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Thinking about Thinking

Humane Intelligence 6 Episodes Jul 6, 2026

A six-episode podcast series recorded at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center that investigates the role of human intelligence in the age of artificial intelligence. Hosted by Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, it explores the concept of intelligence through science, history, politics, and economics, and what AI reveals about the society we have built. The series also has a companion Substack newsletter, also called Thinking about Thinking.

Episodes

Episode 6: Artificial General Intelligence Jul 6, 2026 2915 We've mapped how intelligence has been used. Now: what do we actually want from AI?What is it about "AGI" that's captured the imagination? Through the course of this series we've uncovered uncomfortable truths. Now: the ELIZA effect, the human impulse to anthropomorphize, and what a positive AI future might actually require.Our host is Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, leading thinker

Episode 5: Intelligence as an Economic Construct Jun 29, 2026 2623 When productivity becomes the measure of a mind, who gets left behind?What is AGI? How has the definition evolved across researchers and corporations? This episode tracks OpenAI's fully economic definition — "all tasks of economic value" — and asks what happens when intelligence becomes synonymous with productivity.Our host is Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, leading thinker and developer of s

Episode 4: Intelligence as a Political Construct Jun 15, 2026 3504 Intelligence has always been weaponized. What happens when AI enters that lineage?Intelligence as a history of exclusion — used to exclude women, justify slavery, and deny citizenship. AI is the first time we are facing an intelligence ostensibly "greater" than ours, as defined by our own societal values.Our host is Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, leading thinker and developer of safe, secure and

Episode 3: Intelligence as a Social Construct Jun 1, 2026 3244 Who decides what counts as intelligent — and who gets rights because of it?The fraught history of defining human intelligence — and how we conflate intelligence with sentience. Edge cases: end-of-life care, infant cognition, fitness for trial. Intelligence matters because it ascribes rights.Our host is Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, leading thinker and developer of safe, secure and responsible AI. You can

Episode 2: Rethinking Intelligence Through Animals, Swarms & Sentience May 18, 2026 3145 From chimps to ant colonies: what non-human intelligence tells us about AI.How have other fields studied intelligence in non-humans — from chimps to lobsters to ant colonies? And what does swarm intelligence tell us about AI's scaling ambitions? This episode blurs the boundary between intelligence and sentience.Our host is Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, leading thinker and developer of safe, secure an

Episode 1: AI, Intelligence & the Trouble with Benchmarks Apr 30, 2026 2941 What is intelligence — and why does our definition matter more than ever?What is intelligence, really? This opening episode traces the industrial origins of IQ tests, interrogates how AI benchmarks may be new tools for old hierarchies, and asks: if we're on the wrong path to AGI, what would the right one look like?Our host is Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, leading thinker and developer of safe, secure

Thinking about Thinking

Episodes

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