Big Technology Podcast

Alex Kantrowitz

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The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators. Alex Kantrowitz, a Silicon Valley journalist who's interviewed the world's top tech CEOs — from Mark Zuckerberg to Larry Ellison — is the host.

OpenAI’s Ghibli Moment, CoreWeave's IPO Letdown, End of Silicon Valley’s Monopoly?

Brian McCullough is the host of Techmeme Ride Home. He's back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) Why everyone's using ChatGPT to make Ghibli art 2) What is Ghibli 3) OpenAI's product dominance stands out 4) The Studio Ghibli copyright question 5) The AI servers are at capacity 6) The AI datacenters are still probably built out too early 7) What's CoreWeave? 8) CoreWeave's IPO disappoints 9) OpenAI eyes $40 billion fundraise 10) Is Silicon Valley about to lose its mon

Mar 28, • 58:58

AI's Rising Risks: Hacking, Virology, Loss of Control — With Dan Hendrycks

Dan Hendrycks is the Director and co-founder of the Center for AI Safety, and an advisor to Scale AI and xAI. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a discussion of AI's growing risk profile, and what to do about it. Tune in to hear Hendricks explain why virology expertise in AI models is an immediate concern and how these systems might soon enable devastating hacks. We also cover intelligence explosion scenarios, the geopolitical implications of AI development, and why an international AI arms rac

Mar 26, • 1:14:55

NVIDIA’s New Roadmap, State of OpenAI, Apple Shuffles Siri Team

Amir Efrati is the co-executive editor of The Information. He's back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) Is there a market for NVIDIA's GPU chips outside of the cloud providers? 2) Why NVIDIA is making the case that we're early in the AI buildout 3) Whether NVIDIA's focus on Robotics is real or marketing 4) NVIDIA's chip roadmap 5) Amazon's cheaply priced AI chips 6) Coreweave's revenue issues - what they mean 7) The state of OpenAI 9) OpenAI's talent retention issues

Mar 21, • 1:00:01

Why Can't AI Make Its Own Discoveries? — With Yann LeCun

Yann LeCun is the chief AI scientist at Meta. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the strengths and limitations of current AI models, weighing in on why they've been unable to invent new things despite possessing almost all the world's written knowledge. LeCun digs deep into AI science, explaining why AI systems must build an abstract knowledge of the way the world operates to truly advance. We also cover whether AI research will hit a wall, whether investors in AI will be disappointed, a

Mar 19, • 1:00:22

Gruber Slams Apple, Tech Stocks In Freefall, Vibecoding & OpenAI's Agents

Reed Albergotti is the technology editor at Semafor. He's back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Gruber turns on Apple 2) Has Apple lost its credibility? 3) Apple stock takes a hit after downgrades 4) Will we even use a phone in the future? 5) Will AI investing stop in a tough market? 6) The spectrum of AI outcomes and the wisdom of massive capex 7) Tesla risks and opportunities 8) OpenAI releasing agent APT 9) Vibecoding is fun 10) Reed on Amazon's proprietary AI ch

Mar 14, • 1:01:50

Roblox CEO: We Want AI To Generate Full Games — With David Baszucki

David Baszucki is the CEO of Roblox. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss how the company envisions generative AI playing into game creation on Roblox. Tune in to hear his vision for a future where users can prompt entire game experiences and modify them in real time using AI. We also cover child safety concerns, Hindenburg Research allegations, and whether parents should give their kids money to spend on Roblox. Hit play for an insightful conversation about the intersection of gaming, AI,

Mar 12, • 51:47

Apple’s Siri Embarrassment, Microsoft’s OpenAI Dilemma, Will AI Take Our Jobs?

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Siri’s poor performance 2) Amazon leaves Apple in the dust 3) Should Apple replace Siri with ChatGPT? 4) Apple’s market cap is closer to $4 trillion than $3 trillion 5) Microsoft and OpenAI’s evolving relationship 6) Why AI wrappers are rising 7) Will AI take our jobs... now?---Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice.For weekly updates on the show,

Mar 7, • 1:00:21

How Amazon Rebuilt Alexa From The Ground Up — With Panos Panay and Daniel Rausch

Panos Panay is the senior vice president of Devices & Services at Amazon. Daniel Rausch is the Vice President of Alexa at Amazon. The two join Big Technology Podcast to discuss how the company rearchitected Alexa, blending a deterministic system with the latest generative AI technology to create something that can both turn your lights off and speak with you about philosophy. We also discuss how all big tech companies seem to be converging on the same contextually aware, general AI assistant, an

Mar 5, • 56:42

OpenAI’s New Model, Jensen’s Bold Claim, Alexa+ Is Here

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) OpenAI's release of GPT 4.5 2) Is GPT 4.5 a major advance or what? 3) What better EQ gets you in an AI model 4) What reasoning advances can be built on top of GPT 4.5 5) Is AI product or model more important? (cont.) 6) Gary Marcus says OpenAI is in trouble 7) Anthropic releases Claude Sonnet 3.7 8) NVIDIA earnings 9) Jensen says reasoning costs 100x typical LLMs 10) Meta wants to build a standalone AI

Feb 28, • 59:49

OpenAI Chief Research Officer Mark Chen: GPT 4.5 is Live and Scaling Isn’t Dead

Mark Chen is the chief research officer at OpenAI. Chen joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the debut of GPT 4.5, the company's largest model, which is going live today. In this bonus episode, Chen speaks about what the new model says about the AI scaling wall, how scaling traditional GPT models compares to reasoning models like OpenAI's o1, how important EQ is for AI models today, whether product matters more than models, and how OpenAI's talent bench looks after last year's departures. Tun

Feb 27, • 24:55

The Formula for Capturing Your Attention, Price of Fame, & Algorithms as Editors — With Chris Hayes

Chris Hayes is the author of The Siren's Call: How Attention Became The World's Most Endangered Resource and the host of MSNBC's All In With Chris Hayes. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss his No. 1 bestselling book, digging into why he wrote it, how news differs from social platforms (and to what degree), and why We also cover the strange psychology of fame, how figures like Trump and Musk weild attention for political power, and why most social platforms are seeing declining user enga

Feb 26, • 1:00:51

Too Many AI Companies, Amazon's Alexa Upgrade Awaits, RIP Humane Pin

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Satya Nadella's criticism of AI benchmark hacking 2) Ex-OpenAI CTO Mira Murati's new Thinking Machines Lab startup 3) There are too many AI startups 4) Why foundation models have commoditized 5) Did Google 'DeepSeek' itself? 6) Grok3 arrives 7) How do you evaluate whether models are good? 8) Grok3 at the top of Chatbot arena 9) Benedict Evans on Deep Research 10) Does using AI tools make our brains atr

Feb 21, • 1:00:06

Will Big Tech CEOs Win Their All-In Bet on Trump? — With Saagar Enjeti

Saagar Enjeti is the co-host of Breaking Points. He joins Big Technology podcast to asses whether the Big Tech CEOs will win their Trump bet, assessing the stakes involved, the positioning, and the likely outcomes. We talk about Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, Jeff Bezos, and, of course, Elon Musk. Stay tuned as we discuss how the U.S. and China will handle the AI battle, especially after DeepSeek. And we end with a fun back and forth on Apple Intelligence and The Vision Pro, of which

Feb 19, • 58:08

Musk’s OpenAI Bid, Sam Altman’s Roadmap, Apple + Alibaba

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Musk's $97 billion bid for OpenAI 2) Whether the bid is real 3) How damaging could holding up OpenAI's for-profit conversion be? 4) Musk throws OpenAI off its rhythm 5) New OpenAI roadmap: GPT-4.5 and GPT-5 are coming 6) Should models flip dynamically between standard LLM and reasoning 7) Anthropic strikes back 8) Apple + Alibaba partnership 9) iPhone SE launch looms 10) TikTok is back in app stores...

Feb 14, • 51:47

AI Clones & The Future of Voice AI — With Evan Ratliff

Evan Ratliff is the host of Shell Game. Ratliff joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss how he cloned his voice with AI and sent it to interviews, social calls, and therapy. In this conversation, we learn about why he conducted the experiment and what it portends for the future of voice AI. Tune in for a lively discussion with plenty of fun anecdotes from when Ratliff send his AI voice clone out into the wild.---Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app

Feb 12, • 47:10

Boom Times For ChatGPT, OpenAI’s Deep Research, AI Super Bowl

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) New data showing ChatGPT's impressive growth since mid-2024 2) Was ChatGPT voice mode responsible? 3) How important ChatGPT's growth is for OpenAI 4) How seriously DeepSeek challenged ChatGPT's traffic numbers 5) Does brand matter or are bots interchangeable? 6) OpenAI does the Reddit AMA 7) Experimenting with OpenAI's Deep Research 8) Why AI reasoning methods contain so much promise 9) New Gemini rele

Feb 7, • 1:03:25

NVIDIA's Plan To Build AI That Understands The Real World — With Rev Lebaredian

Rev Lebaredian is the Vice President, Omniverse & Simulation Technology at NVIDIA. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a conversation about NVIDIA's push to develop AI that understands the dynamics of the real world, including physics. In this conversation, we cover how NVIDIA is building this technology, what it might be useful for (things like robotics and building common sense into AI models), how it will change labor, and even potentially warfare. We also cover how AI videos today possess a

Feb 5, • 1:03:15

DeepSeek's Fallout For AI Companies, OpenAI’s Path Forward, Siri Somehow Got Worse

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) The DeepSeek impact on Silicon Valley 2) The four areas of margin in AI 3) How OpenAI is positioned after this week 4) Whether OpenAI can be fine losing the lead on model building 5) DeepSeek's impact on Anthropic 6) Why Amazon is happy about DeepSeek 7) Should NVIDIA be taking the worst of it? 8) Okay, let's discuss Jevon's Paradox 9) We have a discord now 10) Apple made Siri even dumber---Join us on

Jan 31, • 58:39

Reid Hoffman: Why The AI Investment Will Pay Off

Reid Hoffman is the co-founder of LinkedIn, a legendary Silicon Valley investor, and author of the new book Superagency: What Could Possibly Go Right with Our AI Future. Hoffman joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss his optimistic case for AI, the massive investments flooding into the field, and whether they can possibly pay off. Tune in to hear Hoffman's insider perspective on OpenAI's $6.6 billion raise, the emergence of Chinese AI competitor DeepSeek, and why he believes these unprecedented

Jan 29, • 56:04

Bonus: The DeepSeek Reckoning in Silicon Valley

M.G. Siegler is a writer and investor and the author of Spyglass. Siegler joins Big Technology for a bonus depisode to discuss DeepSeek R1, the Chinese open-source AI model and its impact on the tech industry. Tune in to hear why DeepSeek's ability to match OpenAI's performance at just 3-5% of the cost could upend the AI industry's economic model. We also cover the immediate market fallout, why Silicon Valley's scaling hypothesis might be invalidated, and what this means for companies like Micro

Jan 27, • 45:42

DeepSeek Rises, Stargate Drama, OpenAI’s Operator Debuts

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) DeepSeek r1, an efficient, cheap reasoning model from China 2) How DeepSeek stacks up against the state of the art 3) Does DeepSeek invalidate the billions of dollars invested in current foundational models 4) DeepSeek's wild origin story 5) How DeepSeek changes U.S. and China's AI rivalry 6) OpenAI, Softbank, and Oracle team up to invest up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure in a program ca

Jan 24, • 57:33

Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis: The Path To AGI, Deceptive AIs, Building a Virtual Cell

Demis Hassabis is the CEO of Google DeepMind. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the cutting edge of AI and where the research is heading. In this conversation, we cover the path to artificial general intelligence, how long it will take to get there, how to build world models, whether AIs can be creative, and how AIs are trying to deceive researchers. Stay tuned for the second half where we discuss Google's plan for smart glasses and Hassabis's vision for a virtual cell. Hit play for a f

Jan 22, • 56:03

TikTok On The Brink, ChatGPT Does Your Tasks, Unemployed MBAs

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban 2) Will Apple and Google comply even if the White House doesn't enforce? 3) What does TikTok's behavior tell us about its ties to China's government? 4) How TikTok might stick around 5) Will Elon Musk buy TikTok 6) TikTok CEO Shou Chew is going to sit at the dias during Trump's inauguration 7) Chinese app Little Red Book, or RedNote takes off 8) Does China want American

Jan 17, • 55:13

To Love An AI Bot — With Eugenia Kuyda

Eugenia Kuyda is the founder and CEO of Replika, an AI companion app where people befriend — and sometimes fall in love with — AI bots. Kuyda joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the nature of these relationships, and what they say about our society. In this conversation, Kuyda reveals Replika's ambition for its "phase two," a plan to have AI friends join us in the real world, helping us keep in touch with friends, get off social media, or even watch movies together. Tune in for a fascinating

Jan 15, • 54:25

Sam Altman’s Reflections, NVIDIA’s Robotics Play, Zuckerberg’s Moderation

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Sam Altman declares the path to AGI is clear 2) Could AGI come before GPT-5? 3) Up next: Superintelligence 4) Anthropic raising $2 billion 5) NVIDIA says robotics is a multi-trillion opportunity 6) NVIDIA has a personal 'supercomputer' 7) Smarter NPCs are here 8) Meta's AI training copyright issues 9) Zuckerberg's fact check reality check 10) Motives of Zuckerberg's moderation moves 11) TikTok ban migh

Jan 11, • 1:01:03

Why The Costco Guys And Hawk Tuah Took Over The Internet — With Ryan Broderick

Ryan Broderick writes the Garbage Day newsletter and hosts the Panic World podcast. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss how the internet has fundamentally changed since the pandemic, in a special episode with Ranjan Roy and Alex Kantrowitz. Tune in to hear Broderick's insights about the rise of viral normie culture which includes Hawk Tuah and the Costco Guys, why sites like BuzzFeed are struggling to adapt, and how platforms are shifting from follow models to algorithmic feeds. We also c

Jan 8, • 58:35

AI’s Crucible Year, TikTok’s Lifeline, Manifesting Your Best Self

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Skydiving with the Meta Raybans 2) OpenAI's GPT-5 delay 3) AI's crucible year 4) We finally know what OpenAI's definition of AGI is 5) Was AGI just a financial thing all along? 6) Trump throws TikTok a lifeline 7) The best divestment ever 8) Meta changes its political leadership 9) Manifesting in twenty twenty thrive---Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your po

Jan 4, • 47:17

2024 In Review, 2025 Predictions — With Casey Newton

Casey Newton is the author of Platformer and co-host of Hard Fork. He joins Big Technology Podcast for our annual predictions episode. Tune in to hear Newton analyze 2024's major developments in AI, debate whether AI agents will take off in 2025, and explore what might happen to companies like Apple, Google, and OpenAI in the coming year. We also cover quantum computing breakthroughs, self-driving car expansion, and what a potential Trump presidency could mean for tech antitrust. Hit play for an

Jan 1, • 51:22

Best of Big Technology: Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky

Brian Chesky is the CEO and co-founder of Airbnb. This week on Big Technology Podcast, we roll back the clock to our interview with Chesky in 2023, where he discussed cleaning fees, listening to customer feedback, and getting involved in the details of the product and user experience. This interview was one of the earliest moments Chesky shared his 'Founder Mode, philosophy, passionately talking about why he gets in the details, even as CEO. Please enjoy this holiday throwback. Alex and

Dec 27, 2024 • 1:02:47

What's the Right Amount of Tech to Give to Kids? — With Dr. Rona Novick and JinJa Birkenbeuel

Dr. Rona Novick is a clinical psychologist and Dean Emerita of Yeshiva University's Azrieli School. Jinja Birkenbeuel is CEO of Birk Creative, and a parent of three children. They join Big Technology Podcast to discuss the right amount of technology to give to kids and how it impacts the developing brain. Tune in to hear their insights about pandemic-era screen time, the creation vs. consumption debate, how parents should approach digital supervision, and why schools are struggling to m

Dec 25, 2024 • 59:06

1-800-Chat-GPT, Neuralink’s Potential, Meta's Live AI

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) OpenAI's o3 reasoning model 2) Is reasoning a real step forward or a head fake after other methods hit a wall 3) Is AI reasoning too expensive 4) AI models attempt to trick their trainers 5) Are we getting close to AGI? 6) Is it silly to start discussing AI sentience now? 7) 1-800-CHAT-GPT 8) Okay, we call ChatGPT 9) Assessing Neuralink's prospects 10) Meta brings Live AI to its smart glasses 11) And l

Dec 20, 2024 • 54:15

Neuralink's First Patient Controls Computers With His Mind — With Noland Arbaugh

Noland Arbaugh is a 30 year old quadriplegic who can control computers with nothing but his mind. Earlier this year, he allowed Elon Musk’s Neuralink to drill a hole in his skill, insert more than one thousand electrodes into his motor cortex, and translate his brain signals into cursor movement and clicks. In this week's Big Technology Podcast, Alex Kantrowitz interviews Arbaugh at his Yuma, Arizona home in a conversation that covers his injury, the Neuralink selection process, the sur

Dec 18, 2024 • 1:08:00

What is OpenAI's Sora For?, Big Tech’s Trump Strategy, GM Kills Cruise

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) What's the use case for OpenAI's Sora video generator? 2) Maybe Sora helps OpenAI understand physics and sets up world models + robotics 3) Siri is still bad 4) Check in on OpenAI's shipmas 5) OpenAI o1 tries to escape being shut down 6) Time Magazine's Person of the Year AI 7) Gemini 2.0 8) Google Deep Research 9) Tech's approach to Trump's second term 10) Is 'Big Tech' a monolith? 11) GM kil

Dec 13, 2024 • 52:04

AI Predictions for 2025: Geopolitics, Agents, and Data Scaling — With Alexandr Wang

Alexandr Wang is the CEO and co-founder of Scale AI. He joins Big Technology Podcast to share his predictions for AI in 2025, including insights about emerging geopolitical drama in the AI field, AI agents for consumers, why data may matter more than computing power, and how militaries worldwide are preparing to deploy AI in warfare. We also cover quantum computing and why Wang believes we're approaching the current limits of what massive GPU clusters can achieve. Hit play for a mind-ex

Dec 11, 2024 • 58:27

Amazon’s New AI Model, Bitcoin $100,000, TikTok 'Ban' Upheld

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Amazon's new Nova AI model 2) How Nova is differentiated 3) OpenAI heading to AWS in 2025? 4) OpenAI's 12 days of Shipmas 5) OpenAI's $200/month ChatGPT PRO 6) Google's new Veo video generation model 7) Will OpenAI's Sora video generation model measure up? 8) Jeff Bezos talks at Dealbook 9) OpenAI considers an ad product 10) Generative AI companies suck at advertising 10) Bitcoin $100,000 11)

Dec 6, 2024 • 58:08

AWS CEO Matt Garman on Amazon's Big AI Chips Bet, Working With OpenAI, and Nuclear Energy

Matt Garman is the CEO of Amazon Web Services. Garman joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss Amazon's AI strategy and future plans. Tune in to hear Garman's insights on AWS's AI chips, partnerships with leading AI companies including OpenAI, the ROI of generative AI, and how AWS is helping customers leverage AI while managing costs. We also cover AWS's investment in nuclear energy, the current state of the cloud market, and Amazon's culture challenges Hit play for a wide-ranging and in-depth co

Dec 4, 2024 • 43:10

Musk vs. OpenAI, Artists Leak Sora, Temu Black Friday

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Elon Musk tries to stop OpenAI from going for-profit 2) Should OpenAI be able to convert to for profit? 3) Should OpenAI be able to prevent investors from investing in competitors 4) What happens if OpenAI delays the for-profit conversion 5) State of GenAI 6) Musk's xAI raise and scale up 7) Artists leak OpenAI's Sora 8) Sora is actually pretty good 9) Evaluating Marx Benioff's agent pitch with Agentfo

Dec 1, 2024 • 1:02:16

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff Has Thoughts on AI Agents, Automation, and The Future of Your Job

Marc Benioff is the CEO and co-founder of Salesforce. Benioff joins Big Technology Podcast for a wide ranging discussion on AI agents, automation, and the future of labor. In this episode, we discuss his vision for AI agents and how they'll transform the way companies interact with customers. Tune in to hear why Benioff believes the future isn't about personal AI assistants, but rather company-specific agents built on robust data systems that can take effective action on our behalf. We also cove

Nov 27, 2024 • 49:47

OpenAI Builds A Browser, Microsoft Copilot’s Struggles, Jaguar Rebrand

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) OpenAI's browser initiative 2) Can the ChatGPT browser succeed 3) DOJ wants to split off Chrome 4) Is spinning off Chrome a just punishment? 5) Would we be better off with Google services disconnected from each other? 6) Apple is trying to improve Siri with LLMS 7) Microsoft's copilot has struggled in the early going 8) Anthropic raises $4 billion 9) Was the Jaguar rebrand good?---Enjoying Big Technolo

Nov 22, 2024 • 1:02:20

Rivian's CEO on Elon's Influence, Affordable EVs, and The Grid's Risky Future — With RJ Scaringe

RJ Scaringe is the CEO of Rivian. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a deep discussion about the state of electric vehicles and where Rivian goes from here. We go into depth about Elon Musk's role in the coming Trump administration and what Scaringe would do if he was the "first buddy." Then we talk about Rivian's affordability, its partnership with VW, its road to profitability, and more. Stay tuned for the second half where we discuss energy and the grid — and Scaringe shares a passionate sta

Nov 20, 2024 • 54:52

Is Generative AI Plateauing?, Booming Bluesky, Apple’s Smart Glasses Play

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson 2) Why researchers believe Generative AI training methods might be plateauing 3) Is the application really what matters? 4) Will reasoning save the day? 5) Writer raises $200 million 6) ChatGPT defeats Chegg 7) Should ad agencies bill by the hour in the age of AI? 8) Ranjan reflects on our interview with Gustav Soderstrom 9) Gratitude for listeners 10) Yes, we're launc

Nov 15, 2024 • 57:58

Spotify's Plan For AI Generated Music, Podcasts, and Recommendations — With Gustav Söderström

Gustav Söderström is Spotify's co-president, chief technology officer, and chief product officer. He joins Big Technology Podcast — as we debut video episodes on Spotify — for discussion of Spotify's approach to AI generated content, algorithmic recommendations, and more. Tune in for a deep conversation covering whether Spotify wants AI-generated music and podcasts on its platform, how it can lean on AI recommendations to enhance discovery while sustaining human choice, and its long term AI visi

Nov 13, 2024 • 58:04

Polymarket vs. Pollsters, Podcasts & Politics, Open Source AI In Trouble

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Polymarket's election day triumph 2) Was the prediction markets' success a fluke or something with staying power 3) Why crypto folks love prediction markets 4) Bitcoin skyrockets after Trump's election 5) S&P 500 hits 6,000 6) Is this stock market momentum sustainable? 7) Why Tesla benefits from Trump's election - or does it? 8) Podcasts were the defining media format of the election 9) Why podcasts ma

Nov 8, 2024 • 49:51

Trump Wins. What's Next for Tech and The Economy? — With Dan Primack and Ana Swanson

Ana Swanson is a reporter covering trade and international economics for The New York Times. Dan Primack is the business editor at Axios. The two join to discuss the implications of Trump's win in the 2024 election. We cover: 1) Trump's decisive win 2) Why he won 3) Will his policies deliver for his voters? 4) No tax on tips, overtime, or social security 5) Will Trump's tariff threats become reality? 6) US-China relations and semiconductor industry impacts 7) Tech antitrust future with Lina Khan

Nov 6, 2024 • 50:36

Trump, Tariffs, Trade War, And Technology — With Alan Deardorff

Alan Deardorff is a professor emeritus of international economics and public policy at the University of Michigan. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a special episode on the eve of election day to discuss the difference between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris on tariffs and international trade, and whether a trade war might harm U.S. tech companies. We also debate the merits of free trade, and whether it leaves people better off. Stay tuned for the second half where we talk about Apple, Amazon,

Nov 4, 2024 • 46:01

OpenAI's GPT-5 In 2025?, Big Tech’s Big AI Spend, The Polymarket Election

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) GPT-5 delayed till 2025? 2) Is focusing on products, not big models, a good move for OpenAI? 3) Is OpenAI trying to train the model again with a bigger GPU cluster? 4) Meta trains Llama 4 on more than 100,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs 5) OpenAI puts search in ChatGPT 6) Meta also has a search engine 7) Search engines everywhere, but Google still leads 8) Google's Halloween employee meeting 9) Amazon Alexa disap

