All posts tagged: Knowledge

Who should own the knowledge that underpins AI technology?

Who should own the knowledge that underpins AI technology?

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Russian mathematician Yurii Nesterov was recently awarded the Gauss Prize for outstanding mathematical contributions for his “groundbreaking work” on optimisation. The award cited his work on gradient descent methods – and in particular, the “efficiency gains [they] provide to AI technologies”. Everyone using large language model (LLM) chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini – for any purpose – depends on Nesterov’s methods. They may speak like humans and be personified with names, but under the bonnet, LLMs are computer programs that work via optimisation of billions of parameters known as neural networks for their similarity to how brains function. These pure mathematical systems are powered in part by gradient descent algorithms, or variants of them. Their development represents one of the biggest technological breakthroughs of the 21st century. But where does the knowledge that underpins this technology come from – and who should be allowed to own it? Why gradient descent is key to AI systems If you were standing in a mountain range and wanted to get to the bottom of a valley …

We have the knowledge to build a better world. But is that enough?

We have the knowledge to build a better world. But is that enough?

Published by Jenni Sidey

“The grand, leading principle, towards which every argument unfolded in these pages directly converges, is the absolute and essential importance of human development in its richest diversity.” — Wilhelm von Humboldt Knowledge, especially when shared and collectively held, is essential to human flourishing — as Humboldt emphasizes in the [quote above], which was relayed by John Stuart Mill in the epigraph to On Liberty. Knowledge is not an end in itself. It is an instrument for achieving society’s diverse objectives. Collective knowledge can enable a society to reach greater material comfort, both by improving its capacity to produce goods and services and by facilitating adaptation to its changing circumstances. Social knowledge is also desirable because it allows the building of better norms and institutions — for more peaceful coexistence of peoples and communities and for ensuring that other types of collective knowledge are put to good use. It is thanks to our collective knowledge that we are so much healthier than our ancestors. Today, citizens of all Western nations, except the U.S., have a life …

When Hostility to Knowledge Becomes Policy

When Hostility to Knowledge Becomes Policy

Published by Jenni Sidey

In November 2021, J. D. Vance delivered a speech titled “The Universities Are the Enemy,” ending with Richard Nixon’s declaration that “the professors are the enemy.” And anyone who dismissed this as mere campaign rhetoric soon learned otherwise. To place professors in this category is not merely to criticize them. It is to suggest that the pursuit, preservation, and transmission of knowledge have themselves become forms of hostility—and that those engaged in them are not simply citizens with whom one disagrees, but adversaries against whom the exercise of state power may be regarded as justified, perhaps even required. Criticism within science—and of science—is nothing new; it is an essential part of public discourse. What is new, and somewhat more disturbing, is the transformation of knowledge itself into something sinister, and of those who devote their lives to acquiring it into a hostile social class. Anyone who voices such sentiments presumably knows exactly whose interests and needs they are serving. What Denial Protects So perhaps the explanation begins not in politics but in psychology. Studies suggest …

Unlocking the Power of Tacit Knowledge

Unlocking the Power of Tacit Knowledge

Published by Jenni Sidey

I recall the first full-time job I ever had. I was a young graduate joining Alcan, an aluminium company that made commercial aluminium windows and doors for the architectural building industry. I recall my mentor, a very nice elderly man who had amazing technical knowledge, but I found he was reluctant to share his accumulation of lifelong knowledge with me. This highlights a problem many organizations face today: How do you capture and retain the tacit knowledge that is unwritten, unspoken, and intuitive, which individuals acquire through personal experiences, interactions, and observations (Polanyi, 1966; Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995)? Unlike explicit knowledge, which is well-documented, codified, and transferred through books, manuals, and databases, tacit knowledge resides within individuals and is difficult to articulate; it includes skills, expertise, and insights gained over time (Polanyi, 1966). Significant competitive advantage can be gained in capturing and leveraging tacit knowledge (Grant, 1996; Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995). However, due to the intangible nature of tacit knowledge, transferring and retaining this knowledge pose considerable challenges (Szulanski, 1996). Many employees have valuable insights …

‘An Entirely New Domain of Knowledge’ | Magda Teter

‘An Entirely New Domain of Knowledge’ | Magda Teter

Published by Jenni Sidey

In ancient Judaea, there were no rabbis. Until the first century of the Common Era the experts in the Torah—the divine teachings and commandments professed by descendants of ancient Israelites known by then as Jews (from the name of the kingdom of Judah)—as well as in rituals, were hereditary priests affiliated with the Jerusalem Temple. The priests and the temple were supported by a tax, tithes, and contributions. And while synagogues and scriptural learning beyond the temple were known already in the third century BCE in Egypt and became more established by the first century BCE in Judaea, the annual cycle of Jewish life revolved around the temple, with pilgrimages on Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkoth, and personal sin offerings at other times as well. Thus ordinary Israelites had to rely on the priests to serve as intermediaries between them and God; it was difficult for them to break into the priestly tribe and its structures of power.1 Things began to change when the Romans first subjugated Judaea in 63 BCE. A new administrative and legal …

‘Imagination is more important than knowledge’

‘Imagination is more important than knowledge’

Published by Daniella Wilson

Add Betrayal to your watchlist The last time I interviewed Shaun Evans, we both had a little cry. Me, because I’d been poorly and watching every episode of his peerless Endeavour had sustained me through three bedbound months. Him… well, because he’s a very nice man, and also because he recognised the import of saying goodbye to young Morse after nine series. We signed off saying, “We will speak again.” And now we do, three years later, when the first thing Evans does is enquire after my health. Like I said, he’s a nice man. But we’re here to talk about Betrayal, an espionage thriller/marital drama he has both produced and stars in. Evans’s character John Hughes, an MI5 agent battling on many fronts – fighting “voluntary” redundancy requests, struggling to save his marriage, all the while investigating a national security threat – has the same solitude and righteousness of his Endeavour, but in a very different, contemporary setting. John is often at home with his children and troubled wife Clare, where we see the …