Azeem Azhar's Exponential View
187 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 months ago - ★★★★★ - 558 ratingsHow will the future unfold? What is the impact of AI and other exponential technologies on business & society? Join Azeem Azhar, founder of Exponential View, on his quest to demistify the era of exponential change.
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Episodes
How Quantum Computing Will Change Everything (with Chad Rigetti)
December 15, 2021 13:01 - 47 minutes - 44.3 MBQuantum computing won’t be an incremental improvement – it will be a step-change in the power of the technology that underpins a huge part of our economy. Exponentially faster computing won’t just help us solve problems more quickly, but it will also allow us to tackle problems that have been impossible to answer and find answers to questions we did not know to ask. Chad Rigetti, founder and CEO of Rigetti Computing, speaks to Azeem Azhar about just how revolutionary quantum computing will ...
Nuclear Fusion’s Time is (Finally) Coming
December 08, 2021 13:05 - 44 minutes - 40.8 MBNuclear fusion seems to have been “twenty years away” forever, but recent advances could mean fusion is finally on its way to becoming part of our energy mix. Azeem Azhar speaks to Nick Hawker, co-founder and CEO of First Light Fusion, a UK-based company that uses an approach it calls “projectile fusion” to generate energy. That method uses an electromagnetic launcher to fire material towards fuel at high speeds. Nick explains why it’s one of the most promising approaches to a problem that ...
Grading AI: The Hits and Misses
December 01, 2021 13:01 - 48 minutes - 44.3 MBMurray Shanahan, professor of cognitive robotics at Imperial College London and a senior research scientist at DeepMind, joins Azeem Azhar to discuss AI: where developments have exceeded expectations, where they have fallen short, and what the next steps are towards an artificial general intelligence (AGI). They explore the hurdles that stand in the way of truly intelligent computer programs: why an AGI might need to exist in a body that can sense the world around it to reach its full poten...
Technology and Redistribution of Power (with Yanis Varoufakis)
November 24, 2021 13:01 - 52 minutes - 48.4 MBFormer Greek Finance Minister, economist, and bestselling author Yanis Varoufakis joins Azeem Azhar to discuss his speculative novel Another Now. In that book, he presents a world where mass organization, technological progress, and an overhaul of companies and markets have made society more equitable. Like all great science fiction, the book is as much about the present as the future. Yanis is an advocate of blockchain technology and “one person, one vote” structures, as measures to redist...
The AI Revolution is Just Beginning (with Nathan Benaich and Ian Hogarth)
November 17, 2021 13:01 - 46 minutes - 42.9 MBArtificial intelligence had a breakout year, with major new developments in disparate fields, from medical biology to defense. AI investors Nathan Benaich and Ian Hogarth, who co-author the annual “State of AI” report, join Azeem Azhar to explore why AI is thriving in those sectors. In addition, they offer their take on the flood of new investments in AI and how we can best keep this technology safe for humanity. They also discuss: Why AI is fundamentally changing how we research medical s...
Why Energy Storage Is the Future of the Grid (with Malta CEO Ramya Swaminathan)
November 10, 2021 13:01 - 50 minutes - 46.1 MBRenewable energy is the future of power, but relying on solar, wind, etc. will require a more reliable and resilient grid. Effective energy storage would make it possible to smooth out discrepancies in supply and demand, and harness renewable power more efficiently. A range of technologies are being developed and refined with that mission in mind, including large-scale lithium-ion batteries and clean hydrogen storage. Former Alphabet X moonshot spinoff Malta Inc. uses established industrial...
Building a Multibillion-Dollar Company in 18 Months (with Hopin’s Johnny Boufarhat)
November 03, 2021 13:01 - 25 minutes - 23.3 MBHopin is one of the fastest-growing startups in history. Founder and CEO Johnny Boufarhat joins Azeem Azhar to talk about how he grew the virtual events company from six employees in February 2020, at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, to more than eight hundred, and a valuation of almost $8 billion, a year and a half later. Johnny explains how he seized the opportunity presented by the pandemic, what it was like learning to lead at one of the fastest-growing startups in history, and why h...
Decarbonization by the Numbers (with Michele Della Vigna)
October 27, 2021 13:01 - 43 minutes - 40.2 MBThe transition to a greener economy is absolutely essential for the future of life as we know it. Governments and companies have committed to net-zero emissions by 2050, but it’s not clear how they plan to get there – or how much it will cost. Today’s guest, though, has some idea. Michele Della Vigna runs the Carbonomics research program at Goldman Sachs, which looks at the economics behind a transition to net-zero emissions. On the eve of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (...
