This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we revisit the controversy over Starbucks' hybrid work policy for its new CEO, Brian Niccol; discuss the cyberattack that crippled computer systems at Sea-Tac Airport in the Seattle area this week; and provide an update on last week's episode about AI text-to-music generators.

Articles and topics discussed on this episode:

• Hybrid policy for new Starbucks CEO sparks debate over remote work, corporate jet emissions
• Starbucks’ New CEO Has a Big Carbon Footprint - WSJ
• Starbucks’ New CEO Will Take Charge Without Training Wheels - Bloomberg
• Steve Ballmer Chases NBA Glory at Intuit Dome, the LA Clippers’ Gleaming New Home
• Plane English: Sea-Tac Airport turns to pen and paper to replace digital displays after cyberattack
• Port of Seattle outage continues two days after suspected cyberattack by ‘nefarious characters’
• GeekWire’s quest for an AI theme song opened our ears to the debate rattling the music industry
• GeekWire Podcast listener Fortunato Vega shares his AI-generated theme song on LinkedIn.

With Todd Bishop and Taylor Soper. Edited by Curt Milton.

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Our regular GeekWire Podcast segment “My AI” didn’t have a musical jingle. So of course, we decided to use AI to create one. You can hear the results and our reactions on this week’s show. It's a glimpse into the issues rattling the music industry. Even when the music isn't great, the technology is pretty incredible. But as we discuss, the underlying issues are a lot more complicated. 

With John Cook, Todd Bishop, and Taylor Soper; Audio editing by Curt Milton. 

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This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we get a deeper understanding of ADHD and neurodivergence in the tech industry and the workplace. Our guest is Brett Greene, a tech community leader in the Pacific Northwest who specializes in this field in his work with companies and individuals as an executive coach.

Related links

• Find a list of ADHD Resources on Brett Greene's website, brettgreenecoaching.com.
• Upcoming event: ADHD Strategies for Tech Founders and Investors: Understanding and Leveraging Neurodivergent Team Members for Maximum Success, July 18 in Bellevue, Wash.
• Brett Greene is founder and CEO of New Tech Northwest.

With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop; edited and produced by Curt Milton.

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As the creator and host of the "Startup Project" podcast, Seattle-area tech senior product manager Nataraj Sindam talks with a wide range of investors and entrepreneurs, contributing to his broad perspective on the future of artificial intelligence, investing, startups, and business technology. He's also author of the Above Average email newsletter, and venture partner with Incisive Ventures.

Our topics this week include: 

• The opportunity to apply the power of large language models and generative AI to the larger world of business-to-business applications, including services tailored to workflows in specific industry verticals. 
• How AI will drive a massive increase in data centers in the next 5-10 years to meet increased demand for compute and storage, and will require new "intelligence layers" in cloud infrastructure.
• The opportunities and challenges for startups to compete with large tech companies in developing foundational AI technologies, and where tech investors are focusing when it comes to AI startups.
• The different incentives in a traditional startup approach (focusing on getting to a minimum viable product) vs. long-term AI moonshots, exemplified by former OpenAI leader Ilya Sutskever's new venture.
• Apple's efforts to integrate AI into its applications and operating systems, and the tradeoffs between the Apple ecosystem and the more wide-ranging Windows/Android platform approach.
• In the return of our "My AI" segment, we discuss a useful way to quickly get a summary of YouTube videos using the Copilot sidebar in the Microsoft Edge browser.

With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop. Audio editing and production by Curt Milton.

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It was a big week for cybersecurity for Seattle's tech giants. Microsoft President Brad Smith was in Washington D.C., testifying before the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee about the Redmond company's security challenges. Listen for highlights at the end of the show. 

Meanwhile, Amazon held its annual AWS re:Inforce cloud security conference in Philadelphia.The rise of AI has added some big new wrinkles to the issue of cybersecurity, and AI was one of the main topics in a conversation that I had a few weeks ago with one of the people who keynoted the AWS event this week, Steve Schmidt, Amazon's chief security officer.

Hosted by Todd Bishop; edited by Curt Milton.

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Our guest this week on the GeekWire Podcast is Léonard Boussioux, an assistant professor in the Department of Information Systems and Operations Management at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business, and adjunct assistant professor at the UW Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering.

Boussioux received his doctorate in operations research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research combines areas including machine learning and AI with a focus on healthcare and sustainability. Last year he launched a class called "Generative AI in the Era of Cloud Computing" at the Foster School.

• Foster School: A New Era Of AI And Human Ingenuity In The Classroom
• Boussioux's website, including photography and AI art: www.leobix.us
• TEDxMIT Salon presentation: Let Art Be Your Superpower
• TEDxBoston: How to Solve the UN's Sustainable Development Goals in 5 mins.

Related Story: How a photo of OpenAI’s Sam Altman, enhanced by AI, sparked a journalistic debate at GeekWire

With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop; Edited by Curt Milton.

