The Invisible Influence of Language — with Lera Boroditsky

The Invisible Influence of Language — with Lera Boroditsky

One of the oldest technologies we have is language. How do the words we use influence the way we think?

The media can talk about immigrants scurrying across the border, versus immigrants crossing the border. Or we might hear about technology platforms censoring us, versus moderating content.

If those word choices shift public opinion on immigration or technology by 25%, or even 2%, then we’ve been influenced in ways we can't even see. Which means that becoming aware of how words shape the way we think can help inoculate us from their undue influence. And further, consciously choosing or even designing the words we use can help us think in more complex ways – and address our most complex challenges.

This week on Your Undivided Attention, we're grateful to have Lera Boroditsky, a cognitive scientist who studies how language shapes thought. Lera is an Associate Professor of Cognitive Science at UC San Diego, and the editor-in-chief of Frontiers in Cultural Psychology.

Clarification: in the episode, Aza refers to Elizabeth Loftus' research on eyewitness testimony. He describes an experiment in which a car hit a stop sign, but the experiment actually used an example of two cars hitting each other.

RECOMMENDED MEDIA

How language shapes the way we think

Lera Boroditsky's 2018 TED talk about how the 7,000 languages spoken around the world shape the way we think

Measuring Effects of Metaphor in a Dynamic Opinion Landscape

Boroditsky and Paul H. Thibodeau's 2015 study about how the metaphors we use to talk about crime influence our opinions on how to address crime

Subtle linguistic cues influence perceived blame and financial liability

Boroditsky and Caitlin M. Fausey's 2010 study about how the language used to describe the 2004 Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction" influence our views on culpability

Why are politicians getting 'schooled' and 'destroyed'?

BBC article featuring the research of former Your Undivided Attention guest Guillaume Chaslot, which shows the verbs YouTube is most likely to include in titles of recommended videos — such as "obliterates" and "destroys"

RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES

Mind the (Perception) Gap: https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/33-mind-the-perception-gap

Can Your Reality Turn on a Word?: https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/34-can-your-reality-turn-on-a-word

Down the Rabbit Hole by Design: https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/4-down-the-rabbit-hole-by-design


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jaksot(158)

Ask Us Anything 2024

Ask Us Anything 2024

2024 was a critical year in both AI and social media. Things moved so fast it was hard to keep up. So our hosts reached into their mailbag to answer some of your most burning questions. Thank you so m...

19 Joulu 202440min

The Tech-God Complex: Why We Need to be Skeptics

The Tech-God Complex: Why We Need to be Skeptics

Silicon Valley's interest in AI is driven by more than just profit and innovation. There’s an unmistakable mystical quality to it as well. In this episode, Daniel and Aza sit down with humanist chapla...

21 Marras 202446min

What Can We Do About Abusive Chatbots? With Meetali Jain and Camille Carlton

What Can We Do About Abusive Chatbots? With Meetali Jain and Camille Carlton

CW: This episode features discussion of suicide and sexual abuse. In the last episode, we had the journalist Laurie Segall on to talk about the tragic story of Sewell Setzer, a 14 year old boy who too...

7 Marras 202448min

When the "Person" Abusing Your Child is a Chatbot: The Tragic Story of Sewell Setzer

When the "Person" Abusing Your Child is a Chatbot: The Tragic Story of Sewell Setzer

Content Warning: This episode contains references to suicide, self-harm, and sexual abuse.Megan Garcia lost her son Sewell to suicide after he was abused and manipulated by AI chatbots for months. Now...

24 Loka 202449min

Is It AI? One Tool to Tell What’s Real with Truemedia.org CEO Oren Etzioni

Is It AI? One Tool to Tell What’s Real with Truemedia.org CEO Oren Etzioni

Social media disinformation did enormous damage to our shared idea of reality. Now, the rise of generative AI has unleashed a flood of high-quality synthetic media into the digital ecosystem. As a res...

10 Loka 202425min

'A Turning Point in History': Yuval Noah Harari on AI’s Cultural Takeover

'A Turning Point in History': Yuval Noah Harari on AI’s Cultural Takeover

Historian Yuval Noah Harari says that we are at a critical turning point. One in which AI’s ability to generate cultural artifacts threatens humanity’s role as the shapers of history. History will sti...

7 Loka 20241h 30min

‘We Have to Get It Right’: Gary Marcus On Untamed AI

‘We Have to Get It Right’: Gary Marcus On Untamed AI

It’s a confusing moment in AI. Depending on who you ask, we’re either on the fast track to AI that’s smarter than most humans, or the technology is about to hit a wall. Gary Marcus is in the latter ca...

26 Syys 202441min

AI Is Moving Fast. We Need Laws that Will Too.

AI Is Moving Fast. We Need Laws that Will Too.

AI is moving fast. And as companies race to rollout newer, more capable models–with little regard for safety–the downstream risks of those models become harder and harder to counter. On this week’s ep...

13 Syys 202439min

Suosittua kategoriassa Yhteiskunta

sita
olipa-kerran-otsikko
kaksi-aitia
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
i-dont-like-mondays
hupiklubi
ihme-ja-kumma
uutiscast
poks
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
antin-palautepalvelu
kolme-kaannekohtaa
mamma-mia
rss-murhan-anatomia
aikalisa
yopuolen-tarinoita-2
meidan-pitais-puhua
rss-palmujen-varjoissa
naakkavalta
loukussa