The Future of the Car (with Ford’s Hau Thai-Tang)
October 20, 2021 13:00 - 48 minutes - 44.6 MBFord has been making cars for 118 years — nearly all of them with internal combustion engines. It now faces the biggest challenge in its history. As the electric vehicle (EV) revolution accelerates and people rethink their relationships with cars, both automotive incumbents and upstarts are planning for a radically different world. Ford’s chief product platform and operations officer Hau Thai-Tang is ideally placed to discuss what that shift looks like. He and Azeem Azhar explore how EV upt...
Funding Innovation to Fight Climate Change
October 13, 2021 13:01 - 36 minutes - 33.4 MBThe climate crisis is the defining issue of our age, and to fight it effectively, we’ll have to redesign our world. That requires money and technological innovation – but it also demands knowledge of local communities, and policymaking. Dawn Lippert works at the intersection of all of those issues. She’s the founder and CEO of Elemental Excelerator, a non-profit incubator that helps climate-focused startups deploy their technologies. In September 2021, Elemental spun out a $60m venture-capi...
How Network Effects Rule the World (with James Currier)
October 06, 2021 13:01 - 49 minutes - 45.7 MBGoogle, Facebook, Apple, and Uber are just some of the enormous companies that derive part of their value from network effects: The more users they have, the more value they provide. Network effects aren’t new. The basic principles that underpinned faxes and phone lines also underpin social media. But rapid technological change has made network effects more prevalent and more powerful than ever before. Serial entrepreneur and early-stage investor James Currier is one of the world’s foremost...
Imagining Climate Futures with Kim Stanley Robinson
July 07, 2021 13:57 - 1 hour - 56.3 MBKim Stanley Robinson, the legendary science-fiction novelist, has a private utopian hope: “to dodge a mass extinction event.” He joins Azeem Azhar to explore his recent novel, The Ministry For the Future, and what it would take for institutions, individuals, and emerging technologies to save millions of lives. They also discuss: When civil disobedience and direct climate action may become a moral necessity. Why central banks and a radical shift of economic incentives are vital to drive de...
How to Regulate Facebook (with Nick Clegg)
June 30, 2021 12:00 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MBFacebook serves 34 percent of the world’s population and decides who to block and what to censor. How should governments regulate this startling power? Nick Clegg, the UK’s former deputy prime minister and now vice president of Global Affairs and Communications at Facebook, joins Azeem Azhar to explore how governments might reassert control in the exponential age. They also discuss: The major regulatory legislation coming down the pike in the U.S., the EU, and India. Why allowing data por...
The Future of Digital Payments
June 23, 2021 13:50 - 36 minutes - 34.1 MBVisa processes more than 500 million transactions every day. How is the world’s largest digital payment platform adapting to new technologies and fresh competition? Charlotte Hogg, executive vice president and CEO of its European operations, joins Azeem Azhar to explore the evolving ecosystem of digital payments. They also discuss: Why Visa should be seen as a platform-based technology company like Google, despite being an established financial institution. Why the Visa’s “open network” m...
How to Practice Responsible AI
June 16, 2021 13:57 - 49 minutes - 45.3 MBFrom predictive policing to automated credit scoring, algorithms applied on a massive scale, gone unchecked, represent a serious threat to our society. Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, director of Machine Learning Ethics, Transparency and Accountability at Twitter, joins Azeem Azhar to explore how businesses can practice responsible AI to minimize unintended bias and the risk of harm. They also discuss: How you can assess and diagnose bias in unexplainable “black box” algorithms. Why responsible AI ...
The Coming AI Hackers
June 09, 2021 13:48 - 37 minutes - 34.8 MBAI hackers are coming, and it’s not just our computer networks at risk – our laws and regulations are also vulnerable. Bruce Schneier, internationally renowned security technologist and fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, joins Azeem Azhar to explore how humans have always exploited loopholes in rule-based systems, and how that will change as AIs become more powerful. They also discuss: Why making AI systems easier to monitor and regulate also makes them less...
