It was great to kick off IIM Indore’s conference today, and earlier I made use of my jet lag and listened to talks for my #AcademicRunPlaylist!

First was an excellent conversation between Ann Lipton and Michael Levin on the legal landmine that is the SpaceX IPO as well as how companies actually bring on independent directors on the Shareholder Primacy podcast. Highly recommend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZ1hQOkbt1o

Next was a great talk by Sumudu Watugala on how firm patenting behavior changes after natural disasters at the NBER https://www.youtube.com/live/NVfAISwWK58?si=VIKmeS7-U2jetFCR&t=23379 

Next was an engaging discussion with Katy DeCelles sociological and psychological factors that affect interaction outcomes at CASBS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnMMv9Qu568 

Next was a compelling talk by Chloe Gibbs and Maria Rosales-Rueda on how the expansion of government supported early childcare programs impacts maternal employment at NBER https://www.youtube.com/live/g1v9_edxnmA?si=0KKAwos9cC1wwrjo&t=22793 

Next was an amazing talk by Jean Pirole on how morality is inextricably tied to the structure and function of markets and economics more broadly at University of Cambridge Economics. Pirole builds the case for conceiving of economics as a “moral science,” centering the impossibility of “objectivity” and the importance of grappling directly with our framing of phenomena and recommendations that flow from research. Highly recommend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGvoJukUPn0

Next was a great talk by Douglas Anderson on the archaeological and anthropological view of the Iñupiat of Northwest Alaska over the past millennium https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STDi1AbNT-E

Next was “Feeding the Machine” by James Muldoon, Mark Graham and Callum Cant. This book delivers a rigorous sociological review of all of the labor that drives the modern AI ecosystem, centering the exploitative and psychologically damaging conditions of data labelers. The deep investigations here show both the costs of our current model of AI development, as well as the limitations of the technology class that are obscured by outsourcing work to poorly paid workers in the Global South. The authors also interrogate AI itself, stripping away much of the hype and distractions that both industry and academia has erected. You can still, however, feel the Oxford roots of the authors, with some weird outbursts of AI hype breaking through. That doesn't distract much from the larger accomplishments of this book, which should be required reading for people in and around the industry. Highly recommend https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/feeding-the-machine-9781639734979/ 

Last was “Corporate Crops” by Gabriela Pechlaner. This is an incredible sociological and legal dive into the corporate crop Industry, analyzing its effects on farmers, how governments and the courts have strengthened industry's power, and the systemic effects that the rise of this method of farming is creating. Pechlaner does a fantastic job weaving the macro perspective with on the ground perspectives from farmers and vendors in the industry, demonstrating how the patent system has been arguably abused to distort agriculture in Canada and the US and how the structure of the industry is rapidly stifling competition and foreclosing future alternatives. This is all an important example of the systemic effects of new technologies on an industry and the importance of early structural and legal remedies to avoid agriculture's current quandary. Highly recommend https://utpress.utexas.edu/9780292756878/