Train Your BS Meter for the Intelligence Age

Microsoft Innovation Podcast

Hosts: Mark Smith, Meg Smith
👉For full Show Notes: https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/737
A practical conversation on critical thinking in a noisy news cycle. The hosts unpack bias, truth detection, and source triangulation, then show how to set personal inputs, tune ad preferences, and use AI as a questioning coach. You get simple checks for risk, bias, and truth, plus resources to build daily habits that protect focus and decision quality.
Join the private WhatsApp group for Q&A and community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/E0iyXcUVhpl9um7DuKLYEz
🎙️ What you’ll learn

• Apply a low, medium, high risk check before trusting information
• Use source triangulation for travel, policy, and high-impact decisions
• Reduce algorithmic pull by auditing and adjusting ad interests
• Spot common biases and set prompts that challenge your view
• Build a daily news routine that filters noise and highlights impact

✅ Highlights

• “It’s really important… identifying and understanding how we measure or apply critical thinking.”
• “Who wants me to believe this? … Why do they want me to believe this?”
• “Control and even limit what you consume.”
• “Decide, is this a low, medium or high risk of me getting this wrong.”
• “We need to develop our truth sense.”
• “Act as my critical thinking coach… challenge my thinking one question at a time.”
• “Go one step further and ask it to explain it.”

🧰 Mentioned

• Nexus (book) https://amzn.to/3Ks2ffq
• Blink (book) https://amzn.to/3VZFr9z
• TED Talks by Hans and Ola Rosling https://youtu.be/Sm5xF-UYgdg?si=CPEOyZ_lzzwJI3dX
• Jacinda Ardern Video https://youtu.be/xJg1McSvgo8?si=8RdIG6g2oxA2rDNk

Connect with the hosts
Mark Smith:
Blog: https://www.nz365guy.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nz365guy
Meg Smith:
Blog: https://www.megsmith.nz
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megsmithnz
Subscribe, rate, and share with someone who wants to be future ready. Drop your questions in the comments or the WhatsApp group, and we may feature them in an upcoming episode.
✅ Keywords:
critical thinking, bias, confirmation bias, selective attention, frequency illusion, baader-meinhof, triangulation, truth, amygdala, advertising preferences, perplexity, whatsapp

Support the show

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.
Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

บท

1. The Importance of Critical Thinking in Today's World (00:00:00)

2. Understanding AI's Role in Critical Thinking (00:02:32)

3. Navigating Information Consumption and Bias (00:06:21)

4. Developing a Critical Thinking Framework (00:11:36)

5. Source Triangulation and Validating Information (00:16:54)

6. Techniques to Avoid Bias in AI Usage (00:18:53)