiness, addiction, and personal growth. She emphasized that happiness is "feeling good inside, no matter what's going on out there," and described it as a skill that must be learned due to the mind's natural inclination toward negativity. "So we have to learn to reframe things, to have a miracle mindset, which is how we are perceiving something, and mostly how we are perceiving ourselves in any situation," she explained. Rather than just the time of New Year's, she suggested that it can be helpful to make resolutions throughout the year.
Most individuals seek therapy due to emotional pain or suffering, she stated, indicating that the deep roots of such pain often trace back to childhood experiences, whether from overbearing parenting or chaotic, neglectful environments. Marks advocated for better preparation of prospective parents to foster healthy child development. Her approach focuses on self-ownership and self-love: "This is my sacred command center here in my head... I get to decide what's good for me and what's not good for me."
On addiction, she defined it as "when someone continues to do something that isn't good for them." She also linked obsession and addiction, noting that obsessive thinking can be treated as a form of addiction. Marks shared a case involving four men in conflict within a business, each battling different addictions. "Almost everyone that comes into my office either has some form of addiction," though they may not realize it, she revealed. Stressing that addiction is rarely anyone's fault, she pointed to a complex interplay of factors, including targeted marketing and unresolved pain.
News segment guests: John Truman Wolfe, Jeff Nelken