#AcademicRunPlaylist - 6/11/24

My schedule was a bit packed, but I was still able to go on a shorter run and listen to some talks for my #AcademicRunPlaylist!

First was an informative talk by Diane Burton on how companies are currently using human capital metrics in executive comp at Cornell University ILR School. People analytics folks will want to listen to this, although as most of you know I think the metrics discussed here are not representative of what people metrics should be used for comp/what's possible https://www.youtube.com/live/dz3qyM0_A0k?si=-N2-EPyBKc9ULMex&t=750

Next was a fascinating talk by Gyorgy Buzsaki on the emergence of cognition from action at Brown University https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zpqhoDyOZs

Next was an interesting talk by Yessica Herrera on social inequalities in ballet and the implications for career success at the Complexity Science Hub. Herrera draws on a unique ballet performance dataset to show how social network position is transformative for career success, but unfortunately women are excluded from advantageous positions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcUG1atJnUc

Next was a wide-ranging talk by Graeme Auld on possible future pathways for the public-private field of AI risk regulation at Toronto Metropolitan University. I would've liked more discussion of regulatory capture, as it has undeniably happened in most jurisdictions (particularly the UK) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXcgwHF97GA

Next was a great talk by Luke Guerdan on human-algorithm decision making under imperfect proxy labels at the Complexity Science Hub. Guerdan reviews the importance of considering how labeling and prediction influences what's being measured and approaches to deal with the biases that result https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jXI1njRhhY

Next was a fantastic talk by Richard Nisbett on culture and intelligence at the LSE. I was worried that this topic would be handled poorly, but I shouldn't have been - Nisbett systematically lays out the challenges with measuring intelligence, the primacy of socioeconomic factors in driving group differences, and how improvements in welfare reduce differences between groups. Highly recommend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbgNSk95Vkk

Next was an important talk by Esther Duflo on randomized controlled trials and policy making in developing countries at the Royal Economic Society. Duflo is one of the world's foremost experts in this area, and it shows in how she identifies how to deploy RCTs in the real world and their limitations. Highly recommend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIlEx01O0QY

Next was a great talk by Georg Fischer on the history and impact of the Barings' Brazilian iron ore project in 1914 at the University of London's School of Advanced Study  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RoCh-zmID4

Last was an excellent talk by Paul Tetlock on the role of the media in moving the stock market at Columbia Business School. Tetlock analyzes the temporal effects of WSJ articles, convincingly demonstrating that overreactions can move the market for a few days before they settle down. Highly recommend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3HMTgmNw3s