Nov 1, 2024 • 58:39

The Next Gen AI Models: Reliable, Consistent, Trustworthy — With Aidan Gomez

Aidan Gomez is the co-author of the "Attention Is All You Need" paper that launched the AI revolution and CEO of Cohere, an enterprise AI company. Gomez joins Big Technology to discuss the myths, facts, and realities of today's AI landscape. Tune in to hear why the real value of AI isn't in flashy consumer apps but in automating crucial back-office processes that could save businesses billions. We also cover the truth about AI capabilities, the likelihood of AGI, synthetic data training, and whe

Oct 30, 2024 • 45:17

AI Agents’ Shaky Debut, Musk and Putin, Perplexity vs. The Media

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) AI agents are here 2) Anthropic's Sonnet 3.5 model 3) Why we're underwhelmed with AI agents so far 4) The long-term bull case for agents 5) OpenAI's Orion model 6) Sam Altman's fake news tweet, and his cryptic preview of that news 7) Elon Musk and Putin speak regularly 8) China, Russia, Iran, North Korea vs. U.S. and Europe about to get weird 9) Tesla's blowout earnings 10) Waymo raises $5.6 billion 11

Oct 25, 2024 • 1:01:15

The Apple Paradox, Trump’s Impact on Markets, NVIDIA Demand — With Dan Ives and Stephanie Link

Dan Ives is the managing director, equity research at Wedbush Securities. Stephanie Link is the chief investment strategist and portfolio manager at Hightower Advisors. The two all-star stock watchers join Big Technology Podcast to discuss the fascinating state of big tech stocks, particularly Apple's surprising resilience. Tune in to hear why Apple's stock is up 42% since April despite mixed headlines about Vision Pro and AI, and whether its $3.5 trillion valuation is justified. We also cover N

Oct 23, 2024 • 46:39

OpenAI and Microsoft's Tension, Apple Screens Everywhere, Meta’s Toothpaste Massacre

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. Cory Weinberg from The Information joins us for the first half! We cover 1) Open AI and Microsoft’s relationship starting to fray 2) Microsoft rebuffing OpenAI's fundraising efforts 3) Mustafa Suleyman's impact on the Microsoft - OpenAI dynamic 4) Why OpenAI sought Apple and NVIDIA's investment 5) Softbank from the top rope 6) When might OpenAI declare it's reached AGI? 7) Microsoft and OpenAI sort out ownership s

Oct 18, 2024 • 1:00:35

Fear Buying AI & Automation Stocks, Whoops Too Many Winners, Booming Tech Trade — With Josh Brown

Josh Brown is the CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, a CNBC contributor, and author of "You Weren't Supposed to See That." Brown joins Big Technology to discuss the intersection of AI, big tech, and the current state of the economy. Tune in to hear how automation fears are driving a potentially fear-based investment bubble in tech giants and the concept of a "relentless bid" shaping today's stock market. We also cover the unexpected consequences of COVID-era stimulus, insights on major tech comp

Oct 16, 2024 • 1:12:34

OpenAI's Financials Revealed, Tesla Robotaxi Debut, Shein's Weird CEO

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. Cory Weinberg from The Information joins us for the first half! We cover 1) OpenAI's financials leak 2) OpenAI plans to make most of its revenue via ChatGPT 3) OpenAI's staggering losses 4) Can OpenAI be a sustainable business? 5) Training costs vs. inference costs 6) You don't exclude training costs from profitability statements! 7) Tesla's Robotaxi event 8) Self-driving's importance 8) Ranjan gets the Snap spect

Oct 11, 2024 • 58:57

Google's Head Of Search On Its Big AI Bet — With Liz Reid

Elizabeth Reid is Google's VP of Search and a 20-plus year veteran of the company. Reid joins Big Technology to discuss Google's major AI push and how this new era of computing is transforming its product and business. Tune in to hear about AI-organized search results, the growth of Google Lens, and how AI is changing the way people interact with search. We also cover the potential impact on publishers, Google's approach to responsible AI deployment, and the future of AR technology. Hit play for

Oct 9, 2024 • 36:11

OpenAI’s $6.6 Billion Fundraise, Meta’s Quiet Election, Imaginary AI Friends

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) OpenAI closing a $6.6 billion fundraise 2) A look at the investors, including Softbank, Tiger Global, Cathie Wood, and Altimeter 3) Will OpenAI need to raise again shortly? 4) Is an IPO next? 5) Investors can get their money back if OpenAI doesn't convert to a standard for profit company 6) What's next for OpenAI's relationship with Microsoft? 7) Meta's quiet election 8) Is social media's collision cou

Oct 4, 2024 • 49:09

Meta's CTO On Its Augmented Reality Dreams — With Andrew Bosworth

Andrew Bosworth is the Chief Technology Officer at Meta. Bosworth joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss Meta's new Orion augmented reality glasses and the future of human-computer interaction. Tune in to hear his insights on the technical capabilities of AR, the potential of artificial intelligence, and how these technologies could reshape the way we interact with computers and each other in the coming years. We also cover the evolution of computing paradigms, Meta's strategy in the AI and AR/

Oct 2, 2024 • 45:04

OpenAI’s Crazy Week, Meta’s New Orion AR Glasses, MKBHD’s Wallpaper App

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) OpenAI changing its corporate structure to for-profit, public benefit corporation, per reports 2) Is this good for OpenAI? 3) Turmoil through the transformation 4) Can you exist outside of 'the system'? 5) OpenAI CTO Mira Murati leaves 6) Further executive departures 7) Sam Altman's compensation 8) 'Elon Musk's revenge' 9) OpenAI will close its oversubscribed funding round next week 10) New York Times

Sep 27, 2024 • 53:40

Debate: Has Elon’s Twitter Takeover Worked? — With Ryan Mac, Kate Conger, Zach Coelius

Ryan Mac and Kate Conger are reporters at The New York Times and the authors of a new book, Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter. Zach Coelius is managing partner at Coelius Capital — and a VC who thinks Elon is doing a pretty good job with the social media company. In this episode, our guests debate whether Musk’s Twitter takeover is going to plan, with respectful back and forth about one of the most controversial projects from one of the world’s most controversial business leaders.

Sep 25, 2024 • 58:37

Subprime AI Crisis, Mr. Beast’s Guide For Excellence, Amazon’s Culture Problems

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) The 'subprime' AI crisis 2) Will companies building on AI persist if prices increase? 3) OpenAI funding news update 4) Do the research houses not care about the business side, and only want AGI? 5) iPhone16 releases to mild enthusiasm 6) Huawei's trifold phone is a hot seller 7) Mr. Beast's leaked guide to excellence at his production company 8) Amazon's culture has problems, says CEO Andy Jassy---Enjo

Sep 20, 2024 • 56:56

LinkedIn's CEO On How AI Changes Your Job — With Ryan Roslansky

Ryan Roslansky is the CEO of LinkedIn and host of The Path podcast. He joins Big Technology to discuss how AI will change our jobs and the future of tech products. Tune in to hear Ryan's perspective whether AI replace workers, which tasks are ripe for automation, and how LinkedIn is adapting its products for the AI era. We also discuss the importance of professional content on LinkedIn, the rise of video on the platform, and why podcasts are a key LinkedIn focus area. Hit play for an insightful

Sep 18, 2024 • 40:22

OpenAI’s o1 Reasoning Model Debuts, $2,000 ChatGPT, AI News Anchors

Parmy Olson of Bloomberg joins for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. She's also the author of the new book, Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT, and the Race that Will Change the World. We cover 1) OpenAI's release of its new o1 model, that can do reasoning, also know as Q* or Strawberry 2) o1's features and what makes it different 3) Businesses struggling to find o1 uses 4) Investor concerns over AI 5) A precursor to AI agents? 6) OpenAI raising at a $150 billion valuation now 7) Would people p

Sep 13, 2024 • 56:35

Apple's iPhone16 Debut + Apple Intelligence Delays

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Apple's iPhone16 launch 2) Apple Intelligence disappointment & delays 3) Apple's future runs through Siri 4) Apple Intelligence's impact on iPhone16 sales 5) Will the iPhone17 spark a supercycle? 6) Does Apple Intelligence compete with apps? 7) Apple's reliance on its services business 8) Is Apple a software company now? 9) Risks of Apple's software reliance 10) What happened to the Vision Pro? ---Enjo

Sep 11, 2024 • 43:35

YouTubers on Russia’s Payroll, Ilya Raises $1 Billion, Founder Mode

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Russia funding the political YouTube network Tenet Media 2) Should the commentators have known better? 3) How big does the influence operation go? 4) Is Ranjan being paid off by a foreign government? 5) Twitter suspended in Brazil 6) Was Elon Musk right in standing up to Brazil? 7) More on the amorphous nature of online popularity 8) Talk Tuah 9) Ilya Sutskever raises $1 billion from a16z and others 10

Sep 6, 2024 • 56:28

How Ozempic Changes Our Bodies, Minds, and Economy — With Johann Hari

Johan Hari is a New York Times bestselling author and has a new book, Magic Pill, about his experience with weight loss drugs. Hari joins Big Technology to discuss the impact of Ozempic on our relationship with food and the economy. Tune in to hear how these medications work, their benefits, and their potential risks. We also cover the science behind these drugs, economic implications, and ethical considerations. Hit play for an in-depth conversation on the future of weight loss drugs and their

Sep 4, 2024 • 52:34

OpenAI’s Raising At $100B Valuation, Telegram’s Pavel Durov Arrested, NVIDIA's Just Okay Earnings

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) OpenAI Raising at a $100 billion valuation 2) Is Investing in OpenAI a good bet? 3) Why is Thrive leading the round? 4) ChatGPT usage doubles 5) MetaAI reaches 40 billion daily active users 6) Amazon leadership says coding will soon be done by bots and not humans 7) Telegram founder Pavel Durov arrested and charged 8) Should Durov have been arrested or fined? 9) NVIDIA's earnings are just okay ---Enjoy

Aug 30, 2024 • 57:50

A Longterm Investor Looks Sudden Death In The Face — With Eric Markowitz

Eric Markowitz is a partner at Night View Capital and a long-term focused investor. Eric joins Big Technology to discuss his harrowing brush with death and how it transformed his perspective on investing and life. Tune in to hear how a mysterious brain abscess forced Eric to confront his mortality and reevaluate his approach to work, relationships, and long-term thinking. We also cover the importance of quality over quantity, the dangers of stress, and how to sustainably implement life changes a

Aug 28, 2024 • 35:04

Meta & Snap's New AR Glasses, Perplexity's Ads, Google's Work Ethic

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Alex's trip to the Balkans 2) China's influence in the region 3) Meta and Snap AR glasses battle 4) Are smart glasses stylish enough 5) Perplexity's plan to run ads 6) Eric Schmidt's disparaging remarks about Google 7) Is Google really behind on AI? 8) Will the U.S. government really break up big tech?---Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice.For

Aug 23, 2024 • 50:57

Fyre Festival's Billy McFarland Dishes On Social Media Marketing, VC, and Prison

Billy McFarland is the founder of Fyre Festival. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss what he learned about social media, investing, and prison during his ordeal at the helm at the world's most infamous music festival. Tune in for McFarland's clear-headed insights on what he did wrong, how social media sells a version of the world that is not there, how inflating his numbers changed investors' approach to his business, and what ten months on solitary confinement does to a man. Tune in for

Aug 21, 2024 • 57:28

Why Extreme Risk Takers Are Winning — With Nate Silver

Nate Silver is a statistician, election prognosticator, and bestselling author. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss his reporting on extreme risk takers, and why the seem to be winning. Tune in to hear Silver's theory on how society bifurcates into the risk-forward, probability oriented thinkers (The River) and the safety seeking, status oriented community (The Village). In this episode, we discuss poker, sports betting, effective altruism, VC, AI research, and existential threads to huma

Aug 14, 2024 • 1:17:25

Wall Street Chaos, OpenAI Leadership Shakeup, Google The Monopolist

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Wall Street's roller coaster week 2) Does market turmoil change AI investment? 3) The Yen trade 4) NVIDIA's stock market drop 5) Warren Buffet sells Apple 6) OpenAI loses more key leaders 7) Is OpenAI struggling to fundraise? 8) Are LLMs hitting a wall? 9) Google loses antitrust case 10) Does this hurt Google? Or Apple? 11) U.S. government deterrence restored? 12) Do we actually need new antirust laws

Aug 9, 2024 • 1:00:27

AI's Doomsday Philosopher Says Maybe It'll All Be Totally Fine — With Nick Bostrum

Nick Bostrom is a renowned philosopher and bestselling author of "Superintelligence" and "Deep Utopia." He joins Big Technology to discuss the potential outcomes of advanced artificial intelligence, from existential risks to utopian possibilities. Tune in to hear Bostrom's thoughts on how humanity might navigate the transition to a world of superintelligent AI and what life could look like in a technologically "solved" world. We also cover the evolution of AI safety concerns, the concept of effe

Aug 7, 2024 • 40:03

Did The AI Bubble Just Pop?, Apple Intelligence Beta Arrives, Friend Dot Com

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) The week's market selloff 2) Consumer spending declines and other negative economic factors 3) Starbucks as a economic barometer 4) Favorite boba 5) AI spending comes under scrutiny 6) Big Tech earnings performance 7) NVIDIA's resilience 8) Apple Intelligence beta arrives 9) Siri is still bad 10) Ranjan depressed about Siri being bad 11) Review of OpenAI's ChatGPT 4o voice edition 12) Friend dot com la

Aug 2, 2024 • 58:25

NVIDIA's Auto Play and the Future of Autonomous Driving — With Danny Shapiro

Danny Shapiro is the Vice President of Automotive at NVIDIA. He joins Big Technology to discuss the current state of autonomous driving technology, its future, and NVIDIA's role. Tune in to hear how NVIDIA is pushing the boundaries of AI and simulation to make self-driving cars safer and more reliable. We also cover the challenges of full autonomy, NVIDIA's broader play in the automotive ecosystem, and how generative AI is transforming the industry. Hit play for an insider's look at the cutting-

Jul 31, 2024 • 37:44

Kamala's Tech Agenda, Drunken AI Spending, Meta’s Open Source Necessity

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Kamala in, Biden out 2) Kamala's tech agenda 3) The importance of Lina Khan 4) Do VCs regret backing Trump after the past week's developments 5) J.D. Vance couch meme 6) Twitter at the center of the story 7) AI CapEx goes wild 8) Google's resilience through the first AI wave 9) OpenAI launches a search engine, SearchGPT 10) Elon's AI supercomputer 11) DeepMind's math-solving AI 12) Meta's need for open

Jul 26, 2024 • 1:06:27

The One-Person, Billion-Dollar Startup? — With Thomas Domke

Thomas Domke is the CEO of Github. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the state of AI-assisted coding, and whether the rest of the economy can see benefits similar to software engineers using coding 'copilots.' We also discuss how AI assistance can help individual developers build whatever's on their mind, and whether we'll see $1 billion dollar startups built by just one person. Tune in the for the second half where we discuss the next set of AI models, how engineering jobs change when

Jul 24, 2024 • 51:40

The Silicon Valley Election, Goldman’s AI Worries, Using AI To Talk To Animals

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) VCs and Elon going to Trump 2) The policy issues swinging VCs to Trump 3) The case for an against big tech acquisitions 4) Electric vehicle policy as a flashpoint 5) Anti-woke common ground between VCs and Trump 6) Is it a good bet? 7) Goldman Sachs pours some cold water on the GenAI hype and spending 8) Anthropic starts a new venture fund 9) Warner Bros. Discovery potential spinoff plan 10) Using AI t

Jul 19, 2024 • 50:43

Did Klarna Really Automate 700 Jobs With AI? — With Sebastian Siemiatkowski

Sebastian Siemiatkowski is the CEO and co-founder of Klarna. Siemiatkowski joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the company's aggressive efforts to implement AI across its operation, including in customer service where it says the technology is now doing the work of 700 people. We also discuss how Klarna is using generative AI in marketing, and whether it can do the work of strategists or simply discreet tasks. Stay tuned for the second half where we discuss how Klarna is using ChatGPT enterp

Jul 17, 2024 • 58:09

New ROI Questions For AI, Microsoft’s Empire Plans, Jassy’s Amazon Comeback

Tom Dotan from the Wall Street Journal joins us for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) What slow growing GenAI consumer usage says about the field 2) OpenAI's five levels of AI sophistication 3) Why enterprise rollouts of AI technology are moving slow 4) Is AI a startup game or scaled player only discipline 5) How small models fit in 6) Bing's failed run after Google 7) Sequoia's $600 billion question on AI 8) Can we use leftover GPUs to break out of the simulation 9) Mic

Jul 12, 2024 • 1:07:16

Amazon's Longterm AI Vision — With Matt Wood

Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice.---Matt Wood is the VP of AI Products at Amazon Web Services (AWS). Wood joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the current state and future potential of AI, according to Amazon. Tune in to hear insights on how customers are adopting AI, the importance of model choice and specialization, and the evolution of AI in the near-term. We also cover AWS' AI platform, Amazon's Alexa assistant, and the cultura

Jul 10, 2024 • 51:44

Hawk Tuah and the Zynternet, OpenAI Hacked, One Year Of Threads

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Why the Hawk Tuah Meme broke through 2) Evolution of the internet from the 'nerd internet' to the 'Zynternet' or 'bro internet' 3) The 'For You' recommendation system had turned the internet into a mass appeal machine vs. niche 4) Zuck's fourth of july water sports moment is indicative of the change 5) Raw dogging flights 6) OpenAI hacked 6) NYTimes rips off Dwarkesh Patel's Podcast 7) Figma's Apple We

Jul 5, 2024 • 50:26

What the Ex-OpenAI Safety Employees Are Worried About — With William Saunders and Lawrence Lessig

William Saunders is an ex-OpenAI Superallignment team member. Lawrence Lessig is a professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School. The two come on to discuss what's troubling ex-OpenAI safety team members. We discuss whether the Saudners' former team saw something secret and damning inside OpenAI, or whether it was a general cultural issue. And then, we talk about the 'Right to Warn' a policy that would give AI insiders a right to share concerning developments with third parties without f

Jul 3, 2024 • 48:13

AI Adoption Challenges, Waymo’s Big Expansion, Amazon hits $2 Trillion

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Companies that bought AI services are struggling to make them work 2) Is an AI 'trough of disillusionment' coming? 3) Consultants are cashing in on the AI boom 4) Is consultants' heavy involvement in AI work good? 5) Examining Perplexity's IP issues more closely 6) Suno gets sued 7) Waymo's massive, underappreciated expansion in San Francisco 8) Waymo vs. Tesla - who wins? 9) Amazon hits a $2 trillion

Jun 28, 2024 • 52:41

Decoding The NVIDIA Trade — With Michael Batnick

Michael Batnick is managing partner at Ritholtz Wealth Management and co-host of The Compound and Friends Podcast. Batnick joins Big Technology Podcast for a conversation that asks all the questions about NVIDIA's historic run. We cover the valuation, volatility, competition, chances to keep going, and AI fatigue. We also ask whether NVIDIA could give up its gains just as fast as it built them, whether it will become an Apple-like fixture in portfolios, and how algorithmic trading might play a r

Jun 26, 2024 • 41:20

NVIDIA Takes The Crown, Return of Ilya, Vision Pro Stalls

Reed Albergotti is the tech editor at Semafor. He joins Big Technology Podcast to break down the week's news. We cover: 1) NVIDIA temporarily becoming the most valuable publicly traded company 2) Is NVIDIA a bubble? 3) What might disrupt NVIDIA? 4) Ilya Sustkever founds Safe Superintelligence Inc. 5) Who's funding Ilya? 6) Will SSI amount to anything? 6) OpenAI might become a public benefit company 7) The state of DeepMind's merger with Google Brain 8) Mustafa Suleyman's entry to Microsoft and h

Jun 21, 2024 • 55:21

AI, Elon, Abundance, and Longevity — With Peter Diamandis

Peter Diamandis is the founder and executive chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation, a New York Times bestselling author, and host of the Moonshot Podcast. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a fun, wide-ranging conversation touching on his belief around AI, his friendship with Elon Musk, Abundance and happiness, and how we can live longer, including an incoming lifespan explosion. Tune in for a fun, thought provoking conversation that covers a lot of ground on today's crucial topics. --- Enjoying B

Jun 19, 2024 • 53:10

Gurman on Apple, OpenAI’s Deal Terms, Forbes vs. Perplexity

Mark Gurman is Chief Correspondent at Bloomberg. He stops by Big Technology Poddcast for a brief recap of the week's Apple news, including its no-money deal with OpenAI. Ranjan Roy from Margins is also back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) Alex's Visit to NVIDIA 2) The Gurman interview - which covers a) Apple + OpenAI b) The stock market reaction to WWDC c) Apple's Robotics future 3) Ranjan and Alex react to the Gurman interview 4) OpenAI's relative strength after

Jun 14, 2024 • 1:04:27

Apple Fails to Overreact to the AI Revolution — With M.G. Siegler

M.G. Siegler of Spyglass is back to recap Apple's big AI-themed WWDC event and look ahead to AI's broader potential moving forward. Tune for an in-depth analysis of Apple's new AI features, and what they say about the strengths and limitations of the current AI models. We cover whether the new features will lead to an iPhone upgrade cycle, the stock market's reaction, Elon Musk getting angry about the event, why OpenAI played a smaller role than many anticipated, Apple's potential robotics futur

Jun 12, 2024 • 51:52

Dispatch from WWDC: Apple AI News + Reaction

Alex Kantrowitz joins on site from WWDC, where Apple just made its big AI announcement. Tune in for a quick recap of the event's news and the implications. We cover Apple Intelligence, Genmoji, Writing Tools, & more. And what it meens: 1) Apple needing to go bold 2) Opening the device up to take advantage of the next 18 months of AI development 3) The OpenAI parternship 4) How Google reacts to this 5) How Microsoft reacts to this 6) The financial implications. Did you like this episode? Any feed

Jun 10, 2024 • 20:47

Apple’s AI WWDC Approaches, Nvidia $3 Trillion, OpenAI Safety Concerns

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Apple's WWDC AI preview 2) Apple's willingness to change its operating system with AI 3) Were Humane and Rabbit on the right track with bad execution? 4) Will the market react well to WWDC? 5) Apple is going to put cameras in AirPods? + Alex's experience with the Ray-Ban Metas 6) NVIDIA's $3 trillion market cap 7) NVIDIA surpasses Apple for a minute in valuation 8) Are we at the NVIDIA top? 9) Roaring

Jun 7, 2024 • 57:25

Can The News Industry Survive The AI Era? — With Ben Smith, Nayeema Raza, and Joe Marchese

Ben Smith and Nayeema Raza host Mixed Signals, a new media podcast from Semafor. And Joe Marchese is the general & build partner at Human Ventures. The three join Big Technology Podcast for a VC + Journalist conversation on whether the news industry can survive its dealings with generative AI tech providers, like OpenAI, after several publications inked multi-million dollar content deals. Tune in for a conversation that explores whether the news industry is setting itself up for a repeat of past

Jun 5, 2024 • 53:11

How Walt Mossberg Built A Deep Relationship With Steve Jobs

Walt Mossberg is a legendary tech journalist and longtime columnist for the Wall Street Journal. This is a preview of our premium Big Tech War Stories Podcast where Mossberg joins to discuss how he formed connections with industry titans like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos, and what drove their thinking and strategies. In this preview we cover Jobs, discussing his optimism, focus, and unending curiosity that led to long hours of conversation with Mossberg via phone. We also discuss the r

Jun 3, 2024 • 35:40

OpenAI Teases GPT-5, Musk's Plan For xAI, Loneliness in Remote Work Era

Brian McCullough, host the Techmeme Ride Home podcast, joins us our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) OpenAI teasing GPT-5 2) Or wait, was it GPT-6? 3) Satya Nadella speaks with Sam Altman about OpenAI's Apple partnership 4) How long will OpenAI and Microsoft be best buds? 5) Does OpenAI benefit by diversifying partnerships? 6) Is Apple going to go all-in on AI at WWDC? 7) What the new Siri might look like? 8) OpenAI's ex-board members speak up about Altman firing episode 9)

May 31, 2024 • 58:34

How Shein and Temu Snuck Up On Amazon — With Louise Matsakis

Louise Matsakis is a technology reporter and writes You May Also Like on Beehiiv. Matsakis joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss her recent story for Big Technology about how Shein and Temu snuck up on Amazon and what these two Chinese ecommerce companies have done to carve out a growing slice of the online retail market. In this story, we talk about demographics, marketing, tariff loopholes, and more. Stay tuned for the second half where we discuss the state of the TikTok ban and how China is

May 29, 2024 • 42:50

Google’s Crazy AI Overviews, OpenAI’s Superalignment Drama, NVIDIA’s Unstoppable Run

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Google's AI Overviews tell us to eat rocks 2) Is this a signal the web really is done? 3) Google's history of messy AI launches 4) OpenAI's super-alignment team in chaos 5) Is there immediate AI safety risk or did the team leave because there isn't? 6) OpenAI's NDA practices 7) Did OpenAI take Scarlett Johansson's voice? 8) Is there a line for the tech industry taking intellectual property? 9) NVIDIA's

May 24, 2024 • 59:42

What Cheaper, Faster, and Smarter AI Gets Us — With Aaron Levie

Aaron Levie is the CEO of Box. Levie joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the implications of AI getting cheaper and faster after OpenAI cut GPT-4o's prices by half and made it twice as fast. We also cover AI's impact of AI on jobs, the evolving AI safety debate, and how companies like Box are harnessing these powerful technologies. It was our first public event and such a blast to meet so many of you! Hit play for a thought-provoking exploration of the AI cutting edge, and what comes next.

