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 skull, 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 surgery, the...
Dec 18, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 356
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 kills its au...
Dec 13, 2024•52 min•Season 1Ep. 355
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-expanding c...
Dec 11, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 354
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) Hawk Tuah...
Dec 06, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 353
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 04, 2024•43 min•Season 1Ep. 352
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 01, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 351
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 min•Season 1Ep. 350
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 Techno...
Nov 22, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 349
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 min•Season 1Ep. 348
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 launching vide...
Nov 15, 2024•57 min•Season 1Ep. 347
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 min•Season 1Ep. 346
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 podcast...
Nov 08, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 345
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 06, 2024•50 min•Season 1Ep. 344
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 04, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 343
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 01, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 142
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 min•Season 1Ep. 341
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 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 340
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 min•Season 1Ep. 339
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 hr•Season 1Ep. 338
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 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 337
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 min•Season 1Ep. 336
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 09, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 335
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 04, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 334
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 02, 2024•45 min•Season 1Ep. 333
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•54 min•Season 1Ep. 332
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 min•Season 1Ep. 331
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 --- En...
Sep 20, 2024•56 min•Season 1Ep. 330
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•41 min
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 min•Season 1Ep. 328
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? ---...
Sep 11, 2024•43 min•Season 1Ep. 327
