In this thought-provoking episode, we speak with Dr. Clara Colombatto from the University of Waterloo about her groundbreaking 2024 study on public perceptions of AI consciousness. The discussion reveals surprising findings that 67% of Americans attribute some level of consciousness to large language models like ChatGPT, with frequent users more likely to view these tools as having subjective experiences. Dr. Colombatto explores the implications of these perceptions for education, trust formation, and student interactions with AI tools. The conversation delves into practical strategies for educators and parents to help students develop healthy relationships with AI technology while maintaining critical thinking skills and human connections. Through expert insights and real-world examples, this episode offers valuable guidance for navigating the complex intersection of AI, education, and human psychology.
You can read a summary article of the episode here.
Dr. Clara Colombatto is an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at the University of Waterloo, where she directs the Vision and Cognition Laboratory. Her research focuses on various aspects of perception and cognition, with a particular focus on the perception of other’s mental states. Using tools from vision science and social psychology, her work has shown how others' states such as their intentions and attention are extracted in automatic and even unconscious ways, and go on to influence our own attention and metacognition. Her recent research has extended this program to include the perception of agents such as AI, revealing mechanisms of mind perception in non-biological agents and their consequences, from attention to decision-making.
You can find Clara at:
https://uwaterloo.ca/psychology/profiles/clara-colombatto
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