Banking without Banks: Decentralized Finance is Coming
June 02, 2021 13:56 - 48 minutes - 45 MBCould we have a financial industry without banks or brokers? That’s the vision of decentralized finance – or DeFi – in which financial products are built from tamper-proof digital smart contracts interacting with blockchains. Sergey Nazarov, co-founder of Chainlink, joins Azeem Azhar to explore the promise of this emerging sector to bring greater transparency, control, and yield for both customers and businesses. They also discuss: How blockchains and smart contracts work together to recon...
AI’s Competitive Advantage
May 26, 2021 13:57 - 57 minutes - 53 MBAI can offer a new type of competitive advantage, but entrepreneurs need to know what it is and how to unlock it. Ash Fontana, author of The AI First Company and managing director at Zetta Venture Partners – a firm that exclusively invests in early-stage AI startups, joins Azeem Azhar to explore the risks and rewards of applying AI to business problems. They also discuss: Why the high up-front cost of developing AI models favors multi-sector businesses. Which is more important for an AI-f...
Building a Trustworthy Market for Carbon Offsets: Part 2
May 20, 2021 13:47 - 33 minutes - 30.6 MBUsing forests to offset a company’s carbon emissions has been dismissed as “greenwashing.” But Diego Saez Gil argues that a verifiable and transparent global market in carbon credits is a vital tool to mitigate climate change. In part 2 of their discussion, he joins Azeem Azhar to explore how his company, Pachama, uses technology to connect farmers and ecologists with climate-conscious corporations in an effort to evolve the global carbon marketplace. They also discuss: Why companies need ...
Building a Trustworthy Market for Carbon Offsets: Part 1
May 19, 2021 14:00 - 32 minutes - 30.3 MBHow do we build a market for carbon offsets that is both trustworthy and effective? Diego Saez Gil, co-founder and CEO of Pachama, believes he has the answer. In part 1 of the conversation, Diego joins Azeem Azhar to explore how AI, satellites, and LiDAR can be leveraged to verify the conservation efforts of farmers, NGOs, and governments and help lay the foundation for sustainable work against climate change. They also discuss: How the rapid cycles of a tech startup interact with the slow...
The Power of Mental Modeling and the Limits of AI
May 12, 2021 13:51 - 46 minutes - 42.8 MBKenneth Cukier, senior editor at the Economist, and Viktor Mayer-Schoenberger, professor of Internet Governance and Regulation at the University of Oxford, argue that because AI systems have no causal model of the world, they lack the human capacity for imagination and decision-making. Azeem Azhar explores their contention that we should not rely on AI to provide solutions to our problems. Rather we should systematically challenge how we frame our problems in order to produce breakthrough in...
Startups and the State: Growing French Tech
May 05, 2021 14:01 - 42 minutes - 38.8 MBIn less than a decade France has gone from tech backwater to the startup engine of the EU. It recently celebrated its 12th company to achieve a $1 billion valuation and is well on the way to President Macron’s goal of “25 unicorns by 2025.” Kat Borlongan, director of La French Tech, joins Azeem Azhar to explore how her government taskforce has been working to effectively drive growth in the French startup scene. They also discuss: Why achieving tech sovereignty has become a key motivator f...
How Data Helps Companies Honor Their Climate Goals
April 28, 2021 14:00 - 47 minutes - 43.6 MBTurning a corporate climate pledge into reality is a complex endeavor. Watershed, a software startup co-founded by Christian Anderson, is committed to using data to cut corporate emissions fast. In conversation with Azeem Azhar, Christian shares the challenges of putting this dream into practice. They also discuss: The role of network effects in the net-zero transition. How Watershed’s data business compares to social media. Why carbon removal decisions in companies should reside within ...
The Future of Meat
April 21, 2021 13:56 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MBLivestock is responsible for 15 percent of global greenhouse emissions. Could meat grown in labs offer a sustainable – and palatable – future? Didier Toubia, CEO and co-founder of cultured meat start-up Aleph Farms, joins Azeem Azhar to explore the biotech, ethics, and economics of making beef without cows. They also discuss: Why food security and public health are driving the development of alternative protein sources. Why cultivated meat may achieve price parity with normal beef within ...
Mapping AI’s Societal Impact
April 14, 2021 14:13 - 1 hour - 57.3 MBAI is not just code and algorithms. It’s an industry built on a global network of resource extraction, human labor, and data collection. Kate Crawford, senior principal researcher at Microsoft Research and research professor of communication and science and technology studies at USC Annenberg, joins Azeem Azhar to explore the far-reaching impacts of AI and to consider the urgent case for proper governance and regulation of the industry. They also discuss: Why we need to observe hardware su...
