Explore every episode of the podcast SHIFT

AI startups dominate the funding landscape,from mega deals like xAI, to more modest investments. But how do venture capitalists see this market evolving? 

This episode was taped before a live audience at Web Summit 2024.

We meet:

Khosla Ventures Partner Kanu Gulati

Mangusta Capital Co-Founder & Managing Partner Kevin Jiang

Faber Ventures Partner Carlos Silva 

Clone Founder and CEO Clement Benoit 

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong with help from Emma Cillekens. It was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Meg Marco.

Frank McCourt is an American executive and philanthropist. He’s also the author of a new book about the internet, called “Our Biggest Fight: Reclaiming Liberty, Humanity, and Dignity in the Digital Age”. We talk to him about that fight before a live audience in New York City at a gathering held by the responsible technology non-profit, All Tech Is Human.

We Meet:

Frank H. McCourt, Jr., civic entrepreneur and executive chairman of McCourt Global, founder and executive chairman of Project Liberty

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong with help from Emma Cillekens. It was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Meg Marco.

EU AI Act architect and lead author Gabriele Mazzini shares his experience drafting the law. He also talks about his concerns with implementation, and its potential impact on European competitiveness, and how that led him to quit his job, in the latest installment of our oral history project.

This episode was recorded at TEDAI in Vienna.

We Meet:

MIT Media Lab Research Affiliate & MIT Connection Science Fellow Gabriele Mazzini

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens, and it was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Meg Marco. 

Activists are fighting back against generative AI and reclaiming a misunderstood label in the process, says Brian Merchant in a new piece for The Atlantic.

Originally aired February 14, 2024.

We Meet:

Tech Journalist & Author Brian Merchant

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens, and it was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

This is the final installment of a special series documenting the race to build superintelligent AI systems. The Race to Superintelligence is a deep dive into the rapidly expanding world of artificial intelligence. Join us as we explore the groundbreaking, mystifying and world-changing potential of the next machine age. 

Support for this program comes from The Pulitzer Center’s AI Accountability Network, supporting and bringing together journalists reporting on AI, and with AI, globally.

Credits:

The Race to Superintelligence is created and produced by Jennifer Strong, with Emma Cillekens, Daniela Hernandez, and Meg Marco. We had additional research and production assistance from Sonya Gurwitt, Niamh McAuliffe, Anthony Green and Luke Robert Mason. The show is mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski.

This is part two of a special series documenting the race to build superintelligent AI systems.

The Race to Superintelligence is a deep dive into the rapidly expanding world of artificial intelligence. Join us as we explore the groundbreaking, mystifying and world-changing potential of the next machine age. 

Support for this program comes from The Pulitzer Center’s AI Accountability Network, supporting and bringing together journalists reporting on AI, and with AI, globally.

Credits:

The Race to Superintelligence is created and produced by Jennifer Strong, with Emma Cillekens, Daniela Hernandez, and Meg Marco. We had additional research and production assistance from Sonya Gurwitt, Niamh McAuliffe, Anthony Green and Luke Robert Mason. The show is mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski.

The Race to Superintelligence is a deep dive into the rapidly expanding world of artificial intelligence. Join us as we explore the groundbreaking, mystifying and world-changing potential of the next machine age. 

Support for this program comes from The Pulitzer Center’s AI Accountability Network, supporting and bringing together journalists reporting on AI, and with AI, globally.

Credits:

The Race to Superintelligence is created and produced by Jennifer Strong, with Emma Cillekens, Daniela Hernandez, and Meg Marco. We had additional research and production assistance from Sonya Gurwitt, Niamh McAuliffe, Anthony Green and Luke Robert Mason. The show is mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski.

Special thanks to our guest Cade Metz at The New York Times.

Disney’s science-fiction thriller, The Creator, paints a picture of a future world at war—humans vs. artificial intelligence. This episode we meet the film’s director Gareth Edwards, who unpacks just how complex the relationship is between the two, and why he decided to explore it in this film.

We Meet:

Director Gareth Edwards

Credits:

SHIFT is produced by Jennifer Strong and Anthony Green, with help from Emma Cillekens. It’s mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from Jacob Gorski.

There’s a world in which a group of mountain gorillas in Rwanda might one day be able to pay for their own protection. It involves a new financial model with an AI-powered digital wallet and data that’s provided by the gorillas themselves, as well as the people who live and work around them.

All of this might sound far-fetched, but the man behind this project has brought other unlikely ideas to life. Jonathan Ledgard is a futurist thinker on risk, nature, and advanced technology in Africa and emerging markets, as well as a pioneer of drone delivery and interspecies money. We hear his story in the latest installment of our oral history project.

