Entropy, Trust & Pattern Discovery: Heidi Larson and Mark Anderson on Misinformation and AI in Global Health | A Shot in the Arm Podcast

Host Ben Plumley welcomes Professor Heidi Larson (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine) and Dr. Mark Anderson (Pattern Computer/Strategic News Service) to discuss innovation and equity in global health through the lens of “entropy” as chaos in human and data systems. Larson reflects on vaccine confidence as a window into societal trust in government, science, technology, and information, and announces a new Lancet Commission on rethinking misinformation, health, and human security. Anderson explains pattern-based, hypothesis-free discovery, critiques large language models as probabilistic and untrustworthy for life‑critical medical decisions and emphasizes explainable AI. They explore how rapid technological and social change, emotional determinants of health, and social media contribute to fragmentation, and outline plans to collaborate on macro-level patterns driving trust and misinformation while expanding access to Pattern’s discovery tools through international programs. 00:00 Welcome and Theme 01:01 Meet Heidi Larson 03:52 Meet Mark Anderson 05:42 How They Connected 09:48 Defining Entropy 12:18 Why AI Is Untrustworthy 14:53 Heidi on Life Imbalance 19:19 Mark Pattern Thinking 23:05 Pattern Discovery Example 23:41 Gene Pattern Breakthrough 24:39 Least Action Across History 26:21 Rethinking Misinformation Systems 31:53 Macro Patterns vs Specialization 34:22 Explainable AI for Humans 35:43 Vaccine Confidence Signals 42:23 Predictions and Broken Patterns 43:49 Collaboration Plans Ahead 45:49 Global Discovery Program Rollout 48:06 Trust and Communication Wrap 49:33 Closing Credits and Thanks Pattern Computer https://www.patterncomputer.com Strategic News Service https://www.stratnews.com Check Out Ben’s Substack: https://substack.com/@benplumley1 Join the Conversation! How do you see the future of global health unfolding? Share your thoughts in the comments!