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This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we explore the frontier of crowd-augmented cognition, the concept of humans working together with the help of technology, including new ways that artificial intelligence is changing the field.

Our guest is Aniket (Niki) Kittur, a professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, where his research focuses on new methods of augmenting human intellect using crowds and computation.

We also talk about a related project that Kittur and his colleagues developed called Skeema, a browser tab manager that helped users organize their work, projects, and ultimately their brains in the process. 

With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop. Edited by Curt Milton.

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Microsoft and major PC makers this week announced a plan to incorporate artificial intelligence directly into personal computers, adding on-board neural processing units (NPUs) as part of a new architecture that promises better performance, longer battery life, and local AI processing that unlocks new capabilities and features.

We discuss the new Copilot+ PCs with our guest on this week's GeekWire Podcast, Stefan Weitz, an investor and entrepreneur who worked at Microsoft for 18 years in groups including Microsoft Bing and MSN. He is the founder of the new HumanX conference on AI taking place in March 2025 in Las Vegas.

Weitz is bullish on the potential for Copilot+ PCs to improve the overall computing experience and motivate Windows PC users to upgrade their machines, a long-awaited milestone for Microsoft's flagship operating system.

The new Copilot+ PCs have also raised security and privacy concerns, focused primarily on the "Recall" feature that takes regular screenshots of user activity on the machine, creating an index that can be queried using AI. The company released an FAQ that emphasized the underlying security and privacy controls for users, but also made it clear that the feature will be activated if users accept the defaults during initial bootup of a new machine.

Weitz also shares some of his favorite AI apps and tools, including Cleft Notes and Read AI.

Audio editing by Curt Milton.

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This week's episode features an interview with Loretta Napoleoni, conducted by Ross Reynolds, the longtime public radio host and occasional GeekWire Podcast guest host, in an event presented by Town Hall Seattle on April 18, 2024.

Loretta Napoleoni is an Italian economist and journalist whose books include "Rogue Economics" and "Insurgent Iraq." Her newest book is “Technocapitalism: The Rise of the New Robber Barons and the Fight for the Common Good."

In this interview, she explains the concept of the "present future." This refers to the disorienting era in which we're living, characterized by rapid technological change that creates anxiety and a feeling of being constantly behind.

She also discusses the control of technology by a few powerful entrepreneurs, whom she calls "technocapitalists," and the failure of society and the state to direct technological innovation for the common good.

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This week, we go inside the GeekWire Awards, our annual recognition of the top people, companies and innovations in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, which drew a sold-out crowd to the Showbox Sodo on Thursday May 9 in Seattle. We talk with finalists about AI, the economy and key trends in their industries, and we hear from some of the winners on stage during the program.

RELATED

• Photos: Inside the GeekWire Awards, with the big winners, musical numbers and surprise guests
• GeekWire Awards 2024 revealed: Winners bask in momentum of AI and potential of region

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This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we discuss Amazon's efforts to compete with Trader Joe's, and the related tactics revealed in "The Everything War," the new book by Dana Mattioli of the Wall Street Journal. We also revisit last week's episode with Mattioli and share some of the reactions to the discussion.

Plus, the FTC probes Amazon's internal use of Signal's disappearing messages feature, a newly disclosed email shows how Microsoft scrambled to catch up in artificial intelligence, and a new report says that Bill Gates is still a highly influential figure inside Microsoft, especially when it comes to the company's AI strategy.

Finally, we go inside the Seattle courtroom where a prominent figure from the cryptocurrency world, Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, received a controversial prison sentence this week.

Other stories discussed on the show:

• Amazon stock rises as Q1 earnings top estimates with $143.3B in revenue; AWS sales up 17%
• DoorDash rips Seattle over minimum wage law; reports record quarterly revenue of $2.5B
• Prudential to shut down Assurance, the insurance tech startup it acquired for $2.35B in 2019
• KING5: Binance founder Changpeng Zhao sentenced to 4 months for allowing money laundering
• Business Insider: Bill Gates is still pulling strings at Microsoft, overseeing AI ideas
• Internet Archive: Full text: An epic Bill Gates rant

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A conversation with Dana Mattioli, Wall Street Journal reporter and author of the new book, "The Everything War: Amazon’s Ruthless Quest to Own the World and Remake Corporate Power." With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop.

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The naming of Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol as the new Starbucks CEO on Tuesday gives the Seattle-based coffee giant a new leader from the restaurant and fast casual industry with experience leading a digital transformation. We discuss what that could mean on this special mid-week episode of the GeekWire Podcast.

Related Coverage: Starbucks’ new CEO brings extensive digital experience from prior role leading Chipotle

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This week on the show, we get a sneak preview of the GeekWire Awards, coming up at the Showbox SoDo in Seattle on Thursday, May 9.

• We look back at the past winners of the Next Tech Titan title in the awards, and consider the event's track record in predicting major companies to emerge from Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.
• We also contemplate the evolution of the "Workplace of the Year" category through the rise of remote and hybrid work.
• And finally, we consider the impact of migration on another part of state: Spokane, Wash., and the Inland Northwest.

