Claims of sentient AI have been largely debunked by experts, but there are still plenty of unsettling aspects of this technology that raise ethical questions. In this episode of For Tech’s Sake, Abeba Birhane, an expert in AI and cognitive science, helps us to better understand this fast-spreading technology and its limitations. We find out how AI can be at best unhelpful and annoying, and at worst prejudiced, powerful and completely opaque, particularly when the building blocks it's based on contain toxic materials. Read more about Abeba Birhane, the Gender Shades project, Blake Lemoine, and why sentient AI claims can be damaging on SiliconRepublic.com: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/mit-database-racist-misogynist-discovery-abeba-birhane https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/abeba-birhane-ucd-digital-colonialism https://www.siliconrepublic.com/business/microsoft-facial-recognition https://www.siliconrepublic.com/business/timnit-gebru-google-ai-scientist-fired-for-highlighting-bias https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/google-engineer-ai-sentient-lamda-chatbot https://www.siliconrepublic.com/business/sentient-ai-google-lamda-research-development-ireland-insight This episode of For Tech’s Sake was brought to you by Silicon Republic and The Headstuff Podcast Network. If you want to support The Headstuff Podcast Network, for our sake, for tech’s sake and for many more great podcasts, visit HeadstuffPodcasts.com. Follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices