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This re-air episode features Eric's chat with 2024 Nobel Laureate Geoffrey Hinton and Stanford Professor Jay McClelland, two pioneers who have spent nearly half a century laying the groundwork for modern-day AI, advancing research on neural networks long before it captured the world's imagination. In fact, their early work faced significant skepticism from the scientific community - an experience they candidly discuss in this episode. This wide-ranging conversation covers everything from the capabilities of recent breakthrough LLMS like DeepSeek to AI agents, the nature of memory and confabulation, the challenges to aligning AI with human values when we humans don’t even agree on our values, and Geoff's fascinating new theory of language, featuring an analogy of words as thousand-dimensional, shape-shifting Lego blocks with hands. Geoff, who retired in 2023, divided his time between the University of Toronto and Google DeepMind. With numerous accolades including the 2018 Turing Award and 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics, he is perhaps best known for co-developing the backpropagation algorithm - now a cornerstone of AI research. Jay, currently at Stanford and Google DeepMind, has revolutionized our understanding of human learning through his work on Parallel Distributed Processing (PDP), applying neural network principles to understand phenomena like language acquisition. His insights into human learning have profoundly influenced how we understand machine learning. Their friendship dates back to the late 1970s and grew stronger as both collaborated with fellow pioneer David Rumelhart. They share some touching memories about Dave in this episode. Remarkably, despite decades of friendship and building upon each other's work, this appears to be their first recorded conversation together. Eric challenged them to discuss their latest insights and disagreements. The original episode was recorded on January 29, 2025. JOIN OUR SUBSTACK! Stay up to date with the pod and become part of the ever-growing community! https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/ If you found this episode interesting at all, consider leaving us a good rating! It just takes a second but will allow us to reach more people and make them excited about psychology. Links: Geoff's website Geoff's Google Scholar Jay's website Jay's Google Scholar Eric's website Eric's X @EricNeumannPsy Podcast X @StanfordPsyPod Podcast Substack https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/ Let us know what you think of this episode, or of the podcast! [email protected]

This week, Katia is joined by Ian Gotlib, a professor of psychology at Stanford University. In this episode, we explore risk factors for depression, its connection to other disorders, and what individuals can do to manage their risk. We also discuss findings from a decade-long study of girls whose mothers have depression, how the way preteens speak may predict internalizing behaviors up to six years later, and how artificial intelligence can advance psychological research. Ian Gotlib’s Lab Website: https://snaplab.stanford.edu/  Ian Gotlib’s paper, Natural language processing of youth speech predicts psychopathology across adolescence: https://www.nature.com/articles/s44220-026-00683-9  Ian Gotlib: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-gotlib-09256526a/  Katia Kriakova: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiakriakova/   Podcast Twitter: @StanfordPsyPod Podcast Substack: https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/  Podcast Contact: [email protected]

This week, Katia Kriakova has a conversation with Brian Knutson, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Stanford University. In this episode, we explore the neuroscience of decision-making, how brain activity can predict behavior and relapse in addiction, and why our choices don’t always align with how we want to live. Brian Knutson’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-knutson-8b87762a5/  Brian Knutson’s Lab Website: https://spanlab.stanford.edu/people/brian-knutson/  Katia’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiakriakova/   Podcast Contact: [email protected]  Podcast Twitter: @StanfordPsyPod Podcast Substack: https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/

In this week’s episode, Julie and Adani chat with Tamar Schapiro, professor of philosophy at MIT! Tamar is interested in a wide range of things, from what it means to make good decisions in everyday life to ethical theory and the history of ethics (especially Kant and the British Moralists). We discussed Tamar’s work on why we treat children differently from adults, dig into whether and how reactivity might be the root of all evil, and close with some practical life advice based on Tamar’s own journey through philosophy and life! Tamar’s faculty webpage: https://philosophy.mit.edu/schapiro Tamar’s recent book, Feeling Like It: a Theory of Inclination and Will: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198862932.001.0001 Tamar’s paper, Childhood and Personhood: https://access.heinonline.com/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/arz45&i=593 Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on The Philosophy of Childhood: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/childhood/  Julie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hengj/ Adani: https://www.adaniabutto.com Podcast Twitter: @StanfordPsyPod Podcast Substack: https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/ Let us know what you thought of this episode, or of the podcast! :) [email protected]

This week, Katia Kriakova has a conversation with William Damon, a professor at Stanford University. He is one of the world's leading researchers on human development across the lifespan and has pioneered the scientific study of purpose in life. In this conversation, we explore how we can make our own lives more purposeful and expand purpose beyond ourselves. William Damon’s book on purpose: The Path to Purpose: How Young People Find Their Calling in Life William Damon’s paper: The Psychology of Purpose: A Comprehensive Approach William Damon’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamdamon/ Katia Kriakova’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiakriakova/   Podcast Contact: [email protected]  Podcast Twitter: @StanfordPsyPod Podcast Substack: https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/  Podcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stanford-psychology-podcast/

