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 Bi...
Jan 12, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 256
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 min•Season 1Ep. 255
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 05, 2024•55 min•Season 1Ep. 254
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 03, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 253
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 min•Season 1Ep. 252
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 min•Season 1Ep. 251
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 Pod...
Dec 22, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 250
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 min•Season 1Ep. 249
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 min•Season 1Ep. 248
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 min•Season 1Ep. 247
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 sta...
Dec 11, 2023•38 min•Season 1Ep. 246
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 08, 2023•35 min•Season 1Ep. 245
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 06, 2023•38 min•Season 1Ep. 244
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 Techno...
Dec 01, 2023•50 min•Season 1Ep. 243
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 min•Season 1Ep. 242
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 to...
Nov 24, 2023•53 min•Season 1Ep. 241
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 min•Season 1Ep. 240
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/bigtechnolo...
Nov 20, 2023•30 min•Season 1Ep. 239
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 choice...
Nov 18, 2023•24 min•Season 1Ep. 238
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 o...
Nov 18, 2023•24 min•Season 1Ep. 237
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 min•Season 1Ep. 236
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 min•Season 1Ep. 235
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 min•Season 1Ep. 234
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 08, 2023•48 min•Season 1Ep. 233
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 03, 2023•55 min•Season 1Ep. 232
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 01, 2023•56 min•Season 1Ep. 231
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 min•Season 1Ep. 230
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 min•Season 1Ep. 229
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 min•Season 1Ep. 228
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 hr•Season 1Ep. 227