May 22, 2024 • 55:46

OpenAI’s Big Week, Did Google Kill The Web, AWS CEO Resigns

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) OpenAI's GPT-4o announcement 2) Is voice + video the right user interface? 3) Do we need smartglasses for this technology? 4) Was ChatGPT-4o too flirty? (yes) 5) OpenAI's potential iOS partnership with Apple 6) Siri improvements are coming 7) What AI + iphone could look like ahead of WWDC 8) Will AI features increase iPhone purchases 9) Listener feedback on the iPad 10) Ilya's out 11) Future of allignm

May 17, 2024 • 46:18

AI Scaling, Alignment, and the Path to Superintelligence — With Dwarkesh Patel

Dwarkesh Patel is the host of the Dwarkesh Podcast, where he's interviewed Mark Zuckerberg, Ilya Sustkever, Dario Amodei, and more AI leaders. Patel joins Big Technology to discuss the current state and future trajectory of AI development, including the potential for artificial general intelligence (AGI) and superintelligence. Tune in to hear Patel's insights on key issues like AI scaling, alignment, safety, and governance, as well as his perspective on the competitive landscape of the AI indust

May 15, 2024 • 1:06:03

Apple's Bad iPad Ad, AI Assistant Hype, Netflix's Big Live Ambitions

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Apple's bad iPad ad 2) Is the backlash largely due to the creative, of people's feelings about Apple as a company 3) Asking Claude about the reaction to the ad 4) Apple's big moment at WWDC 5) Apple building server-side AI compute 6) Better Siri 7) OpenAI teases GPT-5 8) AI assistant buzz 9) AI as a dating concierge 10) AI news creating a zombie internet 11) Netflix's Tom Brady roast 12) Netflix's big

May 10, 2024 • 54:18

Economics of OpenAI, Tesla’s Robotics Pivot, Hedonic Treadmill — With Slate Money

Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers are the hosts of the Slate Money podcast. They join Big Technology to discuss the economics and societal implications of artificial intelligence and robotics. Tune in to hear their nuanced take on the costs, challenges, and potential paths forward for companies like OpenAI and Tesla as they pursue ambitious goals AI and robotics. We also cover the realities of retirement in modern economies and the ongoing debate over raising retirement ages. Join u

May 8, 2024 • 51:25

Emails From Elon, AI Revenue Questions, Chatbot Boyfriends

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Ranjan's visit to India and his use of Perplexity to gain cultural understanding and context 2) AI news' reliability 3) How social media drives the college protest 4) The need to elevate the reasonable voice 5) Elon Musk email Alex with details about X's AI news play 6) Could X's AI news plan work? 7) X warming to news? 8) AI monetization challenges 9) Risking the trough of disillusionment in AI 10) Ap

May 3, 2024 • 1:00:26

Teaching AI To Read Our Emotions — With Alan Cowen

Alan Cowen is the CEO and founder Hume AI. Cowen joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss how his company is building emotional intelligence into AI systems. In this conversation, we examine why AI needs to learn how to read emotion, not just the literal text, and examine at how Hume does that with voice and facial expressions. In the first half, we discuss the theory of reading emotions and expressions and in the second half we discuss how it's applied. Tune in for a wide ranging conversation th

May 1, 2024 • 1:11:57

Are LLMs Hitting A Wall, Microsoft & Alphabet Save The Market, TikTok 'Ban'

Deirdre Bosa is the anchor of CNBC's TechCheck. She joins the show for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Whether LLMs are running out of resources 2) The costly business of AI 3) Meta's stock drop after Zuck talks costs 4) Meta's roller coaster 5) Microsoft's AI results 6) The virtues of Claude 7) Google's impressive earnings report and dividend 8) Sundar's comeback 9) TikTok's 'ban' goes into action 10) Is TikTok already dead? ---- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Pleas

Apr 26, 2024 • 44:19

Apple's AI Play — With M.G. Siegler

M.G. Siegler is a venture partner at GV, formerly google ventures, and the author of Spyglass. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss what Apple may have cooking for its AI-themed WWDC event in June. We discuss what Apple may do on the consumer front, including how much of iOS it's willing to change in service of AI features. And then we dig into its potential AI play for developers, including on-device processing and its own foundational model. We also talk about its interest in robotics. T

Apr 24, 2024 • 56:05

Meta's Big Llama 3 Release, Google's New Culture, MKBHD vs. Humane

Alex Heath from The Verge is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Taylor Swift's new album 2) Meta's new Llama 3 release 3) Does conversational AI work in a social media products? 4) Will the value of generative AI be realized in foundational models or products? 5) Zuck's new icon status 6) Bearded Zuck 7) The risks of open sourcing massive AI models 8) Sundar Pichai writes a stern letter to Google employees 9) Google fires 28 employees involved in office takeover

Apr 19, 2024 • 55:54

Kara Swisher Rates Tech Leaders — With Kara Swisher

Kara Swisher is the author of Burn Book and host of the Pivot and On With Kara Swisher. Swisher joins Big Technology to discuss the latest tech news and share her opinion of the nature of tech leaders. We discuss Marc Andreessen, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, Tim Cook, Andy Jassy, Satya Nadella, Sam Altman, and Mark Cuban. Then we examine the nature of a great leader's personality, how much luck vs. skill plays a role in success, the impact of having lots of money. And plenty more,

Apr 17, 2024 • 55:33

Google's AI Narrative Is Flipping, Microsoft Hedges Its OpenAI Bet, AI Clones Are Here

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) The Solar Eclipse! 2) AI Music generation software Suno 3) Google flipping of its AI narrative 4) Ranjan's reflections from Google Cloud Next 5) Is Google's AI enterprise bet the right strategy 6) Microsoft hedging its OpenAI bet 7) Implications of Mustafa Suleyman's remit within Microsoft 8) OpenAI fires leakers 9) Eliezer Yudkowsky refuses interview and his reps won't pick up the phone 10) AI model t

Apr 12, 2024 • 1:00:36

Anthropic's Co-Founder on AI Agents, General Intelligence, and Sentience — With Jack Clark

Jack Clark is the co-founder of Anthropic and author of Import AI. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a mega episode on Anthropic and the future of AI. We cover: 1) What Anthropic and other LLM providers are building towards 2) What AI agents will look like 3) What type of traning is neccesary to get to the next level 4) What AI 'general intelligence' 5) AI memory 6) Anthropic's partnerships with Google and Amazon 7) The broader AI business case 8) The AI chips battle 9) Why Clark and others fr

Apr 10, 2024 • 1:25:17

Why Crypto’s Thriving Post-SBF, Sports Betting Crisis Deepens, Jon Stewart vs. AI

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news, with special guest Zeke Faux of Bloomberg News and Number Go Up fame. We cover 1) Why crypto is thriving after poster boy SBF was convicted and sentenced 2) The latest rise of memcoins including dogwifhat and NFTs like CryptoDickbutts 3) Is this evidence of a deeper societal problem or just gambling? 4) The resilience of crypto, including Tether 5) Zeke's reporting on pig butchering scams 6) The rise of Nudes In B

Apr 5, 2024 • 1:03:40

Why Marissa Mayer Is Betting Big On Consumer Tech

Marissa Mayer is the CEO and co-founder of Sunshine, the former CEO of Yahoo, and a longtime Google executive. She joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss why she's betting on consumer tech, building a new array of products including Sunshine Contacts and the newly released Shine, a photo sharing app. Mayer discusses how AI impacts building for consumers today, and whether independent tech stands a chance against big tech. We also discuss the state of OpenAI, Google's competitive position, the l

Apr 3, 2024 • 50:12

SBF Sentenced, OpenAI’s $100 Billion Supercomputer, Neuralink’s Potential

Reed Albergotti is the tech editor at Semafor. He joins Big Technology Podcast to break down the week's news. We cover: 1) SBF's sentencing 2) Is 25 years fair? 3) Is FTX a symptom of crypto or an exception 4) OpenAI and Microsoft may build a $100 billion supercomputer 5) Will the supercomputer help OpenAI get closer to AGI 6) Why the supercomputer project may be OpenAI's big swing to stay ahead 7) Claude surpasses GPT-4 in Chatbot Arena 9) Is voice computing the next AI interaction layer 10) A

Mar 29, 2024 • 1:00:42

The Yahoo Episode — With Jim Lanzone

Jim Lanzone is the CEO of Yahoo. He joins Big Technology Podcast for the long awaited Yahoo Episode, a deep dive into a company that remains one of the most visited and influential property on the web. Tune in as Lanzone describes how Yahoo's verticals operate, how the company thinks about generative AI for its search bar, and whether it's still possible to build a solid business on the web. Ranjan Roy joins us as well for a rare Wednesday appearance on the podcast. Tune in for a deep, engaging

Mar 27, 2024 • 50:40

OpenAI's GPT-5 Looms, Apple's Antitrust Problem, Sports Betting's Big Scandal

The Information's Jessica Lessin and CNBC's Steve Kovach join us for a star studded Friday episode breaking down the week's news. Lessin is the CEO and founder of The Information and co-host of the More or Less podcast. Kovach is a technology correspondant at CNBC. We cover (with Lessin): 1) Rumors of GPT-5 being shown to founders, and what it might look like 2) Whether OpenAI is vulnerable now that model quality is converging 3) Satya Nadella's claims that Microsoft effectively controls all the

Mar 22, 2024 • 57:01

Predicting AI’s Next Advances — With Suhail Doshi

Suhail Doshi is the CEO and founder of Playground, an AI image generation and editing software company. Doshi joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss where the next generative AI breakthroughs might come from. Tune in to hear Doshi's insights on the innovation within language models, image generation, video, and 3D creation. We also cover the business opportunities the competitive landscape among tech giants like Google, Meta, and Microsoft, and the debate around AI's true capabilities in unders

Mar 20, 2024 • 1:06:34

Is AI Slowing Down?, Trouble at Tesla, Kate Middleton’s Bad At Photoshop

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) AI sales leaders at Google and Amazon tempering expectations 2) Adobe as a practical example of AI hype vs. reality 3) Does Adobe belong in the magnificent 7? 4) Gartner predicts traditional search volume drops 25% by 2026 5) OpenAI video generator Sora is coming out later this year 6) OpenAI CTO Mira Murati didn't know what data Sora trained on 7) Murati address NYTimes report that he helped oust Sam

Mar 15, 2024 • 59:53

TikTok Sale Or Ban Moves Forward In U.S. — With Mike Solana

Mike Solana is the chief marketing officer at Founders Fund and editor-in-chief of Pirate Wires. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the potential forced sale or ban of TikTok as the U.S. congress voted to pass a bill requiring it. Join us for an in-depth discussion of the arguements for and against banning the app, and how big money is influencing some of the key players. We also talk about Elon Musk, the state of X, Temu and Shein, the power of social media algorithms, and Devin, the fi

Mar 13, 2024 • 1:02:24

OpenAI’s Turmoil Rolls On, Apple Under Siege, Bitcoin Hits $70,000

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) OpenAI's leadership in flux as Mira Murati named in NYTimes report about Sam Altman's ouster 2) Where's Ilya Sutskever? 3) OpenAI reveals that open source was never so important in Musk lawsuit rebuttal 4) The AI field is wide open now! 5) Anthropic's new bot realized it was being tested 6) Is AI close to sentience? 7) Apple sales drop 24% in China as Huawei surges 8) Apple fined 1.9 billion euro for a

Mar 8, 2024 • 1:02:03

Flexport's CEO on Amazon & Shopify, Red Sea Shipping Problems, and Inflation — With Ryan Petersen

Ryan Petersen is the Founder and Co-CEO of Flexport, a supply chain technology company. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss whether his company is competing with Amazon, his perspective on Amazon culture, and why ex-Amazon leader Dave Clark didn't work out as CEO. We also discuss the Houthis attacks in the Red Sea's impact on global shipping, de-globalization, cargo theft, and inflation. Tune in for a wide ranging, deep conversation about the state of logistics and the world economy.

Mar 6, 2024 • 53:05

Elon Sues OpenAI, Should Sundar Stay?, RIP Apple Car

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Elon Musk suing OpenAI for breaching its founding agreement 2) What can Musk accomplish with the lawsuit 3) The SEC looks into OpenAI’s conduct 4) Microsoft funds OpenAI competition MistralAI 5) Does OpenAi’s chaos make Google look good? 6) The chaos inside Google’s organization that led to its Gemini 7) Is Sundar Pichai the right leader for Google? 8) The death of the Apple car 9) Apple’s generative A

Mar 1, 2024 • 1:02:06

NVIDIA's AI Moat & Origins — With Bryan Catanzaro

Bryan Catanzaro is NVIDIA's VP of applied deep learning research. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss why NVIDIA is building more than just chips, examining its software and algorithms that help tech companies build and run AI models. Join us for a conversation about how NVIDIA sees the world, what's led to its success, and what makes it indispensable. In the second half, we discuss how Bryan helped kick off NVIDIA's push into AI, from the very start to where it is today. --- --- Enjoying

Feb 28, 2024 • 47:21

Secrets of NVIDIA's Surge, Google Gemini's Image Generation Disaster, Reddit IPO

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) NVIDIA's stock market surge 2) How NVIDIA software is behind its lock on the market 3) Is the economy saved, now? 4) Reddit's IPO 5) Is Reddit a good ad business? 6) Reddit's AI licensing play 7) Sam Altman role as Reddit's third largest shareholder 8) Was Google Gemini's image generation mess up a product of woke culture or bad AI? 9) Was Gemini's image generation an emergent runaway capability 10) Go

Feb 23, 2024 • 1:00:16

Foursquare's Founder on Making the Internet Fun Again + His New App — With Dennis Crowley

Dennis Crowley is the co-founder of Foursquare. He joins Big Technology Podcast to talk about what made the internet fun, why it's lost some of its magic, and how to restore it. He also introduces a new app, called BeeBot, that will deliver short, contextual audio messages to you as you walk around cities. Stay tuned for the second half where we discuss whether Web3 can still work, how AI changes things, and whether Crowley's buying a Vision Pro. Listen for a fun, energetic conversation about th

Feb 21, 2024 • 51:39

OpenAI's New Video Generation Model, Zuck Returns Fire, Tesla's Fatal Crash

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) OpenAI's new video generation model Sora 2) Will Sora challenge Hollywood? 3) Does Sora understand physics or is it just spitting back video? 4) ChatGPT's declining user numbers 5) Gemini 1.5 6) Meta's new conceptual model of the world 7) Zuckerberg's Vision Pro review 8) Temu dominates the Super Bowl 9) Tesla's fatal, potentially self driving crash 10) A financial advice columnist put $50,000 in a s

Feb 16, 2024 • 1:02:09

Perplexity’s CEO on Its Plan to Displace Google Search With AI Answers — With Aravind Srinivas

Aravind Srinivas is the CEO of Perplexity, an AI-powered search engine that answers queries with a few paragraphs in natural language. Srinivas joins the show to discuss how his company might threaten Google search, and whether conversational AI search is actually similar to traditional search at all. Tune into the second half where we discuss Aravind's perspective on how AI search might help or hurt news publishers. We also discuss Jeff Bezos's investment in Perplexity and where the cutting edg

Feb 14, 2024 • 36:58

Building One: How Cameron Adams Built Canva

Introducing Building One, a new show from LinkedIn chief product officer Tomer Cohen. Canva co-founder and chief product officer Cameron Adams is the first guest, and in this episode shares his story of how he built his career and eventually Canva. Ahead of this episode, Cohen introduces the show via a brief interview with Alex Kantrowitz. If you like the show, you can subscribe on your podcast app of choice. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast a

Feb 12, 2024 • 41:45

Sam Altman’s $7 Trillion Fundraise, Google Gemini Catches OpenAI, The Return To Office Ploy

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Sam Altman seeking to raise trillions for a new chip company 2) S&P 5,000 3) Google’s Gemini reaching parity with GPT-4 4) The commoditization of AI models 5) The rise of AI agents 6) Google's looming identity criss 7) What happens if Meta is more valuable than Google 8) FCC bans AI generated robocalls 9) The fallout of failed acquisitions like Amazon - iRobot and Adobe - Figma. 10) Snap doing layoffs

Feb 9, 2024 • 1:08:12

Apple Mega-Episode W/ Daring Fireball's John Gruber: AI, Vision Pro, China, App Store & More

John Gruber is the author of Daring Fireball. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a mega episode on the state of Apple. We cover: 1) The company's vibe amid revenue declines 2) The impact of its services business 3) Its position in China 4) How AI might change the user interface of computing 5) Can Apple keep up with the changes if we move beyond the screen 6) Gruber's reaction to the Vision Pro 7) The stakes of Apple's Vision Pro bet 8) Apple conflict with Meta and who is getting the best of it

Feb 7, 2024 • 1:43:11

Hands-On With the Vision Pro, Big Tech's Back in Washington, Elon Musk’s $55 Billion Payday — With Joanna Stern

Joanna Stern from the Wall Street Journal joins us to talk about her hands-on experience with the Vision Pro. We also break down the dramatic big tech hearings in Washington, Meta's monster earnings report, Elon Musk’s $55 billion pay package, and Peter Thiel’s steroid Olympics. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. For weekly updates on the show, sign up for the pod newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/690197

Feb 2, 2024 • 53:20

Robinhood's CEO On Dumb Money, Day Trading, and Retirement — With Vlad Tenev

Vlad Tenev is the CEO and co-founder of Robinhood. He joins Big Technology Podcast to share what's happened to meme stock traders after the meme stocks. We talk about how the company's 23 million members are adjusting to a challenging investment environment after riding the zero interest rate investment environment. We also discuss about how Robinhood is evolving, providing retirement services and working on a credit card. And Tenev addresses some controversial areas like margin trading and paym

Jan 31, 2024 • 57:57

The Taylor Swift Deepfake Problem, Tech All Time Highs + Layoffs, Quitting Amazon Prime

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Why nude Taylor Swift deepfakes could be a problem for generative AI 2) Whether the technology slows due to this Taylor Swift episode 3) Google's latest video generator, Lumiere 4) Are Generative AI margins lower than software margins? 5) Why tech layoffs are happening at a time when tech stocks are hitting all-time highs 6) Are media layoffs a result of generative AI? 7) Are tech investors overexubera

Jan 26, 2024 • 56:58

Why Meta Wants To Build Artificial General Intelligence — With Joelle Pineau

Joelle Pineau is the head of Meta's AI Research division. She joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the company's recent proclamation that it intends to build Artificial General Intelligence, digging into how we get there and why it feels it must. In a wide-ranging discussion, we cover the latest research trends, the company's open-source practices, what actual products developers have been built with AI, video generation, and the reasons why NVIDIA chips are so in demand. Tune in for a deep d

Jan 24, 2024 • 48:08

Microsoft & OpenAI Visit Davos, Is The Vision Pro Dead On Arrival, Google Makes More Cuts

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Satya Nadella on the state of Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI 2) Satya Nadella on OpenAI’s governance 3) Sam Altman on OpenAI’s potential for a big breakthrough this year 4) Altman on whether AI will replace jobs 5) How Generative AI will factor in politics this year, and whether it will actually be a big problem 6) The threat of video deepfakes 7) HeyGen’s translation of Argentina president Javier

Jan 19, 2024 • 49:15

Would a World Without Algorithms Be Better? — With Kyle Chayka

Kyle Chayka is a New Yorker staff writer and author of FILTERWORLD: How Algorithms Flattened Culture. Chayka joins Big Technology Podcast to talk about his book — which debuts this week — and dig into whether algorithms really do make our culture flatter. In this spirited conversation, we interrogate the role of algorithms in society, ask how they reflect in the real world, and ponder how products would be redesigned to take back control. Stay tuned for the second half, where we discuss Chayka's

Jan 17, 2024 • 47:33

Bill Ackman’s Crusade, A Rabbit Wins CES, Apple Boosts Meta  

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Bill Ackman’s crusade against Harvard & Business Insider 2) Why you shouldn’t plagarize 3) Was Ackman’s wife fair game for reporting 4) Whether Axel Springer should’ve gotten involved 5) Carta ending secondary share sales 6) SEC’s hacked tweet ahead of Spot Bitcoin ETF 7) Bitcoin’s price drop 8) Rabbit wins CES 9) Quora raises $75 million for a new chatbot 10) Is Apple helping Meta? --- Enjoying Big Te

Jan 12, 2024 • 49:16

Will AI Really Take Our Jobs? And If So, Then What? — With Albert Wenger

Albert Wenger is a partner at Union Square Ventures, and author of The World After Capital. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a frank conversation about whether AI will lead to job loss and what to do about it. In an unusual setup, the journalist in this conversation (Alex) argues that we have less to worry about AI automating jobs than the popular narrative, and the VC (Wenger) makes the case that it will definitely happen and how we should adjust. Stay tuned for the second half where we disc

Jan 10, 2024 • 37:00

Generative AI Might Just A Be Feature, Crypto is Back, Substack’s Nazi Problem

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Whether generative AI is a feature or the underlying tech of new powerful applications 2) Robin AI's recent fundraising 3) Big Technology's latest piece on Snapchat+ 4) Jeff Bezos investing in perplexity AI 5) Google execs investing in a Gen AI search competitor 6) Microsoft copilot app debuts 7) Microsoft and OpenAI's weird competitive dynamic 8) Can Web3 still happen? 9) The implications of bitcoin's

Jan 5, 2024 • 55:34

Signal’s President on AI, Advertising, and Running a Popular Messaging App — With Meredith Whittaker

Meredith Whittaker is the President of Signal and chief advisor to the AI Now Institute. She joins Big Technology Podcast for a lively discussion about the state of Google, whether AI is for real or a marketing gimmick, whether the online advertising business model is ethically broken, and the state of the Signal messaging app. Stay tuned for the second half, where we discuss the mysterious nature of Telegram. And enjoy the cool-headed arguments throughout. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? P

Jan 3, 2024 • 39:30

New York Times Sues OpenAI, Apple Watch Ban's Implications, Snapchat Rising On AI Success

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) The New York Times' Lawsuit against OpenAI 2) Whether the Times' case stands a chance 3) How the lawsuit will change perceptions of AI 4) How it will also create a strange realignment of the tech culture war 5) Will the New York Times build its own ChatGPT? 6) How much does news really contribute to AI? 7) Who is really at fault when a model generates copyrighted material? 8) Is AI in a trust crisis? 9

Dec 29, 2023 • 48:27

Palantir and Clearview Are Turning Ukraine’s War Into an R&D Lab — With Vera Bergengruen

Vera Bergengruen is a senior correspondent at Time. She joins Big Technology Podcast after a recent trip to Ukraine, where she reported on how Palantir and Clearview are putting their technology in the Ukrainians’ hands, and using the war as a way to enhance their offering. We also discuss how Ukraine is embracing the moment and positioning itself as a military tech powerhouse with plans to export what it’s learned. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your pod

Dec 27, 2023 • 39:12

2023 In Review, 2024 Predictions — With Casey Newton

Casey Newton is the editor of Platformer and co-host of Hard Fork. He joins Big Technology Podcast for our annual look back and forward at the year that was and the year to come. In this episode, we both go through our standout moment from 2023, then make predictions on Gemini, GPT-5, the future of Google Search, Apple’s Vision Pro, X vs. Threads, Falling in love with bots, autonomous driving, and plenty more. Tune in for a fun lively discussion to close out 2023.   --- Enjoying Big Technology P

Dec 22, 2023 • 49:41

Is Generative AI Killing Creativity Or Enhancing It? — With Scott Belsky

Scott Belsky is the chief strategy officer and executive vice president of design and emerging products at Adobe. He joins Big Technology Podcast to examine the impact of generative AI on creativity. In this interview, we discuss whether AI homogenizes creativity or creates more possibilities. We talk about how Adobe is baking it into its products with generative fill. We also discuss creative attribution for images used to train generative AI models and how friction is actually good. Tune in fo

Dec 20, 2023 • 49:18

AI Scandals Rock Newsrooms, Uber’s Road to Profitability, NVIDIA’s Underappreciated Weakness

