A brand new flower is budding! What advice would you give the baby blossom?
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[Podcast #232] A Deep Dive into AI with Dr. Kelly Cohen
When a lot of people hear “Artificial Intelligence,” they think RoboCop or the Terminator, but Dr. Kelly Cohen, Director of the AI biolab at University of Cincinnati, thinks about life-saving medical processes.
Dr. Kelly Cohen’s startup, Genexia, uses AI to identify coronary artery disease using mammograms. Today he joins us on the Brave Writer podcast to talk about his AI optimism and vision for the future.
Join us as we talk about AI
- risks,
- ethics,
- and regulations.
Show Notes
AI Risks
Using the European Union AI Act as a model, Dr. Cohen walks us through the levels of AI risk:
- High,
- medium,
- and low.
High risk involves possible loss of life: Self-driving cars to medical decision-making. Low risk is something like ChatGPT writing you a sonnet to give to your wife that ends up insulting her.
AI Ethics
Since Generative AI stormed onto the scene last year, ethics around ownership and authorship have taken center stage. Generative AI (think: OpenAI and its ChatGPT) is based on taking writers’ and visual artists’ work without their express permission, and using it to generate written and visual content for others. We discuss questions of attribution and originality.
AI Regulations
Dr. Cohen suggests we regulate AI just like we do air travel or pharmaceuticals. We establish a government body that specializes in an area, like the FAA or FDA, and they work with companies to regulate risk, truth-in-advertising, etc.
Of course, since this is Brave Writer, we also get into
- student essays,
- personalized education,
- and how to teach the wider world about AI.
There’s lots packed into this episode—enjoy!
Resources
- Follow Dr. Cohen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MostAeroKelly
- Watch Dr. Cohen’s ABC interview: https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/finding-solutions/cincinnati-based-company-using-ai-to-diagnose-coronary-artery-disease-risk-during-a-mammogram
- Watch Kenny Sloan’s “What is Responsible AI?” video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HFFdaYFkMI
- Sign up for our Text Message Pod Ring to get podcast updates and more!
- Send us podcast topic ideas by texting us: +1 (833) 947-3684
- Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention!
- Good news: There are enough weeks left to do a writing project with your kids that will leave you feeling confident and accomplished this school year. Sign up for a Brave Writer online writing class. Our classes start every Monday, and each one only lasts three to six weeks. Sign up today!
Connect with Julie
- Instagram: @juliebravewriter
- Threads: @juliebravewriter
- Twitter: @bravewriter
- Facebook: facebook.com/bravewriter
Connect with Melissa
- Website: melissawiley.com
- Substack: melissawiley.substack.com
- Instagram: @melissawileybooks
- Twitter: @melissawiley
Produced by NOVA Media
Try It: Spot Some Sequences
Spot some sequences!
Today’s Try It activity is from the Ways to Grow Love Dart.
Where do you encounter a sequence of actions that must be followed in a specific order?
Your pantry might be full of examples. Take a look at the instructions on a box of macaroni and cheese or pancake mix—whatever you have handy.
You’ll find sequenced instructions in:
- LEGO sets
- IKEA furniture boxes
- board games
- shampoo bottles
- and lots of other household objects!
With your kids, go on a quest and see what kinds of sequencing shows up around your home.
Level Up!
To level up this activity, ask your child to tell you the steps of brushing their teeth. Write each step down on an index card. Then mix the cards up and have them try to brush their teeth in the new, jumbled order.
Prepare for a minty-fresh giggle-fest!
P.S. Try it activities like this are found in each Dart (8-10), Arrow (11-12), Boomerang (13-14), and Slingshot (15-18)! Grab one of our Literature Singles and invite wordplay into your day!
The Complete List of Try It Activities
You Go First
Give your kids something to brag about!
Let’s break a rule. You get to go first.
Put what YOU want to do first tomorrow. Just for a day. Just do your One Thing that makes you a little bit excited.
What Is That Thing?
Can you do it right in front of your kids, smack dab in the middle of the day?
Can you say something like:
“I’m making a candle from scratch today. I was reading about it online and I got so interested, I decided to do it. You can play or do whatever you want, but I’ll be over here candle-making.”
Could you say:
“Hey, excuse me while I grab a cup of tea and read this chapter in my book. I have to know what happens next.”
Or maybe say nothing.
What if you turned on the TV, hooked up YouTube, and did yoga right in the middle of the children’s play space, with toys on every side?
Perhaps you make sure you get your run in as you train for that half marathon.
Maybe you start the day with your own copywork—recording your favorite passages from a book or copying French into a notebook as you study it.
Showing Up
For our kids, we talk so much about:
- catalyzing curiosity,
- creating a hunger to learn,
- and encouraging dedication to follow through.
But how are WE living those very values? Not just as a model but as the very life force of our days? How are we showing up and living the beliefs and values we say we have?
Dream, act on a tiny portion of that dream, do it in front of your children (not off stage after they’re in bed).
See what happens!
Friday Freewrite: Three Figures of Speech
Simile, Alliteration, and Hyperbole (see their definitions below) debate which one of them is the best figure of speech or, to put it another way, which one of them uses language with the most power and effect. Write their conversation!
- Simile: comparing one thing with another using “like” or “as” (“He was as hungry as a bear”).
- Alliteration: repeating the same letter or sound at the beginning of closely connected words (“Sally sells seashells by the sea shore”).
- Hyperbole: an exaggerated statement that’s not meant to be taken literally (“I could sleep forever”).
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