See more GeekWire Awards coverage, and learn more about the event, which is presented by Astound Business Solutions.

With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook. Edited by Curt Milton.

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This week on the show, we sit down with Werner Vogels, the Amazon chief technology officer, at Amazon in Seattle. We talked about the evolution of artificial intelligence, the promise of AI in healthcare and the environment, his broader tech predictions for the year, and one of his most iconic traditions at the company's annual cloud conference.

Read more on GeekWire: Amazon CTO Werner Vogels on the rapid progress of AI, and its impact on society

• Werner Vogels - All Things Distributed
• Archive of Now Go Build episodes
• AWS re:Invent 2023 - Keynote with Dr. Werner Vogels
• Tech Predictions for 2024 and beyond
• @Werner on X.

With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop; Edited by Curt Milton.

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This week on the show: Computer scientist Juan Lavista Ferres is corporate vice president and chief data scientist at Microsoft, and the lab director of Microsoft's AI for Good research lab, leading a team of data scientists and researchers in AI, machine learning and statistical modeling, focusing on global challenges like health, climate change, and digital literacy. He's one of the editors and authors of the new book AI for Good, Applications, in Sustainability, Humanitarian Action and Health, featuring case studies from Microsoft, to be published by Wiley on April 9. 

With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop. Edited by Curt Milton.

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This week on the GeekWire Podcast: Reporter Kurt Schlosser takes us inside a Tesla Cybertruck, explains what it was like to drive one, and tells us how people reacted to the futuristic vehicle as it debuted on the streets of Seattle.

Also on the show, Kurt shares details from his recent story about Nala, the Seattle Police Department's electronics-detecting police dog, and explains how these law-enforcement K9s are trained to find all sorts of devices.

And in our final segment, we hear a clip from comedian Pete Ballmer, the son of Steve Ballmer, about growing up as one of the kids of the former Microsoft CEO.

With GeekWire's Todd Bishop and Kurt Schlosser. 

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This week on the show, we peel back the layers of Microsoft's hiring of AI pioneer Mustafa Suleyman and colleagues from Inflection AI, considering how it plays into the trend of the Redmond company striking deals that look a lot like acquisitions, without actually being acquisitions. Then, we delve into the U.S. Justice Department’s landmark antitrust lawsuit against Apple, and consider the parallels to the DOJ's prior case against Microsoft. And finally, we ponder Washington state's plan to fight graffiti with drones.

Additional Links

• S. "Soma" Somasegar: Analysis: Microsoft’s big hires foreshadow bold new move into consumer AI
• Newcomer: Microsoft’s Non-Acquisition Acquisition (second item)
• The Information: Microsoft Agreed to Pay Inflection $650 Million While Hiring Its Staff
• Bill Barr in the Wall Street Journal: Siri, Does Apple Violate Antitrust Law?
• DOJ: Justice Department Sues Apple for Monopolizing Smartphone Markets
• The Verge: DOJ’s sweeping Apple lawsuit draws expert praise

With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook. 

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This week on the GeekWire Podcast: The rise, fall, and revival of Zulily. We revisit one the most prominent ecommerce brands to come out of Seattle, explain its decline, and consider a plan by Beyond Inc., led by investor and entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis, to acquire its brand assets and relaunch the site.

With GeekWire managing editor Taylor Soper and co-founder Todd Bishop.

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Artificial intelligence is a powerful technology that promises to reshape the future, but it also poses many risks. One of the most pressing issues is the lack of regulation and oversight of the data used to train AI models. A new nonprofit, the Seattle-based Transparency Coalition (transparencycoalition.ai) aims to address this issue.

The co-founders of the group, veteran startup founders and technology leaders Rob Eleveld and Jai Jaisimha, join us on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast to discuss their reasons for starting the organization, and their goals to help shape emerging legislation and public policy in this area. 

With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop; Audio editing by Curt Milton. 

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A new report points to a crisis of trust in innovation, and the risk that rapid technological change — especially in the field of artificial intelligence — will fuel increased populism and polarization across societies.

Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman, discussed these and other findings from the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer during visits last week with the global communications firm's clients in tech-heavy Seattle and San Francisco. GeekWire sat down with Edelman during his visit to the firm's downtown Seattle office for this episode of the GeekWire Podcast.

• He discusses the shift in trust from top-down authority figures to local relationships, with employees and consumers expecting companies to take a stand on important issues. 
• Edelman suggests that businesses and technology leaders need to focus on implementation, adaptation, and acceptance of innovation, and to be transparent and clear in their communication with the public.
• He calls for collaboration between businesses, government, NGOs, and media to ensure that innovation is well-managed and benefits society as a whole.

