A Myriad of Tongues: How language may shape our world view

Noam Chomsky theories shaped the understanding related with language acquisition, suggesting the human mind is pre-equipped with a set of linguistic constraints, a "universal grammar"  as common structural foundation across languages. 

Chomsky's theory challenged the belief that language development was solely influenced by environmental factors, arguing that all human languages share underlying syntactic categories and grammatical features. While this theory led to assume that all languages categorize ideas and objects similarly, research has showed that many concepts are not universal and speakers of different languages literally see and think about the world differently.

Linguistics argue that language is not a cultural artifact but instead, a biological and cognitive aspect of language in our brains. 

However, while in English people refers to time in spatial terms, speakers of Amazonian languages do not do that and in fact, some languages do not have a word for time. 

The book Myriad of Tongues, presents profound insights about the fundamentals of human communication and Caleb Everett takes readers around the globe explaining what linguistic diversity tells about human culture. 

AI is not the universal problem solver

Artificial Intelligence is rife with contradictions; a powerful tool still also very limited in terms of capabilities. And, while it has the potential to improve human existence, at the same time it threatens to deepen social divides and put millions of people out of work. While its inner workings are highly technical, the non-technical among us can and should understand the basic principles of how it works - and the concerns that it raises. 

As the influence and impact of AI spreads, it will is critical to involve people and experts from the most diverse backgrounds possible in guiding this technology in ways that enhance human capabilities and lead to positive outcomes.

AI is not the universal problem solver and having a clearer idea of what AI is, and is not "will be critical to move beyond solutionism,” says Stuart Russell, the renowned Professor of Computer Science at University of California, Berkeley.


Speaking during the opening plenary of the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils, Russell explained that “solutionism” is the attitude that, given enough data, machine learning algorithms can offer a solution for all our problems. He also spoke about how to dispel common AI misconceptions and how best to advance the field of study.

Study presents new method for explainable AI; CRP, Concept Relevance Propagation

In their paper "From attribution maps to human-understandable explanations through concept relevance propagation," researchers from Fraunhofer Fraunhofer Heinrich-Hertz-Institut (HHI) and the Berlin Institute for the Foundations of Learning and Data (BIFOLD) the concept relevance propagation (CRP), a new method that can explain individual AI decisions as concepts understandable to humans.


The paper has now been published in Nature Machine Intelligence


AI systems are largely black boxes: It is usually not comprehensible to humans how an AI arrives at a certain decision. CRP is a state-of-the-art explanatory method for deep neural networks that complements and deepens existing explanatory models. In doing so, CRP reveals not only the characteristics of the input that are relevant to the decision made, but also the concepts the AI used, the location where they are represented in the input, and which parts of the neural network are responsible for them.


More reading and full article - From attribution maps to human-understandable explanations through Concept Relevance Propagation

When Computer Vision Works More Like a Brain, It Sees More Like People Do

From cameras to self-driving cars, many of today’s technologies depend on artificial intelligence to extract meaning from visual information. Today’s AI technology has artificial neural networks at its core, and most of the time we can trust these AI computer vision systems to see things the way we do — but sometimes they falter. 

According to MIT and IBM research scientists, one way to improve computer vision is to instruct the artificial neural networks that they rely on to deliberately mimic the way the brain’s biological neural network processes visual images.
Researchers led by MIT Professor James DiCarlo, the director of MIT’s Quest for Intelligence and member of the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, have made a computer vision model more robust by training it to work like a part of the brain that humans and other primates rely on for object recognition. This May, at the International Conference on Learning Representations, the team reported that when they trained an artificial neural network using neural activity patterns in the brain’s inferior temporal (IT) cortex, the artificial neural network was more robustly able to identify objects in images than a model that lacked that neural training. And the model’s interpretations of images more closely matched what humans saw, even when images included minor distortions that made the task more difficult.

