World Model · podcast knowledge graph

308 | Alison Gopnik on Children, AI, and Modes of Thinking

2025-03-17 · 70 min · episode 308 · 9 entities

episode page audio

Asserted relationships

  • → authored Scientist in the Crib book
    0.62
    evidence rules-v4
    author of The Scientist in the Crib
  • → hosted by Sean Carroll person
    0.55
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed author/publisher: Sean Carroll
  • → discusses Science concept
    0.40
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed category: Science
  • → discusses Physics concept
    0.40
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed category: Physics

Entities found in this episode

concepts 5

  • mentioned Science concept
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed category: Science
  • mentioned Physics concept
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed category: Physics
  • 0.42
    evidence rules-v4
    308 | Alison Gopnik on Children, AI, and Modes of Thinking
  • discusses Science concept
    0.40
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed category: Science
  • discusses Physics concept
    0.40
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed category: Physics

books 2

persons 2

  • mentioned Sean Carroll person
    0.70
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed author/publisher: Sean Carroll
  • hosted by Sean Carroll person
    0.55
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed author/publisher: Sean Carroll
Episode description as stored
We often study cognition in other species, in part to learn about modes of thinking that are different from our own. Today's guest, psychologist/philosopher Alison Gopnik, argues that we needn't look that far: human children aren't simply undeveloped adults, they have a way of thinking that is importantly distinct from that of grownups. Children are explorers with ever-expanding neural connections; adults are exploiters who (they think) know how the world works. These studies have important implications for the training and use of artificial intelligence. Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2025/03/17/308-alison-gopnik-on-children-ai-and-modes-of-thinking/ S upport Mindscape on  Patreon . Alison Gopnik received her D.Phil in experimental psychology from Oxford University. She is currently a professor of psychology and affiliate professor of philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley. Among her awards are the Association for Psychological Science Lifetime Achievement Award, the Rumelhart Prize for Theoretical Foundations of Cognitive Science, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. She is a past President of the Association for Psychological Science. She is the author of  The Scientist in the Crib ,  The Philosophical Baby , and  The Gardener and the Carpenter,  among other works. Web site Lab web site Berkeley web page Google Scholar publications Amazon author page Wikipedia