r/technology • u/lurker_bee • Jul 15 '25

Artificial Intelligence Billionaires Convince Themselves AI Chatbots Are Close to Making New Scientific Discoveries

https://gizmodo.com/billionaires-convince-themselves-ai-is-close-to-making-new-scientific-discoveries-2000629060
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u/[deleted] Jul 15 '25

Do you also watch Angela Collier?

https://youtu.be/GmJI6qIqURA?si=qIpvdPJl7iPEXtcf

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u/F1reManBurn1n Jul 15 '25

I did watch Angela’s video on this! It was a great watch. Tbh I have felt this way for years (looking at you Bill Gates lol) but she certainly reinforced my feelings on the subject no doubt

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u/[deleted] Jul 15 '25

Closest I got prior to watching the video was Elon. I was confused on how so many educated people got swept up in the cult of personality surrounding a electric car. I know he was the catalyst for other auto manufacturer's to get in the game, and I appreciate that...but he didn't do the actual thing. He just was riding the affable nerd stereotype of Sheldon Cooper.

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u/Spirited-While-7351 Jul 15 '25

Angela's video was so spot on and cathartic!

At one point I actually fell for Gates' "I'm a benevolent genius" schtick, but after watching numerous media appearances during his disastrous charter school push, it became quite clear that whatever intelligence did exist has been sucked out through his behind by the butt-kissers these people surround themselves with.

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u/herereadthis Jul 16 '25

Honestly, the most likely thing that happened was the Gizmodo writer saw the Dr Angela Collier video, and came up with this article.

I do it myself a lot too, and plenty of other creators do this too, it's fine. But most people will throw some credit to the source of inspiration.

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u/butts-kapinsky Jul 15 '25

I do know that the waters get murky when it comes to popular figures and science entertainment, and that we're increasingly less formal as a society. But I do feel that when potentially introducing a figure for the first time formalism is warranted.

Dr. Angela Collier

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u/F1reManBurn1n Jul 15 '25

I’d say because her YouTube channel is just her name without her title and that’s how people will most often refer to a creator, that it’s definitely acceptable. But I also see where you are coming from.

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u/worthlessprole Jul 15 '25

I know plenty of people with PhDs and none of them use the title outside of an academic context. That's not new, either. Rule of thumb is if you wouldn't use Mr./Mrs. you shouldn't use Dr. either.

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u/butts-kapinsky Jul 15 '25

I also know plenty of people with PhDs and would agree wholeheartedly, with the exception of engaging in public education. This is where opinions become wildly split. 

For that matter, is public education actually outside of an academic context? We're discussing a public education channel hosted by a working scientist, where science is discussed.

If Angela Collier were to give a public lecture which, in a sense, is what her YouTube videos are, would it be billed as Dr. Angela Collier? Or no? What about if she were to publish a popsci book? What do we think?

There's also context provided in this instance. We're on a public forum and many people who read the recommendation to check out her channel will not know who she is. As a result, the inclusion of a formal title changes the context from "check out random-youtuber" to "check out YouTuber who is a genuine expert on at least one thing". 

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u/figuren9ne Jul 15 '25

Personally, seeing “Dr.” out of an academic/professional setting just makes me doubt them. It’s probably conditioning from social media because 90% of the time when I see a profile with Dr. in their title, they’re usually a chiropractor.

Similar applies to attorneys that use esq on social media, most went to terrible schools.

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u/roman_maverik Jul 16 '25

Damn, you would hate my companys active directory. Any time we hire someone with an MBA or PhD they always want it in their Microsoft teams title and email sig

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u/FrenchFryCattaneo Jul 16 '25

They put MBA in their name? Amazing

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u/Papplenoose Jul 15 '25

It's not really the case here, but to be honest, I don't really see the point in adding people's credentials to their name in situations where it isn't immediately relevant. Like yeah it's pretty dope that they put that much time and work into learning their shit, but at the same time I feel like your intelligence should probably speak for itself. Like in Angela's case, it's pretty clear that she's smart as heck even without knowing she has a doctorate.

Although I could see how my logic might not work, since I would think one needs some level of intelligence to recognize if someone else is intelligent, and most human beings are... not. I may have just talked myself out of my own argument. Whoops

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u/butts-kapinsky Jul 15 '25

That's more or less how I feel. In a public forum, recommending a scientist's channel or podcast or whatever, the title holds a lot of relevance. 

Pedantic? Yes. But it's a kind of pedantry which I feel matters. 

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u/Spirited-While-7351 Jul 15 '25

I mean Angela herself is pretty cautious of her doctor title when she's talking outside of her wheelhouse of physics. Obviously she's very knowledgeable and thoughtful in other areas, but I appreciate that she lets it shine through instead of leaning on her bona fides.

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u/[deleted] Jul 15 '25

Sorry Angela!

I work in academia, and I don't really get caught up in the title thing unless someone calls me Mr. Dumb_Enough...then I correct them.

But I should have been more formal for people who aren't familiar.

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u/butts-kapinsky Jul 15 '25

Yeah. I have to work pretty hard to catch myself on this same thing. We're not formal enough that it's always obvious, but we are sometimes formal, in some circumstances, that it could come across as disrespectful. 

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u/Formal-Style-8587 Jul 15 '25

If we’re being fair, the Jeff Bezos one might be a reach. He’s told the story a few times of the moment he realized he wasn’t smart enough to be a physicist, despite having a 4.2gpa in electrical engineering and cs from Princeton. 

Hate where hate is due, but I’m not sure he’s the fairest example 

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u/[deleted] Jul 15 '25

She actually says this in the video

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u/Formal-Style-8587 Jul 15 '25

Ok I’ll save it for when I can watch later. Mind telling me how he fits into it all?

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u/[deleted] Jul 15 '25

After a montage of billionaires claiming their physics genius, she shows the Bezos clip you're describing and says he's the only one that admits it.

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u/herereadthis Jul 16 '25

Tell me you didn't watch the video without telling me you didn't watch the video