Kotecki On Tech
66 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 4 years ago - ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsKotecki On Tech is an interview show about the future. Technology executives, visionaries, and policymakers join host James Kotecki to explore where we are today and where we're going tomorrow.
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Episodes
May I Speak to Your Bot, Please?
December 17, 2019 09:45 - 15 minutes - 14.2 MBAda CEO Mike Murchison chats about chatbots, AI, and the emerging (human) field of ACX: Automated Customer Experience. Murchison and his co-founder know what it’s like to be customer service agents. “[W]e knew our technology was working when they continued to pay us and didn’t realize that it wasn’t we ourselves who were responding,” he says. “It was the early incarnation of Ada.”
Disrupting the Game of Life
December 10, 2019 09:45 - 15 minutes - 14.2 MBEthos co-founder and CEO Peter Colis wants to make buying life insurance feel less like “getting medically and financially strip searched”. He says the industry is so old fashioned that just being on the Internet is a major innovation.
A Tech Monopoly That Elizabeth Warren Could Love?
December 03, 2019 09:45 - 15 minutes - 14.4 MBLD Mangin, the CEO of the advertising security company Confiant, says it’d be best for his clients if his company was a public utility. You know - the good kind of monopoly.
Video Games That Evolve As You Play Them
November 26, 2019 09:45 - 14 minutes - 13.5 MBWhen it’s all written in advance, video game content is static. But Neha Sampat, CEO of Contentstack, says game developers can now create content on the fly and, in a way, play along with you.
“Every Skyscraper in the World is Vulnerable”
November 19, 2019 09:45 - 14 minutes - 13.5 MBIoTium CEO Ron Victor says the Industrial Internet of Things will be worth “somewhere in the trillions” - and also “could be the next form of war.”
Bestselling Author Andrew McAfee Says Tech + Capitalism Help Make “More From Less”
November 12, 2019 09:45 - 25 minutes - 23.4 MB“The Second Machine Age” coauthor, MIT research scientist, and TED speaker is back. Andrew McAfee explores a powerful, counterintuitive concept in his new book, “More from Less: The Surprising Story of How We Learned to Prosper Using Fewer Resources—and What Happens Next.” Prepare to question your beliefs about the future of our planet.
Making Retail Less Rotten
November 05, 2019 09:45 - 15 minutes - 14 MBRubikloud co-founder & CEO Kerry Liu talks technology to help grocers waste less. “If you previously threw away, let’s say, 10 percent of your fresh produce, you could theoretically now throw away only 5 or 6 percent of it.”
When Kids Talk to Bots
October 29, 2019 08:45 - 14 minutes - 13.2 MBA human conversation on conversational AI with Bryan Stokes, VP, Product Management at Vonage. “I don’t think they will care, in the younger generations, whether they’re talking to a bot or whether they’re talking to a person,” he says. “It’s just going to be them communicating.”
Your Bad Driving Can Be Quantified, Gamified, & Modified
October 22, 2019 08:45 - 15 minutes - 14 MBDon’t look now - seriously, if you’re behind the wheel, stop looking at this - but data science could help defeat distracted driving. Rob Nendorf, Director of Data Science at Arity, is driving toward a safer future. Along the way, he’s become a safer driver himself.
#Data4Good vs. Data for Evil
October 15, 2019 08:45 - 15 minutes - 14.2 MBIt’s clear that data can be used for bad. But ThoughtSpot Chief Data Strategy Officer Cindi Howson is a champion of #Data4Good. The movement tackles inequality, cancer, suicide, and more.
An Automotive Legend Makes a Flying Car
October 08, 2019 08:45 - 15 minutes - 14 MBThe documentary Chasing Perfect follows Frank Stephenson’s car design legacy for MINI, Ferrari, McLaren and more. Now, he’s making one that flies - and making science fiction come true.
Could You Fire a Virtual Human?
October 01, 2019 08:45 - 24 minutes - 22.2 MBTalespin CEO Kyle Jackson wants workers to study soft skills in virtual reality. Our conversation starts with Barry, the virtual human programmed to be fired, and ends with world building in the TV show Westworld.
