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The Compass: The Public Misunderstanding of Science: The Public Misunderstanding of Science: Racist robots

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The Public Misunderstanding of Science: Racist robots

27/10/2021 GMT

The Public Misunderstanding of Science

BBC World Service - The Compass, The Public Misunderstanding of Science, The Public Misunderstanding of Science: Racist robots

Is artificial intelligence evolving too rapidly for regulators to keep up?

Sometimes it’s right to be sceptical about new technologies. US tech reporter Katherine Gorman joins Sue Nelson to report on artificial intelligence and how it’s rapidly pervading our lives. Katherine reports from New York on controversial facial recognition cameras and we hear how regulators are struggling to keep up with innovation.

Image: Concept illustration of an electronic eye (Credit: ValeryBrozhinsky/Getty Creative)

The Compass: The Public Misunderstanding of Science

Why have so many people given up on science?

Anti-vaxxers, flat Earthers, 5G arsonists and climate change deniers – why have so many people given up on science and where are governments, scientists and the media going wrong?

Although surveys reveal scientists are trusted – with many taking centre stage during the Covid-19 pandemic – science is often perceived as the domain of ‘experts’, the process of science is misunderstood, and scientific evidence is likened to belief.

To investigate how we can build a more scientifically literate planet – and why that might be a good idea – science journalist and former BBC Science Correspondent, Sue Nelson, teams-up with reporters in Sierra Leone, the Netherlands, and the United States.

We discover how drama and music are being used in the fight against Ebola, how space can help transform science education and why regret is a powerful weapon during vaccination campaigns. Sue also hears why science communication sometimes fails, how issues like climate change have become politicised, discovers how to reason with conspiracy theorists and why it’s perfectly okay to maintain a healthy scepticism about scientific and technological advance.

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