Japanese groundbreaking vaccine is potentially capable of preventing or modifying the course of Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia that affects memory, thinking and behavior. Symptoms eventually grow severe enough to interfere with daily tasks and the disease accounts for 60% to 80% of dementia patients worldwide.

In Alzheimer’s disease, two abnormal structures called plaques and tangles are prime suspects in damaging and killing nerve cells. In the first, an accumulation of brain proteins called beta-amyloid peptides clump together forming plaques that disrupt cell function.

Researchers at Juntendo University School of Medicine in Tokyo (Japan), have developed a novel vaccine targeting brain cells associated with Alzheimer’s disease, initially designed to eliminate senescent cells expressing senescence-associated glycoprotein (SAGP). The vaccine reduced amyloid deposits in the cerebral cortex region responsible for language processing, attention, and problem-solving. Additionally, it decreased the size of astrocyte cells, a specific inflammatory molecule. It reduced other inflammatory biomarkers, indicating an improvement in brain inflammation.

“If the vaccine could prove to be successful in humans, it would be a big step forward towards delaying disease progression or even prevention of this disease.” says lead study author Chieh-Lun Hsiao, Ph.D., a post-doctoral fellow in the department of cardiovascular biology and medicine at Juntendo University.

Too fast, too soon? Sweden backs away from screens in schools

Sweden recently announced that the country's schools will remove digital technology from classrooms because of poor student performance. Some ask how useful is digital learning. But it also poses the question: is "digital de-escalation" even possible?

Sweden’s Minister of Schools, Lotta Edholm, said children’s ability to read has deteriorated and their writing skills have weakened, and there are many reasons, the most important of which is their increased reliance on tablets and spending a lot of time in front of screens.

The Swedish Minister of Schools, under the supervision of the Minister of Education, had embarked some time ago on a reform of the country’s education system.
Moreover, the research already recommended ensuring a basic level of literacy and mathematics in the traditional way to create equal opportunities in the digital environment – rather than introducing more technological tools in the classroom.

The full article here.

AI has "hacked the operating system of human civilization", says Yuval Noah Harari

Pedro Pinto and Yuval Noah Harari delve into the future of artificial intelligence and together, they explore pressing questions in front of a live audience, such as: 

- What will be the impact of A.I. on democracy and politics? 

- How can we maintain human connection in the age of A.I.? 

- What skills will be crucial for the future? 

- And what does the future of education hold?


"If we are so smart why are we doing so many stupid things? Humanity is not that simple." says Yuval Noah Harari.

An interview filmed on May 19 2023 in Lisbon, produced by Francisco Manuel dos Santos (FFMS).

Harari argues that AI has "hacked the operating system of human civilization". 
He ask what will happen to the course of history when AI takes over culture, and begins producing stories, melodies, laws and religions?

Harari reflection is that "if we are not careful, we might be trapped behind a curtain of illusions, which we could not tear away—or even realize is there. 
Just as a pharmaceutical company cannot release new drugs before testing both their short-term and long-term side-effects, so tech companies shouldn’t release new AI tools before they are made safe. We need an equivalent of the Food and Drug Administration for new technology."

Here it is: GPT-4 the next generation of AI Large Language Models or High-Tech Plagiarism

Tuesday 14th of March 2023, 4 months after the first launch of ChatGPT, OpenAI released GPT-4, a more powerful model than ever compared with previous versions. Since 2018, OpenAI had been disseminating GPT language models, but of all huge language models, GPT-4 is not just the newest, but also the most potent.

OpenAI GPT-4 was created as the latest milestone and effort in scaling up deep learning, as a large multimodal model (accepting image and text inputs, emitting text outputs) that, while less capable than humans in many real-world scenarios, exhibits human-level performance on various professional and academic benchmarks.

ChatGPT, the system that understands natural language and responds in kind, is causing a sensation and for any one that has tried it out, you’ll surely have wondered what it will soon revolutionize — or, as the case may be, what it will destroy. 