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Alex’s meeting with Sam Altman 2) Publishers using AI to rip off other articles and getting caught 3) The impressive performance of Anthropic’s Claude 4) SI fires execs after AI scandal 5) Is Generative AI good for news? 6) Did Twitter destroy news? 7) Uber finds profitability by squeezing drivers 8) Uber drivers trying to circumvent the system 9) Why can’t Lyft capitalize on Uber’s practices 10) Tesla

Dec 15, 2023 • 49:59

Intel's CEO Shares His Plan To Win The AI Chip War — With Pat Gelsinger

Pat Gelsinger is the CEO of Intel. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss how the AI chip war is playing out and why it's growing more competitive. In this episode, we break down the various components of the chip business, the difference between CPUs and GPUs, who's ahead in the AI chip war, NVIDIA's underrated weakness, and why Intel is getting back into the foundry business after a couple of failed attempts. Tune in for a vibrant, deep discussion of the state of the AI chip business and t

Dec 13, 2023 • 28:49

2024's Big Ideas — With Jessi Hempl and Hello Monday

Jessi Hempel is the host of Hello Monday and a senior editor at large at LinkedIn. Today, we're running a crossover episode where we talk about the future of AI, self-driving cars, social media, and tech media. This is a fun, timely episode that covers many of the themes we speak about regularly on Big Technology Podcast. And I think if you like this show, you’ll also love Hello Monday, which you can find in your podcast app of choice.  --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five s

Dec 11, 2023 • 38:20

Google’s Deceptive Gemini Release, More Tech Layoffs, George Santos Saves Cameo

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) Google releases its Gemini large language model 2) Why Gemini is a win for Google 3) Google’s deceptive Gemini marketing campaign 4) Why Google felt compelled to exaggerate 5) Which data sets add value to LLMs after the commodify 6) Spotify lays off 1,500 6) The economy is still on shaky footing, especially for companies with prolonged covid hangovers 7) George Santos may just save Cameo ---- Enjoying

Dec 8, 2023 • 35:58

Tech's Big November Rally, Apple's Path Forward, The State of Tesla — With Dan Ives

Dan Ives is the managing director and senior equity research analyst at Wedbush Securities. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a broad discussion of the state of tech today. We cover: 1) Tech's November rally 2) Whether generative AI is Big data 2.0 3) Microsoft winning 80-90% of big AI deals 4) The state of Apple 5) How analysts like Ives estimate iPhone sales 6) The state of Tesla 7) Rivian's pickup truck 8) The Cybertruck's chances 9) 2024 Predictions 10) Elon Musk's future at X 11) Bitcoin

Dec 6, 2023 • 38:18

ChatGPT Gets Lazy, Elon Musk Blasts Advertisers and Releases The Cybertruck, Jack Ma Returns

Louise Matsakis is a reporter at Semafor covering AI. She joins us for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) ChatGPT getting lazy 2) The commoditization of AI companies 3) Anthropic’s unique board governance 4) Anthropic’s EA connections and the state of EA 5) Amazon’s Q chatbot 6) Elon Musk tells advertisers to F themselves 7) The drawbacks of brand safety puritanism 8) The Cybertruck is here. 9) Jack Ma appears in public for the first time in years. -- Enjoying Big Techn

Dec 1, 2023 • 50:22

Silicon Valley's Effective Altruist vs. Accelerationist Religious War

Molly White, Ryan Broderick, and Deepa Seetharaman join Big Technology Podcast to dive deep into the Effective Altruism (EA) vs. Effective Accelerationism (e/acc) debate in Silicon Valley that may have been at the heart of the OpenAI debacle. White is a crypto researcher and critic who writes Citation Needed on Substack, Broderick is an internet culture reporter who writes Garbage Day on Substack, Seetharaman is a reporter at The Wall Street Journal who covers AI. Our three guests join to discus

Nov 29, 2023 • 49:40

OpenAI's 'Worrying' Q-Star Breakthrough, Google's Culture Problem, Crypto After CZ & SBF

Malcolm Ethridge is the executive vice president at CIC Wealth a CNBC Contributor, and the host of the Tech Money Podcast. He joins for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) OpenAI's 'worrying' Q* breakthrough 2) Whether Sam Altman is in danger of being fired again 3) Where's Google Gemini? 4) Google's culture struggles 5) Binance CEO CZ pleads guilty 6) Is Binance the next FTX? 7) Is Coinbase toast? 8) Bitcoin's future 9) Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt's resignation 10) Is Cruise t

Nov 24, 2023 • 53:49

Sam Altman Returns to OpenAI. Now What? — With Aaron Levie

Aaron Levie is the CEO of Box. He joins Big Technology Podcast to look forward at the AI field now that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has returned. In this episode, we discuss: 1) Whether this is good for the AI field 2) Should we actually be concerned with Ai safety? 3) Whether the saga is over? 4) How companies are insulating themselves in case of further eruptions 5) The downsides of switching off of OpenAI 6) Does the open source movement rise now? 7) Can OpenAI still lobby effectively with a new bo

Nov 22, 2023 • 32:59

Sam Altman To Microsoft, OpenAI In Flux — With Dan Primack

Dan Primack is the business editor at Axios and author of the daily Axios Pro Rata newsletter. He joins Big Technology Podcast to break down ex-OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's apparent move to Microsoft, whether he'll stay there, how the board structure enabled this, and how the competitive balance in the AI field shifts now. Stay tuned for the end, where we rate winners, losers, and a bold prediction from Primack. --- You can subscribe to Big Technology Premium for 25% off at https://bit.ly/bigtechnol

Nov 20, 2023 • 30:47

What We Know About Sam Altman's Ouster, The Morning After

A quick solo podcast on what we know about OpenAI firing CEO Sam Altman with Big Technology host Alex Kantrowitz. Tune in for a discussion of what might've happened, how it happened, why it happened, how it impacts OpenAI moving forward, and how it shuffles the competitive balance in the AI field moving forward. --- You can subscribe to Big Technology Premium for 25% off at https://bit.ly/bigtechnology Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choi

Nov 18, 2023 • 23:08

Emergency Podcast: Sam Altman Fired At OpenAI

OpenAI fired CEO Sam Altman today, a stunning move that will reshape the AI wars and open new avenues for its competitors. Sharon Goldman, Senior AI writer at Venturebeat, joins us for an emergency podcast to discuss the news, and what comes next. --- You can subscribe to Big Technology Premium for 25% off at https://bit.ly/bigtechnology Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. For weekly updates on the show, sign up for the pod newsletter

Nov 18, 2023 • 24:33

Xi Visits San Francisco, Microsoft’s Big AI Event, Bin Laden on TikTok

Reed Albergotti is the tech editor at Semafor. He joins Big Technology Podcast to break down the week's news. We cover: 1) Xi Jinping’s visit to San Francisco 2) Why the U.S. And China relationship is softening 3) How AI technology is at the center of the thawing 4) How San Francisco cleaned itself up for Xi’s arrival 5) Sideshows 6) Web Summit update 7) Conversation with Chinese media 8) Stability AI audio chief leaves over copyright issues 9) Microsoft’s underwhelming Ignite event 10) Time to

Nov 17, 2023 • 48:43

Google's Search VP on Generative AI in Search, User Notes on Search Results, and SEOs — With Cathy Edwards

Cathy Edwards is the VP of Search at Google. Edwards joins Big Technology Podcast to break some news about Google's two newest search features, including a more personalized experience called Follow and a labs product called Notes that allows users to leave feedback on search results. We also cover the state of Google's Search Generative Experience and how the company feels about SEOs after the latest controversy. Tune in for a deep, fun conversation about the cutting edge of Google's most impor

Nov 15, 2023 • 49:42

OpenAI's Big Week, The Pin Is Here, Cruise's Major Recall

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) Big Technology Podcast hits 1 million downloads 2) OpenAI's developer feels looks like Apple 3) Building GPT bots with no code 4) OpenAI promises to pay for legal defense of copyright lawsuits 5) Andreessen Horowitz says copyrighted material is key to billions in value 6) Is "The Pin" the next smartphone? 7) Wait, are we buying the Pin? 8) The Pin's cool features 9) Elon Musk's AI is out 10) Is Micros

Nov 10, 2023 • 51:31

The Secrets Of Ray Dalio and His Dot Collector Transparency Software — With Rob Copeland

Rob Copeland is the author of The Fund: Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates, and the Unraveling of a Wall Street Legend and a New York Times reporter. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss his new book, offering a revealing look at Dalio's business success and the making of his legend. We talk extensively about Dalio's Dot Collector tool, which allowed his employees to rate each other in real-time on attributes like believability. Then we ask why so many would subject themselves to this type

Nov 8, 2023 • 48:16

SBF Convicted, OpenAI Is Vulnerable, Ozempic Effect Gone Overboard

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) SBF's conviction 2) Whether FTX will cover the full shortfall 3) Why OpenAI is more vulnerable than many think 4) Google's forthcoming Gemeni model 5) Where the real value in generative AI will land 6) Google's $2 billion Anthropic investment 7) Rebellion against AI doomers 8) Sovereign wealth funds investing in AI? 9) Jeff Bezos moves to Miami 10) The FTC's new revelations about Amazon 11) The Ozempi

Nov 3, 2023 • 55:26

Waymo's Co-CEO on Its New Uber Partnership, Safety, and Driverless Trucking — With Tekedra Mawakana

Tekedra Mawakana is the Co-CEO at Waymo. She joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the company's new partnership with Uber, which is making Waymo's driverless cars available through its app. We also discuss the safety of driverless vehicles, food delivery, Waymo's place within Alphabet, when these cars will drive on icy roads, the potential for driverless trucking, and more. Tune in for a revealing conversion with one of self-driving's top leaders. -- You can subscribe to Big Technology Premiu

Nov 1, 2023 • 56:44

Why Google Never Shipped Its ChatGPT Predecessor — With Gaurav Nemade

Gaurav Nemade was the founding product manager on LaMDA, Google's ChatGPT predecessor that never shipped. He explains why the product got stuck at Google in this first-ever episode of the new Big Tech War Stories podcast. This new show from Big Technology is available to premium subscribers and is debuting free on the Big Technology Podcast feed today. You can access the Big Technology launch special and get 50% off the monthly price here: https://bit.ly/bigtechnology or just visit bigtechnology

Oct 30, 2023 • 50:03

Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta & Tesla Earnings, Cruise Pauses Operations, Zuck vs. Sam Altman

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) Ranjan's Taylor Swift costume 2) The broader picture on Big Tech earnings 3) Amazon's impressive earnings beat 4) Investor metaphysics 5) Microsoft's AI uplift 6) Tesla's lower margins 7) Meta's impressive revenue and user growth 8) Meta's TikTok clone is working. 9) SBF takes the stand 10) Cruise pulls its self-driving cars off the road 11) That's good? 12) Mark Zuckerberg vs. Sam Altman You can subs

Oct 27, 2023 • 59:29

New Release at Big Technology, AI Bubble Looms, Apple's Next Event — With Brian McCullough

Brian McCullough is the host of Techmeme Ride Home and general partner of the Ride Home Fund. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a deep dive into the week's news and a fresh announcement from Big Technology. We cover: 1) Big Technology Premium 2) The state of Big Tech at the end of a year-end that started with layoffs 3) Is self-driving tech's biggest story this year? 4) Who is winning the AI battle among the incumbents? 5) What happened to crypto 6) Apple's new Super Scary event on 10/30 You c

Oct 25, 2023 • 56:51

Apple's Problem With Jon Stewart, Marc Andreessen's Techno-Optimism, Middle East Misinformation

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) A quick review of Michael Lewis' SBF book 2) The impact of effective altruism on the tech industry 3) Why Apple and Jon Stewart are parting ways 4) China's Belt and Road Forum 5) How a multipolar world impacts Apple 6) Marc Andreessen's Techno-Optimism manifesto 7) Max Read's rebuttal to the manifesto 8) Twitter to charge $1 to some users for essential features 9) Twitter users decline since Musk took

Oct 20, 2023 • 1:00:27

SBF's Last Stand — With Molly White

Molly White is a crypto researcher and critic. She joins Big Technology Podcast to break down the latest in the U.S. case against ex-FTX CEO Sam Bankman Fried. In this episode, we go through the charges, the defense, and the likely outcome. Stay tuned for the second half, where we discuss how SBF pulled this off, his ties to the 'effective altruism' movement (and what happens next for that cause), and where crypto goes from here. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐

Oct 18, 2023 • 57:24

Hamas vs. Israel Rewrites Social Media Norms, Live At The SBF Trial, OpenAI's New Values

Reed Albergotti is the tech editor at Semafor. He joins Big Technology Podcast to break down the week's news. We cover: 1) Whether social media is useful during times of crisis. 2) Cancel culture "switcheroo" 3) The value of free speech in conflict 4) Is social media a moderating force after all? 5) Do we actually want news on Threads? 6) NPR leaves Twitter and finds it didn't matter 7) Reflections from the SBF trial 8) Is Apple building a search engine 9) OpenAI puts building human-level intell

Oct 13, 2023 • 55:46

Is The Federal Reserve Manufacturing a Financial Crisis? — With Christopher Leonard

Christopher Leonard is the author of The Lords of Easy Money: How the Federal Reserve Broke the American Economy. Ranjan Roy is the author of Margins. Both join Big Technology Podcast for a special episode where we dig into the Federal Reserve's outsized role in the economy, how its recent moves may send asset prices spiraling, and whether we're heading toward a financial crisis as a result. Tune into a timely and important episode as the Fed's aggressive interest rate shock is starting to broad

Oct 11, 2023 • 52:37

The Case Against SBF, Temu vs. Amazon, AI Therapy

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) Plans to attend the SBF Trial 2) Welcome to Compound and Friends listeners 3) The legal case against SBF 4) The environment in the court 5) How SBF might win? 6) Michael Lewis update 6) Over 40% of Amazon users now use Temu 7) Blue Apron, once valued at $2 billion, sold for $103 million 8) Anthropic's potential $2 billion raise from Google 9) Should we use AI for therapy 10) Brief update on Twitter nu

Oct 6, 2023 • 34:13

The Joy, Misery, and Fame Of An Extremely Online Life — With Taylor Lorenz

Taylor Lorenz is a technology columnist at the Washington Post and author of Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet. She joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss her book, exploring the tradeoffs of life as an online influencer, and whether people have a choice to pursue power online. Stay tuned for the second half, where we discuss Lorenz's various controversies, including her view on content moderation, and then close with a discussion of why the intern

Oct 4, 2023 • 44:35

Zuck's Lucid Metaverse Vision, X CEO Bombs an Interview, Ex-FTC Chair on the Amazon Case

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) Meta Connect, and Zuck's new vision for the Metaverse 2) Whether the Metaverse finally makes sense now 3) Alex's first purchase on Temu 4) Your questions + audio quality issues 5) TikTok takes center stage in the Republican debates 6) Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino's poor performance at Code 7) Did Yaccarino get sandbagged? 8) Amazon's new Anthropic deal, worth up to $4 billion 9) Our interview with Bill

Sep 29, 2023 • 59:47

How Ad Dollars, And Some AI, Might Restore Our Shared Truth — With Vanessa Otero

Vanessa Otero is the CEO of Ad Fontes Media. The company rates publications based on their biases, and allows advertisers to concentrate their spending in news media that may disagree, but isn't so wildly biased it loses rooting in reality. Listen for a conversation about the ad industry's broad defunding of news, what it would take to return that money, and why artificial intelligence might help scale the efforts of Ad Fontes' human news raters. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate

Sep 27, 2023 • 43:37

More on Airbnb, Jack Dorsey's Return to Square, Generative AI News Bonanza

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) An update on our Yahoo episode quest 2) A recap and further analysis of Airbnb Brian Chesky's appearance on the podcast 3) Recent tech IPOs falling back to earth 4) The broader market's downturn and the chance of a recession 5) Jack Dorsey's Return to Square 6) The success of Snapchat+ 7) Generative AI announcements from Amazon, Google, and Microsoft 8) Does Generative AI take off in enterprise settin

Sep 22, 2023 • 50:54

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky on Cleaning Fees, Apple vs. Amazon, Building Products, and New York

Brian Chesky is the CEO of Airbnb. He joins Big Technology Podcast for an in-depth discussion covering Airbnb's product, business, culture, and roadmap. In the first half, we cover a series of product improvements the company is rolling out, breaking news on the state of cleaning fees, verified listings. and more. In the second half we go deep into how Airbnb builds its products, how it impacts neighborhoods, and the fallout of New York's new restrictions on the company. Tune in for a deep, uniq

Sep 20, 2023 • 1:02:13

Tech IPOs Are Back, Google's In Court, Tom Brady's Working For Delta

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) The return of tech IPOs 2) Is Arm's stock bounce really a good sign? 3) How Instacart is looking ahead of its IPO 4) Why every business is an ad business now 5) Our forthcoming interview with Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky 6) Google's antitrust case 7) Tom Brady's new job with Delta 8) Why we're buying the iPhone 15 --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of c

Sep 15, 2023 • 47:06

A Dozen Grueling Years At Amazon — With Kristi Coulter

Kristi Coulter worked at Amazon for twelve years and is the author of the new book, Exit Interview: The Life and Death of My Ambitious Career. She joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the state of Amazon today: What is it? Who should be leading it? Where's the culture going? Then, she discusses her experience at the company, which she details in depth in the book. We talk about the paranoia within the company, the difficulty Amazon employees have switching jobs, why she stayed, and everything

Sep 13, 2023 • 59:29

Apple's China Problem, Its Tenuous Valuation, And The iPhone 15 — With Walter Piecyk

Walter Piecyk is a partner at LightShed Partners and GP at LightShed Ventures. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a special episode looking entirely at Apple as the company lost $200 billion in market cap this week. In this episode, we break down Apple's entanglements in China, its expensive share price, and what to expect with next week's iPhone 15 launch. Stay tuned for the second half where we discuss Charter's dispute with ESPN at the end.

Sep 8, 2023 • 36:06

Google’s Weird Year + Neeva Goes to Snowflake — With Sridhar Ramaswamy

Sridhar Ramaswamy is the co-founder of Neeva, SVP at Snowflake and former SVP at Google. He joins Big Technology Podcast to reflect on the strange year Google’s had in 2023, working on the fly to reimagine search and ship faster than it was initially comfortable with. In this episode, Ramaswamy delivers deep insights on the future of search, generative AI, and how his former employer will adapt in these times. Stay tuned for the second half where Ramaswamy candidly discusses his search competito

Sep 6, 2023 • 51:35

Disney's Ten Year Low, Google's AI Attends Meetings For You, Metaverse Gets Legs

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) Disney stock hitting a ten year low 2) The rise of white noise podcasts 3) Google's new Duet AI that attends meetings for you 4) Everyone returns to office 5) Commercial real estate bust looms? 6) Ranjan's report from San Francisco 7) An excerpt from Walter Isaacson's new Elon Musk book 8) Fidelity marks up Twitter 9) Meta promotes Threads in Instagram 10) The Metaverse gets legs! --- Enjoying Big Te

Sep 1, 2023 • 45:29

The Path Toward AGI, According to Google's DeepMind — With Colin Murdoch

Colin Murdoch is the chief business officer at Google DeepMind. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a conversation about artificial general intelligence, discussing why we want to get there at all, and what the path looks like. We also discuss DeepMind’s merger with Google Brain, how pursuing the AI business changes Google, and how DeepMind’s AlphaFold AI is revolutionizing the healthcare space. Tune in for a dynamic conversation with one of the world's leading AI executives. --- Enjoying Big T

Aug 30, 2023 • 34:31

ChatGPT As An Insult, NVIDIA's Moat, A New Musk Profile

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) ChatGPT used as an insult in the Republican debate 2) Whether Generative AI is leading to real business returns 3) Bing's poor performance vs. Google 4) NVIDIA's blowout earnings 5) NVIDIA's moat 6) ARM's forthcoming IPO 7) Ronan Farrow's new profile of Elon Musk in the New Yorker 8) Government's role in privatization. Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast ap

Aug 25, 2023 • 54:09

Betting on the Future of AI – WIth Sarah Guo

Sarah Guo is the founder of VC firm, Conviction, and co-host of the “No Priors” podcast. She joins Big Technology to talk about generative AI, where the opportunity for new investment lies, and whether the fears surrounding AI are grounded in reality. She gives us unique insight into what the next round of AI tools might look like, and what the impact on our jobs and lives will be as this tech becomes more accessible and affordable. Stay tuned for the second half where we run down how each Big T

Aug 23, 2023 • 39:56

The Cage Match That Wasn’t, Trouble At Goldman Sachs, Social Algorithms Reality Check

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) How the Zuck v. Musk cage match fell apart. 2) Whether Musk's antics are actually a problem for his business. 3) Why Walter Isaacson writes so positively about his subjects 4) Why Goldman Sachs is running into trouble 5) The issues Goldman is finding with its Apple partnership 6) Ranjan's observations from his trip to Taiwan 7) A bunch of new studies cast new light on social media algorithms 8) Cruise

Aug 18, 2023 • 49:01

Self-Driving's Breakout Moment — With Kyle Vogt

Kyle Vogt is the CEO of Cruise, a self-driving car operator owned mostly by General Motors. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss self-driving's rapid expansion, explaining why the technology is hitting an inflection point and how quickly these cars are filling the roads. Tune in for a conversation filled with real data and direct analysis of what might be one of the most meaningful technologies developed in our lifetime. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Aug 16, 2023 • 43:02

X's CEO Speaks, AI's Real Impact On Hollywood, The Streamflation Crisis — With Julia Boorstin

Julia Boorstin is a senior media and tech correspondent at CNBC and author of When Women Lead: What We Achieve, Why We Succeed and What We Can Learn. She joins Big Technology Podcast this Friday to break down the week's news. We cover: 1) Linda Yaccarino's message to advertisers 2) X's goal of becoming an "everything app" 3) AI and the Hollywood Strikes 4) Disney's entrance into sports betting. 5) "Streamflation" 6) Julia's book, and the positive financial impacts of female leadership and repres

Aug 11, 2023 • 50:15

Lyft's New CEO Has a Plan To Compete — With David Risher

David Risher is Lyft's new CEO. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a frank discussion about his plan to put the company back on the right track after it's spent years languishing. Tune in for a frank discussion of the economics of ride hailing, the reality of leading a company after its founders depart, and Risher's plan to compete in a category that hasn't traditionally been easy to succeed in. We also discuss autonomous driving (but recorded ahead of my recent experience in San Francisco)e. T

Aug 9, 2023 • 53:29

A New AI Investment Fund's Strategy and Opportunity — With Techmeme Ride Home

Brian McCullough and Chris Messina are starting a new, $15 million fund for pre-seed through Series A investments in AI companies. They've already raised money from Marc Andreessen, Chris Dixon, and Dennis Crowley and join Big Technology Podcast for a special episode where they share their strategy and the opportunity they're going after. At the core of this question is whether AI companies are worthy of investment or will just be subsumed by larger players. Stay tuned for the second half where

Aug 7, 2023 • 42:42

Self-Driving's Quiet Boom, Tech's New IPO Window, Worldcoin's Strange Debut — With Sarah Kunst

Sarah Kunst is the managing director at Cleo Capital. She joins Big Technology this week for a recap of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) Self-driving cars, Waymo & Cruise 2) Meta's new personalized chatbots 3) Threads' declining usership 4) Sam Altman's Worldcoin 5) DateMe docs 6) What Stripe's IPO means for the broader market.   Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. For weekly updates on the show, sign up for the pod newsletter on Li

Aug 4, 2023 • 41:35

Amazon Reveals Its AI Master Plan — With Matt Wood

Matt Wood is the VP of product at Amazon Web Services. He joins Big Technology Podcast live at the AWS Summit in New York City for a conversation about Amazon's plan to compete — and thrive — in the AI race. In this conversation, Wood describes Amazon's plan to support all AI models, not just one, and support builders via its computing infrastructure. Tune in for the most extensive comments from Amazon on its AI strategy to date. Stay tuned for the second half were we discuss ethics, company cul

Aug 2, 2023 • 58:43

Snapchat's Business Trouble, Adobe's AI Worries, Are Aliens Real?

