Mathematical Intelligence: What we have that machines don’t – Junaid Mubeen

Skeptics in the Pub Online Podcast

There’s so much talk about the threat posed by intelligent machines that it sometimes seems as though we should surrender to our robot overlords now. But Junaid Mubeen isn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet. As far as he is concerned, we have the edge over machines because of a remarkable system of thought developed over the millennia. It’s familiar to us all, but often badly taught and misrepresented in popular discourse – maths. Computers are brilliant at totting up sums, pattern-seeking and performing, well, computation. But Junaid has identified seven areas of intelligence where humans can retain a crucial edge. This talk will explore some of these areas and challenge some of the hype that surrounds today’s AI by suggesting that they are not so easily automated.

Junaid is a mathematician turned educator, writer and speaker. He has spent the past decade developing innovative learning technologies and is currently working with bestselling science author Simon Singh on developing the world’s largest online maths circle at parallel.org.uk. He is author of Mathematical Intelligence: What we have that machines don’t, which examines the role of mathematics in the age of AI. Junaid has a DPhil in mathematics from Oxford and a Master’s in Education from Harvard. He earned fleeting fame in 2008 as a series winner of television game show Countdown.

The music used in this episode is by Thula Borah and is used with permission.