Episode 31

Science and Society at the White House, ChatGPT, and the Paradox of Data-Driven Agriculture

February 15, 2023

TRANSCRIPT

Happy New Year!! In this episode, Jack and Shobita discuss Alondra Nelson's departure from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the meaning for the position she created, Deputy Director for Science and Society. We also try to get beyond ChatGPT's hype to talk about some of the long-term implications. And we chat with Kelly Bronson, Canada Research Chair in Science and Society at the University of Ottawa, about her book The Immaculate Conception of Data: Agribusiness, Activists, and Their Shared Politics of the Future.

Study Questions:

1. How is AI reconfiguring power relations, and social relationships, both in the case of LLMs like ChatGPT and in precision agriculture?

2. What are the similarities and differences in how the private sector and activist scientists approach data-driven agriculture?

3. What does openness mean in the context of precision agriculture, and what are the benefits and drawbacks for achieving equity, justice, and environmental sustainability?

4. What is the "immaculate conception of data", and what are the problems of viewing it that way in agriculture or in other domains where AI is increasingly present?

5. Why might it be important to have a permanent post focused on "science and society" in the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy?

Related links:

• Kelly Bronson (2022). The Immaculate Conception of Data: Agribusiness, Activists, and Their Shared Politics of the Future. McGill-Queen's University Press.

• Kelly Bronson (2022). "The dangers of big data extend to farming." The Conversation. June 27.

• Kelly Bronson (2022). "Four reasons we should think twice about a data-driven approach to agricultural sustainability." September 26.

• Kelly Bronson (2017). "Look twice at the digital agricultural revolution." September 7.

• Billy Perrigo (2023). "Exclusive: OpenAI Used Kenyan Workers on Less Than $2 Per Hour to Make ChatGPT Less Toxic." Time. January 18.

• Jill (2022). "ChatGPT is multilingual but monocultural, and it’s learning your values." December 6.