As the relevant technology now stands, Chomsky - who has shaped the face of contemporary linguistics with his language acquisition and innateness theories, and a polarizing figure in modern intellectual life - sees the use of ChatGPT as “basically high-tech plagiarism” and “a way of avoiding learning.” 

A new peptide may hold potential as an Alzheimer’s treatment - while exercise boosts brain health

MIT neuroscientists have found a way to reverse neurodegeneration and other symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease by interfering with an enzyme that is typically overactive in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.

At the same time, investigation continues around how exercise releases chemical signals that boost brain health.
Beckman researchers studied how chemical signals from contracting muscles promote healthy brains. Their findings reveal how these signals help grow and regulate new brain networks while also pointing toward ways of improving brain health through exercise.

AI modelling that help to re-create what people see by reading brain scans

As neuroscientists struggle to demystify how the human brain converts what our eyes see into mental images, artificial intelligence (AI) has been getting better at mimicking that feat. A recent study, scheduled to be presented at an upcoming computer vision conference, demonstrates that AI can read brain scans and re-create largely realistic versions of images a person has seen. As this technology develops, researchers say, it could have numerous applications, from exploring how various animal species perceive the world to perhaps one day recording human dreams and aiding communication in people with paralysis.


Unlike previous efforts using AI algorithms to decipher brain scans, which had to be trained on large data sets, Stable Diffusion was able to get more out of less training for each participant by incorporating photo captions into the algorithm. It’s a novel approach that incorporates textual and visual information to “decipher the brain,” says Ariel Goldstein, a cognitive neuroscientist at Princeton University who was not involved with the work.

The AI algorithm makes use of information gathered from different regions of the brain involved in image perception, such as the occipital and temporal lobes, according to Yu Takagi, a systems neuroscientist at Osaka University who worked on the experiment. The system interpreted information from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scans, which detect changes in blood flow to active regions of the brain. When people look at a photo, the temporal lobes predominantly register information about the contents of the image (people, objects, or scenery), whereas the occipital lobe predominantly registers information about layout and perspective, such as the scale and position of the contents. All of this information is recorded by the fMRI as it captures peaks in brain activity, and these patterns can then be reconverted into an imitation image using AI.

Dementia only causes about 41% of cognitive decline: new study identifies other predictors

Cognitive decline naturally occurs as we age, with a common belief that dementia is the cause in most cases.

Recently, researchers at the Ohio State University say there are more factors causing cognitive decline than we once thought.

Socioeconomic factors, physical health measures, and behaviors, including exercise and smoking, accounted for 38% of the variation between participants in their level of cognitive function at age 54, researchers reported.

This study is focused on identifying predictors of cognitive decline.

2022: The year in innovation

The well know year review from McKinsey for 2022, reveals how clients around the world are developing resilience in the face of a seemingly unrelenting set of disruptions. 

For  highest-priority articles and features, here is a roundup of some of most innovative experiences of 2022, including top ten lists, a complete collection of 2022’s innovations.

Clearly AI is going to win, says Daniel Kahneman

Daniel Kahneman, 87, Nobel prize in economics in 2002 for his work on the psychology of judgment and decision-making. His book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, a worldwide bestseller, was key on my master thesis and set out revolutionary ideas about human error and bias and how those traits might be recognized and mitigated. 

(for those interested, here's Chat GPT summary of the book)

A new book, Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment, written with Olivier Sibony and Cass R Sunstein, applies those ideas to organizations in a moment where Daniel Kahneman states  

"Clearly AI is going to win. How people are going to adjust is a fascinating problem!"

Click for the full interview 

The Simpson’s Paradox when analyzing data and taking decisions

When we want to study relationships in data (eg, in observations of the world), we can plot, cross-tabulate, or model that data. When we do this, we might come across cases where the relationships we see from two different views of a single dataset lead us to opposing conclusions. These are cases of Simpson’s Paradox.