Death vs. Data Science
September 26, 2019 08:45 - 15 minutes - 14.2 MBWant to live to 150? KenSci CEO Samir Manjure sees a future of super-long lifespans, radically changing the way we work, learn, and even love.
Insights from “The New Invisible Hand”
September 24, 2019 08:45 - 15 minutes - 14.2 MBKyle T. Westra, author of The New Invisible Hand: Five Revolutions in the Digital Economy, will challenge your view of the modern marketplace. Turns out more transparency isn’t always better. And the much-maligned middleman is alive and well.
Warehouse of the Future: It’s Not Just For Robots Anymore
September 19, 2019 08:45 - 15 minutes - 13.7 MBDigitizing physical spaces like warehouses can help the robots that work in them. But Locix CEO Vik Pavate is more focused on helping humans.
Are You Ready for a Digital Doomsday?
September 17, 2019 08:45 - 16 minutes - 15.5 MB“...it is impossible to know where the threat will come from and it’s impossible to know how that threat manifests itself,” says cybersecurity CEO Ray Rothrock of RedSeal. “How do you recover from an attack and not go down?” His answer: apply a resilience mindset from the physical world to deal with digital danger.
What’s a Smart City, Really?
September 12, 2019 08:45 - 19 minutes - 18.3 MBThe phrase “smart city” could make you think of autonomous cars cruising past holographic billboards - a tantalizing techno-topia that’s just over the urban horizon. But you know what’s really smart? Solving problems with technologies that are already within our grasp. Gaby Rowe, CEO of Station Houston, is helping her city take an intelligent approach to getting smart.
Forget Fingerprints. Bring On Butt Biometrics.
September 10, 2019 08:45 - 12 minutes - 11.7 MB“If you give me your butt a few seconds, I’ll turn it to a useful piece of information.” If that quote doesn’t entice you to listen to this episode, nothing will. Martin Zizi is the CEO and founder of the biometrics company Aerendir. The big idea: micro-vibrations from a person’s body can authenticate a person’s brain.
Pay-I: When Computers Say How You Get Paid
September 05, 2019 08:45 - 12 minutes - 11.7 MBAn interview with Chris Cabrera, CEO and Founder of of Xactly. The company uses data to help businesses build better compensation plans - and AI to predict when star salespeople are in danger of quitting.
Training Brains to Retain Gains | Cerego's Andrew Smith Lewis
September 03, 2019 08:45 - 14 minutes - 13.7 MBWhat do students taking tests have in common with soldiers tying tourniquets? They both need to recall specific information - but they may have been taught it in a way that wasn’t best for their brains. Cerego, co-founded by Andrew Smith Lewis, is using AI to help change that.
Killing Jobs Softly | Catalytic CEO Sean Chou
August 29, 2019 08:45 - 15 minutes - 13.7 MBIf you work in an office, life can dramatically improve when automation takes on tedious tasks. But what if your job is nothing but tedious tasks? And what if the tool replacing your job called itself ‘people friendly’? “What is our obligation as automation companies?” asks Catalytic CEO Sean Chou. “What’s our moral obligation to the jobs that we are replacing?” Get email updates about new episodes.
AI For Seeing The World - And Ourselves | Neurala CEO Max Versace
August 27, 2019 08:45 - 15 minutes - 13.7 MBHis company powers practical forms of computer vision. But Neurala CEO Max Versace has a deeper vision for AI. “For many years, I thought building AI is actually sort of building a mirror - a way in which we can look at ourselves,” he says. “...if I can build a copy of myself but it doesn’t do exactly what I do, then the residual is actually what defines me as a human.” Get email updates about new episodes.
“It’s Either an AI or It’s Magic” | Dynatrace’s Dave Anderson
August 22, 2019 08:45 - 14 minutes - 6.87 MBHow do you sell an unbelievable AI product when people literally don’t believe it? James and Dynatrace’s Dave Anderson have a marketer-to-marketer mind meld about artificial intelligence. “We’re selling to technology people that are quite skeptical. And often our customers will kind of go ‘that’s not AI.’ And then after awhile . . . they kind of go, ‘well, it’s either an AI or it’s magic.’” Get email updates about new episodes.