Related links

• Access the full 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer report.
• Edelman: 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer Reveals Innovation has Become a New Risk Factor for Trust
• Richard Edelman: Technology Industry Watch Out, Innovation at Risk
• Axios: Public trust in AI is sinking across the board

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This week on the GeekWire Podcast, our guests are John Rossman and Kevin McCaffrey, authors of the new book, "Big Bet Leadership."

It's a playbook for business leaders to systematically make bets in a way that reduces risk and increases long-term flexibility. The book draws lessons from the likes of Microsoft, Amazon, T-Mobile and SpaceX, while also leaning heavily on the first-hand experience of the authors overseeing and implementing big bets. 

With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop; Audio editing by Curt Milton.

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Entrepreneur and investor Chris DeVore had an inside view of Techstars Seattle as one of the original leaders of the local startup accelerator in 2010, serving as its managing director from 2014 to 2019.

His Feb. 21 post "What went wrong at Techstars," looked closely at the organization's evolution — including its increased focus on corporate sponsorships and shift to centralized fundraising — as the backdrop for the news last week that Techstars is closing its Seattle accelerator as part of a broader reset.

So where should Seattle's tech community go from here? And what role do startup accelerators serve in the age of AI and remote work? Devore, the founding managing director of the Founders Co-op venture fund, joins us on this bonus episode of the GeekWire Podcast to share his thoughts about what happened, and his optimism about what's next. "I think Seattle is setting itself up for a great moment in its entrepreneurial journey," he says.

RELATED LINKS AND STORIES

• David Cohen: Techstars is evolving and growing
• Techstars: Techstars 2.0: Supercharging Founder Success
• Chris DeVore: What went wrong at Techstars
• GeekWire: Techstars Seattle is shutting down as accelerator shifts focus to cities with more VC activity
• Marcelo Calbucci: The most successful accelerator cohort ever: How this Techstars Seattle class produced 3 unicorns
• GeekWire Podcast: Techstars Seattle’s demise leaves a gap in the startup market

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This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we look at the implications of the Google antitrust ruling for Microsoft Bing, and conclude that they probably aren't as rosy for the Redmond company as they might have appeared initially.

Plus, a rural community offers a window into Amazon's relationship with the independent companies that deliver its packages around the world.

And finally, the City of Seattle gets support from Amazon and resistance from workers in response to its decision to bring them back to the office for three days a week, up from two days previously.

Related coverage

• ‘Google is a monopolist’: Tech giant loses antitrust suit over search business in huge victory for DOJ
• City of Seattle increasing in-office work to three days for more than 13,000 employees
• Driven away: Overloaded by Amazon, rural delivery companies reach the end of the road

With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop and editor Taylor Soper.

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Techstars Seattle helped launch more than 160 startups over the past decade, partnered with the likes of Microsoft and Amazon to spark even more startups, and led to the creation of three companies currently valued at more than $1 billion — making it one of the most successful programs in the Techstars network. 

Founded in 2006 in Boulder, Colo., Techstars provides fledgling startups with early capital, coaching, mentorship, a chance to pitch to investors, and an opportunity to work for three months in a shared space with other entrepreneurs.

Techstars expanded to Seattle in 2010, and for more than a decade, it worked. And then, this week, it ended. TechStars announced that it's closing its Seattle accelerator as part of a broader restructuring.

So what happened? And what's next? GeekWire managing editor Taylor Soper joins the show this week to address those questions.

Related stories

• Seattle tech leaders lament departure of Techstars but remain bullish on new opportunities
• Techstars CEO responds to former Seattle managing director, tells him to check his facts
• Techstars Seattle is shutting down as accelerator shifts focus to cities with more VC activity

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This week on the GeekWire Podcast, stick around to the end for a late-breaking addition to the show — a bonus segment about OpenAI's new AI video generation technology Sora. Joining the show is Rahul Sood, CEO and co-founder of Irreverent Labs, a Seattle-area startup that is working on AI to turn images and text into video.

We also discuss the Seattle-area startups that are bringing employees into the office five days a week; look ahead to the upcoming release of what appears to be a juicy Amazon book, due out in April; and preview the GeekWire Awards in advance of the Feb. 29 deadline for nominations. And in our "My AI" segment, we talk about a specific approach to chatting with ChatGPT on the go.

With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook.

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This week on the GeekWire Podcast, Todd Bishop and John Cook examine the timing of Jeff Bezos' plan to sell up to 50 million shares of Amazon stock, in the context of his public announcement that he would be moving to Miami; assess Satya Nadella's track record as Microsoft CEO as he reaches 10 years in the role; and test an example of how text-to-speech applications could change the way we engage with printed books — or maybe not, based on the way one of them reacts.

Audio editing by Curt Milton; theme music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell. 

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First up this week on the GeekWire Podcast: an inside take on developing software for the Apple Vision Pro.

We talked with a longtime software developer for Apple platforms, Ken Case, co-founder and CEO of Seattle-based Omni Group, which makes productivity apps for Mac, iPhone, and iPad, and just released a version of its OmniPlan project management software for the newly launched Apple Vision Pro.