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back in New York for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) Snapchat's disappointing earnings 2) The Advertising market's rebound 3) Threads' declining user count 5) Twitter's wonky rebrand to "X" 6) TikTok selling Made in China goods to U.S. users 7) Adobe's AI strategy threatening their core business model 8) The room temperature superconductor 9) Aliens walking among us.  --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in yo

Jul 28, 2023 • 47:03

The Professor Who Required His Students Use ChatGPT In Class — With Ethan Mollick

Ethan Mollick is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton business school and writes One Useful Thing on Substack. He is one of the world’s foremost researchers on practical applications of generative AI and is an immensely engaging speaker. Professor Mollick joins Big Technology Podcast for a vibrant discussion of how AI changes schoolwork and office work, covering his decision to make his students use ChatGPT in class. Tune in for a insight-packed interview that will illuminate

Jul 26, 2023 • 52:26

Meta's New AI Model, AppleGPT's Potential, Is ChatGPT Getting Dumber — With Aaron Levie

Aaron Levie is the CEO of Box. He joins us for a special Friday episode to break down a major week of AI news. We cover: 1) Meta's incentives to open source its Llama 2 AI model. 2) Whether people actually want to interact with chatbots, no matter how well they perform. 3) Why enterprise might be the clearest use case for Ai. 4) Why Apple is developing LLMs and where the project might go. 5) Whether AI companies can actually build moats around their products. 6) Is ChatGPT getting dumber? 7) Lev

Jul 21, 2023 • 58:10

The Declining Half-Life Of Social Media — With Eugene Wei

Eugene Wei is a tech analyst and product veteran, with time spent inside Meta, Amazon, and Hulu. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a discussion of social media's longevity, considering how the decay of mainstay platforms changes the incentives to participate. Tune in for a in-depth discussion of social media's longterm trajectory, examining the TikTok algorithm, Threads, Twitter under Musk, and the puzzling persistence of Facebook. In the second half, listen to an engaging lightening round, wh

Jul 19, 2023 • 49:10

Zuck's New Mojo, Elon's New AI Company, Striking Actors' AI Fears

Ranjan Roy of Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the week's tech news. We cover: 1) The revitalization of Zuck’s image 2) Twitter’s payments to creators 3) Whether Threads has staying power 4) Microsoft, Activision & the FTC’s failure to reign in Big Tech 5) Elon’s new AI company, xAI 6) OpenAI’s Code Interpreter plugin 7) SAG-AFTRA actors joining the writer’s strike, fearing AI's impact. -- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice.

Jul 14, 2023 • 52:57

Is Threads The Next Twitter Or Clubhouse 2.0? — With Zach Coelius

Zach Coelius is the managing partner at Coelius Capital. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a conversation about Threads' real potential, asking whether it's a redux of Clubhouse — destined to fizzle — or a real threat to replace Twitter. In this conversation, we cover Threads' potential, Elon's effort at Twitter, and whether we can really make assessments from the outside. Stay tuned for the second half where we discuss the venture capital environment and how Coelius' investments are performin

Jul 12, 2023 • 59:51

The Threads Explosion — With Alex Heath

Alex Heath is a deputy editor at The Verge who's been reporting on Threads from the first row, including an interview with Instagram head Adam Mosseri. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss Meta's launch of Threads, discussing who exactly it competes with, what the feed will look like, and the implications for Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Join us for a lively conversation about the fastest growing social media app of all time. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five star

Jul 7, 2023 • 40:34

Big Tech's Comeback And The Spillover to VCs and Startups — With Eliot Brown

Eliot Brown is a reporter at the Wall Street Journal and co-author of The Cult of We: WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion. He joins Big Technology Podcast this week to talk about Big Tech's remarkable stock market comeback and how that's spilling over to VCs, startups, and IPOs. Stay tuned for the second half where we discuss the risks in the commercial real estate market, looking into examples Brown has reported on. We end discussing Evan Gershkovich, a friend and colleague of

Jul 5, 2023 • 54:29

Amazon vs. Regulators vs. Walmart

Jason Del Rey is the author of Winner Sells All Amazon, Walmart, and the Battle for Our Wallets. Matt Stoller is the director of research at the American Economic Liberties Project, and writes the Big newsletter on Substack. Ranjan Roy is the author of Margins. The three guests come together with host Alex Kantrowitz for an in-depth discussion about Amazon's challenges from government regulators and Walmart, and whether government action against the company could have an impact. --- Enjoying Bi

Jun 30, 2023 • 52:57

My Experience On The OceanGate Sub — With David Pogue

David Pogue is a correspondent on CBS Sunday Morning and host of the Unsung Science Podcast. In November 2022, he boarded the OceanGate sub for a voyage just months before it imploded. Pogue joins Big Technology Podcast to share his story. In this interview, he offers a nuanced view of the sub, OceanGate, and its CEO Stockton Rush. We discuss his experience aboard the Titan submersible, his confidence in the safety of the sub at the time, the lessons learned, the merits of risk in the name of ex

Jun 28, 2023 • 43:16

The Media and The Sub, Musk vs. Zuck, A Key TikTok Exec Exits

Ranjan Roy of Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the week's tech news. We cover: 1) The OceanGate Sub 2) Whether we should celebrate or condemn 'risk' 3) The Media's focus on the sub vs. migrant deaths 4) Mark Zuckerberg vs. Elon Musk's impending 'cage match' 5) The Walrus 6) Spotify's podcasting struggles 7) TikTok COO V Pappas leaves the company 8) Reddit's path to conflict -- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. For weekly u

Jun 23, 2023 • 47:02

ServiceNow CEO On Entrepreneurship, AI, and Automation — With Bill McDermott

Bill McDermott is the CEO of ServiceNow, a $113 billion, publicly-traded cloud computing platform that helps companies manage their operations. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss his career path, from owning a delicatessen on Long Island to now managing over 20,000 employees. We also dive deep into how generative AI helps companies foster innovation and force businesses to retool their workforces in the coming years. Tune in for a lively conversation with one of the world's most dynamic

Jun 21, 2023 • 46:06

Reddit Revolts, Media Armageddon, AI Fakes In Politics — With Sara Fischer

Sara Fischer is the senior media reporter at Axios and media analyst at CNN. She joins Big Technology Podcast for our weekly discussion of the week's tech news. We cover: 1) The rebellion at Reddit 2) Rampant media job losses 3) The push of ad money to retail 4) Whether we should share our personal information inside ChatGPT and other LLMs 5) Political misinformation via AI generated text and images 6) The cost of always trying to distinguish real from fake 7) The White House's War on Junk Fees

Jun 16, 2023 • 41:43

Will AI Save The World + Azure's Origins — With Bob Muglia

Bob Muglia is the former CEO of Snowflake, author of THE DATAPRENEURS: The Promise of AI and the Creators Building Our Future, and ex-head of Server and Tools at Microsoft. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the latest in artificial intelligence, including Marc Andreessen's essay — Why AI Will Save The World — and the lessons in his book. We also go deep into the emergence of Azure at Microsoft, which he was present for, and how Satya Nadella was able to push it forward despite the cultu

Jun 14, 2023 • 51:27

Apple's Future After The Vision Pro — With Mark Gurman

Mark Gurman is the chief correspondent at Bloomberg covering Apple. He joins Ranjan Roy and Alex Kantrowitz for a special episode focused entirely on Apple's Vision Pro announcement. We cover: 1) The Vision Pros trajectory over the next five years 2) Whether it will be the future of the computer vs. a complementary media device 3) What the device's impact on society will be 4) Why Tim Cook didn't wear the device at the event 5) Apple vs. Meta 6) The $3,499 price. Enjoying Big Technology Podcast

Jun 9, 2023 • 35:35

Alphabet X's CEO Has A Vision For AI Moonshots — With Astro Teller

Astro Teller is the CEO of X, Alphabet's moonshot division. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a taping in front of a live audience at Summit at Sea to discuss the calculations society must make around advancing AI research and how the technology can help the world. Listen for a dynamic discussion that digs into Teller's family history, the current 'moonshots' that X is taking, and whether AI moonshots should've stayed separate from Google for longer. Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please r

Jun 7, 2023 • 1:02:20

Tech Consolidates Stock Market Growth, Lawyer Uses Hallucinating ChatGPT, XR Wars Heat Up

Ranjan Roy of Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the week's tech news. We cover: 1) Tech stocks consolidating growth in the S&P 500% 2) The 'Asset Market Meltdown Hypothesis' 3) Amazon's entry into wireless. 4) Japan's threat to AI copyright law 5) The lawyer that used ChatGPT and looked like a fool 6) The Center For AI Safety's bold Statement 7) The fake 'simulation' where an AI killed a military operator 8) Meta's new Quest 3 headset 9) What to expect at Apple's big WWDC event  -- En

Jun 2, 2023 • 49:10

TikTok's Uncertain Future, Twitter's 2024 Election Play, AI Regulation's Feasibility — With Ryan Mac and Bobby Allyn

Ryan Mac is a tech reporter at The New York Times, Bobby Allyn is a technology correspondent at NPR. The two join Big Technology Podcast for a wide-ranging discussion touching on: 1) TikTik's ban in Montana and its potential spillover effects. 2) The rise of Instagram Reels. 3) Twitter's Role in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. 4) Elon Musk as Republican kingmaker. 5) Elizabeth Holmes reports to prison. 6) AI regulation's long road ahead. -- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us fi

May 31, 2023 • 57:42

NVIDIA Takes Off, Temu + Shein Deep Dive

John Herrman is a contributing editor at New York Magazine. He joins Ranjan Roy and Alex Kantrowitz to break down the week’s news. We cover 1) NVIDIA’s Blowout quarter 2) The emergence of Temu and Shein — in great depth.  -- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. For weekly updates on the show, sign up for the pod newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901970121829801984/ Questions? Feedback? Write to: bigtechnologyp

May 27, 2023 • 55:50

Google's Bard Director On His Vision For The Bot — With Jack Krawczyk

Jack Krawczyk is the director of Bard at Google. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss his vision for the chatbot, where it's heading, and whether this technology will be as impactful as many imagine. Join us for a fun look into one of the tech industry's most important generative AI initiatives. -- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. For weekly updates on the show, sign up for the pod newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.

May 24, 2023 • 32:54

Apple's XR Misadventure, An Emerging AI Bubble, Elon vs. Bezos

Ranjan Roy of Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the week's tech news. We cover: 1) Apple's mixed reality struggles 2) Whether the stock market is in an AI bubble 3) OpenAI's Sam Altman testimony in Washington 4) Montana's TikTok ban 5) The rise of Shein 6) Whether Musk or Bezos is in a better place today. -- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. For weekly updates on the show, sign up for the pod newsletter on LinkedIn: https:/

May 19, 2023 • 49:24

He Helped Train ChatGPT. It Was Traumatizing. – With Richard Mathenge

Richard Mathenge was part of a team of contractors in Nairobi, Kenya who trained OpenAI's GPT models. He did so as a team lead at Sama, an AI training company that partnered on the project. In this episode of Big Technology Podcast, Mathenge tells the story of his experience. During the training, he was routinely subjected to sexually explicit material, offered insufficient counseling, and his team members were paid, in some cases, just $1 per hour. Listen for an in-depth look at how these model

May 17, 2023 • 47:25

Twitter's New CEO, Streaming Wars Are Over, Traffic's Lessons

Ben Smith is the author of Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral. He's also the editor-in-chief of Semafor. He joins Ranjan Roy and Alex Kantrowitz for our weekly news recap show. We cover: 1) New Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino 2) Tucker Carlson's move to Twitter 3) End of the streaming wars 4) Trump's CNN Interview 5) Lessons from Ben's book, Traffic 6) Mark Zuckerberg's jiu-jitsu prowess. You can find Ben's book here. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Pl

May 12, 2023 • 42:25

Modern Space Race + State of Elon Musk — With Ashlee Vance

Ashlee Vance is the author of When The Heavens Went On Sale, a new book about the modern day space race. Join us for a conversation about the commercial ventures fighting for their place in low earth orbit, and why governments have ceded the space to the private sector. We'll discuss SpaceX, Planet, Rocket Lab, Astra, and Firefly Aerospace. Stay tuned of for the final 20 minutes, where Vance discusses his relationship with Elon Musk and the state of the billionaire entrepreneur. --- Enjoying Bi

May 9, 2023 • 1:04:23

OpenAI's Business Model Problem, Apple's Mixed Reality Vision, Ed Sheeran's Copyright Win — Techmeme Ride Home Crossover

Brian McCullough of the Techmeme Ride Home Podcast joins Ranjan Roy and Alex Kantrowitz for our weekly news recap show. We cover: 1) OpenAI's massive losses 2) Whether generative AI has a business model problem 3) The battle between open source AI and proprietary research 3) AI fears go mainstream 4) The White House hosts AI leaders amid worries 5) The AI PR industrial complex 6) The WGA strike and AI's potential to replace writers 7) The Fed pause 8) Apple earnings 9) Apple's mixed reality devi

May 5, 2023 • 58:51

Is Social Media Doomed To Die? — With Ellis Hamburger

Ellis Hamburger is Snap's ex-head of marketing strategy, where he spent seven years before moving to The Browser Company. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss his view on why social media apps inevitably move from differentiated, and at times delightful, to something where all of them look a lot like TikTok. Hamburger breaks down the cycle: start with a novel format, scale, try to justify expectations, and then capitulate to market forces. Join us for an insider's perspective on the past,

May 3, 2023 • 57:59

Bluesky Takes Off, Big Tech Earnings Blowout, Do We Want Human Writers

Ranjan Roy of Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the week's tech news. We cover: 1) The rise of Bluesky 2) What we want from a social network 3) Big Tech's strong earnings 4) What Big Tech's performance says about the broader economy 5) UK blocks Microsoft Activision 6) Clubhouse layoffs 7) End of the pandemic economy 8) Do we want humans to disclose when AI writes for them? -- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. For weekly up

Apr 28, 2023 • 50:31

What Exactly Is The Market Telling Tech To Do? — With Josh Brown

Josh Brown is the CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management and the host of the Compound and Friends podcast. Brown joins Big Technology Podcast to dig into why tech companies are still reeling from tighter financial markets even as their share prices return to something approximating normal after the 2022 bloodbath. In this episode, Brown shares what Wall Street demands from the tech industry and its employees and where it might be headed next. Stay tuned for the second half where we go company by comp

Apr 26, 2023 • 57:35

State Of The AI Wars, Google's Counterpunch, Elon's 4/20

Nico Grant of The New York Times joins Ranjan Roy and Alex Kantrowitz for our weekly news recap show. We cover: 1) The state of the AI war between Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI 2) Google's AI reorganization and what it means 3) Sundar Pichai's PR offensive 4) Google's forthcoming product counterpunch 5) How finances factor in to the companies' decision 6) Where we are on the innovation curve 7) The forthcoming multimodal models 8) Who wins 9) Elon's rough 4/20 10) The end of BuzzFeed News and th

Apr 21, 2023 • 1:00:18

The Taiwan Semiconductor Dilemma — With Congressman Ro Khanna

Congressman Ro Khanna represents California's 17th congressional district. He joins Big Technology Podcast fresh off a visit to Taiwan, where he visited with Taiwan Semiconductor leadership and Taiwan government officials. In this episode, we discuss TSMC's strategic importance to the global economy, the prospect of conflict in Taiwan, and the U.S. effort to build manufacturing capacity at home. Stay tuned for the second half where we discuss why Big Tech regulation has stalled, the latest on Ti

Apr 19, 2023 • 37:26

The Economy is Fine?, VC Funding Declines, Non-Negotiable Expectations

Square co-founder and Invisibly founder Jim McKelvey joins Ranjan Roy and Alex Kantrowitz for our weekly news recap show. We cover: 1) The state of the economy and markets 2) Fears of a credit crunch, or is it a credit tightening? 3) The state of the commercial real estate market 4) How commercial real estate's struggles impact small and regional banks 5) The decline in VC funding in Q1 6) What is 'dry powder' anyway? 7) Reflecting on Uber again 8) What is AutoGPT? 9) Regulating AI 10) Sell your

Apr 14, 2023 • 1:00:53

Was The Sharing Economy Way Overblown? — With Emil Michael

Emil Michael is the former chief business officer of Uber and the current chairman and CEO of DPCM Capital. Michael joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss what's happened to 'sharing economy' darlings Uber, Lyft, AirBNB, and more. With deep insight into these companies' business models, Michael breaks down how they've reacted to our shift away from a zero-interest rate environment, examining who might win — if anyone. Stay tuned for the second half where we discuss Michael's thoughts on the lat

Apr 12, 2023 • 50:07

The Internet's Impact On Productivity, Meta's AI Plan, RIP Big Tech Perks

Ranjan Roy of Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the week's tech news. We cover: 1) Whether the Internet has actually helped increase our productivity 2) Whether AI will do a better job of it 3) How Meta might use AI 4) Google's plan to but AI chat into search 5) Whether companies developing on AI platforms might be subsumed by them 6) The jobs report 7) The end of perks at big tech companies 8) Workers who did nothing at big tech companies 9) Twitter vs. Substack 10) Substack's financ

Apr 7, 2023 • 58:43

Two VCs On AI’s Possibilities — With Joe Marchese and Michael Mignano

Michael Mignano is a partner at Lightspeed VC. Joe Marchese is a general and build partner at Human Ventures. The two investors join Big Technology Podcast to discuss this new wave of generative AI's potential. We interrogate how this technology might be overhyped, and then speak about the potential areas of opportunity. Three domains stand out: 1) Content creation and entertainment. 2) Search and discovery. 3) AI as an assistive agent. Tune in for the second half where we discuss platform strat

Apr 5, 2023 • 43:10

RIP Blue Checks, The Open Letter To Stop AI, Startup Funding After SVB

Erin Griffith is a reporter at the New York Times. She joins Big Technology Podcast to break down the week's news. We cover: 1) The end of Blue Check verification on Twitter for notable users. 2) The open letter to stop AI research processing beyond its current state. 3) Whether we could stop developing AI technology, even if we wanted to. 4) Italy's plan to stop ChatGPT. 5) Police departments using facial recognition to make wrongful arrests. 6) The rising field of 'prompt engineers.' 7) Startu

Mar 31, 2023 • 54:52

Palmer Luckey's Ambitions For The Metaverse And AI Warfare — With Palmer Luckey

Palmer Luckey is the founder of Oculus VR and the founder of Anduril, a military technology company. Luckey joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss Meta’s Metaverse ambitions, whether they’re misguided, and how Apple is poised to compete. Stay tuned for the second half, where we discuss the prospects — and advisability — of AI warfare, how the technology might spill over to police departments, and what a just war is. We discuss the prospects of sentient AI's threat to humanity at the very end. -

Mar 29, 2023 • 1:19:03

SEC Comes For Coinbase, Hindenberg Comes For Block, Congress Comes For TikTok

Eric Newcomer is the founder and author of Newcomer. Louise Matsakis is the tech and China reporter for Semafor. Both join Big Technology podcast to break down the week's news. We cover: 1) The SEC's notice to Coinbase that enforcement action might be coming. 2) Hindenberg Research targeting Block. 3) Character AI raising $150 million at a $1 billion valuation with no revenue. 4) Tiktok's day before congress 5) TikTok's future in the U.S. 6) Cow and Zebra escapes this week. ---- Enjoying Big Tec

Mar 24, 2023 • 49:39

Instagram’s Founder On Why All Social Media Looks The Same — With Kevin Systrom

Kevin Systrom is the co-founder of Instagram and co-founder of Artifact, a news app that uses AI to determine your preferences and show stories you might be interested in. Systrom joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the implications of all social media — Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter — starting to look like each other. We speak about how the rise of AI recommendation feeds impacts the future of competition among these apps, creativity upon them, and distribution for people lo

Mar 22, 2023 • 56:25

SVB Reexamined, GPT-4's Potential, TikTok's Potential Ban

Ranjan Roy of Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the week's tech news. We cover: 1) SVB's depositors' role in the collapse 2) The over-financialization of tech 3) The continuing risk to the rest of the banking system 4) The re-rerating of late-stage startup valuations 5) Stripe's down round 6) The release of GPT-4 7) GPT-4 in Microsoft Office 8) How AI might eliminate modern apps vs. be a feature 8) TikTok's potential sale or ban 9) How AI might help you date. -- Enjoying Big Technolog

Mar 17, 2023 • 54:04

The Fallout from Silicon Valley Bank's Failure — With Om Malik and Chris Tolles

Om Malik is a partner emeritus at True Ventures and a former tech journalist. Chris Tolles is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and former CEO of Topix. The two longtime tech insiders join Big Technology Podcast to discuss the aftermath of Silicon Valley Bank's collapse. We cover not only what the bank meant to the tech industry — and how its failure will change the landscape — but why so many people were happy to see it fail, and sought to prevent a bailout. Join us for a nuanced discussion of Sili

Mar 15, 2023 • 1:01:16

Silicon Valley Bank Collapses — With Dan Primack and Ranjan Roy

Dan Primack is the business editor at Axios. He joins Ranjan Roy and Alex Kantrowitz for a special edition of our Friday podcast. We typically run through the week's news in this edition of the podcast, but there is really only one tech story this week, the demise of Silicon Valley Bank, and we dive into it in depth. This episode was recorded right before the government shut down SVB, so a sale was still an option, but as you listen you'll learn exactly what contributed to the bank's collapse an

Mar 10, 2023 • 40:39

Amazon's Ad Business Soars + AI APIs — With Benedict Evans

Benedict Evans is a star tech analyst who’s spent years at Andreessen Horowitz and is now independent. Evans joins Big Technology Podcast to highlight some big, surprising new shifts in the tech industry, which he covers in a new presentation called the New Gatekeepers. In this episode, we discuss how media and retail are blending, with a focus on Amazon's ad business. Stay tuned for the second half, where Evans goes into depth about the potential for AI APIs, especially ChatGPT's. --- Enjoyin

Mar 8, 2023 • 1:07:09

Salesforce Tumult, The ChatGPT API, Tinder Robberies

The Wall Street Journal’s Tom Dotan joins Ranjan Roy and Alex Kantrowitz for our weekly news recap show. We cover: 1) Salesforce’s recent struggles 2) Salesforce’s ‘monster quarter’ 3) Amazon hitting pause on HQ2 4) State of the market 5) OpenAI’s ChatGPT API 6) OpenAI vs. Microsoft? 7) Tinder robberies. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. For weekly updates on the show, sign up for the pod newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linke

Mar 3, 2023 • 1:01:58

The Social Media Era Of News Is Over — With Ben Smith

Ben Smith is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Semafor, and the author of Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral (available for preorder now). He joins Big Technology Podcast for a discussion of social media's divorce from the news industry, and what it means for the platforms and publishers. We talk plenty about Semafor, including how it's working to build an audience, distribute its work, run a business, and get scoops. Stay tuned for the second half

Mar 1, 2023 • 55:40

Paying For Social, RIP IPOs & Voice Computing, Four Day Work Weeks

The Information's Sr. Reporter Cory Weinberg joins Ranjan Roy and Alex Kantrowitz for our weekly news recap show. We cover 1) Paying for social media 2) What's next for the struggling IPO market 3) Whether private tech companies like Stripe can keep compensating through RSUs 4) DOJ moves to block Figma sale 5) What happened to voice computing? 6) The prospects of the four-day workweek. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. For weekly

Feb 24, 2023 • 50:12

An AI Chatbot Debate — With Blake Lemoine and Gary Marcus

Blake Lemoine is the ex-Google engineer who concluded the company's LaMDA chatbot was sentient. Gary Marcus is an academic, author, and outspoken AI critic. The two join Big Technology Podcast to debate the utility of AI chatbots, their dangers, and the actual technology they're built on. Join us for a fascinating conversation that reveals much about the state of this technology. There's plenty to be learned from the disagreements, and the common ground as well. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podca

Feb 22, 2023 • 1:04:15

Bing Breaks Bad, Metaverse Fades, Tesla's Self-Driving Recall

Ranjan Roy of Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the week's tech news. We cover: 1) Bing's chatbot's dark side and its impact on Microsoft's business. 2) The Metaverse slowly seeming to fade away. 3) The New York Times' article on why ads are bad now. 4) Spotify's podcasting reality check. 5) Susan Wojcicki stepping down from YouTube. 6) Tesla's Full Self Driving Recall. 7) Why we don't live in the moment anymore.---Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐

Feb 17, 2023 • 53:58

Can Technology Solve Our Climate Crisis — With David Friedberg

David Friedberg is a co-host of the All-In Podcast and the founder and CEO of The Production Board, a holding company focused on addressing the earth’s problems via technology. Friedberg joins Big Technology Podcast for a conversation about how, specifically, we might be able to solve our climate crisis with tech. Join us for an in-depth conversation on earth's most pressing issue, filled with concrete examples and a healthy dose of optimism. Stay tuned till the end where Friedberg discusses nuc

Feb 15, 2023 • 57:46

Google and Microsoft's Chatbot War, How AI Changes Hollywood, Disney In Crisis

The Wrap founder and CEO Sharon Waxman joins Ranjan Roy and Alex Kantrowitz for our weekly news recap show. We cover 1) Google and Microsoft's new chatbots. 2) How AI changes the entertainment industry 3) Yes, screenwriters are using AI too 4) Who's in better shape after this week: Google or Microsoft? 5) Why Disney is in crisis 6) How Disney stacks up against Netflix