Crowdsourcing Levels Up | Bugcrowd CEO Ashish Gupta
August 20, 2019 08:45 - 14 minutes - 6.87 MBThere will be 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs by 2021, says Bugcrowd CEO Ashish Gupta. “The reason these jobs are being unfilled . . . is that you can’t figure out how to get the right person to the right job.” His solution? A purpose-driven platform to crowdsource skilled researchers and turn vulnerability assessment into a game. Get email updates about new episodes.
Fear, Change, and Data: LIVE at the Marketing AI Conference
August 13, 2019 08:45 - 27 minutes - 25.2 MBDigital transformation leader Dr. Kanishka Bhattacharya joins James on the main stage of the Marketing Artificial Intelligence Conference. Recorded live in Cleveland, OH. Hello, Cleveland!
Hollywood’s High-Tech Harassment | SAG-AFTRA’s Duncan Crabtree-Ireland
August 06, 2019 08:45 - 12 minutes - 11.1 MBThe technology to make realistic-looking videos imitating real people was once limited to big-budget professionals, says Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the COO and general counsel of the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). “But what we’re seeing is with the ability for virtually anyone to have the technology to do this, there’s an increasing tendency to do this without consent,” he says. Hollywood actors - and even you - could unknowingly, ...
Subscribe to Everything. Own Nothing. | Zuora CEO Tien Tzuo
July 30, 2019 08:45 - 14 minutes - 6.87 MBUnpacking the subscription economy and the end of ownership with Zuora CEO Tien Tzuo. He learned a thing or two about offering a subscription service as the eleventh employee of Salesforce.com. Get email updates about new episodes.
Deepfakes, Phishing, and the Endless Arms Race | KnowBe4 CEO Stu Sjouwerman
July 23, 2019 08:45 - 14 minutes - 6.87 MBWith a billion-dollar valuation, the security training company KnowBe4 is a newly-minted unicorn helping fight phishing attacks. It’s a moment of celebration for CEO Stu Sjouwerman amid the “never-ending arms race” against the bad guys. One emerging challenge: disturbingly realistic deepfake videos like a recent video of “Mark Zuckerberg.” “It looks pretty good, meaning it looks pretty real, meaning it looks pretty scary because people just might get the right idea. Training people that th...
An AI Sous Chef in the Kitchen of Business | Stratifyd CEO Derek Wang
July 16, 2019 08:45 - 14 minutes - 6.87 MB“As a computer scientist, I firmly believe at some point, AI is going to help automate most of the tasks,” says Stratifyd CEO Derek Wang. But Wang's not predicting human-free companies. For him, AI is like a sous chef helping humans cook up complex decisions. “Business is all about people. I don’t see people going anywhere without inserting themselves in every single step of the business.” Get email updates about new episodes.
Techlash, Trump & Global Tension in a Ninja Future | CTA President Gary Shapiro
July 09, 2019 08:45 - 20 minutes - 18.5 MBIf you could distill the opinions of the tech world down to a single voice, it would probably sound a lot like Gary Shapiro’s. He’s the president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), representing over 2,200 tech companies in Washington, DC. CTA is the group behind CES, the massive, news-making tech trade show that happens every year in Las Vegas. Gary is also the bestselling author of Ninja Future: Secrets to Success in the New World of Innovation, which was a springboar...
Code Runs the World - But No One Understands It | Scalyr CEO Christine Heckart
July 02, 2019 08:45 - 14 minutes - 6.87 MB“The services that we use, they seem so simple, because everything is one touch, one click, one swipe” says Scalyr CEO Christine Heckart. “But what is happening underneath to give you that very simple, elegant experience is an extremely complex labyrinth of interconnected microservices.” “And it has become it has become so intertwined, so interdependent, so complex, that the average human brain - any human brain, even an extraordinary one - can’t keep the whole system in their head in rea...
AI’s Hidden Humans | Scale CEO Alex Wang
June 25, 2019 08:45 - 14 minutes - 6.86 MBArtificial intelligence can seem like automated magic, but it takes an army of human data labelers to do the trick. Their work may appear monotonous, but Scale CEO Alex Wang, says that for many around the world, it’s a welcome opportunity. “It’s really hard for us being in America to fully grasp this, but around the world the reality is in a lot of areas there are really, really poor employment opportunities. . . . as our platform scales and as the Internet scales in the world, many, many...
