How AI Thinks: Chris Summerfield on human brains and machine algorithms

In this episode of Data Malarkey – the podcast about using data, smarter – Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, talks to Chris Summerfield, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Oxford. Chris shares insights into what makes human intelligence so remarkable, how AI models are both fundamentally different from AND similar to human brains, and why understanding cognitive science is critical for building better AI. They explore the future of AI-human collaboration, discuss Chris’ long experience at DeepMind, and consider why prediction sits at the core of both artificial and human intelligence.

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What you'll learn:

• Why AI models both AND aren't like human brains

• How DeepMind trained AlphaGo to beat the Go world champion, Lee Sedol

• What cognitive science can teach AI research

• Why prediction is central to intelligence

• The benefits and limitations of current large language models

Resources mentioned:

• Chris Summerfield’s University of Oxford ‘Human Information Processing’ lab

• These Strange New Minds – Chris’s compelling 2025 book

• Chris’ personal webpage

• DeepMind and the AlphaGo documentary

Want to learn more? Check out the links in the show notes and subscribe for more episodes.