Feb 10, 2023 • 55:34

Was The Creator Economy Way Overblown? — With Kaya Yurieff and Joe Caporoso

Kaya Yurieff is a reporter at The Information covering the Creator Economy. Joe Caporoso is the President of Team Whistle and founder of Badlands, a subscription podcast covering the New York Jets. Both join Big Technology Podcast to discuss whether the Creator Economy — a term for the online content creator business — was overblown. We dig into the motivations of platforms and VCs looking to build businesses off those who believed they could make a living by posting on social media. And we exam

Feb 8, 2023 • 45:07

Disinflation Begins, Snap's Cultural Roadblocks, Meta's 'Year Of Efficiency'

Ex-Snap and Instagram executive Meghana Dhar joins Ranjan Roy and Alex Kantrowitz for our weekly news recap show. We cover 1) The implications of the Fed's talk of "deflation." 2) Snap's disappointing earnings and operational challenges with an insider's perspective. 3) Meta's wooing of Wall Street and whether its pivot is real or just talk. 4) What the combination of layoffs and buybacks really mean. 5) Downturn as an excuse to kill ESG? 6) AI Hands! ---- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please

Feb 3, 2023 • 52:00

What's Next For CNN — With Brian Stelter

Brian Stelter was the host of CNN's Reliable Sources until the network canceled it last summer. Stelter joins Big Technology Podcast to look back at his tenure and exit, examine where CNN is heading, and ponder the role of television news in a world filled with digital alternatives. Tune in for a deep conversation focused on the news industry, tech, and business worlds. And stay tuned till the end when we debate whether AI will be a better 'companion' to people than media personalities and influ

Feb 1, 2023 • 1:16:39

BuzzFeed Employs AI, Tesla Stock Goes Wild, Salesforce Is Challenged

Ranjan Roy of Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the week's tech news. We cover: 1) BuzzFeed creating content with AI 2) The tech industry's destiny to suffer alone in this economic drawback 3) Tesla stock's wild ride 4) Salesforce's challenge from an activist investor 5) Trump's return to Facebook 6) TikTok's recent lobbying efforts 7) Menswear guy on Twitter 8) Ticketmaster's Senate hearing. Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choic

Jan 27, 2023 • 1:04:31

Is ChatGPT A Step Toward Human-Level AI? — With Yann LeCun

Yann LeCun is the chief AI scientist at Meta, a professor of computer science at NYU, and a pioneer of deep learning. He joins Big Technology Podcast to put Generative AI in context, discussing whether ChatGPT and the like are a step toward human-level artificial intelligence, or something completely different. Join us for a fun, substantive discussion about this technology, the makeup of OpenAI, and where the field heads next. Stay tuned for the second half, where we discuss the ethics of using

Jan 25, 2023 • 1:06:50

Google Layoffs, Netflix Shakeup, and Davos Recap

Ranjan Roy of Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the week's tech news. We cover: 1) Google Layoffs 2) Netflix's prospects and leadership change 3) Davos pros and cons 4) Media layoffs 5) Robinhood's new financial publication. For weekly updates on the show, sign up for the pod newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901970121829801984/

Jan 20, 2023 • 55:34

Amazon's Identity Crisis — With Todd Bishop

Todd Bishop is the co-founder of Geekwire, a tech news site based in Seattle. Bishop joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss how Amazon will navigate its new dedication to efficiency without losing its inventive spirit. Can 'The Everything Store' become 'The Some Things Store?' That's the crucial question to ask about a tech behemoth that's lost 40% of its value over the past year and is struggling to find its footing under CEO Andy Jassy. Stay tuned for the second half where we touch on labor,

Jan 18, 2023 • 1:03:00

New Era Of Tech Accountability? + The Impending AI Ethics War

Ranjan Roy of Margins joins us for another Big Technology Podcast: Friday Edition covering the week's news. This week, we check in on the following stories: 1) JPMorgan's failed acquisition of Frank, a college financial planning platform with an exaggerated userbase 2) SBF's new Substack 3) The SEC vs. crypto 4) AI's impact on the tech giants 5) The impending 'AI ethics' war 6) Is anyone still using Mastodon? For weekly updates on the show, sign up for the pod newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www

Jan 13, 2023 • 49:51

Crypto After FTX — With Kate Rooney

Kate Rooney is a star reporter at CNBC who covers crypto. She's reported deeply on crypto exchange FTX's collapse and spent time with its disgraced ex-CEO — Sam Bankman-Fried — in the Bahamas. Rooney joins Big Technology Podcast for a discussion about what happens to crypto now that its promise of 'trustless' finance has crumbled. Join us for a deep discussion of the industry's future, the responsibility for journalists covering it, and the lessons from the collapse. If you're enjoying Big Tech

Jan 11, 2023 • 57:34

The Fed's PR Blitz + SBF And The Media — With Ranjan Roy

Ranjan Roy of Margins joins Big Technology Podcast for a new Friday series that will recap the week's business and tech news. We'll post a new show every Friday afternoon featuring a recap of the week's big tech and business stories. This week we cover The Fed's PR Blitz and what it says about our economy, why SBF seems to still have portions of the media wrapped around his finger, where the creator economy is heading, and OpenAI's association with Microsoft. Stay tuned for the end where we disc

Jan 10, 2023 • 44:50

Tech’s Frothy Days Are Over. Now What? — With Eliot Brown

Eliot Brown is a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and co-author of The Cult of We. Brown joins us to check in on how the tech industry is adapting after years of zero-interest-rate-driven froth fades away. Tune in for a discussion of how real 'the end of froth' is, whether it was productive or not, and a company-by-company look at Softbank, Tiger Global, Andreessen Horowitz, Palantir, Tesla, and Twitter. If you like Big Technology Podcast, please rate it five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app

Jan 4, 2023 • 55:38

Is It Worth Switching To Encrypted Email And Messaging? — With Andy Yen

Andy Yen is the CEO of Proton, the maker of encrypted email service ProtonMail. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the merits of encryption, why his service has doubled over the past two years, and whether it’s something we actually need. This episode gets into a fun debate, covering both the pros and cons of the movement.  If you like Big Technology Podcast, please rate it five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice.  For weekly updates on the show, sign up for the pod newsletter on

Dec 28, 2022 • 57:22

2022 In Review, 2023 Predictions — With Casey Newton

Casey Newton is the editor of Platformer and co-host of Hard Fork. He joins Big Technology Podcast to keep up an annual tradition of looking back on the year that was, and looking ahead to the year that will be. In this episode, we review the wild developments at Twitter, the decline of Web3, and Amazon and Meta's progress in 2022. Then, we predict what will take place with ChatGPT, state bans on content moderation, Substack's ad business, and Apple's App Store. Tune in for one of our most fun s

Dec 21, 2022 • 51:56

Does It Get Even Worse for Tech in 2023? — With Stephanie Link

Stephanie Link is the chief investment strategist and portfolio manager at Hightower Advisors. She is also a senior CNBC contributor. Link joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss whether a tougher year awaits the tech industry in 2023 as unfavorable market conditions persist. Join us for a conversation about the broader market, how Link evaluates stocks, and a breakdown of some companies she's watching including Meta, Amazon, and Apple. Stay tuned for the second half where we examine the state o

Dec 14, 2022 • 44:10

How ChatGPT Changes Tech + The End of Remote Work? — With Aaron Levie

Aaron Levie is the CEO of Box. He joins Big Technology Podcast to weigh in on all the big tech headlines: ChatGPT's emergence, Elon Musk's handling of Twitter, the future of Web3 following FTX, and the shakeup at Salesforce. Stay tuned for the second half where we discuss whether the worker empowerment movement is over and what that means for the future of remote work. Please rate ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ on your app of choice. Thank you! Listen to Aaron's last appearance: Web3 And The Future Of The Internet https

Dec 7, 2022 • 54:23

Actually, The Metaverse Is An Enterprise Thing — With Peggy Johnson

Peggy Johnson is the CEO of Magic Leap. The company makes augmented reality technology and is now focused entirely on enterprise use cases after building for consumers for years. Johnson joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the lessons Magic Leap has learned throughout its history, what its competitors (like Meta) are overlooking, and why it believes augmented reality technology is going to be most applicable to companies, governments, and non-profits (at least in the short term). Join us for

Nov 30, 2022 • 59:52

Is A Healing Supply Chain Fixing Our Economy? — With Ryan Petersen

Ryan Petersen is the Founder and Co-CEO of Flexport, a supply chain technology company. He joins Big Technology Podcast to talk about how the supply chain is rounding into shape and whether that will help cure our inflation problem. Stay tuned for a discussion that starts in the weeds of shipping and moves into broader areas including consumerism, climate, and Amazon Culture.

Nov 23, 2022 • 54:39

Venture Capital's FTX Mistake, Elon's Twitter Plan, Investing in Labor Tech— With Roy Bahat

Roy Bahat is the head of Bloomberg Beta, a venture capital firm that invests in companies building the future of work. Bahat joins Big Technology Podcast to explain why he — a VC — is investing in labor-organizing technology. We spend the first half speaking about how VCs trusted FTX, where the economy goes from here, and whether Elon Musk's plan for Twitter can work. Join us for a fun, lively discussion that takes some unexpected twists and turns.

Nov 16, 2022 • 52:51

How YouTube Shorts Picks Winners — With Todd Sherman

Todd Sherman is the product lead for YouTube Shorts. He's also a former group product manager at Twitter and Snap. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a discussion about YouTube's plans for Shorts, how the product works, and how it plans to compete with TikTok. We start with a discussion about whether Twitter bringing back Vine could work. YouTube Shorts are now available on YouTube's TV app, which Sherman discusses as well.

Nov 9, 2022 • 51:07

The U.S. And Tech After The Midterms — With Marshall Kosloff and Saagar Enjeti

Saagar Enjeti and Marshall Kosloff host The Realignment, a terrific podcast about politics and policy. They join Big Technology Podcast for a bonus episode ahead of the U.S. midterms, breaking down how they expect the voting to play out, what the consequences will be, and how tech will feel the impact. Join us for a dynamic conversation about inflation, the economy, the residual culture war, the war in Ukraine, and who's running in 2024. Stay tuned for the final segment where we discuss the futu

Nov 6, 2022 • 1:07:16

Out At Twitter — With Simon Balmain

Simon Balmain was laid off by Twitter today. A former Twitter senior community manager, Balmain takes us through the last few weeks at the company, describing the atmosphere, employee reactions to the layoffs, and whether the company can still function after losing this many people. Join us for a tough but balanced look at a historic moment at the company.

Nov 4, 2022 • 35:11

Merits Of Metaverse + Big Tech Wipeout — With Eric Jackson

Eric Jackson is president and portfolio manager at EMJ Capital. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss Big Tech's terrible week on the public markets, with a focus on Meta, which is now down 71% on the year. We also cover Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Snap, and more. Tune in for a conversation that makes sense of these companies' punishing ride of late. And what the bottom might look like. Maybe we're already there.

Nov 2, 2022 • 56:25

How Figma Caught Adobe By Surprise — With Carmel DeAmicis

Carmel DeAmicis was the 20th employee at Figma, a startup that Adobe just acquired for $20 billion. A former journalist and editor at Figma, DeAmicis saw the company rise under the nose of Adobe — the giant in the space — and eventually grow so fast that Adobe acquired it in a defensive move. In this week's episode, DeAmicis explains how a startup caught a major, established company by surprise. And why changing design culture played a big part in it. You can find DeAmicis on Notion.

Oct 26, 2022 • 1:00:49

What Is Consciousness And Can Machines Achieve It — With Anil Seth

Anil Seth is a professor of cognitive and computational neuroscience at the University of Sussex and author of Being You. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a discussion of AI sentience grounded in science and research. In this conversation, we discuss the definition of consciousness, what it would take for AI to achieve it, and whether researchers should keep trying to get there. Stay tuned for the second half, where we cover AI avatars in the metaverse and, yes, simulation theory.

Oct 19, 2022 • 1:05:32

Will The Fed Blink And Save Tech — With Ranjan Roy

Ranjan Roy is the co-author of Margins, a Substack newsletter about the financial markets. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a conversation about the Federal Reserve's steep interest rate raises, how they've harmed tech valuations, and whether the Fed might reverse course and bring the party back. Stay tuned for the second half where we discuss the short-form video wars and the likely outcome of Elon Musk's pursuit of Twitter.

Oct 12, 2022 • 1:01:21

Inside Facebook's Plan To Fend Off TikTok — With Tom Alison

Tom Alison is the head of the Facebook app at Meta. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a discussion about the company's plan to compete with TikTok and appeal to younger users. Join us for a conversation about the Facebook product, one that veers into questions of its identity as a service that helps you keep in touch with friends and family while introducing you to content relevant to your interests. Stay tuned for the second half where we discuss Meta's plans to whether the bear and market an

Oct 5, 2022 • 57:46

Meta's Stock Decline, TikTok's Power, and Funding Transparency — With Frances Haugen

Frances Haugen is an ex-Facebook employee who shared thousands of internal documents with journalists in 2021 that revealed much about the company's decision-making and values. Haugen joins Big Technology Podcast for a live conversation at Unfinished Live in New York City that covers social media product, policy, funding, the stock market, and TikTok's power. Join us for a lively interview featuring debate, nuance, and a few good laughs.

Oct 3, 2022 • 1:07:09

Meet The Man Who Runs Google Search — With Prabhakar Raghavan

Prabhakar Raghavan is the Google senior vice president who oversees Search, Maps, Ads, Commerce, Payments, and Google Assistant. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the evolution of these products, how they're integrating cutting-edge artificial intelligence, and why he's steering Google tech products toward more human-style interactions with users. Raghavan joins fresh off an appearance at Google's Search On launch event and breaks down the new features announced Wednesday.

Sep 28, 2022 • 49:01

The Rise And Fall Of Facebook's Big Transparency Acquisition — With Brandon Silverman

Brandon Silverman is the founder of Crowdtangle, which Meta (then Facebook) acquired in 2016. Crowdtangle was once the most useful tool for marketers and publishers looking to find out what was trending on Facebook. Then, it became a favorite resource for reporters looking into how Facebook treats political content, leading to some headlines Facebook didn't like. Crowdtangle subsequently lost of support within the company. Silverman left Facebook late last year and is now working with government

Sep 21, 2022 • 1:21:24

Elon Goes To Delaware — With The Chancery Daily

The Chancery Daily is an independent, daily newsletter that covers the Delaware Court of Chancery, the place where Twitter is trying to force Elon Musk to buy it. As this case winds its way through the court's legal process, an editor from The Chancery Daily joins us to break down where the case stands, whether Musk's arguments are working, how Delaware Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick is approaching the case, and what the likely result is. Give this episode a listen and you'll be able to follow t

Sep 14, 2022 • 1:21:07

Is AI Dangerously Overhyped? — With Gary Marcus

Gary Marcus is the author of Rebooting AI and an artificial intelligence entrepreneur who's a loud critic of many of the field's biggest promises. Marcus joins Big Technology Podcast this week to discuss the high profile breakthroughs such as LaMDA and Dall-E, and explain why putting too much faith in the field's ability may be dangerous. We begin with a discussion of the AI-generated art piece that won a competition in Colorado last week.

Sep 7, 2022 • 1:05:19

YouTube's Uneasy World Domination — With Mark Bergen

Mark Bergen is a Bloomberg reporter and author of Like, Comment, Subscribe: Inside YouTube's Chaotic Rise to World Domination. The book releases next week and Bergen joins to preview what's inside, delivering a wide range of insights on YouTube's battle with TikTok, its algorithmic programming, and its appeal (and peril) for kids. Stay tuned for the second half where we discuss whether old media can cover YouTube (and its fellow digital challengers) without bias.You can find the book he

Aug 31, 2022 • 1:02:02

Kevin Kelly's Life Lessons — With Kevin Kelly

Kevin Kelly is the founding executive editor of Wired magazine and a longtime tech writer who's covered technology for decades. Kelly joins Big Technology Podcast for a fun episode, unpacking a series of lists of advice that he’s written. These lists contain short but insightful observations about life, and Kelly goes through a number of his points at greater length in this show. Stay tuned for the second half, where we discuss his essay about 1,000 true fans — a seminal work that helpe

Aug 24, 2022 • 43:25

This Is Your Brain On iPhone — With Dr. Anna Lembke

Dr. Anna Lembke is a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University's School of Medicine and chief of its Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. She's also the author of Dopamine Nation, a bestseller that uses neuroscience to explain why the pursuit of pleasure so often leads to pain. In this episode, we discuss Dr. Lembke's fascinating thesis about what happens to our brain chemistry each time we pick a device. Stay tuned for the second half, where we discuss whether a more invigora

Aug 17, 2022 • 56:57

What Social Media Influence Really Gets You — With Nuseir Yassin

Nuseir Yassin is the force behind Nas Daily — and CEO of Nas Company — which more than 50 million people follow across six different social media platforms. He joins Big Technology Podcast to talk about what such a large social media audience makes possible. Our conversation dives into why "YouTuber" is such a desirable occupation for kids today, what his fame really costs, and what it takes to build an audience online.

Aug 10, 2022 • 43:13

Meta's Awkward Pivot, Crypto's Future, Amazon's Challenge — Crossover With Techmeme Ride Home

Techmeme Ride Home is a top-rated tech news podcast and its host, Brian McCullough, joins us for a crossover episode airing on both feeds. In this bonus episode, we discuss Meta's attempts to turn Instagram into TikTok, how Amazon can handle its next chapter under CEO Andy Jassy, and what the future of crypto looks like after the crash. Stay tuned for our travel hacks at the end of the show!

Aug 6, 2022 • 1:13:19

Okay, Maybe Social Media Isn't That Bad For Us — With Brendan Nyhan

Brendan Nyhan is a presidential professor at Dartmouth College's department of government. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a discussion that pushes back on the notion that social media is destroying our society and making us stupid. With this thoughtful analysis, Nyhan adds a bunch of nuance to the discussion. This episode is effectively pt. 2 of our conversation with Prof. Jonathan Haidt a few weeks back. While Haidt believes social media is breaking our society and threatening dem

Aug 3, 2022 • 52:44

Meet The Ex-Google Engineer Who Called Its AI Sentient — With Blake Lemoine

Blake Lemoine is an ex-senior software engineer at Google who was fired right before he taped this episode of Big Technology Podcast. Lemoine told his superiors at Google that he believed the company’s LaMDA chatbot technology was sentient. Then, after making little headway within Google, he went public. In this wide-ranging interview, Lemoine introduces us to LaMDA, which (or who?) he calls a friend, and explains why his belief in its sentience became too hot for Google to handle. Wash

Jul 27, 2022 • 1:24:49

Is Social Media Making Our Society Stupid? — With Jonathan Haidt

Jonathan Haidt is a professor of ethical leadership NYU's Stern School of Business and author of a number of books, including The Coddling of the American Mind. His recent story in The Atlantic, "Why The Past 10 Years Of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid," sparked a debate about whether social media was bad for society, and how we know for sure. Haidt joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss why he thinks social media is indeed responsible for our "structural stupidity," digging th

Jul 20, 2022 • 1:00:01

What Happens To Twitter After All This? — With Three Ex-Twitter Employees and Two Reporters

Three former Twitter employees (Jenna Golden, Brandon Borrman, Leslie Miley) and CNBC media & tech reporter Alex Sherman join Big Technology Podcast for a breakdown of Twitter v. Musk. While at Twitter, Golden ran political ad sales, Borrman ran communications, and Miley ran an engineering team. We do our best to make sense of this wild story, looking at how far Twitter should take its lawsuit, what's happening inside the company as it goes through this episode, and how Twitter's balancing the n

Jul 13, 2022 • 1:02:47

How Twitter, Instagram, and Planet Build Products — With Kevin Weil

Kevin Weil is the ex-head of product at Twitter and Instagram. He's currently the president of business and product at Planet. Weil joins Big Technology Podcast to share an insider's view of how Twitter and Instagram build products, what their potential is, and how each product is dealing with big, imposing, outside forces (Elon Musk and TikTok). Stay tuned for the second half, where we discuss Planet, a fascinating company whose hundreds of satellites orbiting the earth capture a new, complete

Jul 6, 2022 • 54:51

The Ethics Of Fintech — With Dan Dolev

Dan Dolev is managing director and senior analyst at Mizuho, where he covers fintech companies Robinhood, SoFi, Affirm, Block, and others. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss fintech's ethics and opportunity, explaining who the industry serves, whether it's actually better than the current banking system, and how big it can get. Stay tuned for the second half where we dig into Coinbase's business and its recent turbulence.

Jun 29, 2022 • 57:28

Anatomy Of A Market Meltdown — With Joe Weisenthal

Joe Weisenthal is co-host of Odd Lots and an editor at Bloomberg. He joins Big Technology Podcast to make sense of the cratering stock market, discussing the various factors that led to this moment and when it might turn around. Stay tuned for the second half where we go rapid-fire, analyzing a bunch of tech companies that are getting absolutely hammered, and some big-time investors as well. We end with a meditation on crypto.

Jun 22, 2022 • 53:47

Which Startups (And VCs) Survive a Bear Market — With Nina Achadjian

Nina Achadjian is a partner at Index Ventures. She joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss how large declines in public market valuations impact startups and venture capitalists. Achadjian and I recorded with the S&P 500 down 13%. year to date. That was just last week! Now, we're in full-on bear market territory, with the S&P down more than 20%. Join us for a nuanced conversation on whether our period of oversized valuations was any good, and what to do now that it's over.

Jun 15, 2022 • 48:29

Meta Exit Interview — With Mike Schroepfer

Mike Schroepfer is Meta's former chief technology officer and currently a senior fellow at the company. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a look back at his time as CTO: What went well? What could've been better? What changes would he have made in retrospect? Listen for an episode about the challenges of enabling massive scale, both from a technical and societal standpoint.

Jun 8, 2022 • 57:24

Wait, The Robots Didn't Take Our Jobs? — With Erik Brynjolfsson

Erik Brynjolfsson is the director of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab and professor at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a discussion of why our fears that artificial intelligence would take human jobs haven't yet come to fruition. We also cover how humans and AI can work together and how AI is changing work already. Stay tuned for the second half where we discuss the latest on robotic process automation and address why we're working at all in the

Jun 2, 2022 • 36:43

Can The Media Fix Its Trust Problem? — With Nicholas Thompson

Nicholas Thompson is the CEO of The Atlantic and former editor-in-chief of Wired. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a nuanced conversation about why the media is losing the public's trust and whether it has a chance to regain it. Listen for a wide-ranging discussion on business models, politics, and the tech press's relationship with the industry's builders.

May 31, 2022 • 57:43

Why Elites Are Losing Trust — With Vivian Schiller

Vivian Schiller is the executive director of Aspen Digital, former head of news at Twitter, and former CEO of NPR. She joins Big Technology Podcast for a discussion of why the public distrusts elites. This conversation takes place in Davos — as the World Economic Forum conducts its annual meeting — and dissects its controversial initiatives such as the "Great Reset." Stay tuned for the second half where we discuss the latest with big tech and Joe Biden's tech agenda.

May 27, 2022 • 55:55

Do We Need Web3? — With Gavin Wood

Gavin Wood is the co-founder of Ethereum and creator of Polkadot. He joins Big Technology Podcast from Davos for a discussion about whether we need Web3 — a new web built with blockchain technology. Joins us for a broad conversation on what inspired Wood to dedicate himself to the Web3, movement, how the technology works in practice, and whether the economic downturn may actually help the crypto movement.

May 25, 2022 • 1:02:20

Do We Need The Metaverse? — With Nick Clegg

Nick Clegg is the president for global affairs at Meta and former deputy prime minister of the UK. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss his company's vision for the Metaverse, how it should be governed, and whether we actually need it. Stick around for the second half where we speak about Meta's app store fees, whether the company should instead focus on winning over younger users, and the ethics of its lobbying effort. This podcast was recorded live from Davos during the World Economic Fo

May 24, 2022 • 50:00

Optimism In A Tech Downturn — With Packy McCormick and Austin Rief

Austin Rief is the CEO of Morning Brew. Packy McCormick is the author of Not Boring on Substack and founder of Not Boring Capital. The two join Big Technology Podcast for a discussion of why the economic downturn has hit tech disproportionately hard and how bad it's going to get. They also look for places of optimism, and areas of opportunity. Stay tuned for the second half where we discuss whether their own investing has changed, how their media businesses will get through this moment, and the

May 18, 2022 • 57:17

A Debate About NFTs — With Jason Stein

Jason Stein is the founder and managing partner at SC Holdings, a private equity and strategic advisory firm based in New York. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the merits of NFTs, of which he is bullish and I am skeptical. This isn't a shouting match debate, but a reasonable back and forth between two people with different views on the issue. Stay tuned for the second half where we discuss how a struggling economy will impact risky assets.