This week, Katia has a conversation with Bill Burnett, an adjunct professor at Stanford University. He is the co-founder of Stanford's Life Design Lab and also the co-author of Designing Your Life and How to Live a Meaningful Life.  In this conversation, Bill shares how we can live in alignment with our values and compass, how prototyping can help us embrace uncertainty, and how to design a life that is more meaningful to us.  Designing Your Life Website: https://designingyour.life/  Bill Burnett’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-burnett-4225401/   Bill Burnett’s Books: Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life How to Live a Meaningful Life: Using Design Thinking to Unlock Purpose, Joy, and Flow Every Day Katia’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiakriakova/   Podcast Contact: [email protected]  Podcast Twitter: @StanfordPsyPod Podcast Substack: https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/

Adani chats with Nomisha Kurian, Assistant Professor in Education Studies at the University of Warwick, Associate Fellow at the University of Cambridge’s Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, and Associate at the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Research in Digital Education. Nomisha has been at the forefront of research on children’s safety and well-being, elucidating what it means for up-and-coming AI technologies to support children’s development and align with their best interests. She has also advised the UK Government Open Innovation Team, spearheaded policy briefs, and previously researched children’s rights law at Yale University. We discuss how a recently-viral NYT article relates to Nomisha’s frameworks for developmentally aligned AI, why we should have “critical hope” for the future, and learn more about the exciting things she’ll be releasing later this year! NYT feature – “What Parents in China See in A.I. Toys”:  https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/asia/100000010595407/china-ai-toy-chatbot.html  Nomisha’s framework on developmentally aligned AI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s44436-025-00009-z Nomisha’s further work: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=wT89nlAAAAAJ Nomisha’s children’s book: https://nosycrow.com/book/university-of-cambridge-think-big-artificial-intelligence/  Adani’s website: https://www.adaniabutto.com Adani’s Bluesky @adani Podcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPod Podcast Substack https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/ Let us know what you thought of this episode, or of the podcast! :) [email protected]

In this episode, Elizabeth chats with Dr. Andrew Lampinen as a part of our Alumni in Industry series. Andrew is currently a Member of Technical Staff at Anthropic. Prior to joining Anthropic, he worked as a Staff Research Scientist at Google DeepMind, and before that he earned his PhD here at Stanford and researched how humans are able to learn new things rapidly. His work bridges cognitive science and artificial intelligence, often with a focus on how the complex behaviors and representations of models, agents, or humans emerge from their learning experiences or data. In this episode, Dr. Lampinen shares his experiences in academia and industry and offers an insightful perspective on how these two research landscapes may be similar and different.  Andrew's website: https://lampinen.github.io/ Elizabeth’s: website: imelizabeth.github.io Elizabeth’s BlueSky: @imelizabeth.bsky.social Podcast BlueSky @StanfordPsyPod.bsky.social Podcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPod Podcast Substack https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/ Let us know what you thought of this episode, or of the podcast! :) [email protected]

Adani chats with Cynthia Osborne, Professor at Vanderbilt University and Executive Director of the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center. Prof. Osborne’s work focuses on translating developmental science into effective, evidence-based policies for families and young children in the U.S. We discuss what the field of Early Childhood Policy entails, the ongoing work that Prof. Osborne and the Impact Center conduct, and why the first three years of childhood are so critical. Prof. Osborne also tells us about her path into her current work, how she built the Impact Center’s wonderful team, and what advice she would pass on to students seeking to bridge research and policy! Cynthia Osborne’s page: https://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/bio/cynthia-osborne/ Cynthia Osborne’s publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=tRc8EmMAAAAJ Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center: https://pn3policy.org/ Policy Impact Calculator: https://pn3policy.org/policy-impact-calculator/ Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap: https://pn3policy.org/pn-3-state-policy-roadmap-2025/  Adani’s website: https://stanford.edu/~aabutto/ Adani’s Bluesky @adani Podcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPod Podcast Substack https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/ Let us know what you thought of this episode, or of the podcast! :) [email protected]

This week, Enna chats with Dr. Julia Nolte, Assistant Professor of Economic Psychology at Tilburg University. Julia’s research examines how information management, risk perception, and decision-making change across adulthood. She is particularly interested in what keeps people, especially older adults, from making well-informed and high-quality decisions, and how we can better support people in making choices that align with their goals and values. In our conversation, Julia discusses how her early interest in theater sparked her interest in psychology, how she came to study aging and decision-making, and what her work can teach us about information avoidance, decision-making, and the very human challenge of choosing between imperfect options. Julia’s Website: https://www.julianolte.org/  Julia’s X: @Dr_Julia_Nolte Julia’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-nolte-8aa02b158/  Julia’s Paper: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0361073X.2025.2473849  Enna’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ennayuxuanchen/  Enna’s X: @EnnaYuxuanChen Podcast Contact: [email protected]  Podcast Twitter: @StanfordPsyPod Podcast Substack: https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/  Podcast Contact: [email protected]