• Related story: Apple Vision Pro: Why one longtime software shop is jumping head-first into spatial computing

Then, it's AI, politics, and a new attempt to detect and defuse deepfakes.

A few weeks ago on the show, Oren Etzioni, a University of Washington computer science professor and longtime artificial intelligence specialist, hinted at a secret project in the works. This week, he unveiled nonprofit, nonpartisan technology organization, TrueMedia.org, that is developing an AI-powered tool to detect AI-generated deepfake videos, photos, and audio, aiming to combat political disinformation in the leadup to the 2024 elections.

We jumped back on the line with Etzioni to get the details on the new initiatives, and discuss the pros and cons of the rapid development of new generative AI tools for democracy and society.

• Related story: New nonpartisan AI nonprofit TrueMedia, led by Oren Etzioni, is making a political deepfake detector

With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop. Audio editing by Curt Milton. 

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Our guest this week is someone who is experimenting every day with AI, pushing the capabilities of the existing tools and technologies: Kevin Leneway, principal software engineer at the Pioneer Square Labs startup incubator in Seattle. He talks about the tools he's using across his personal and work life, and how they're transforming the process of innovation and creativity. He also shares details about a new project he's been working on, an AI coding assistant called JACoB.

Hosted by GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop.

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This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we consider Microsoft's latest AI product, the $20/month Copilot Pro, compare it to the likes of ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro and Otter.ai — and realize in the process that one of us is already paying way too much for AI assistants on a monthly basis.

Plus, a deep dive on Zulily bolsters a hypothesis about the motives of the private equity firm that acquired and later shut down the online retailer.

And finally, we compare, contrast, and appreciate the very different approaches taken by Costco and Amazon for authenticating the identity of customers at store entrances and check-out.

With GeekWire co-founders John Cook and Todd Bishop.

Related Stories:

• Copilot Pro vs. ChatGPT Plus: Microsoft’s new paid service offers alternative to OpenAI subscription
• Zulily’s downfall: How the high-flying online retailer soared, sank, and shut down
• Zulily sues Amazon, alleging that price-fixing and supplier coercion sank its attempts to compete
• Scanning against scammers: Costco testing membership card readers at store entrances

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Liz Hamren has been CEO of Amazon's Ring business for almost a year, as the successor in the role to Ring founder Jamie Siminoff.

Hamren previously held technology and business leadership positions at companies including Dropcam, Microsoft, Oculus, and Discord, and was involved in product launches including Xbox consoles and Meta VR headsets. In addition to Ring, she leads Blink, Amazon Key, and Amazon Sidewalk in her current role. She spoke with us recently in her first public interview since becoming Ring CEO last year.

With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop; Audio editing by Curt Milton.

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This week's guest, Nancy Wang, is a technology product and engineering executive, advisor, and investor. A former Amazon Web Services general manager and former Google lead product manager, she is a venture partner at Felicis Ventures, where she invests in early-stage startups in cybersecurity, enterprise infrastructure, and business-to-business software as a service. She is also founder and board chair of Advancing Women in Tech, and a contributor to Forbes.

With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop. Edited by Curt Milton.

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Our guest this week on the GeekWire Podcast is computer scientist and entrepreneur Oren Etzioni, assessing the past year in AI, and looking ahead to what's next. Etzioni, an AI leader for many decades, is professor emeritus at the University of Washington, Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence board member, AI2 Incubator technical director, and Madrona Venture Group venture partner.

In the first segment of the show, GeekWire's John Cook and Todd Bishop discuss the big AI news of the week: The New York Times Co.'s landmark lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI over their use of the newspaper's articles in AI models.

• The New York Times sues OpenAI and Microsoft for training AI chatbots on its copyrighted work
• NYT v. GPT: Microsoft finds itself on the other side of an industry-defining copyright dispute
• Francesco Marconi in the WSJ: AI and Journalism Need Each Other

Audio editing by Curt Milton. 

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Our guest this week is Kristi Coulter, whose latest book is Exit Interview: The Life and Death of My Ambitious Career. It’s a memoir about what she learned in her 12 years at Amazon about work, gender bias, and herself. Exit Interview is Coulter's second book. Her first, Nothing Good Can Come From This, is a collection of essays about quitting drinking. As you’ll learn from this podcast conversation, it intersects with her Amazon career. 

Guest hosting is Ross Reynolds, whose voice is well-known in the Seattle region from his 34 years at KUOW, the public radio station from which he retired in 2021.

Production assistance from Curt Milton.

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Zillow Group named a new CEO, longtime company executive Jeremy Wacksman, announcing that co-founder and two-time CEO Rich Barton will be shifting to the new role of co-executive chair of the real estate media and technology company, joining co-founder Lloyd Frink in the role. Barton and Wacksman join GeekWire co-founders John Cook and Todd Bishop to talk about the transition on this special episode.