May 11, 2022 • 1:04:04

Was Tim Cook The Right Choice For Apple? — With Tripp Mickle

Tripp Mickle is a reporter for The New York Times and author of After Steve: How Apple Became a Trillion-Dollar Company and Lost Its Soul. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a special episode looking inside Apple after the death of Steve Jobs and evaluating its leadership's performance. Join us for a broad, deep discussion leaning on Tripp's years of reporting on one of the world's most fascinating companies.

May 7, 2022 • 1:04:00

Tech Stock Armageddon — With Rich Greenfield

Rich Greenfield is a founding partner at LightShed Partners, and a preeminent analyst in the tech and media world. He joins Big Technology Podcast this week to discuss why companies like Netflix, Snap, Meta, and Spotify are getting crushed in the public markets. Join us for a discussion about tech stocks that digs into the broader story of what's happening to the global economy.

May 4, 2022 • 56:27

Elon's Plan to Fix Twitter — With Alex Roetter

Alex Roetter ran engineering at Twitter from 2014 to 2016 and is currently a general partner at Moxxie Ventures. He joins Big Technology Podcast to evaluate the product changes Elon Musk has expressed interest in, looking at whether they are feasible and could actually help the company. We go point by point through six potential changes and then discuss whether society, Twitter users, and Musk himself will be happy with the deal five years from now.

Apr 27, 2022 • 54:07

What The Heck Happened To SPACs — With Charles Duhigg

Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer-prize-winning reporter and the author of Smarter Faster Better and The Power of Habit. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss what's happened with SPACs — special purpose acquisition companies — that seemed ready to revolutionize the IPO process just last year but have now fallen out of favor. Duhigg explains SPACs' rise, their decline, and what the financial world will look like once they settle into place. We also spend the first ten minutes discussing Elon Mus

Apr 20, 2022 • 49:21

Emergency Podcast: Elon Musk Offers To Buy Twitter — With Ranjan Roy

Ranjan Roy is the co-author of Margins, a Substack newsletter about the financial markets. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss Elon Musk's bid to buy Twitter and its implications. Join us for this 'emergency' episode where we discuss whether Musk will improve the service, whether he can pull it off, and why he's making the move.

Apr 14, 2022 • 36:36

God, 'The Current Thing,' And Apple — With Antonio Garcia Martinez

Antonio Garcia Martinez is an early Facebook employee, author of Chaos Monkeys, former Apple engineer, and writes the Pull Request on Substack. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a wide-ranging discussion touching on what he learned about Apple's ad platform in his short tenure at the company, how he's navigated being held as a symbol for new-right politics and then pushed back on its pro-Putin narrative, what the meme about Ukraine support being "the current thing" really means, and why he's c

Apr 13, 2022 • 1:11:06

Twitter's Elon Musk Era Begins — With Christopher Mims

Christopher Mims is a tech columnist for the Wall Street Journal. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss Elon Musk's ascent to Twitter's board this week and purchase of 9.2% of the company's shares. Join us for a deep conversation about what Elon might be up to, how much power he'll have, how Twitter employees are responding, and where this likey leads.

Apr 6, 2022 • 49:39

Can Apple's Culture Handle Dissent? — With Cher Scarlett

Cher Scarlett is an ex-Apple engineer who led a movement for pay transparency within the company — and suffered consequences. She joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss why she spoke out, how Apple responded, and whether the company's culture can handle dissent. Listen for an inside perspective on Apple's culture and a conversation about the future of dissent within the tech giants.

Mar 30, 2022 • 1:03:17

Of Oligarchs and Billionaires — With Teddy Schleifer

Teddy Schleifer covers billionaires as a reporter and founding partner at Puck. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the sanctions against Russian oligarchs, how (and if) oligarchs differ from billionaires, and whether putting pressure on the oligarchs can help end Russia's war in Ukraine. Stay tuned for the second half where we discuss tech's connection to the oligarchs, and whether their money plays a role in Silicon Valley.

Mar 23, 2022 • 57:12

How Apple Upended Digital Advertising — With Orchid Bertelsen and David Herrmann

Orchid Bertelsen and David Herrmann are two senior advertising professionals who’ve watched Apple’s anti-tracking changes upend the digital ad industry from the ground. They join Big Technology Podcast to discuss how what Apple’s “ask not to track” notification actually works, how it’s changed the way advertisers do business, how small businesses have felt the impact, and which platforms it's empowered at Facebook’s expense. Stay tuned for the second half where we discuss how Apple, TikTok, and

Mar 16, 2022 • 1:06:04

Russia and The Information War — With Miriam Elder

Miriam Elder is the executive editor at Vanity Fair Hive and former Moscow correspondent at The Guardian. She joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss Russia's information war, which the Kremlin is running alongside its physical war in Ukraine. Russia's supposedly formidable social media power seems to be falling flat, and Miriam explains why — and what's to come. Stick around for the second half where we discuss the impact of sanctions and why Bitcoin is failing to capitalize on this moment.

Mar 9, 2022 • 56:08

What's Next For Our Crazy Economy — With Square Co-Founder Jim McKelvey

Jim McKelvey is the co-founder of Square, chair of the St. Louis Fed, and founder of Invisibly. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss whether the Fed should still hike interest rates given the markets' slowdown and the conflict in Ukraine. Stay tuned for a discussion of how Jim tolerates risk, why he's not building his new startup on the blockchain (aka: Web3), and a preview of our SXSW featured session: The Future of The Data Economy: Putting People First, taking place March 11 in Austin.

Mar 2, 2022 • 47:55

Doing Business With Zuckerberg and Bezos — With Donald Graham

Don Graham is the former owner of the Washington Post. He's spent countless hours working with Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, and he joins Big Technology Podcast to share inside stories about how they operate. Graham met Zuckerberg when the Facebook founder was 20. He then proposed an investment — which Zuckerberg turned down — and eventually joined Facebook's board. Graham also sold the Washington Post to Jeff Bezos in 2013. Join us for a rare view into how these founders do business, and stic

Feb 23, 2022 • 1:10:39

Programming The Code of Life With CRISPR — With Trevor Martin, CEO of Mammoth Biosciences

Trevor Martin is the CEO and co-founder of Mammoth Biosciences, a $1 billion company that develops CRISPR technology to edit genes. Martin joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss how CRISPR is working in production today — not in some distant future — and what the ethical ramifications of this technology will be as it gets more advanced.You can find Trevor on Twitter: twitter.com/martintrevor_And here's Mammoth Biosciences: mammoth.bio

Feb 16, 2022 • 57:28

Crypto Scams, Big Tech Tumult, and Tech Optimism— With Kara Swisher

Kara Swisher is the co-founder of Recode, a New York Times columnist, the co-host of Pivot, and the host of Sway. She joins BigTechnology Podcast for a special edition tackling the biggest tech headlines, her major career decisions, and reasons to be optimistic about technology. Kara and Scott Galloway are hosting Pivot MIA, a three-day event in Miami, from Feb. 14 - Feb. 16. You can learn more here: https://voxmediaevents.com/pivotmia

Feb 11, 2022 • 1:03:12

Meta's Stock Plunge + Market Volatility — With Josh Brown of Ritholtz Wealth Management

Josh Brown is the CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management and a regular CNBC contributor. Brown joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss what's behind Meta's historic $251 billion stock plunge, and Amazon's equally shocking $190 billion rise. This is a discussion about Meta and Big Tech, but as you listen you'll get a window into market fundamentals like "whisper" earnings targets and why growth stocks are going out of style. We also discuss what happens inside companies when their stock prices plummet

Feb 9, 2022 • 52:02

Digital Publishing’s Next Evolution — With Brian Morrissey

Brian Morrissey writes The Rebooting on Substack and hosts The Rebooting Show, a podcast. He is the former editor-in-chief of Digiday and digital editor of Adweek. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss how digital publishing is evolving from an industry reliant on social media for distribution to one that prioritizes focus and dedicated audiences. Stay tuned for the third segment where we discuss Brian's views on Web3, crypto, and how these new technologies may help the industry.

Feb 2, 2022 • 1:13:56

How Tech Can Actually Help Mental Health — With Ex-National Institute of Mental Health director Dr. Tom Insel

Dr. Tom Insel led the National Institue of Mental Health for 13 years, departing toward the end of the Obama administration for a career in tech. Insel joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss how the data on our devices may unlock the key to treatment. Our conversation covers how tech can help manage and treat illness, the privacy ramifications of collecting this data, and whether social media is actually harmful for our mental health. You can pre-order Dr. Insel's forthcoming book, Healing: Our

Jan 26, 2022 • 57:39

The Rise Of Conservative Social Media — With The New Yorker's Clare Malone and Stanford's David Thiel

Clare Malone is a staff writer at The New Yorker who recently wrote about Gettr, a rising conservative social network. David Thiel is the big data architect and chief technology officer of the Stanford Internet Observatory, where he's researched Gettr's usage. The pair join Big Technology Podcast to discuss Gettr — and its counterparts' — potential to take on incumbent social networks. We dig into the network's growth, its funding sources, and how mainstream social network policies open the door

Jan 19, 2022 • 1:01:52

Tech Regulation's Crucial Year — With Sen. Mark Warner

Senator Mark Warner takes us inside the battle to regulate Big Tech. Elected in 2008 and serving his third term in the U.S. Senate, Sen. Warner joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss whether we should regulate Big Tech and how the companies are fighting back — overtly and covertly. Ahead of the midterm elections, this year is crucial. In the second half, we also discuss whether members of Congress should trade individual stocks.

Jan 12, 2022 • 50:39

Web3 And The Future Of The Internet — With Box CEO Aaron Levie

Aaron Levie is the CEO of Box, a $3.95 billion publicly-traded tech company. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the rise of Web3 — a crypto-based vision for the internet — and where it can go wrong. Levie raises several important questions about where the Web3 theory and promise might slam into obstacles in the real world. Listen and you'll get a more nuanced view of Web3, something that goes beyond "This is the future" or "This will never work." Support this podcast at — https://redcirc

Jan 5, 2022 • 1:01:16

2021 In Review, 2022 Predictions — With Casey Newton

Casey Newton is the editor of Platformer, a CNBC Contributor, and a friend of Big Technology Podcast. He joins us for our final show of the year, where we look back on the biggest stories of 2021 and predict what's coming in 2022. Join us for a conversation about Big Tech's year of transition, the upcoming Web3 wars, and whether the cult of the founder is falling apart.

Dec 29, 2021 • 54:36

The Theranos Trial Concludes — With NPR's Bobby Allyn

Bobby Allyn is an NPR tech reporter based in San Francisco. He's been waking up at 2 a.m. to watch the trial of ex-Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes from the courthouse. In this episode, Allyn breaks down the case for and against Holmes, the biggest moments in the trial, and the potential outcomes now that the jury is deliberating.

Dec 22, 2021 • 59:53

Apple Nears $3 Trillion + The Truth About Web3 — With Benedict Evans

Benedict Evans is an independent analyst who covers big tech and the broader technology landscape. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss Apple's move to $3 trillion, how the rest of the Big Tech companies stack up, what Web3 is really all about, and his former employer Andreessen Horowitz. Stick around for the third segment where he answers questions from Twitter.

Dec 15, 2021 • 1:17:11

Getting AI To Think And Learn Like Humans — With Daniel Kahneman and Yann LeCun

Daniel Kahneman is a Nobel prize-winning psychologist and economist and author of Thinking, Fast and Slow, a landmark book that decodes human decision-making. Yann LeCun is the chief AI scientist at Meta (Facebook) and a pioneer in the field of deep learning, which the cutting edge of AI is based on today. The two come together on Big Technology Podcast this week to discuss how machines and humans learn, whether there are parallels, and what each field can learn from each other.

Dec 8, 2021 • 1:09:24

Managing Omicron With Data From Wastewater? — With Newsha Ghaeli and Mariana Matus of Biobot Analytics

As companies head back to the office, and communities try to figure out the right Covid mitigation measures, data from sewage can help them get it right. Newsha Ghaeli and Mariana Matus are the co-founders of Biobot Analytics. Their company uses data from wastewater to alert companies and communities when they’re in the early stages of Covid outbreaks. Then they can adjust appropriately. Founded out of MIT, Biobot initially took on the Opioid epidemic, helping communities figure out the right wa

Dec 1, 2021 • 1:00:08

Inflation and The Great Resignation — With SoFi Head of Investment Strategy Liz Young and Margins’ Ranjan Roy

Inflation is skyrocketing and everyone’s quitting their jobs. What does it mean? Liz Young, the head of Investment Strategy at SoFi, and Ranjan Roy, the co-author of Margins, help us figure it out in this week’s Big Technology Podcast. Come for an exploration of the source of the price hikes (Turkeys are 14% more expensive this year!) and a wild theory connecting interest rates with quitting. Stay for where to find savings (Hot Dogs!).

Nov 24, 2021 • 56:50

Inside Spotify's War With Apple — With Spotify Chief Legal Officer Horacio Gutierrez

Horacio Gutierrez is Spotify's head of global affairs and chief legal officer. He's a relentless critic of the way Apple treats smaller companies, testifying before the Senate in April that the company is abusing its power and harming competition. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss how Spotify has experienced Apple's behavior, why it's decided to speak up, and whether anything will come of this latest round of antitrust scrutiny for the tech giants.

Nov 17, 2021 • 1:01:59

The Venture Capitalist Who Can't Lose — With Zach Coelius

Zach Coelius is the managing partner of Coelius Capital. He's participating in an unprecedented moment where venture capitalists like him simply can't lose. There's so much money flooding the private markets that, as he put it, "any idiot with a checkbook looks like a genius right now." Coelius joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss why this is happening, where it will lead, and who gets hurt when the party ends. Stay tuned for the third segment where we read his tweets and mostly talk about Sa

Nov 10, 2021 • 1:10:42

The Motivations of Facebook Whistleblower Frances Haugen — With Her Lawyer Lawrence Lessig

Lawrence Lessig is Frances Haguen's lawyer and a Harvard Law School professor. He joins Big Technology Podcast to address the various questions about Haugen's motivations, backers, and intent that have percolated since she came forward. We start by addressing whether the the leaked documents should be available to all and move into the conspiracies about her. A lively discussion follows.

Nov 3, 2021 • 1:00:32

Are We Having a Moral Panic About Instagram? — With NYT's Farhad Manjoo

Farhad Manjoo is an opinion columnist for the New York Times. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss whether the criticism of Instagram's impact on kids is overblown, the subject of a recent column. Stay tuned for the third segment, where we discuss Farhad's views of virtual reality, his Thanksgiving column, and his cats. Subscribe to Big Technology: https://bigtechnology.substack.com/ Farhad's story about Instagram: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/13/opinion/instagram-teenagers.html

Oct 27, 2021 • 1:04:29

Amazon Rigs Search, Social Media 'Ampliganda,' Netflix Protests — With Adrianne Jeffries, Renee DiResta, and Zoë Schiffer

Join us for a 'mega' episode with three guests! The Markup investigative reporter Adrianne Jeffries leads off with a discussion of Amazon's self-preferencing in search. Stanford Internet Observatory's Renee DiResta joins for our second segment to discuss her story on bottom-up propaganda on social media, something she calls 'ampliganda.' Verge Reporter Zoë Schiffer rounds out the week with a look into the state of worker activism at Netflix and Apple. Check out Adrianne's story on The Markup, Re

Oct 20, 2021 • 1:21:35

Is Social Media A Scapegoat For Bigger Problems? — With Charlie Warzel at Unfinished Live

Charlie Warzel writes the Galaxy Brain newsletter on Substack, a publication he started after a career at The New York Times and BuzzFeed. Warzel joins Big Technology Podcast in a live recording at Unfinished Live to discuss what a nuanced conversation about social media's harms should look like. Stay tuned for the second half where we discuss Warzel's views on post-Covid workplace culture, the subject Out of Office, a forthcoming book for which he is a co-author.

Oct 13, 2021 • 42:58

Why Facebook Will Keep Building For Kids — With Michael Sayman

Michael Sayman was 16 years old when Facebook recruited him to join the company. The overture arrived as he was sitting in math class, and the teacher promptly took away his iPad. Sayman joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss why and how Facebook builds products for kids and teens (something he has intimate knowledge of) and the reasons why it won't stop. You can find Sayman's new book, App Kid, here: https://amzn.to/3uNDazI

Oct 6, 2021 • 1:00:48

Amazon Builds a Robot and Threatens Apple — With Wired's Lauren Goode

Wired senior writer Lauren Goode was on hand this week as Amazon introduced Astro, a home robot, and a Ring home-monitoring drone. Goode joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss her reaction to the products. And in the second half, stay tuned for a discussion of how Apple and Amazon are on a collision course even though they build products very differently.

Sep 30, 2021 • 46:42

Unraveling The Mystery Of Peter Thiel — With Max Chafkin

Max Chafkin is the author of The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power, which debuts this week. The book is a fascinating, inside look into the life and rise of Silicon Valley’s most powerful and controversial venture capitalist. In this interview, we discuss whether Thiel is representative of Silicon Valley or an anomaly, and dig into who he really is and what motivates him. You can find the book here: https://amzn.to/3AwAKHB

Sep 22, 2021 • 1:21:57

A Look Into Facebook's Soul — With WSJ's Jeff Horwitz and Ex-FB Exec. Brian Boland

Jeff Horwitz is the Wall Street Journal reporter who unearthed a trove of internal Facebook documents that reveal a damning disconnect between what the company says in public and its actions inside. Brian Boland is a former Facebook executive who spent more than 11 years inside the company. The two come on to discuss Horowitz's bombshell series of reports, unpacking what they tell us about Facebook, dissecting the company's responses, and looking at potential solutions. Enjoy this bonus episode

Sep 18, 2021 • 57:41

Inside The Theranos Trial — With Erin Griffith of The New York Times

Erin Griffith is the New York Times reporter at the trial for Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. She joins Big Technology Podcast to bring us inside the courtroom, explaining why Holmes is on trial and whether she'll be a rare founder to face consequences for misleading investors. We also discuss whether Holmes is emblematic of the venture capital world's downsides, or an outlier. You can find Erin on Twitter, @eringriffith

Sep 15, 2021 • 54:03

How The Music Industry Predicts The Future — With Zack O'Malley Greenburg

Zack O'Malley Greenburg is a music journalist who's spent time with everyone from Katy Perry to Kanye West. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss how the music industry seems to go through every major technology-driven shift before everyone else, including the decline of brick-and-mortar retail (see: Tower Records), to the rise of streaming content (Spotify), and even NFTs (WuTang's Once Upon a Time in Shaolin). Greenburg also discusses how he's applied lessons from some of the world's most

Sep 8, 2021 • 1:00:33

The Platform Delusion — With Columbia Business Professor Jonathan Knee

Jonathan Knee is a professor at Columbia Business School and senior advisor at the investment bank Evercore. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss The Platform Delusion, his forthcoming book about how the term "platform" has become overused to the point that it has little meaning. Is Sweetgreen really a platform. Well, Sweetgreen thinks so (c'mon now). Listen for a discussion covering what should actually be called a platform, the fundamentals of the tech giants' businesses, and whether stu

Sep 2, 2021 • 54:33

Are We Actually Addicted To Our Phones? — With Nir Eyal

Nir Eyal is the bestselling author of Hooked and Indistractable. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a spirited debate over whether we're actually addicted to our phones, the ethics of app developers who use tricks to keep us coming back, and what to do about it. You can find Nir's books here:  http://geni.us/Indistractable and http://geni.us/hooked Here's an Indistractable summary article: https://www.nirandfar.com/skill-of-the-future/ And a distraction guide: https://www.nirandfar.com/distrac

Aug 26, 2021 • 1:17:10

Can We Still Be Optimistic About The Internet? — With Meetup Founder Scott Heiferman

Scott Heiferman is the founder of Meetup, a website that connects people online and gets them to meet each other offline. Heiferman joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss whether the internet can still bring people together vs. tear them apart, the latter of which it's done plenty of recently. This wide-ranging conversation gets into people's declining faith in institutions, our friendships and loneliness, Facebook's role in all this, virtual reality's potential, and the new company Heiferman i

Aug 18, 2021 • 51:50

The Motivations Of Facebook Reporters, And Their Sources — With Ugly Truth Author Sheera Frenkel

Sheera Frenkel is a New York Times reporter and author of the best-selling book, An Ugly Truth. She joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss her hit book and her reporting process. We address critics's claims that Facebook reporters are harsh to the company because they’re mad Trump won, and they’re also upset that social media is eroding their gatekeeping power. Frenkel listens to these critiques and shares her perspective.

Aug 11, 2021 • 43:01

The Risks of TikTok's Rise — With Bloomberg's Shelly Banjo

Shelly Banjo is Bloomberg's New York Bureau Chief. She's also the host of Foundering, a podcast mini-series that documents TikTok's rise. Banjo joins Big Technology Podcast for a conversation about how TikTok's massive global reach creates serious data security risks and also opens up rival countries to influence operations from the Chinese government.

Aug 4, 2021 • 57:07

Regime Change In Cuba, Through Internet Access? — With FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr wants to provide internet access to the people in Cuba so they can document and share the abuses of their government without censorship. Commissioner Carr, who rose to his rank after initially serving as an FCC intern, joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss his plan, how the technology would work, and the ethics and advisability of accelerating regime change by providing internet access to a population.

Jul 28, 2021 • 47:18

The Definitive WeWork Story — With Eliot Brown And Maureen Farrell

Eliot Brown And Maureen Farrell are the authors of The Cult of We: WeWork and the Great Start-Up Delusion. The new book digs into the rise and fall of Adam Neumann's WeWork. And though it's the story of one company, it's really a lens through which you can see all the markets' irrationality. The authors join for a macro discussion of the factors that led WeWork — a real estate company — to become the world's most valuable "tech" startup. And why it couldn't keep the show rolling. Check out the b

Jul 21, 2021 • 1:13:30

Newsletters and The Culture Wars — With Substack CEO Chris Best

Chris Best is the CEO of Substack, an email newsletter platform that lets writers send newsletters and charge subscribers a monthly fee. The platform — which I use for my Big Technology newsletter — is squarely in the middle of the battle over online speech, looked at by some as an alternative that will displace professional media. Best joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss his company's position in these speech battles, how he personally feels about the professional media, his investor Andres

Jul 14, 2021 • 1:02:55

She Advocated For Women, Then Microsoft Pushed Her Off Its Board — With Maria Klawe

“Are you trying to fucking destroy the company?” That’s what Bill Gates told Microsoft board member Maria Klawe when she asked why Microsoft wouldn’t consider a single women out of 50 candidates it was evaluating to replace then-CEO Steve Ballmer. When Microsoft settled on Satya Nadella, he later joined Klawe at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women In Computing and told her that instead of asking for a raise, women should just have faith in the system to get it right. The incident caus

Jul 7, 2021 • 1:01:02

How Gen Z Dates Online — With Tinder CEO Jim Lanzone

Jim Lanzone is the CEO of Tinder. He took over the world’s most popular dating app last summer, in the heart of the pandemic, and is starting to evolve its product to give people new ways to connect. Lanzone joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss how Gen Z wants to date online, how their behavior differs from millennials, and how that factors into his product vision. We also talk about the business of Tinder, whether Lanzone lets his kids use the app, and where its next challenger might come fr

Jun 30, 2021 • 56:07

How Big Tech Influence Shops Shape The Antitrust Conversation In Washington — with Adam Kovacevich

Adam Kovacevich is the CEO of the Big Tech-funded Chamber of Progress. The former Google policy executive joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the origins of his organization and why Big Tech would rather fund him vs. stick their own necks out. Tune in for a revealing conversation of what happens behind the scenes in Big Tech's battle against regulation.

Jun 24, 2021 • 52:58

Crossover With The Realignment: Can Tech Survive Washington’s Onslaught?