Making Quantum Computers a Commercial Reality
April 07, 2021 14:52 - 49 minutes - 45.4 MBIonQ is the first company solely focused on quantum computing to go public, with its quantum computers accessible via the cloud today. The company’s co-founder/chief scientist Chris Monroe and president/CEO Peter Chapman join Azeem Azhar to explore how they turned cutting-edge research into a scalable product. They also discuss the engineering challenges that remain before quantum systems not only surpass the fastest supercomputers, but also become widely available. In addition, they addres...
Bitcoin and the Future of Decentralized Finance
March 31, 2021 13:58 - 50 minutes - 46.4 MBMeltem Demirors, Chief Strategy Officer at CoinShares, joins Azeem Azhar to explore the potential and politics of cryptocurrencies: from the ideological origins of Bitcoin to the new wave of decentralized financial products that could disrupt traditional finance. They also discuss: Why the values of the Cypherpunk community are enshrined in Bitcoin’s design. How the Decentralized Finance movement is re-imagining existing products on blockchain networks. If Bitcoin will ever break out of ...
The Evolution of Teamwork (with Atlassian CEO Scott Farquhar)
March 24, 2021 13:54 - 48 minutes - 44.2 MBAtlassian, the enterprise software innovator, is helping to drive disruption across the world of work. Co-founder and co-CEO, Scott Farquhar, joins Azeem Azhar to explain how, during a global pandemic, they nearly doubled the size of their workforce, why the workplace will never be the same after Covid-19, and what the implications are for companies and employees who increasingly operate remotely, asynchronously, and in flatter hierarchies. They also discuss: Why Farquhar believes that mos...
The Architects of AI
March 17, 2021 14:05 - 41 minutes - 38.4 MBCade Metz, technology correspondent at The New York Times, joins Azeem Azhar to discuss his new book Genius Makers. In it, he tells the story of the pioneers who brought AI out of academic labs, sparking a Big Tech arms race and transforming our everyday lives. They also discuss: How deep learning went from an unworkable concept to fueling the AI boom. Why bias and prejudice “baked in” to an AI system are almost impossible to remove. Which early signals tech giants followed to develop A...
Universities and the Innovation Landscape
March 10, 2021 14:04 - 38 minutes - 35.4 MBWhat are universities for? Are they an elite pipeline for elite jobs, or can they meet the needs of societies transforming amid technological advances? Azeem Azhar explores the role of higher education in research, innovation, and progress with Geraint Rees, Dean of Faculty of Life Sciences at University College London and a leader of their AI strategy. They also discuss: How University College London researchers drove the design, approval, and production of a breathing aid for COVID-19 pa...
Engineering a Driverless Future
March 03, 2021 13:03 - 45 minutes - 41.9 MBChris Urmson, co-founder and CEO of the self-driving technology startup Aurora, joins Azeem Azhar to explore the state-of-play of self-driving technology, the criticisms the tech must address, and the huge challenges to be overcome before we trust a computer to drive our kids to school. They also discuss: How Aurora’s founders built their “no jerks,” team-oriented culture. The importance of new LIDAR sensors (light-radar) for achieving faster speeds with bigger vehicles. Why Aurora is sk...
Fixing the Social Media Crisis
February 24, 2021 13:51 - 51 minutes - 47.4 MBSocial networks polarize communities and spread misinformation. Professor Sinan Aral, director of MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy and author of The Hype Machine, joins Azeem Azhar to explore what makes these networks so powerful and how we can engineer our way to a healthier online ecosystem. They also discuss: Why powerful “network effects” lead to social media monopolies. Why forcing interoperability and “identity porting” is the key to healthy competition. Why repealing Sectio...
Investing in Deep Tech for an Abundant Future
February 17, 2021 13:56 - 43 minutes - 40.4 MBCould deep tech companies bring about an age of abundance? Matt Ocko, co-founder and managing partner of Data Collective Venture Capital, joins Azeem Azhar to explore the art of investing in startups that aim to transform entire industries with radically cheaper, cleaner products. They also discuss: Why establishing “computational advantage” is key to a successful deep tech approach. How AbCellera, one of Matt’s portfolio companies, used machine learning and extensive automation to swiftl...
