The Computer Science of Human Decision Making | Tom Griffiths | TEDxSydney

If you have ever been wracked with indecision over seemingly simple tasks, such as what clothes to wear that day or which restaurant to choose for dinner, then Cognitive and Computer Scientist, Tom Griffiths has the solution – there’s an algorithm for that. In this talk, he offers practical solutions to problems as well as a different way to think about rational decision-making and argues that human choices can be made easier with computer science.

Tom Griffiths is a Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science at the University of California, Berkeley, where he is also the Director of the Institute of Cognitive and Brain Sciences. His research explores connections between human and machine learning, using ideas from statistics and artificial intelligence to understand how people solve the challenging computational problems they encounter in everyday life.

Tom was an undergraduate at the University of Western Australia, completed his PhD in Psychology at Stanford University in 2005, and taught at Brown University before moving to Berkeley. He has received early career awards for his research from the United States National Science Foundation, the Sloan Foundation, the Society for Mathematical Psychology, the Society for Experimental Psychology, the Association for Psychological Science, and the American Psychological Association.

[deb.e.]

I have always said my desk is perfectly organized to me. Nice to be validated 😁

[weili]

You can't control outcome. As long as you have used the best process, you have done the best that you can. These are the concessions that we make when we are not rational, they are rational means

[weili]

Computer science can help to make us more forgiving of our own limitations

[rickvian]

So if you gonna live for 70 years, you take 37% of your lifetime to make ultimate life roadmap,
it should be around 26 years old

[weili]

You fail most of the time (37%), but that's the best you can do -- optimal strategy

[ibrahimtwahirkilagwa]

It's been five, oh hear I'm watching it on 8th January 2023.

[abigaildoe]

But these are assumptions which doesn't consider the complexity of change of human will and feelings or changes in mental states whether by an individual or the person they are interacting with. You might choose a good restaurant based on algorithm but on the day you go to said restaurant another customer insults you and ruins the experience, you only had one chance to go to that restaurant and now your experience of the restaurant is not that great.

[davidhahnert]

He claims that if you were searching for 30 days, that you are ready to act after 11 days but what set that initial search time of 30 days? I don't think the 37% works for time like it does for searching through all options.

[haukeachilles]

I like how something about Computer Science had 1337 likes, but I just killed that fact and I feel sorry abou that! 😥

[lawjye]

Google pay makes it simple to collect all your banking information to monitor your transactions to better predict and sell you what google wants and it’s partners 😃

[dikshantkafle]

should not have read this book. most boring book i ve ever read.

[jerste]

I managed to get over his boring tone until he made that unpleasant joke about being old and worthless,

[timothymolinar]

I was trying to actually learn something.
I just watched this entire video babbling, “ problems problems problems, you can problems problems problems, try problems problems, and then problems problems, failed relationship problems problems problems, math isn’t problems problems.”