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GeekWire's reporters have spent the past month profiling a group of six “Uncommon Thinkers”: Seattle-area inventors, scientists, technologists and entrepreneurs transforming industries and driving positive change in the world.

This editorial series, presented in partnership with Greater Seattle Partners, was based on the deliberations of a panel of outside judges who chose the Uncommon Thinkers from nominations submitted by GeekWire readers. 

Working on these profiles helped us identify the commonalities among our honorees, including their inspirations, mindsets, and approaches. On this week's GeekWire Podcast, we talk with four of our Uncommon Thinkers in interviews recorded backstage at the GeekWire Gala, where we honored them this week.

Read the six “Uncommon Thinkers” profiles here:

• UW prof and entrepreneur Shwetak Patel has a rare ‘creative brilliance’
• Elizabeth Hansen uses her job as an anesthesiologist to cut carbon emissions
• Boundless CEO Xiao Wang on his quest to fix the immigration process
• For USAFacts’ Poppy MacDonald, ‘facts are paramount’ for democracy
• Blake Resnick finds a larger purpose in tech, making drones for public safety
• MagniX CTO Riona Armesmith geeks out over electric aviation

With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop.

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AI was the big theme inside the long-running Amazon Web Services re:Invent cloud conference in Las Vegas this week, where the company's announcements included a new AI assistant for work called Amazon Q. We spoke with Matt Wood, AWS vice president of product, about the new service and the new era of AI for business. 

Related Coverage:

• Sphere of influence? Google’s big Vegas ad buy clouds the landscape at Amazon re:Invent
• AWS unveils ‘Amazon Q’ AI assistant, jabs at Microsoft and OpenAI at re:Invent
• Inside the AI chip race: How a pivotal happy hour changed Amazon’s strategy in the cloud
• Amazon puts Fire TV Cube to work, repurposes streaming device for desktop computing

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This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we assess the outcome of the drama at OpenAI, considering what the removal and ultimate return of its CEO Sam Altman, and everything that happened in between, means for Microsoft.

While Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella earned kudos for masterfully navigating the mess, the situation also showed how the company was vulnerable to being blindsided due to OpenAI's convoluted structure.

And while for-profit interests are likely to get more influence on OpenAI's reformulated board, it's not yet clear if Microsoft will end up with a seat on that board, leaving the ultimate outcome for Microsoft unclear, for now.

We also look at Amazon's move into car-buying, and examine the Seattle region's dwindling flock of unicorns.

With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook.

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The surprise removal of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is the buzz of the tech industry — raising questions about the company’s role in the AI revolution, the ambitions of Altman and his team, the impact of his exit on the rest of the tech industry, OpenAI’s complex corporate structure, and its unusual partnership with Microsoft.

This week, we recap the latest developments in this fast-moving story, and then talk with Matt McIlwain of Madrona Venture Group about the broader implications of Altman's ouster for Microsoft, Amazon, and the tech industry.

RELATED STORY: Sam Altman’s ouster puts a new twist into OpenAI’s complicated relationship with Microsoft

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Fei-Fei Li's new book is the story of her journey from China to the U.S., from small business to Big Tech, and from academic research to corporate life, and back again. But more than that, it's the story of the dawn of artificial intelligence, as told through her experience as one of the people summoning this new day and standing there awestruck, excited and concerned about what it will mean for humanity.

Dr. Li joins us on this episode to discuss the book, The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI, published by Moment of Lift Books, an imprint from Melinda French Gates and Flatiron Books.

Known for her foundational contributions to AI and computer vision, Dr. Li is the inventor of ImageNet, a large-scale dataset of images that enabled rapid advances in deep learning for visual recognition. She is a professor of computer science at Stanford University and a co-director of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, who worked as Google Cloud's chief scientist for AI/ML during a 2017-2018 sabbatical.

Note: GeekWire's Todd Bishop will be speaking further with Dr. Li on Monday evening Nov. 13 at Town Hall in Seattle. See this site for details and tickets.

Edited by Curt Milton.

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What should we make of Jeff Bezos' decision to move his primary residence from Seattle to Miami? That's our first topic on this week's episode. Plus, Convoy's final destination; a new AI feature from Seattle startup Yoodli that helps startup founders hone their pitches; and Amazon tests Bluetooth earplugs for warehouse workers.

Related stories and links

• ‘Seattle, you will always have a piece of my heart’: Jeff Bezos leaving Amazon’s hometown for Miami
• Jeff Bezos’ move out of Washington state sparks questions about wealth taxes
• Swimming from Seattle? Jeff Bezos’ big move brings us full circle from the mid-1990s

Flexport buys Convoy’s tech; Convoy CEO Dan Lewis, other employees to join freight company

AI-powered ‘VC pitch coach’ from Yoodli helps startup founders prepare to face investors

Amazon tests letting warehouse workers listen to music and other audio via Bluetooth earplugs

With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook. 