From Insurance Giant to Tech Platform: The Story of Ping An
February 10, 2021 13:59 - 51 minutes - 47.5 MBFrom an insurance giant to an incubator of cutting-edge tech companies, Ping An’s evolution is impressive and unique. Chief Innovation Officer Jonathan Larsen joins Azeem Azhar to explore how the China-based holding conglomerate has managed such agility at immense scale. They also discuss: Why being founder-led has enabled bold movement into new markets. How Ping An created the world’s largest telemedicine platform from scratch. Why innovation must come from the company’s core culture an...
Building A Quantum Computer with Light
February 03, 2021 14:17 - 50 minutes - 46.9 MB“Quantum computing is to conventional computing what a warp drive is to a bicycle,” says Jeremy O’Brien, CEO of PsiQuantum. He joins Azeem Azhar to explore the exponential advantage quantum computing will bring to problems across science and industry, and how he’s using photonics to build the first productive quantum computer. They also discuss: Why only quantum computers can help solve our most intractable problems. Why VCs are not rushing to fund this transformative technology. How exi...
Bringing DARPA’s Innovation to Health
January 27, 2021 13:41 - 48 minutes - 44.8 MBRegina Dugan, CEO of new biomedical non-profit Wellcome Leap and former director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in the U.S., joins Azeem Azhar to explore how she approaches delivering breakthrough technologies, and why she has now set her sights on global health. They also discuss: The thinking behind DARPA’s early support of Moderna’s mRNA vaccine technology. How the DARPA model of innovation can apply to advancing medical technologies. How the lessons from her...
Big Tech and a Decade of Antitrust with Cory Doctorow
January 06, 2021 14:00 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MBCory Doctorow, award-winning author, technologist, and founder, joins Azeem Azhar to explore the power of big tech monopolies and how a future wave of antitrust lawsuits could unleash innovation across the sector. They also discuss: How antitrust litigation, even if it fails, has a powerful effect on corporate behavior. Why interoperability is key to a competitive marketplace. How software patents have been weaponized to protect monopolies. Further resources: “Regulating Big Tech makes...
Learning from 2020: Azeem’s Takeaways
December 30, 2020 14:30 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBIn his reflection on this tumultuous year, Azeem Azhar finds hope in our reaction to the pandemic. The achievements made through collective action and the latest technologies have been life-saving. Azeem also explores: What businesses will need in order to thrive in 2021. How new multi-stakeholder institutions will emerge to meet the challenges in the coming period of friction and fragmentation. Questions sent in by subscribers to the Exponential View Newsletter. Further reading: IKEA:...
Applying the Pandemic Mindset to Climate Change with Cory Doctorow
December 23, 2020 14:30 - 30 minutes - 28 MBCory Doctorow, award winning author, technologist, and founder, joins Azeem Azhar to examine how the pandemic mindset around harnessing massive collective action and exponential technologies for the good of humanity could also help us mitigate climate change. They also discuss: How Covid-19 exposed the need to reset the relationship between market and state. Why the predicted 20-30 percent unemployment rate will force dramatic government action in 2021. Further resources: What can clima...
Making Venture Capital Work for Entrepreneurs
December 16, 2020 14:42 - 49 minutes - 45.5 MBLeila Rastegar Zegna, co-founder and general partner of Kindred Capital, joins Azeem Azhar for a deep dive into venture capital: how it really works, what’s broken, and how to fix it. They also explore a new model for venture capital, where founders become partners in the fund. This new approach aims to align incentives for both entrepreneurs and investors, in order to build a healthier innovation community. They also discuss: Why venture capital is a “people business,” not a finance busin...
IKEA: Making a $40 Billion Company Climate Positive
December 09, 2020 14:08 - 44 minutes - 40.5 MBIKEA generates 0.1 percent of the world’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. Can this $40 billion multinational company become climate positive by 2030? Jesper Brodin, CEO of Ingka Group, joins Azeem Azhar to discuss how to grow a business while investing in renewable energy, sourcing sustainable materials, and building a circular economy. They also discuss: How being a leader in the “green revolution” is a business opportunity. How mass production could actually expedite progress towards ...