We Meet: 

Jonathan Ledgard, CEO of Tehanu

Credits:

SHIFT is produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens. It’s mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

Perhaps the greatest fear about artificial intelligence is it will eventually replace human intelligence altogether, because if AI takes over decision-making, what’s irreplaceable about humans?

We Meet: 

Neil Lawrence, professor of machine learning at the University of Cambridge

Credits:

SHIFT is produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens. It’s mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

Songwriter and music producer Harvey Mason Jr. has worked with some of the biggest stars of our time, from artists like Beyonce and Elton John, to Whitney Houston and Justin Bieber. In his current role as CEO of the Recording Academy he helps drive the conversation about AI in the music industry - like deciding what qualifies for the Grammys.

We Meet:  

Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr.

Credits:

SHIFT is produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens. It’s mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

Do you think it's harder or easier to be a teenager now than in the past? The Pew Research Center has been studying this question and found that however a parent or teen answers, technology is likely to be cited as the reason.

We Meet: 

Jeff Gottfried, Associate Director of Research at Pew Research Center

Credits:

SHIFT is produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens. It’s mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

Meet a founder questioning the wisdom of the Turing Test as he works to address the loneliness epidemic among the elderly, in the latest installment of our oral history project.

We Meet: 

Intuition Robotics Founder Dor Skuler, maker of the ElliQ digital companion

Credits:

SHIFT is produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens. It’s mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

In this encore edition of our oral history project we meet a man trying to solve AI’s black box problem with symbolic AI, a subfield that communicates how decisions are made.

We Meet:

Casper Wilstrup, the Founder & CEO of Abzu

Credits:

SHIFT is produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens. It’s mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

We learn why lawyers who help people seeking to legally expose corruption in the government and at private companies have decided to focus on big tech, in the latest installment of our oral history project.

We Meet:

Whistleblower Aid CEO Libby Liu

Credits:

The show is produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens. It’s mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

Hearing has a profound impact on a person’s emotional, mental and cognitive well-being and there’s also a long, rich history of cutting edge tech being used in devices that are meant to help us hear better.

And yet, it’s not something we talk much about.

We Meet:

Stefan Launer, Sonova's Senior Vice President Science & Technology

Credits:

The show is produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens. It’s mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

In the latest installment of our oral history project, we meet a scientist who’s been supporting  deep investigative journalism projects for more than a decade. This collaboration between Neo4j and journalists helped to uncover Russian interference in the 2016 election and the Panama Papers - an investigation of one of the biggest ever global corruption scandals that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize.

We Meet:

Neo4j Chief Scientist Dr. Jim Webber

Credits:

The show is produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens. It’s mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

We hop into the backseat of a police car and learn how officers in Rwanda have adopted and deployed AI on the streets of its capital city, Kigali.

We Meet:

Chief Inspector of Police Paul Ryamugwiza, director of traffic and road enforcement systems for Rwanda National Police

Credits:

The show is produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens. It’s mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

Potentially a quarter billion children worldwide lack access to an education. Advances in education tech and AI programs for learning can help students who have access to tools and internet. This episode, we bring you a conversation with members of the International Rescue Committee, an aid group developing tailored learning experiences for children in crisis. It was taped before a live audience at Web Summit, Europe’s largest tech conference, in Lisbon, Portugal.  

This episode originally ran on November 29, 2023.

We Meet:

Atish Gonsalves, Global Lead for Research & Innovation in Education, International Rescue Committee (IRC)

Morena Baccarin, Actor, IRC Ambassador

Sara Wayne Callies, Actor, IRC Ambassador

Credits:

SHIFT is produced by Jennifer Strong with help from Emma Cillekens. It’s mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

We meet Dr. Fei-Fei Li In the latest installment of our oral history project. She's a Chinese-American computer scientist and the creator of ImageNet - the dataset that made rapid advances possible in this field of AI that helps computers take meaningful information from things like photos and videos.

We Meet: 

Stanford University's Fei-Fei Li, author of "The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI"

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong with help from Emma Cillekens. It was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

Smart TVs that track what people watch and how they watch it give political campaigns a new trove of data to exploit, with little transparency on how it’s happening.

We meet: 

Investigative Reporter Maggie Severns speaking about her article:

https://www.notus.org/2024-election/streaming-tv-campaign-ads

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens, and it was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

A live conversation about the state of the space industry with serial space entrepreneur Kam Ghaffarian, a co-founder of Axiom Space, Intuitive Machines, Quantum Space, and more, from the mainstage at Collision Conference in Toronto, Canada.