Finding these cases can help us understand our data better and discover interesting relationships. This article gives some examples of where these cases happen, discusses how and why they happen, and suggests ways to automatically detect these situations in your own data.

Simpson’s Paradox refers to a situation where you believe you understand the direction of a relationship between two variables, but when you consider an additional variable, that direction appears to reverse.


Simpson’s Paradox happens because disaggregation of the data (e.g., splitting it into subgroups) can cause certain subgroups to have an imbalanced representation compared to other subgroups. This might be due to the relationship between the variables, or simply due to the way that the data has been partitioned into subgroups.

Here is an example of this, with a scientific evidence showing that unvaccinated people are more likely to develop severe COVID-19 and die, contrary to claim in viral social media posts about Germany data.

Top 10 Cognitive Computing Trends

Cognitive computing is the amalgamation of cognitive science and is established on the basic premise of simulating the generic thought process.

Cognitive computing trends are a consistent flow of learning techniques that combines many disruptive technologies like AI and machine learning wrapped with sentiment analysis and contextual awareness to fix day-to-day problems, just like humans. These techniques employ different processes such as data mining, recognition of patterns, and language processing. Today top cognitive computing trends are experiencing a dramatic change as companies are getting more engaged in developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and are competing in the market to get a step ahead. Cognitive computing trends can help us in realizing the potential of AI as it helps in imitating the activity of the human brain. 

Emerging top cognitive computing trends can be useful in developing an automated system for solving complex problems by itself. Here in this article, we will discuss the top 10 cognitive computing trends for 2023.

Conneting the dots.

Steve Jobs has left an indelible mark in our society. An icon of business and culture, the Apple co-founder was a public figure who remained enigmatic. In his 2005 Stanford speech, he speaks about "faith", about how one should trust that "it will all work out eventually".  

I have often think about this. 

About how what I do on a daily basis will amount to something in my life. 

How to trust that the everyday steps will lead to something worthy, keeping within my tenets and vision of the "good world". I am a lucky, privileged person and often praise and thank for the life I have. Even if  (as Jobs said) sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick.

Yep. When unexpected, unwanted, unplanned happens it is only human to feel frustrated and angry. It is OK to feel NOT OK.  It is OK not to be positive about what is going on, about to outlook. 

It has been 10 years in this blog and many bricks have hit my head, my life.

And I have learned to be that kind of person. I have learned to accept that often I've been unable to understand why (bad) things happen that way they do, struggling or even failing to reconcile negative emotions.

But I also have learned to believe that "it is impossible to connect the dots looking forward". Yeap. "you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever."

Yes, trust your dots, trust your tenets. Be a good person.

Accept the tears and the bad days. And then, get up. Do your best, and keep looking, keep trying. Keep looking until you find what ever you feel you need, whatever you feel you still need to continue searching for. 

Don’t settle. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Learning to accept tough situations in life

No one ever promised that life would be fair. In fact, life is often unfair.

Thus, after saying so many times this to many to other people, I am writing it down (again!) so to remember what have learned about how to go through tough situations in life. 

It is never easy or solved by using a single formula. So, here I am once again. Saying it out laud. Repeat. Writing it as many times as needed. Repeat.  

1. Acknowledge the situation
Sometimes denial is what happens when in face of a tough situation. However, the longer the problem is avoid, the longer it will take to address it. So, acknowledge the situation, regardless of how I feel about. When changing the situation is not possible, acknowledging it is helpful to move on.

2. Develop a plan
Many times I have learned that there are more options than I might have think. 

Spending time thinking about how to respond to a tough situation - even when is impossible to fix it - has help me to develop a plan to cope with it. 

3. Seek for help 
Asking for help is a sign of strength and courage. Not being afraid to ask for help is key - whether some practical help, like a friend to proofread a resume, or emotional support from family. I have learned not to expect others to know what I need - sometimes they don't even know if I need something as they suppose me strong enough to deal with all.