China’s Technology Transformation with Kai-Fu Lee
December 02, 2020 14:05 - 44 minutes - 41.2 MB“China is no longer a copycat. It’s an innovator,” says Kai-Fu Lee, CEO of Sinovation Ventures and former president of Google China. He joins Azeem Azhar to explore China’s rapidly evolving tech scene, their embrace of automation, and their journey to AI dominance. They also explore: How Covid has dramatically accelerated the use of consumer-facing robots. Why office workers are most vulnerable to replacement by AI. Why China is so attractive for tech investors. Further resources: “Chi...
Materials Built by Microbes: A Revolution in Materials Science
November 25, 2020 13:58 - 39 minutes - 38.3 MBZymergen CEO Joshua Hoffman joins Azeem Azhar to explore how cutting-edge bioengineering, robotics, and machine learning are helping create a new generation of high-performance, environmentally sustainable materials for the 21st Century.
Silicon Valley Needs a Shakedown with Chamath Palihapitiya
November 18, 2020 14:15 - 48 minutes - 39.3 MBInvestor Chamath Palihapitiya joins Azeem Azhar to explore the dysfunctional relationship between capital and companies, why he loves a SPAC (special purpose acquisition company), and why he’s championing a new wave of climate change innovators. Note: Portions of the conversation that had been removed in an earlier version of this episode have been reinstated for greater clarity.
How AI and Genomics Are Reshaping Farming
November 11, 2020 14:41 - 32 minutes - 30.3 MBAs the world population grows and climate change intensifies, how can we transform the food supply chain to be more sustainable and resilient? Mike Zelkind, co-founder and CEO of 80 Acres Farms, is building a network of hyper-efficient, high-tech, indoor farms to provide local communities with fresh, nutritious produce. He joins Azeem Azhar to discuss the challenges of disrupting the farming industry to innovate the future of food. They also discuss: Why fruits and vegetables are now bred ...
Understanding the Enduring Consequences of Covid-19
November 09, 2020 20:03 - 39 minutes - 36.1 MBAzeem Azhar speaks with Yale Professor of Social and Natural Science, Internal Medicine & Biomedical Engineering, Nicholas Christakis, whose latest book “Apollo’s Arrow,” lays out the three phases of the world’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Christakis argues that each phase will be fraught with risk and will leave an enduring impact on our society, economy, and politics. They also discuss: How a successful vaccine will influence global geopolitics as a soft power. How to deal with...
Should We End the Data Economy?
November 04, 2020 13:40 - 36 minutes - 33.3 MBGoogle and Facebook became multibillion-dollar juggernauts by stockpiling data and using it to sell advertising. Governments can now track their citizens en masse. Where will this “surveillance capitalism” lead? Dr. Carissa Véliz from the Institute for Ethics in AI at the University of Oxford joins Azeem Azhar to consider what’s wrong with the data economy, and to explore her bold proposals for ending it. They also discuss: Why Google’s founders were initially opposed to selling ads. Why...
Facebook’s Tech Chief: How We Built It and Where We’re Going
October 28, 2020 11:35 - 44 minutes - 41 MBWhen Facebook’s Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer joined the company in 2008, it was about to hit 100 million users – today they serve 2.7 billion. He joins Azeem Azhar to explore how they planned for infrastructure resilience to cope with such explosive growth, and why Facebook has invested so deeply in AI and virtual reality. They also discuss: How Facebook increasingly uses AI systems to moderate content, including hate speech. What Facebook is doing to address the need for grea...
DeepMind’s Journey from Games to Fundamental Science
October 21, 2020 13:48 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MBDemis Hassabis, CEO and co-founder of DeepMind, dreams of using AI to solve fundamental problems in science. He joins Azeem Azhar to explore his own journey from world champion gamer to neuroscientist to building AI systems that can train themselves to solve real-world engineering challenges and, eventually, make Nobel-prize winning discoveries. They also discuss: Why games are the perfect training ground for AI algorithms. How DeepMind combines the dynamism of a startup with the “blue sk...
How Taiwan is Using Technology to Foster Democracy (with Digital Minister Audrey Tang)
October 14, 2020 13:23 - 41 minutes - 37.9 MB“Democracy is a technology. Like any […] technology, it gets better when more people strive to improve it,” says Audrey Tang, Taiwan’s first digital minister. Minister Tang joins Azeem Azhar to discuss how the Taiwanese Government is using the Internet as a space for civic participation, dialogue, and consensus building. They also discuss: How the open Internet helped Taiwan proactively tackle the Covid-19 outbreak at the beginning of the pandemic. Algorithmic co-governance, and how it ca...