We meet: 

Dr. Kamal "Kam" Ghaffarian

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens, and it was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

How do we minimize the risk of mid-air collisions between aircraft? And how does that change in the era of artificial intelligence and things like drone swarms?

Claire Tomlin works on questions like these, and her work is now the basis of a new field of AI in which a system automatically learns operational and control objectives from data, while maintaining things like flight safety.

We Meet: 

University of California Berkeley’s Claire Tomlin, 2024 IEEE Mildred Dresselhaus Medal recipient recognized “for foundational work in the design and verification of cyber-physical systems with applications to safety in autonomous systems”

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong with help from Emma Cillekens. It was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

A growing number of school kids are getting their writing assignments back with grades and feedback that were given by AI software.Teachers say these AI tools can help them grade papers faster but who’s grading the AI tools? 

We Meet: 

CalMatters Tech Reporter Khari Johnson

https://calmatters.org/economy/technology/2024/06/teachers-ai-grading/ 

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong with help from Emma Cillekens. It was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

A team of computer scientists at the University of Chicago has built tools that let artists poison the training data embedded in their work, and fight back against those who scrape the internet to build generative AI models. 

We Meet: 

Nightshade Creator Ben Zhao, Neubauer Professor of Computer Science at the University of Chicago

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong with help from Emma Cillekens. It was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

For some types of problems quantum computers can work exponentially faster than other types of supercomputers, but significant challenges remain to building useful quantum machines. 

We hear from one of the key players in the field and learn about his efforts to do so in the latest installment of our oral history project.

We Meet: 

Google Quantum AI Lab Founder Hartmut Neven 

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong with help from Emma Cillekens. It was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

A live conversation about the potential promises and pitfalls of AI in public health, hosted by Boston University's School of Public Health.

We meet: 

Dr. David Cutler, Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics in the Department of Economics at Harvard University, with secondary appointments at the Kennedy School of Government and the School of Public Health

Dr. Alondra Nelson, Harold F. Linder Chair in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study, former Deputy Assistant to President Joe Biden and Acting Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy  

Greg Singleton, Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer at the US Department of Health and Human Services 

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens, and it was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

A look at how generative AI is being used in the drug discovery process in this latest installment of our oral history project.

We Meet:

Insilico Medicine Founder and CEO Alex Zhavoronkov

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens, and it was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

Cornell University’s Elephant Listening Project has been trying to get real-time monitoring of the Central African Republic’s forest elephants for years. FruitPunch AI and a roster of other AI researchers are closer than ever to making that a reality.

This week’s show is a special feature episode from our friends at the Click Here Podcast. We’ll be back with a new episode of SHIFT next week. Thanks for listening!

A look at how AI is helping and hurting cybersecurity in this latest installment of our oral history project.

We Meet:

Palo Alto Networks Chief Product Officer Lee Klarich

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens, and it was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

In this bonus episode, we tour Google's Project Starline at this year's TED Conference in Vancouver, Canada.

We Meet:

Andrew Nartker from Google’s Project Starline

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens, and it was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

The way we pay for things is changing dramatically, and it’s only going to become more invisible and integrated into our experiences going forward—like a car that can pay for gas or electric charging all on its own.

We Meet:

Mastercard President and CTO Ed McLaughlin

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens, and it was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

AI is being used to write stories that flood the internet with trash and spam, but it can also help journalists tell stories that can be personalized and updated automatically. In the latest installment of our oral history project, we look at how journalism story structures are evolving with AI.

We Meet:

Computational Journalist Francesco Marconi, co-founder of real-time information company Applied XL

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens, and it was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

As more people try ChatGPT and other AI tools, our thoughts about what's fair or what to trust with generative AI are evolving. The Pew Research Center offers some of the most comprehensive surveys of American public opinion and has been studying these questions.

We Meet: 

Alec Tyson, Associate Director at Pew Research Center

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong with help from Emma Cillekens. It was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

The current AI ecosystem has plenty in common with the early days of the web. So, what have we learned?

We Meet: 

Mark Surman, President of Mozilla

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong with help from Emma Cillekens. It was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

Our trust in people, government, science and even our trust in technology—we have a lot less trust in all of it than we used to. Our lack of trust might even turn out to be the most bi-partisan thing about this US election cycle, especially our lack of trust in AI.