Your Robot Coworker Keeps Getting Smarter | Olive CEO Sean Lane
June 18, 2019 08:45 - 14 minutes - 6.63 MBOlive is a healthcare bot who’s been built not just to work with humans, but to seem like one. So what happens to real human workers as “she” keeps getting smarter? Olive CEO Sean Lane says humans will always be in charge - but jobs are going to change. “Once you understand what it can do, and once you see Olive working and really realize the potential, your mind immediately goes to the inevitability that Olive will be doing a lot of the work that your humans are doing today. It really tak...
A.I. Cops at Digital Crime Scenes | Oxygen Forensics COO Lee Reiber
June 11, 2019 08:45 - 14 minutes - 6.86 MBIn a future flooded with digital forensic data, criminal justice will rely on A.I. to keep up. The challenge for the justice system, says Oxygen Forensics COO Lee Reiber, is keeping up with A.I. “… as we progress to even more information and now utilizing these specific algorithms, boy - if the investigator’s not able to explain that to the prosecutor or the judge, how’s a prosecutor or judge going to understand that information?” Get email updates about new episodes.
The Race to Rule the Future of Fuel | Plug Power CEO Andy Marsh
June 04, 2019 08:45 - 14 minutes - 6.47 MBCan big business save the planet? Sure, says hydrogen fuel cell maker Andy Marsh. The real question is whether America will lead the charge or get lapped by China. “In the solar industry - the high tech portion of the solar industry - a lot of it’s in China at the moment. And if you look at China’s 2025 plan, it’s to have the fuel cell industry in China.” Get email updates about new episodes.
Tired of Travel? Try Teleporting | Spatial’s Jacob Loewenstein
May 28, 2019 08:45 - 14 minutes - 6.73 MBCan augmented reality kill business travel? Spatial’s Jacob Loewenstein invites to you to skip the trip, strap on some smart glasses, and hang out with holograms. “We think of Spatial as the equivalent of giving people superpowers and enabling them to teleport and meet with people anywhere.” Get email updates about new episodes.
How The Daily Show Does The Internet | Producer Matt Negrin
May 21, 2019 12:41 - 14 minutes - 6.83 MBIn an era of click-based comedy, topical TV goes way beyond the television. Matt Negrin, a Senior Digital Producer on The Daily Show, respects the traditional timeslot while relishing the “weird and experimental” freedom of digital platforms. “...we’re so integrated into the normal process of the show but at the same time, we do things that are original that don’t go on the show. We do things that are just for Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or sometimes just one of those platforms.” Get...
Lonely Teens Sharing Screens | Squad CEO Esther Crawford
May 14, 2019 02:00 - 14 minutes - 6.74 MBWhile building a social screen sharing app to fight loneliness, Esther Crawford finds herself in a lonely position of her own: female tech CEO. “I’m not the male engineer who’s 22 from Stanford. Instead, I’m a designer who’s in my mid-30s. I’m a mom. I’m a woman. I’m working on a consumer social product. There are virtually no females out there working on consumer social. I don’t fit the narrative, and I’m totally ok with that.” Get email updates about new episodes.
Privacy Is Completely Dead | Keeper Security CEO Darren Guccione
May 08, 2019 04:01 - 14 minutes - 6.8 MB“People say, well, is privacy dying? I would say no - privacy is completely dead.” Keeper Security CEO Darren Guccione on perilous passwords, bad biometrics, and state-sponsored cyberwar. Get email updates about new episodes.
When Machines Do Our Jobs | Directly CEO Antony Brydon
May 06, 2019 01:00 - 13 minutes - 6.41 MBImagining a future of ubiquitous automation, mass job disruption, and an economic model that rewards humans for helping bots. “We think work is going to change to where people are part of the fabric of AI, as opposed to this divide where there’s AI on one side and people on another.” - Antony Brydon, CEO of Directly. * * * Get email updates about new episodes.