4. Changing what you can
Identify what is within my control. When fired because of a boss that was unfair, it takes sometime to dwelling with anger. But it is important not to waste too much time on that and instead, taking action and beginning applying for new jobs. The sooner the better.

5. Identifying what you can’t change
Imposing my self not to waste time and energy trying to change things I can’t change.  I can’t change anyone and I can’t change past. 

Even if I believe one is entitled to spend time thinking about the past or even wishing things were different- at a certain given moment enough is enough. 

Accept the situation is unfair and tough. It's shitty. Don’t pretend it’s not. 

But don’t waste more time on that. Accept and move forward. 

6. Developing skills to deal with feelings
Just because one acknowledges a situation that is unfair, doesn’t mean it won’t hurt. Dealing with sadness, anger, frustration, and disappointment is tough.
Coping with all difficult feelings is key. Taking care of the mind, body and soul. 

Eat healthy, doing exercise, sleeping and resting. Strategies to deal with complex feelings - from therapeutic help, time with loved ones, writing and participating in fun activities are core components of the healing process.

7. Focus on the gain
Something good can come out of even the worst situations. If not, having survived a tough situation is already a gain. Perhaps becoming stronger or maybe, simply learning a valuable life lesson. Whatever it is, it is a learning experience that will probably help some way later in life.

Why having fun is the secret to a healthier life

If you're not having fun, you're not fully living, says science journalist Catherine Price, arguing persuasively that our always-on, tech-addicted lifestyles have led us to obsess over intangible concepts such as happiness while obscuring the fact that real happiness lies in the everyday experience of fun. 

We often think of fun as indulgent, even immature and selfish. We claim to not have time for it, even as we find hours a day for what Price calls Fake Fun bingeing on television, doomscrolling the news, or posting photos to social media, all in hopes of filling some of the emptiness we feel inside..

Weaving together scientific research with personal experience, Price reveals in this TED Talk the surprising mental, physical, and cognitive benefits of fun, and offers a practical, personalized plan for how we can achieve better screen/life balance and attract more True Fun into our daily lives-without feeling overwhelmed.

How do we see?

The visual system takes up a very large part of the brain—some say that as much as 30% of prime cortical real estate is specialized for visual processing in humans (Orban et al., 2004). This tells us that vision is important for human survival; language, touch, and audition, for example, get a far smaller slice of the cortical pie. 

So, what happens to all visual information? 

All the different parts of your eyes work together to help you see.

First, light passes through the cornea (the clear front layer of the eye). The cornea is shaped like a dome and bends light to help the eye focus. Some of this light enters the eye through an opening called the pupil (PYOO-pul). The iris (the colored part of the eye) controls how much light the pupil lets in.

Next, light passes through the lens (a clear inner part of the eye). The lens works together with the cornea to focus light correctly on the retina.
When light hits the retina (a light-sensitive layer of tissue at the back of the eye), special cells called photoreceptors turn the light into electrical signals.
These electrical signals travel from the retina through the optic nerve to the brain. Then the brain turns the signals into the images you see.
Your eyes also need tears to work correctly. Tears keep your eyes wet and smooth, and help focus light so you can see clearly. They also protect your eyes from infections and irritating things, like dirt and dust.

Every time you blink, a thin layer of tears called a “tear film” spreads across the surface of your cornea (the clear outer layer of the eye). Tears come from glands above your eyes, then drain into your tear ducts (small holes in the inner corners of your eyes) and down through your nose.

Learn more at ask a biologist

Truth and courage aren't always comfortable

Brene Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston, and a visiting professor in management at the University of Texas at Austin. She has spent decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy, author of six #1 best sellers books.

She hosts of the weekly Spotify original podcasts Unlocking Us and Dare to Lead 
hosting conversations with change-catalysts, culture-shifters, and more than a few troublemakers who are innovating, creating, and daring to lead.

“Daring greatly" is about being brave and afraid every minute of the day at the exact same time. Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. 

Truth and courage aren't always comfortable, but they're never weakness.