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This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we're featuring a panel discussion from the recent GeekWire Summit in Seattle, with three technology and business leaders offering first-hand insights into the new era of artificial intelligence.

• Bridget Frey, CTO at Redfin, the tech-powered real estate company that operates in more than 100 markets in the U.S. and Canada.
• Inbal Shani, chief product officer at GitHub, the software development platform used by more than 100 million developers around the world.
• David Shim, CEO at Read AI, a Seattle-based startup using AI to provide a new window into meetings, and transform them in the process.

Frey, Shani and Shim share real-world examples of AI impacting software development, real estate, and meetings. They address topics like privacy, bias, education, and the future of work. They also discuss the changing nature of technical jobs, and a blurring of the line between developers and non-developers.

From the audience, we get questions about adapting AI to account for emotional intelligence; advice for aspiring engineers; preventing synthetic content from corrupting human experiences; protecting proprietary corporate data; and the prospects for improving work-life balance as AI increases productivity.

See GeekWire.com for notes and takeaways. Hosted by GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop. Podcast audio editing by Curt Milton. On-site A/V by Adavanza.

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This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we examine the market forces, debt, and other dynamics that put the digital freight marketplace Convoy out of business, bringing one of the Seattle region's top startups to the end of the road.

Related coverage: 

• ‘The markets crushed us’: In tearful farewell to employees, Convoy execs reflect on shutdown
• Convoy collapse: Read CEO’s memo detailing sudden shutdown of Seattle trucking startup

Convoy raised $260 million just 18 months ago, at a valuation of $3.8 billion. Its investor list was a who's who of tech moguls and celebrities, including Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Marc Benioff, and even Bono and The Edge of U2 fame. 

GeekWire co-founder John Cook, who has covered startups and venture capital since before the dot-com bust, compares Convoy's implosion to past flameouts of high-profile startups, and explains the long-term trends in investing that served as the backdrop for Convoy's demise. After a long stretch of free-flowing capital at astronomical valuations, fundamental business realities are catching up to some heavily funded startups.

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Our guest this week is Geordie Rose, co-founder and CEO of Sanctuary AI.

The global conversation about robots and the workforce has shifted substantially in recent years, from concern about robots taking jobs to questions about how quickly they can fill gaps in the labor market. 

One of the ventures at the forefront of this issue is Sanctuary AI. It's a Vancouver, B.C.-based company that has raised more than $100 million Canadian dollars to pursue its vision for labor as a service.

Sanctuary makes a 5-foot, 7-inch general-purpose humanoid robot called Phoenix, powered by an advanced AI system called Carbon.

Related: With new Phoenix robot, Sanctuary AI looks to usher in ‘labor as a service’

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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified this week in Google's antitrust case in Washington, D.C., supporting the U.S. Justice Department's contention that the search giant unfairly leverages its market power to stifle competition, a charge that Google vehemently disputes. 

On this episode of the podcast, we reenact portions of Nadella's testimony, explain the positions staked out by Microsoft and Google in the case, and discuss the irony of Microsoft siding with the DOJ two decades after fighting its own antitrust battle against the agency. 

Read additional excerpts in this GeekWire Post: What Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in court about Google, Apple, search, and the future of AI

Plus, Generative AI and the "Ghost of Lesser Seattle." We revisit our attempt to channel the late, great Seattle newspaper columnist Emmett Watson with the help of ChatGPT, and assess the reaction.

With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook.

Related links and coverage:

• Testifying in Google trial, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella warns AI could extend search giant’s lead
• The Verge: Satya Nadella tells a court that Bing is worse than Google — and Apple could fix it
• Emmett Watson meets ChatGPT: What if the champion of ‘Lesser Seattle’ could see us now?
• Marketplace: There’s a corner of the internet where YouTubers read strangers’ obituaries. Why?

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This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we take a closer look at the earnings reports from Microsoft and Amazon this week, as a litmus test for artificial intelligence demand and the state of the economy. We also consider the implications of Boeing's new CEO being based in the Seattle region, discuss a new AI tool that aims to streamline marketing tasks, and weigh in on the backlash to Google's Olympics ad for its Gemini AI chatbot

• Microsoft capital spending soars to $19B, betting big on AI, as Azure growth underwhelms Wall Street
• Amazon sales come up short, profits nearly double
• Amazon looks to reduce costs to compete more aggressively on price as consumer habits shift
• Boeing chooses its next CEO — and he will reportedly be based back in Seattle
• Seattle tech vets launch 'Spok,' an AI copilot that aims to streamline marketing tasks – GeekWire
• CNBC: Google pulls AI ad for Olympics following backlash

With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop and editor Taylor Soper.

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On this episode of the GeekWire Podcast, we dive deep into the landmark lawsuit filed by the FTC against Amazon with insights from former Amazon seller Jason Boyce, co-author of "The Amazon Jungle," host of the Day 2 podcast, and CEO of Avenue7Media, an agency that works with online sellers.