In this re-air (but more timely than ever!) episode from 2021, Anjie chats with Alison Gopnik, Professor at the Department of Psychology and Affiliate Professor at Department of Philosophy at UC Berkeley. Alison is not only a great cognitive scientist and philosopher who has made many groundbreaking contributions to the field, but also a great science communicator. Alison authored multiple bestselling books, including The Scientist in the Crib, The Philosophical Baby, The Gardener, and the Carpenter. She also writes widely about cognitive science and psychology for multiple national outlets including the NYT, the Atlantic, and so on. In this episode, we discussed one of her recent review pieces on the role of childhood in solving the explore-exploit dilemma, a challenge to contemporary artificial intelligence. Alison's lab website: https://www.gopniklab.berkeley.edu/ Alison's paper: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rstb.2019.0502 Alison's Twitter: @AlisonGopnik Podcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPod Podcast Substack https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/ Let us know what you thought of this episode, or of the podcast! :) [email protected]

Adani chats with Elizabeth Bonawitz, Professor of Learning Sciences at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Elizabeth’s work focuses on basic theories of learning with the broader goal of informing educational practice. She uses computational, behavioral, and neural methods to study a broad variety of things within cognitive development, from children’s curiosity and belief revision to their exploration and play. We discuss Elizabeth’s view of cognitive development research and, most importantly, the secret formula behind her great academic paper titles and funny talks. Elizabeth also tells us about her path into science and what she’s most excited for next! Elizabeth’s lab page: https://ccdlab.hsites.harvard.edu/people/elizabeth-bonawitz Elizabeth’s publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=MA7j1gkAAAAJ Susan Carey’s paper, ‘Science Education as Conceptual Change’: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0193-3973(99)00046-5 Adani’s website: https://www.adaniabutto.com Adani’s Bluesky @adani Podcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPod Podcast Substack https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/ Let us know what you thought of this episode, or of the podcast! :) [email protected]

Nick Epley is the John Templeton Keller Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. He studies social cognition—how thinking people think about other thinking people—to understand why smart people so routinely misunderstand each other. Nick is one of the “World’s Best 40 under 40 Business School Professors” by Poets and Quants. He just published his second book for a popular audience called "A Little More Social." In this episode, Eric and Nick talk about "undersociality," the key idea in his latest book. Are we being less social than is good for us? How can we learn to connect, especially when it feels effortful? Can we be too social as well? How can we learn more about ourselves when we connect with others? What are the methodological limitations of Nick's work? Book: https://sites.prh.com/a-little-more-social Nick's Website: https://www.nicholasepley.com/ Podcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPod Podcast Substack https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/ Let us know what you think of this episode, or of the podcast! :) [email protected]

In this reair episode from 2023, Eric chats with Amit Goldenberg, Assistant Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Amit studies emotions in social interactions, for example in political contexts and on social media. He was a journalist and author before becoming an academic. In this episode, Eric and Amit talk about how emotions operate in groups. Do crowds easily go “mad”? What emotions spread faster in groups? Why are we drawn to people more politically extreme than us? How is social media shaping our emotions and political behavior? Finally, Amit shares his journey from being a journalist to being a psychologist at a business school. JOIN OUR SUBSTACK! Stay up to date with the pod and become part of the ever-growing community :) https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/ If you found this episode interesting at all, consider leaving us a good rating! It just takes a second but will allow us to reach more people and make them excited about psychology. Links: Amit's paper on collective emotions Amit's paper on why we are attracted to morally extreme individuals Amit's website Eric's website Eric's Twitter @EricNeumannPsy Podcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPod Podcast Substack https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/ Let us know what you think of this episode, or of the podcast! :) [email protected]

In this reair episode, Eric chats with Juliana Schroeder, Associate Professor in the Management of Organizations at Berkeley Haas. She studies how people think about the minds of other people, and how they are often wrong trying to understand what others are up to. Her work has been discussed in outlets ranging from Vice to The Atlantic and Forbes. Eric and Juliana review her exciting recent work on “undersociality.” Talking to other people is often meaningful, not just for extraverts, and yet we hesitate to talk to others, making overly pessimistic predictions about how awkward and unpleasant such interactions would be. This leads us to “mistakenly seek solitude.” Juliana discusses what we can do to motivate ourselves to talk to others more, why that is so beneficial, and why she herself struggles to do it. Links: Juliana's review paper on undersociality: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364661322000432?casa_token=KI1Vjeg9NKUAAAAA:aTAEDP2eF1ay3I0rGI74FHNW21s83r_KvXCQMvr5auCxaVnhEah82tbASwjzwfc-68D54q8Kc2E  Juliana's key empirical paper: https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037/a0037323  Juliana's Twitter Eric's website Eric's Twitter @EricNeumannPsy Podcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPod Podcast Substack https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/ Let us know what you think of this episode, or of the podcast! :) [email protected]