Winning Money with AI – with Matt Ginsberg

About This Episode

Can artificial intelligence predict the future? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly explore algorithms, computing, and how to win Warren Buffett’s March Madness money and beyond with AI expert, Matt Ginsberg.

How do you create the perfect bracket? We discuss how to use algorithms and game theory to build brackets. What are your odds of getting it right? We’ve all heard of “the algorithm” but Matt helps us break down what algorithms are. How do they work? What can they do? Can they be predictive? 

Could you write a code that can learn to write code itself? We discuss the odds of getting in trouble in Vegas and what you have to do to be good at sports betting. What sort of data is required to enter into your algorithm? You’ll also learn about the difference between data and knowledge. Can you code for invisible forces? 

Is the human brain just a really complex algorithm? Dive into philosophies about intelligence and consciousness. Is there stuff happening in our head that is not computable? We explore Roger Penrose and the theory that the brain and consciousness might have a quantum mechanical element. Why did we give the Mars rovers a “serendipity mode”? Should big tech be so focused on data collection? Are we pointing enough AI at the world’s problems? All that, plus, we discover why using AI for exercises like tournament brackets and chess games can prove to be worthwhile. 

Thanks to our Patrons Robert Bork, Nick Fugal, James Trager, Brian S, Nightfall, Chris Hernandez, Mithat Sezgin, Luke Fertal, Rhett Hogan, and Patrick Creech for supporting us this week.

NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can watch or listen to this entire episode commercial-free.