#AcademicRunPlaylist - 3/18/24

It definitely feels like spring is arriving in Boston, and I was able to enjoy the weather with a short run while listening to talks for my #AcademicRunPlaylist!

First was an interesting talk by Susanna Loeb and Harry Brighouse on how to combine values and evidence in education policy decision-making at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6I_syqHq7E

Next was a nice talk by Raghavendra Pradyumna Pothukuchi on brain-computer interfaces at The Athena AI Institute https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BP7sjkRQttY

Next was a fascinating talk by Siddharth Premkumar on trans-oceanic trade, wealth accumulation, and early empire building in the South Deccan (the large central Indian plateau) at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW_iOvCvtGY

Next was a spicy conversation with Anat Admati on what's wrong with banking today and what to do about it on the Business Scholarship Podcast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mgmg1UJepo

Next was an excellent talk by Cass Sunstein on Barbie goods at the Institute for Ethics in AI. Sunstein describes Barbies as "goods that people buy but wish did not exist," and examines social media and other phenomena through this lens. The Q&A also gets more into "reverse Barbies" like paternity leave and the implications for policy. Highly recommend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14zZH08suWk

Next was an engaging discussion with Sherry Yang on large video models on the TWIML podcast. The applications for robotics and physics were intriguing, although I think there's a bit too much hype in some of the discussion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGNT9fW3Wig

Next was a fantastic talk by David Spiegelhalter on the art of statistics at the LSE. Spiegelhalter digs into the benefits and pitfalls of using statistics and the implications for practitioners and society as a whole. Highly recommend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DhOMdcbjuU

Next was a wonderful talk by Barry Eichengreen on technology, news, and financial market reaction at the Paris School of Economics. There's a lot of conversation about the history of undersea cables (including the discovery of the need to shark-proof them) and their relationship to financial trading. Highly recommend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsX6qm6XGis

Next was a wide-ranging symposium on measuring poverty around the world at the Oxford Martin School with John Micklewright, Sabina Alkire, Andrea Brandolini, and Brian Nolan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z17RwjrhsLM