Do You Trust Your Car? | Aurora Labs’ Roger Ordman
May 01, 2019 02:19 - 14 minutes - 6.58 MBSelf-healing software for today’s code-stuffed cars and tomorrow’s autonomous autos. Terrorism and criminal risks to connected cars. And why China is worth watching for automotive innovation. * * * Please tell the algorithms how you feel with a 5-star rating and a nice review. Thanks for listening! Subscribe for email updates about new episodes.
You Can’t Trust Anybody | Huawei USA Chief Security Officer Andy Purdy
April 29, 2019 01:00 - 22 minutes - 10.3 MB“The Chinese government doesn’t speak for us, and we don’t speak through the Chinese government.” Congress banned the Chinese technology giant Huawei from working with the US government. The company’s US security chief, a former government official, has something to say about that. * * * Thanks for listening. Please tell the algorithms how you feel with a 5-star rating and a nice review. Subscribe for email updates about new episodes.
Human-Centered Government | US Digital Service’s Jared Cunha
April 24, 2019 02:42 - 11 minutes - 5.26 MBA diverse group of technologists is trying to make the government work the way it’s supposed to. Jared Cunha of the US Digital Service fights paper-clogged bureaucracy with human-centered design. * * * Thanks for listening. Please tell the algorithms how you feel with a 5-star rating and a nice review. Subscribe for email updates about new episodes.
Google and Gaming | YouTube’s Lester Chen
April 18, 2019 01:01 - 40 minutes - 18.4 MBSuper-realistic video game violence, government regulation of content, and Google’s new cloud-based game streaming service Stadia all feature in a still-too-short conversation with YouTube’s Head of Gaming, Americas. * * * Thanks for listening. Please tell the algorithms how you feel with a 5-star rating and a nice review. Subscribe for email updates about new episodes.
The Future Is Latina | Nielsen’s Stacie de Armas
April 16, 2019 03:14 - 27 minutes - 12.6 MBThe Hispanic community’s unique technology influence - and why AOC’s social media is an example of an authentic online Latina. * * * Thanks for listening. Please tell the algorithms how you feel with a 5-star rating and a nice review. Subscribe for email updates about new episodes.
Never Think About Your Lights Again | Orro CEO Colin Billings
April 03, 2019 02:17 - 26 minutes - 12.3 MBThe light bulb may be a symbol of intelligent thought, but Orro CEO Colin Billings hopes that soon, you’ll never think about lights again. * * * Thanks for listening. Please tell the algorithms how you feel with a 5-star rating and a nice review. Subscribe for email updates about new episodes.
What’s the Meaning of Work As Tech Changes Everything? |"The Job" Author Ellen Ruppel Shell
December 06, 2018 00:59 - 33 minutes - 31.1 MBAuthor Ellen Ruppel Shell talks about work and its future in a time of radical change. In fact, that’s the subtitle of her new book The Job. It's a fascinating read and, I hope you'll agree, a fascinating conversation. * * * Thanks for listening. Please tell the algorithms how you feel with a 5-star rating and a nice review. Subscribe for email updates about new episodes.
The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity | Author Byron Reese
September 18, 2018 09:30 - 44 minutes - 20.5 MBGigaom publisher Byron Reese is the author of The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity. This is a big conversation with big ideas. Enjoy! * * * Thanks for listening. Please tell the algorithms how you feel with a 5-star rating and a nice review. Subscribe for email updates about new episodes.
Wisdom @ Work: The Making of a Modern Elder | Author Chip Conley
September 04, 2018 09:00 - 16 minutes - 15.4 MBThe former Head of Global Hospitality & Strategy at Airbnb, discusses his new book, Wisdom @ Work. When Chip joined Airbnb at age 52, he was twice the age of the average employee. He writes that elders are valuable in the workplace - especially in tech. * * * Thanks for listening. Please tell the algorithms how you feel with a 5-star rating and a nice review. Subscribe for email updates about new episodes.
Access The Future | Sina Barham, Prime Access Consulting
July 10, 2018 08:55 - 31 minutes - 14.4 MBToday’s conversation starts out interesting, gets even more interesting, becomes mind-blowing, and then gets personal. My guest is tech accessibility expert Sina Barham, the president of Prime Access Consulting. * * * Thanks for listening. Please tell the algorithms how you feel with a 5-star rating and a nice review. Subscribe for email updates about new episodes.