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Artificial intelligence is a powerful tool, but it’s not the magic solution many make it out to be, according to theoretical neuroscientist and entrepreneur Dr. Vivienne Ming.
She tells us that AI enhances human capabilities rather than replacing them—and the true power of AI lies in how it can transform the economics of existing solutions.
In this episode of Navigating Noise, Dr. Ming draws on her deep experience with AI, neuroscience, and entrepreneurial ventures to discuss how AI can support, but not surpass, human judgment in complex decision-making. Dr. Ming’s career spans founding 5 different companies, including her current venture as CEO and co-founder at Socos Labs, where she tackles real-world challenges with AI-driven solutions. She’s also created innovations in neuroprosthetics, worked in epigenetics to solve postpartum depression, and led startups focused on education and healthcare. Currently, she leads philanthropic initiatives, paying for her team’s research and giving away inventions to solve some of the world’s toughest problems.
Below, I share my five biggest takeaways from my conversation with Dr. Vivienne Ming about the limits and opportunities of AI, how it changes the economics of solutions, and why humans remain irreplaceable.
If you prefer to watch or listen instead of read my key takeaways, check out the full episode above.
One of Dr. Ming’s most striking points is that AI doesn’t automatically make problems disappear—it changes the economics of solutions that already exist. AI can make a solution that is expensive scalable, but it doesn’t invent new solutions from scratch.
“AI transforms the economics of solutions that already exist. It doesn't magically make problems go away. AI is not a wand.”
For example, Dr. Ming discussed her experience developing an AI for managing blood glucose levels in type 1 diabetics. While the solution works, it didn’t replace the need for doctors. Instead, AI scaled the ability to monitor blood glucose, making it affordable and accessible on a larger scale.
Key Insight: AI enhances scalability but doesn’t create new solutions. It turns resource-heavy solutions into affordable ones.
While AI excels at pattern recognition and processing large amounts of data, Dr. Ming emphasized that it struggles when confronted with rare, novel events.
“Right now, the only models that can see into the unknown are running in the heads of human beings…We’re just doing something more complex than even the latest version of GPT can handle.”
This limitation is particularly relevant in high-stakes environments like national security, where unforeseen threats emerge that haven’t been modeled in the past. Human analysts have the ability to apply causal reasoning and context that AI can’t replicate.
Key Insight: AI is powerful for analyzing patterns, but in situations where the future is uncertain, human intuition and reasoning still reign supreme.
Dr. Ming points out that AI should be seen as a tool for collaboration, not replacement. In fact, the best results come when humans and AI work together, with each playing to their strengths. She used the metaphor of a “cyborg” to describe this collaboration, where humans and machines each contribute to the final decision.
“What really works well is humans feeding information into an AI and then acting on its advice.”
Dr. Ming highlighted a study that divided professionals into three groups: self-automators, centaurs, and cyborgs. The cyborgs, who integrated AI into every decision but retained the ability to push back against the AI’s conclusions, performed the best.
Key Insight: The future of decision-making lies in collaboration between human judgment and AI, where both complement each other’s strengths.
A key concern Dr. Ming raised is the danger of over-reliance on AI, especially in education and workforce development. She discussed research showing that when AI provides answers in educational settings, students fail to learn the material. This problem extends to the workforce, where AI is being touted as a tool for low-skill or early-career workers.
“All of the research says the overwhelming benefits from GPT or Gemini in the workforce are for early-career, lower-skill workers. Well, boy, that sure sounds like they’re never gonna learn how to do their job to me, but this is the future that's getting sold to us. So clearly 25 years building these models means I believe in their potential, but we have to be realistic about what humans truly bring to the table and what machines do.”
Dr. Ming warned that this over-reliance on AI could lead to a workforce that doesn’t develop the skills necessary to succeed independently, creating long-term vulnerabilities.
Key Insight: While AI can support early-career professionals, over-reliance on AI tools risks stunting the development of essential human skills.
Dr. Ming highlighted that AI models, even advanced ones, often struggle with predicting rare or novel events because they are trained to recognize patterns from past data. This limitation is particularly concerning in fields like security and healthcare, where the next big threat or crisis is unlikely to resemble anything from the past.
“Can AI models not extrapolate? They can, but essentially you're going outside of their warranty Who knows what they're doing?”
For Dr. Ming, AI’s inability to predict the unexpected is where human creativity and critical thinking are indispensable.
Key Insight: AI struggles with predicting rare or novel threats, reinforcing the need for human oversight and decision-making in critical situations.
Dr. Vivienne Ming’s insights remind us that AI’s real strength lies in collaboration with human judgment. While AI can scale existing solutions and process vast amounts of data, it cannot replace the creativity, intuition, and foresight that humans bring to complex situations.
The future of AI isn’t about replacement—it’s about partnership. As Dr. Ming put it, “AI is a great tool for exploration, but perhaps not for extrapolation.”
As we look to the future, the challenge will be finding ways to integrate AI into our decision-making processes without losing sight of the irreplaceable value humans bring to the table.
As we look to the future, this conversation highlights the need for high-quality, nuanced data to support decision-making in complex environments—whether in national security, market analysis, or geopolitical strategy.
AI-driven solutions, like those offered by Filter Labs, can provide valuable insights, but ultimately, it’s the human element that ensures we interpret that data effectively and act on it with precision.