Marshall Kosloff and Saagar Enjeti host The Realignment, an excellent podcast about politics and tech in our fast-changing world. I joined the show his week to talk about the new set of bills in Congress aimed at Big Tech and asked them if we could air the show here on the Big Technology feed as well. Graciously, they agreed! So this week, we'll run this episode as a bonus on a Tuesday, and then we’ll be back on Thursday with our regularly scheduled show, with Adam Kovacevich, who runs a big-t

Jun 22, 2021 • 1:08:24

Andrew Ross Sorkin on Meme Stocks, Bitcoin, SPACs, and Elon Musk

Andrew Ross Sorkin is the co-anchor of Squawk Box on CNBC, founder and editor of Dealbook at the New York Times, and the author of Too Big To Fail. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the wild state of the market, the rise of meme stocks, the promise and drawbacks of bitcoin, SPACs, Big Tech antitrust, Elon Musk, and when the party will come to an end. Tune in for a wide-ranging interview about the world's most pressing financial and tech issues. Buy Andrew's book: https://amzn.to/3zFPTX

Jun 16, 2021 • 1:11:05

Andrew Callaghan of All Gas No Breaks Goes Independent

Andrew Callaghan is the force behind All Gas No Breaks, a hit YouTube show that featured Callaghan putting a mic in front of people and just... letting them talk. Callaghan's recently gone independent, taking his unique interviewing style to a new home, Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan, and building a substantial following there. Callaghan joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss why his alternative to traditional news is hitting a nerve, what he's learned about the American people from his travel

Jun 9, 2021 • 47:26

The Rise and Fall of Juul, With The Devil's Playbook Author Lauren Etter

You've heard this story before: Two Stanford kids take on a big bad industry, one that harms people, and they disrupt it. Typically, these stories are portrayed as heroic in Silicon Valley. Yet the story of Juul is different. The company sells sleek e-cigarettes packed with nicotine to cigarette smokers looking for a less harmful solution. But flush with VC cash and determined to grow, the company ended up addicting millions of kids, leading to a serious backlash and decline. Lauren Etter, a Blo

Jun 2, 2021 • 1:05:18

New York Times Reporter Jack Nicas On Apple Vs. Epic Games and Apple In China

Jack Nicas joins Big Technology Podcast fresh out of the Epic v. Apple trial, where the Fortnight maker is suing Apple over the 30% cut it takes out of every dollar we spend on apps downloaded from the App Store. Nicas takes us inside the courtroom, explains what’s at stake, and makes a prediction for where things net out. In the second half, Nicas breaks down his reporting on Apple’s questionable privacy practices in China, where the company stores user data in servers all but owned by the Chin

May 26, 2021 • 53:00

Professor Scott Galloway On Whether Our Economy Is Rigged (And What To Do About It)

Professor Scott Galloway swings by to discuss how our economy can at once feel rigged yet loaded with opportunity. Galloway describes a “tilted” system that makes life difficult for young people and wage workers while lifting up assets like stock and equity and helping older generations. We talk not only about the problems, but the solutions for the system and the individuals within it. As usual, Galloway is a tour de force who comes loaded with insights and keen observations. Check out our spo

May 19, 2021 • 50:35

Amazon Unbound Author Brad Stone On How Nerdy Bezos Turned Into Ripped Bezos

Brad Stone is the author of Amazon Unbound, a new book about the inner workings of Amazon, which releases this week. Stone joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the book, Bezos's transformation, Amazon's culture, and what's in store for the company now that Bezos is leaving the CEO role. Check out our sponsor, Flatfile: https://flatfile.io

May 12, 2021 • 45:26

Why Ex-Google Ads Boss Sridhar Ramaswamy is Building An Ads-Free Search Engine

Sridhar Ramaswamy is CEO of Neeva, an ads-free search engine he helped found after running Google's ads and commerce business. Ramaswamy spent seventeen years inside Google, and eventually grew disillusioned with its business. Now he's trying to create the solution with $77.5 million in funding. In this conversation, we discuss his evolving view on advertising, what decoupling search from ads allows from a product standpoint, and how the current anti-trust environment is opening Google up to the

May 6, 2021 • 56:59

Facebook Oversight Board Member Julie Owono Takes Us Inside The Trump Decision

Julie Owono is a member of the Facebook Oversight Board, which today announced it's leaving Donald Trump's indefinite suspension in place. Owono joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the decision, the board's deliberations, and what comes next for Facebook and Trump.

May 5, 2021 • 42:25

Doge, Bitcoin, NFTs, and Capital Gains: Ranjan Roy and Can Duruk of Margins Demystify Our Economy

Today's economy is a wild ride, and it's time to demystify it with Ranjan Roy and Can Duruk from Margins. Consider the following: Doge, a joke cryptocurrency, seems to be minting new millionaires daily. NFTs, tokens that enable the buying and selling of digital art, are going for millions. Bitcoin's price is volatile, up $10,000 one week, down by the same amount the next. The overall market, meanwhile, is cranking. In this week's episode, we go deep into what's actually taking place, an

Apr 28, 2021 • 1:10:46

Facebook vs. Clubhouse vs. Spotify vs. Apple: Casey Newton Returns

Platformer's Casey Newton returns to Big Technology Podcast to discuss the intensifying battle among Facebook, Clubhouse, Spotify, Apple, and Twitter in the new, social audio space. Fresh off a conversation with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Newton discusses Facebook's plans, Clubhouse's potential for longevity, and what empowering the individual vs. the institution really means. Plus we discuss this week's big Apple release event.

Apr 21, 2021 • 51:06

How Amazon Automated My Job: A Conversation With Elaine Kwon

Elaine Kwon was a vendor manager in Amazon's retail organization when the company started to turn her tasks over to machine learning in a program called "Hands Off The Wheel." She joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss how and why Amazon rolled the program out, how she and her fellow vendor managers reacted, and what it portends for the rest of us.

Apr 14, 2021 • 49:41

The Uneasy Amazon Coalition, With Fulfillment Author Alec MacGillis

ProPublica senior reporter Alec MacGillis highlights the growing economic divide in the U.S. — through the lens of Amazon — in his new book, Fulfillment. MacGillis joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the state of the union push inside Amazon, how labor has changed more broadly in the U.S., and the uneasy political coalition between those packing and delivering Amazon packages and those receiving them.

Apr 7, 2021 • 54:39

Carole Cadwalladr and Yael Eisenstat on The Criticism of Tech Criticism

Carole Cadwalladr and Yael Eisenstat are two of the most prominent Facebook critics worldwide. Cadwalladr is the journalist who broke open the Cambridge Analytica story for the Guardian and The Observer. Eisenstat, a former CIA officer, worked on election integrity inside Facebook for six months before quitting and speaking out against the company. The two Facebook critics join Big Technology Podcast to discuss some people’s disenchantment with tech criticism, the role of Facebook’s Oversight Bo

Mar 31, 2021 • 1:11:01

BuzzFeed News executive editor Mat Honan on the "Zoom Class," NFTs, and San Francisco

BuzzFeed News executive editor Mat Honan has long covered the way society interacts with technology. He joins Big Technology Podcast this week to discuss the “Zoom Class,” the rise of NFTs, and how San Francisco may change after the pandemic.

Mar 24, 2021 • 52:47

Why Rest of World wants to change international tech news, with Sophie Schmidt and Louise Matsakis

Rest Of World is a new publication that covers technology outside of North America and Europe. Sophie Schmidt and Louise Matsakis join Big Technology Podcast to discuss why they believe it's setting a new path forward for international tech coverage. Schmidt founded the publication in 2019 after growing convinced that the next tech decade belongs to the rising giants outside of the Western world. Growing up while her father, Eric Schmidt, ran Google taught her some important lessons along the wa

Mar 17, 2021 • 51:42

Bonus: Senator Amy Klobuchar On How Congress Will Take On Big Tech

Senator Amy Klobuchar will be leading the charge in Congress as the legislature interrogates the power of big tech, and potentially takes action to restrain it. She's the new Chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, so it's in her hands now. Klobuchar and I spoke this past week ahead of the first hearing she held to kick the off process. And rather than simply writing the conversation up, which I did on the Big Technology newsletter

Mar 13, 2021 • 19:40

Twitter Product Head Kayvon Beykpour On The Story Behind Twitter’s Revival

Kayvon Beykpour is one of Silicon Valley’s busiest product executives. As Twitter’s head of product, he’s survived for years in a formerly-cursed role that seemed to turn over every few months. Now, Beykpour’s team is shipping. Twitter just released a Clubhouse clone, called Spaces. It bought Revue, a newsletter platform. And it just announced Super Follow, a feature that wraps it all together by letting you pay for added access and content from people you follow on Twitter. This is new territor

Mar 10, 2021 • 55:55

Will Artificial Intelligence Take Our Jobs? A Conversation with Kevin Roose, NYT Columnist and Futureproof author

Artificial intelligence may take our jobs, or it may give us new freedom in the workplace. The debate is heating up as this technology is starting to enter the workplace in a real way. New York Times columnist Kevin Roose returns to Big Technology Podcast for a bonus episode for a discussion on what's actually happening based on the research. His book on the subject — Futureproof: 9 Rules for Humans in the Age of Automation — comes out today. You can order Futureproof here: https://www.kevinroo

Mar 9, 2021 • 54:41

WhatsApp Head Will Cathcart on Privacy, Content Moderation, and Apple

Will Cathcart runs WhatsApp, the 2 billion user app that's the de facto tool for messaging and calling for many across the globe. Cathcart joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss Facebook's feud with Apple, its battle with Signal, its bungled privacy update, new laws in India that might force it to break encryption, the way it thinks about content moderation and advertising, and plenty more.

Mar 3, 2021 • 50:01

Arab Spring Leader Wael Ghonim on Modern Social Media's Promise And Peril

In 2011, Wael Ghonim created a Facebook page that sparked the overthrow of the Egyptian regime. Since then, the former Google marketing director has kept a close eye on social media's evolution, and has plenty to say about where it's gone wrong, and how it can get better. Ten years after Cairo residents painted "Facebook" on the walls after the revolution, Ghonim stops by Big Technology Podcast to revisit what happened and where we go from here.

Feb 24, 2021 • 1:13:35

Three Mayors On The Future Of Tech in the U.S.

Mayor Francis Suarez of Miami, Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway of Madison, and Mayor Steve Adler of Austin join Big Technology Podcast to discuss the future of tech in the U.S. They’re showing up on a tech podcast because they see an opportunity to take some of the growth once headed to the Bay Area, and bring it home. They may have a chance. Out of the four mayors I asked to be on the show, only San Francisco Mayor London Breed declined. That says something. What’s clear from speaking with the mayo

Feb 16, 2021 • 1:05:57

Bonus: India vs. Twitter, with Pranav Dixit of BuzzFeed News

In India, the Narendra Modi government is threatening to put Twitter officials in jail unless they block approximately 250 accounts of people they don’t like. They include activists, political commentators, a movie star, and an investigative news magazine. That’s why we’re doing a bonus, emergency podcast on this quick developing situation, and what it means for the future of speech on the internet, and social media more broadly.  Joining us to discuss is Pranav Dixit, a reporter at BuzzFeed N

Feb 13, 2021 • 48:41

Will Amazon Be Kinder After Jeff Bezos? A Conversation With Recode's Jason Del Rey

Jeff Bezos is headed for the door at Amazon, and because 2021 is the craziest news year on record, we mostly haven’t stopped to consider this seismic story and what it means for the business world.  Joining us to discuss what Amazon looks like after Bezos is Jason Del Rey, a senior correspondent at Recode and author of a forthcoming book on Amazon’s battle with Walmart. Here's Jason's story on what to expect from incoming CEO Andy Jassy: https://www.vox.com/recode/22264330/amazon-ceo-andy-jas

Feb 10, 2021 • 26:32

Glenn Greenwald on Substack, Content Moderation, and Joe Rogan

In January, I wrote a story for OneZero about the content moderation war in store for smaller social platforms like Clubhouse, Spotify, and Substack. As part of my reporting, I reached out to Glenn Greenwald, a strident voice against moderation who left The Intercept for Substack last year. While I'm not in lockstep with Greenwald ideologically, I wanted to hear his thoughts at length. This week’s Big Technology Podcast features my full conversation with Greenwald, where we discuss his move to

Feb 3, 2021 • 38:39

Emergency Podcast: The Story Behind Gamestop, A Conversation With Ranjan Roy of Margins

Ranjan Roy has documented the fundamental issues driving today's market volatility, from Zero Interest Rate Policy to the rise of Robinhood. He joins Big Technology Podcast for an emergency episode on the Gamestop madness, explaining the forces behind the surge.  You can read Margins here on Substack: https://themargins.substack.com/ And two specific articles we discuss: https://themargins.substack.com/p/robinhood-and-how-to-lose-money https://themargins.substack.com/p/game-stop https://them

Jan 29, 2021 • 55:32

The U.S. and Tech After Trump: A Conversation With the Realignment's Marshall Kosloff and Saagar Enjeti

Marshall Kosloff and Saagar Enjeti, hosts of the hit podcast The Realignment, speak about the shifting state of U.S. politics on their show each week. And while they focus on political change, they spend a surprising amount of time focusing on technology, recognizing the industry’s power. The two joined this week’s Big Technology Podcast to discuss how they see the U.S. political system realigning after Trump and what that will mean for the tech industry.

Jan 27, 2021 • 1:09:15

Under Biden, Bipartisan Vengeance On Social Media? A Conversation With Bradley Tusk

As Joe Biden takes office, big tech’s rough and tumble four years under Donald Trump will not come to an end. Democrats and Republicans, each for their own reasons, will now be looking to exact vengeance on the platforms. With some compromise, they may even get somewhere.  Bradley Tusk, a VC who works with startups facing regulatory hurdles, has a few thoughts about what regulation the tech giants may face. Tusk joins the Big Technology Podcast to break it all down, starting with a bold predict

Jan 20, 2021 • 1:00:45

Should Facebook and Twitter Have Banned Donald Trump? A Conversation With Ryan Mac of BuzzFeed News

Over the past week, both Facebook and Twitter suspended President Donald Trump’s account. These companies don’t take such aggressive action lightly, and it took Trump sending a mob toward the U.S. Capitol, which they eventually breached, to force the issue.  For years, BuzzFeed News senior reporter Ryan Mac and I have been watching these companies’ every move. Previously as colleagues at BuzzFeed. Ryan joined me this week on the Big Technology Podcast for a discussion on whether the social plat

Jan 13, 2021 • 1:14:29

Does YouTube Radicalize? A Debate Between NYT's Kevin Roose and Software Engineer Mark Ledwich

In June 2019, New York Times reporter Kevin Roose wrote The Making of a YouTube Radical, a story about how a 26-year-old man, Caleb Cain, was radicalized through YouTube. For the story, Roose examined Cain’s entire YouTube history, and plotted the path he took toward radicalization. Software engineer and researcher Mark Ledwich took issue with the story, citing his own research and claiming the notion that YouTube could radicalize was a myth.   Instead of yelling at — and past — each other, Led

Jan 6, 2021 • 1:01:59

Cult Deprogrammer Rick Alan Ross On NXIVM, QAnon, and What Makes Us Vulnerable

Community as we know it is in a state of decline. People today have fewer friendships than ever, they are lonelier than ever, and religious participation is at an all-time low, with 23% of people in the US declaring themselves as having no religion. Technology has played a big role in this decline in community, with most people preferring to sink into the internet instead of strengthening physical bonds. And with such a gaping hole in our lives, cults are filling the void. Joining us to discuss

Dec 23, 2020 • 54:23

Peloton Instructor Emma Lovewell on At-Home Fitness and Stadium-Sized Rides

With the pandemic forcing people to stay home for nearly 10 months now, many have turned to interactive fitness companies, such as Peloton, to stay active and perhaps fill a social void. Peloton has more than 3 million users, members are averaging 24 workouts per month, and this past September, the company announced its first profitable quarter. This week, it became more valuable than Ford Motor Company. Emma Lovewell, a full-time fitness instructor for Peloton, joins the Big Technology Podcast

Dec 16, 2020 • 52:49

Gary Vaynerchuk and TikTok’s Blake Chandlee on the ‘Ban’ and TikTok’s Future

TikTok is in a state of limbo as the U.S. government decides whether to ban it. In August, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning the app from operating in its current form in the U.S. The order gave TikTok a 45-day deadline, but after a few extensions, we’re now in December, and TikTok is still running. As TikTok twists in the wind, Gary Vaynerchuk, owner of digital ad agency VaynerMedia, and Blake Chandlee, TikTok’s head of global business solutions, join the Big Technology P

Dec 9, 2020 • 37:54

Ex-Uber Chief Business Officer Emil Michael on Autonomous Driving, Saudi Arabia, and Uber’s Culture

Uber is facing a difficult moment amid the coronavirus pandemic. The service, built on the belief that people would forsake car ownership in favor of its ride hailing service, is watching many of its customers buy cars and stay home. The new trouble for Uber comes after the company worked to right itself after years of turbulence under ex-CEO Travis Kalanick’s leadership. Emil Michael, the former Uber chief business officer and confidant to Kalanick, joins the Big Technology Podcast to

Dec 2, 2020 • 59:21

Will the Government Break Up Instagram and Facebook? A Conversation With ‘No Filter’ Author Sarah Frier

The Federal Trade Commission is preparing an antitrust lawsuit against Facebook, and Instagram is in its sights. The agency is poised to revisit Facebook’s 2012 acquisition of the popular mobile app, and a long fight may await. Bloomberg reporter Sarah Frier wrote the most in-depth account of Facebook’s Instagram acquisition in her April 2020 book No Filter. She joins the Big Technology Podcast to tell the story of what happened and what may be in store next.

Nov 25, 2020 • 59:41

Investor, Activist Swati Mylavarapu: Tech World Must “Get Uncomfortable” With Its Impact On Society

Swati Mylavarapu is a tech investor and activist who spent $2 million in the 2020 election cycle on Democratic causes, in partnership with her husband, Nest co-founder Matt Rogers. Mylavarapu isn’t your typical Silicon Valley investor. She’ll explicitly admit that the tech industry has some culpability in the hollowing out of the middle of our economy, delivering wealth to the few while leaving the rest in a tough spot. She also served as Pete Buttigeg’s national finance chair in the 2020 Democr

Nov 18, 2020 • 40:09

Homebrew VC Hunter Walk Talks Twitter, TikTok, and Tech in the Time of Biden

During Donald Trump’s presidency, tech products became explicitly political. Operatives from both sides picked apart their algorithms and features, examining how they shaped society’s beliefs. And the companies, meanwhile, made choices about what parts of the administration they’d work with. Hunter Walk, who spent nearly a decade at Google and is now a partner at Homebrew, has watched the evolutions firsthand. He joins the Big Technology Podcast to discuss tech’s impact on politics and where it

Nov 11, 2020 • 1:00:23

Election Results Breakdown With The Daily Beast Editor In Chief Noah Shachtman

As the election results come in, Noah Shachtman, the editor in chief of The Daily Beast, joins the Big Technology Podcast for an 'Emergency' show to dive into the results, the future of the Democratic Party, and how the tech platforms handled the election. Recorded on 11/4/2020.

Nov 4, 2020 • 37:20

Lincoln Project Co-Founder Steve Schmidt: “The Pro-Democracy Side Of This Argument Cannot Be Gentle”

When Steve Schmidt was a senior advisor on John McCain’s campaign in 2008, Twitter was a curiosity. Now, he and a number of former Republican establishment members are using social media deftly to make the case against President Trump with the Lincoln Project. Their anti-Trump ads seem to go viral at least once a week, and may indeed influence the outcome of the election. Schmidt, a Lincoln Project cofounder, joins the Big Technology Podcast to discuss the evolution of the Republican Party since

Oct 28, 2020 • 52:51

Google Protest Leader Meredith Whittaker on the Future of Tech Activism and the Deep Flaws of ‘The Social Dilemma’

When I interviewed Tristan Harris about The Social Dilemma earlier this month, my mentions filled with people saying, "You should speak to the people who were critical of the social web long before the film.” One name, Meredith Whittaker, stood out. An A.I. researcher and former big tech employee, Whittaker helped lead Google’s walkout in 2018 amid a season of activism inside the company. On this edition of the Big Technology Podcast, we spoke not only about her views on the film, but of the fu

Oct 21, 2020 • 42:45

Emergency Podcast: Department of Justice vs. Google with Yelp's Luther Lowe

The U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against Google on Tuesday, alleging the company unlawfully maintained a monopoly in search and search advertising. The antitrust action was the most significant since the DOJ's case against Microsoft, and is sure to send ripples through Silicon Valley where Facebook, Apple, and Amazon will be paying close attention since they might be next. To talk about what it all means, Yelp's senior vice president of public policy Luther Lowe joined the Big Technolo

Oct 20, 2020 • 28:31

New York Times’ Ben Smith Talks Slack, Newsroom Politics, And Tech Regulation

As the Media Equation columnist at The New York Times, Ben Smith is covering an industry going through transformation and turbulence. And as the former editor in chief of BuzzFeed News — a place I worked until this June — he lived that change while managing a newsroom of reporters who lived online in a VC funded media company.    In this week’s edition of the Big Technology Podcast, I caught up with Smith for a discussion focused on how tech is changing journalism, what media companies can do to

Oct 14, 2020 • 37:14

Netflix's 'Social Dilemma' Star Tristan Harris on the Film and Its Criticisms

You won’t find a more controversial film in Silicon Valley than The Social Dilemma. The film, now available on Netflix, features confessions from early consumer internet employees who rue the destruction their inventions have wrought.    To address the film and its critiques, Tristan Harris, its star and the co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, sat down for an interview on the Big Technology Podcast with no questions off limits.

Oct 7, 2020 • 58:57

Reporter Roundtable: Discussing Media Narratives and Tech Industry Attacks On The Press

When the Big Technology Podcast debuted last month, The Verge’s Casey Newton joined to talk about why people can’t stand the tech press. Our wide-ranging discussion explored how tech reporters should be more upfront about their values, how algorithms and social media reframe their work, and why some go astray in the quest for retweets. But there was more to discuss.  This week, three talented reporters—Bloomberg’s Eric Newcomer, the Financial Times’ Hannah Murphy, and OneZero’s Brian Merchant—j

Sep 30, 2020 • 28:14

Why Venture Capitalists Are Mad, With Bloomberg Beta Venture Capitalist Roy Bahat

Venture capitalists, founders, and others in the tech industry are feeling pretty raw these days. Once admired as upstarts fighting the status quo, they now feel under siege, under attack for the negative things their products do without being appreciated for how they improve our lives. Bloomberg Beta head Roy Bahat, a veteran venture capitalist, joins the Big Technology Podcast for a nuanced conversation about what's going with the tech world, how it's innovation may be connected to its problem

Sep 23, 2020 • 55:10

An Inside Look At China’s Internment of Muslims, with BuzzFeed News’ Megha Rajagopalan

China’s mass internment of Muslims in its Xinjiang region is one of the world's most under-covered stories The country has detained one million people there, putting them through a “re-education” program meant to erase their language and culture, sometimes through forced labor and sterilization. Though comprehensive, on-the-ground reporting from Xinjiang is sparse, BuzzFeed News reporter Megha Rajagopalan has been on the story from the beginning. She joins the podcast to discuss her reports fro

Sep 16, 2020 • 53:56

Apple At A Crossroads: An Interview With GV Partner M.G. Siegler

For years, Apple had a clear identity: It was the world’s best devices maker. Today, the company is trying to balance that identity with a new emphasis on software and services. To discuss this shift and what it means for Apple’s future, I sat down with my favorite Apple writer, GV Partner M.G. Siegler, who once covered the company for Techcrunch and continues to write about it on Medium while still working his day job.

Sep 9, 2020 • 58:51

Box CEO Aaron Levie on Trump, the Tech Giants, and the Stock Market

As the pandemic flattens much of the U.S. economy, many technology firms are doing just fine. Business is moving online, and they’re well positioned to benefit. For tech CEOs like Box’s Aaron Levie, the experience can be bewildering. While you’re riding a wave most companies can only dream about, you’re watching the rest of the economy — including many of your customers — struggle to get by. In this conversation, Levie says this economy is “not sustainable,” and offers a look into his mindset as

Sep 2, 2020 • 52:26

“It Just Felt Wrong.” Ex-Amazon VP Tim Bray On Why He Left

In May, Amazon VP and distinguished engineer Tim Bray said he was leaving the company. Amazon had just fired employees who spoke out against its working conditions, and Bray couldn’t tolerate it. He handed in his resignation and published an astonishing blog post detailing his decision—an unprecedented move for an executive inside the tech giants. “I choose neither to serve nor drink that poison," he wrote. By listening to Bray, we can learn a bit more about how people inside the tech giants vie

Aug 26, 2020 • 35:04

Is the Tech Press Bad? With The Verge's Casey Newton

The Verge's Casey Newton writes The Interface, a daily newsletter about social media and democracy. He joins the podcast to talk about the tech press, Facebook, and the newsletter life.

Aug 19, 2020 • 49:55

From Gezi Park to Black Lives Matter, with Zeynep Tufekci

Social media-fueled protests are a force to be reckoned with in politics today. Movements like Occupy Wall Street, the Arab Spring, and Black Lives Matter have drawn millions into the streets in protest of central authorities. But can these movements be effective in the long term? Alex sits down with the field's leading writer and researcher, Zeynep Tufekci, to talk it through.

Aug 19, 2020 • 57:57

Introducing Big Technology Podcast with Alex Kantrowitz

Here's a little preview of what's coming your way on the Big Technology Podcast. Don't miss the BTP, subscribe today!

Jul 9, 2020 • 0:55