We sometimes talk about technology on ReImagining Liberty, in the context of how it interacts with a liberal society, or how technology can help us defend and advance liberal. The big technology everyone's talking about right now is, of course, artificial intelligence. It's a topic I've written about, but not one I'd yet done an episode about specifically regarding what it means for liberalism.Then I read an essay by <a href="https://tedunderwood.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ted Underwood</a>, a professor in the School of Information Sciences, and in the English Department, at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. It's titled <a href="https://tedunderwood.com/2025/07/02/a-more-interesting-upside-of-ai/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">"A more interesting upside of AI"</a> and you can find a link to it in the show notes. He argues that the framing of AI technology as aiming at "super-intelligence" is misguided, both undesirable and misunderstanding important aspects of society and culture. Instead, he's an advocate of viewing AI as a cultural technology. What grabbed my attention was his further claim that, as a cultural technology, it can help us map and appreciate cultural differences, and cultural similarities, in ways that line up with, and support, liberal principles like pluralism, tolerance, and understanding.It's a big claim, and a fascinating one, and it lead to really fun and illuminating discussion.Get early access to ReImagining Liberty, listen ad-free, and get access to our listener Discord community, by joining my Patreon. Learn more here: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/c/AaronRossPowell" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.patreon.com/c/AaronRossPowell</a>Produced by&nbsp;<a href="https://bit.ly/3Fx2ML2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Landry Ayres</a>. Podcast art by&nbsp;<a href="https://bit.ly/4jxSp7B" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sergio R. M. Duarte</a>. Music by&nbsp;<a href="https://bit.ly/3ZO90gn" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kevin MacLeod</a>.<hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

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089: AI, Cultural Tools, and Pluralism (w/ Ted Underwood)

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