We discuss the implications of the lawsuit for Amazon, consumers, and sellers in the context of the changing dynamics of the online retail. Boyce, with his 17 years of experience as a seller and his current role working with third-party sellers, offers a unique perspective on Amazon's practices and the broader e-commerce landscape. We also touch upon Amazon's evolving relationship with sellers, the challenges of omni-channel retail, and the rise of new online marketplace competitors. 

GeekWire coverage

• FTC and 17 states sue Amazon for maintaining alleged monopoly power that stifles competition
• FTC targets alleged secret Amazon pricing algorithm ‘Project Nessie’ in antitrust complaint
• FTC’s case against Amazon hinges on internal messages and secrets yet to be revealed

Lawsuit: FTC et al vs. Amazon, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington

New York Times: For Amazon’s Andy Jassy, a Cleanup Job Just Got a Lot Bigger

Reuters: Amazon drops planned merchant fee as FTC lawsuit looms

CNBC: FTC Chair Lina Khan: Amazon lawsuit is about protecting free and fair competition

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Kate Johnson is based in Denver in her role as Lumen Technologies CEO and president, but she has been spending a lot of time in the Seattle area recently, and not just because one of the local stadiums bears the company's name.

Johnson sees the Seattle region an ideal test bed and proving ground for Lumen's offerings, including consumer and business broadband, voice, and data services.

Yes, it helps that she has a home here, as a holdover from her prior role as Microsoft's U.S. president. But beyond that, she cites the region's importance as a major U.S. tech hub, the home of the biggest cloud platforms, a strong community of tech companies, and tech-savvy families who understand the appeal of fiber internet service.

"The market is growing, and we are well-positioned to serve it," she said. "I've been spending time making sure we're making the appropriate investments, that I'm understanding our opportunities, and that we're capitalizing on them."

It's part of a broader effort by Johnson and her team to reinvent the publicly traded telecommunications company, which was formed by the combination of Level 3 Communications and CenturyLink in 2017 and rebranded as Lumen in 2020. Johnson was named Lumen CEO a year ago and took over the role in November 2022.

Educated as an engineer, with past experience at companies including Oracle, Red Hat, and Deloitte, Johnson is one of 53 female CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. She is charged with sparking new growth at a company that reported a net loss of $1.5 billion last year, after special charges, on revenue of $17.5 billion, down 11% year-over-year.

In a recent podcast interview at Seattle's Lumen Field, she discussed topics including:

• The evolution of the telecommunications industry and the need to reinvent the classic telecom business model amid the rapid increase in data and the rise of generative artificial intelligence.
• Her ongoing efforts to change Lumen's culture, including an unusual series of internal meetings that have been ultimately constructive but initially unsettling for some longtime employees and executives. 
• Her tenure at Microsoft, and her recent experiences using Microsoft 365 Copilot as part of her work. Lumen has been one of the companies piloting Microsoft's corporate AI tools prior to their broader release in November.

Audio editing by Curt Milton. Hosted by Todd Bishop.

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It was a big week for Microsoft, with the unveiling of the company's latest Windows and AI features and new Surface devices at a special event in New York City on Thursday.

This was preceded, by only a few days, by the surprise resignation of Panos Panay, the chief product officer in charge of the company's Windows and Devices division. Shortly after that announcement, Bloomberg News reported that Panay was set to join Amazon as the new leader of its Devices & Services division, a surprise twist that has yet to be confirmed as of publication time. 

To help sort it all out, we're excited to be joined on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast by someone who has covered the company for many years, journalist Mary Jo Foley, editor in chief at DirectionsOnMicrosoft.com.

Related Stories

• Directions on Microsoft Blog: Microsoft to start selling Microsoft 365 Copilot on November 1
• GeekWire: ‘It’s kind of like the ’90s are back’: Microsoft previews unified AI ‘Copilot’ initiative
• Longtime Microsoft hardware leader Panos Panay is leaving the company after 19 years
• Report: Departing Microsoft exec Panos Panay set to lead Amazon’s Alexa and Echo business
• Should Amazon be ‘pumped’ to land Panos Panay? A closer look at longtime Microsoft devices leader

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Chris Pirillo is an entrepreneur, creator, event organizer, and online community leader who has been a guide to the world of tech for everyday users since the early days of the web.

On this episode of the GeekWire Podcast, we catch up with Chris about his latest project, CreatorTech.net, an email newsletter and monthly meetup focused on the intersection of creativity and artificial intelligence. The next CreatorTech meetup is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 25, at the Microsoft Reactor in Redmond.

We also discuss some of the latest AI and tech tools that Chris has been finding useful, and hear his take on corporate return-to-office mandates — spoiler alert, he's not a fan!

• Chris Pirillo on the new iPhone 15, and the edited take discussed on the show.
• The latest CreatorTech email with a list of 25 AI tools to check out.
• Our last GeekWire Podcast/Radio conversation with Chris in June 2013.

With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop. Edited by Curt Milton.

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