We Meet:

Richard Edelman, the president and chief executive officer of the public relations company Edelman

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong with help from Emma Cillekens. It was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

Frank McCourt is an American executive and philanthropist. He’s also the author of a new book about the internet, called “Our Biggest Fight: Reclaiming Liberty, Humanity, and Dignity in the Digital Age”. We talk to him about that fight before a live audience in New York City at a gathering held by the responsible technology non-profit, All Tech Is Human.

We Meet:

Frank H. McCourt, Jr., civic entrepreneur and executive chairman of McCourt Global, founder and executive chairman of Project Liberty

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong with help from Emma Cillekens. It was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

Join EngineEars founder Derek "MixedByAli" Ali and EMPIRE founder Ghazi Shami as they deep dive into the convergence of innovation and artistry, discuss the latest trends in the music industry, and explore how tech is revolutionizing the creation and distribution of music around the world.

We Meet:

Derek Ali, EngineEars, Founder and CEO

Ghazi Shami, EMPIRE, Founder & CEO

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong with help from Emma Cillekens. It was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

In this second of a two-part series, we meet people fighting to build an open internet.

We Meet:

Digital Medusa Founder Farzaneh Badiei

Internet Society President & CEO Andrew Sullivan

Vivaldi CEO Jon Von Tetzchner

ICANN Interim President & CEO Sally Costerton

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens, and it was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

The infrastructure underpinning the internet is increasingly under threat, but how many of us stop to consider how or why the internet works?

We Meet:

Internet Society President & CEO Andrew Sullivan

ICANN Interim President & CEO Sally Costerton

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens, and it was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

Activists are fighting back against generative AI and reclaiming a misunderstood label in the process, says Brian Merchant in a new piece for The Atlantic.

We Meet:

Tech Journalist & Author Brian Merchant

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens, and it was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

Software can make it easier for people to file their own taxes, but what if you have a question? Would you trust generative AI to give you the answer?  

We Meet:

H&R Block VP of Technology Aditya Thadani

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens, and it was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

An analysis by Consumer Reports suggests that every person on Facebook is being monitored by thousands of companies, but new tools and laws are starting to make it easier for people to take back their privacy.

This episode was recorded in New York City at an event hosted by the responsible tech nonprofit All Tech Is Human.

We Meet:

Consumer Reports R&D Director Ginny Fahs

New York Times Contributing Opinion Writer & Investigative Journalist Julia Angwin

Block Party Founder & CEO Tracy Chou

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens. The on-site recording engineer was Josh Chapdelaine. SHIFT is mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art direction by Anthony Green. The Founder and President of All Tech is Human is David Ryan Polgar.

Artists are starting to use AI to fight back against AI with free tools that let visual artists deter–even poison–AI models that use their work without permission.

We Meet:

Carl Franzen, Head of News at VentureBeat

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens, and it was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski.

A new study explores how an AI model that’s been taught to lie might be brought back into line.

We Meet:

Brown University Professor of Computer Science Michael Littman

Credits:

This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens, and mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski.

In the latest installment of our oral history project we meet one of the central figures behind generative coding tools.

We Meet:

GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke

Credits:

SHIFT is produced by Jennifer Strong and Anthony Green, with help from Emma Cillekens. It’s mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski.

In the latest installment of our oral history project we meet one of the key figures behind Rwanda’s national AI policies.

We Meet:

Esther Kunda, Director General, Innovation & Emerging Technologies for Rwanda’s Ministry of Information Communication Technology and Innovation

Credits:

SHIFT is produced by Jennifer Strong and Anthony Green, with help from Emma Cillekens. It’s mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski.

In the latest installment of our oral history project we meet Ryan Graciano, a co-founder of the personal finance company, Credit Karma.

We Meet:

Ryan Graciano, Co-founder & CTO of Credit Karma

Credits:

SHIFT is produced by Jennifer Strong and Anthony Green, with help from Emma Cillekens. It’s mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski, with special thanks this week to the folks at TED AI.

As this year draws to a close we’re bringing you a look at the tech trends we’ll be watching in 2024.

We Meet:

Deloitte’s Chief Futurist Mike Bechtel

Credits:

SHIFT is produced by Jennifer Strong, Anthony Green, and Emma Cillekens. It’s mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski.

Language translation increasingly falls to artificial intelligence—but AI still doesn’t speak many of the world’s languages.

We Meet:

Vasco Pedro, CEO, Unbabel

Paulo Dimas, VP Product Innovation, Unbabel

Pelonomi Moiloa, CEO, Lelapa AI

Credits:

SHIFT is produced by Jennifer Strong, Anthony Green, and Emma Cillekens. It’s mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski.