FT Tech Tonic - podcast cover

FT Tech Tonic

Financial Timeswww.ft.com

We are in the midst of a digital revolution, where the line between our physical world and cyberspace is blurring. Tech Tonic is the show that investigates the promises and perils of this new technological age. 



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

AI research and big tech

John Thornhill talks to David Barber, director of the UCL Centre for Artificial Intelligence in London, about how academic researchers can work with business and the wider community to create the best outcomes for society. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dec 16, 201931 min

Niklas Zennström and Tom Wehmeier on the state of European tech

Niklas Zennström, founder of Skype and Atomico and Tom Wehmeier, Atomico partner and author of The State of European Tech report, talk to the FT's John Thornhill about whether Europe is becoming a tech hub. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dec 09, 201922 min

Dave Ferrucci on teaching computers to think

Dave Ferrucci, CEO, founder and chief scientist of Elemental Cognition, talks to Richard Waters, the FT's West Coast editor, about his efforts to train computers to use language to reason. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dec 02, 201926 min

Google's Kate Brandt on sustainable tech

Kate Brandt talks to John Thornhill about Google’s drive to minimise and offset the energy used in its operations and supply chains, and about its environmental insights explorer which helps cities find ways to reduce their carbon emissions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 25, 201924 min

Digital technologies and the developing world

Economist Stefan Dercon tells John Thornhill about the findings of a research project he led, showing how, used wisely, technology can enable development, rather than just replace labour and put people out of work. Read his report here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Nov 18, 201927 min

ENCORE: Jeni Tennison on open data

John Thornhill talks to Jeni Tennison, chief executive of the Open Data Institute, about her work in helping to develop best practice for the use and sharing of data, and about how Brexit will affect Britain's data economy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 11, 201925 min

Scott Kupor on VC funding

John Thornhill talks to Scott Kupor, managing partner at Andreessen Horowitz, about his book Secrets of Sand Hill Road: Venture Capital and How to Get It, about the conditions needed to grow tech companies and the potential drawbacks of a venture capital dominated market. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 03, 201931 min

Rana Foroohar on taming big tech

John Thornhill talks to FT colleague Rana Foroohar about her book Don’t Be Evil - How Big Tech Betrayed Its Founding Principles - And All Of Us Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 28, 201923 min

Stuart Russell on losing control of AI

John Thornhill discusses how to make artificial intelligence safe for humans with Stuart Russell, professor of computer science and engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of new book ‘ Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control ’. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Oct 21, 201931 min

Jaan Tallinn on AI safety

John Thornhill talks to Jaan Tallinn, founding engineer at Skype and Kazaa, about his subsequent career as a tech investor and his concerns about AI safety. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 14, 201922 min

Wanted: work for humans

Madhumita Murgia discusses what happens when robots can do most of the work humans do with Calum Chace of the Economic Singularity Club, Mike Wooldridge, professor of Computer Science at Oxford University and Kathryn Parsons, founder of Decoded Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 07, 201925 min

What kind of art can AI produce?

Mathematician Marcus du Sautoy puts his theories about creative AI to the test before a live audience at the recent FT Weekend Festival in London. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 30, 201920 min

John Maeda on designing the future

Design guru John Maeda tells Tim Bradshaw why he thinks a diversity of viewpoints and listening to what consumers want will be more valuable to the companies of the future than creating the next breakthrough technology. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 23, 201928 min

Sarah Chan on neural interfaces

Bioethicist Sarah Chan contributed to a report this month on neurotechnology by the UK’s senior scientific academy. She talks to John Thornhill about the potential health benefits of neural interfaces but also the difficulty of regulating the commercial use of devices that interact with our brains. Read the Royal Society's report here All FT stories will be free to read on Wednesday September 18th when there will be a 24-hour paywall freeze. Here are a couple of recommendations to get you starte...

Sep 16, 201924 min

Alice Bentinck on harnessing tech talent

Alice Bentinck, co-founder of Entrepreneur First, tells John Thornhill about her mission to harness the entrepreneurial talents of a new generation of people from diverse backgrounds. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 09, 201924 min

Improving decision making through AI

Vishal Chatrath, chief executive and co-founder of Prowler, tells John Thornhill how his company is helping to improve decision making in the worlds of finance and logistics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 02, 201926 min

Priya Lakhani on AI's power to transform education

Priya Lakhani, founder and chief executive AI company Century Tech, talks to John Thornhill about her mission to improve the life chances of students around the world using AI-assisted learning. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 26, 201930 min

Nicolas Berggruen on democracy in the digital age

John Thornhill talks to the billionaire investor and philanthropist Nicolas Berggruen about his book: Renovating Democracy: Governing in the Age of Globalization and Digital Capitalism Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 19, 201924 min

Ben Goertzel on benevolent robots

Ben Goertzel talks to John Thornhill about his work for Hanson Robotics, the company that created the robot Sophia, about SingularityNET, the blockchain-based AI marketplace he founded, and about his belief that artificial general intelligence, transhumanism and benevolent robots are not too far in the future Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Aug 12, 201936 min

Frances Arnold on directed evolution of enzymes

Nobel laureate Frances Arnold talks to Anjana Ahuja about her pioneering a work harnessing the power of nature to engineer enzymes, her long career and the challenges faced by women in science. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 05, 201930 min

Digital printing for the fourth industrial revolution

Joseph DeSimone, chief executive of Carbon, talks to Richard Waters about the manufacturing technique he invented that can craft objects in seconds using the power of light and digital projection systems Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 29, 201928 min

Directing innovation towards sustainable growth

John Thornhill talks to economist Mariana Mazzucato about her work to promote collaboration between governments and companies to direct innovation towards sustainable and inclusive growth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 22, 201932 min

Paul Clarke on robotics and digital twins

Paul Clarke, chief technology officer at the online grocery Ocado, talks to John Thornhill about how the use of robotics, machine learning and digital twins is taking the business to a new level and even helping to plan the cities of the future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 15, 201931 min

Jennifer Doudna on gene editing

Jennifer Doudna talks to Richard Waters, the FT's San Francisco bureau chief, about how she discovered the CRISPR Cas-9 system and how it is transforming the world of gene editing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 08, 201930 min

John Browne on engineering the future

 John Thornhill talks to Lord John Browne, former chief executive of BP, about his book: Make, Think, Imagine on engineering and the future of civilisation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 01, 201926 min

Nathan Jurgenson on social media and the selfie

Nathan Jurgenson, sociologist at Snapchat’s parent company Snap, talks to Tim Bradshaw about his book The Social Photo  and about how the smartphone camera is changing the way we communicate Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 24, 201932 min

Eric Topol on making healthcare more human

Hannah Kuchler talks to American cardiologist Eric Topol about his book Deep Medicine , which looks at the potential for artificial intelligence technology to help free up doctors to spend more time with their patients. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 17, 201929 min

New season starts on Monday

Tech Tonic, the podcast that looks at the way technology is changing our lives, is returning for a news season starting on Monday 17th June. We’ll be talking to Eric Topol, the US cardiologist, about the ways in which the work of doctors can be enhanced by AI, Nathan Jurgenson on social media and the selfy, and John Browne, former head of BP, on engineering and the future of civilisation, and many more. So tune in next week Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Jun 12, 201950 sec

Andrew Ng on building an AI workforce

Artificial intelligence expert Andrew Ng talks to John Thornhill about his concern that AI technology is concentrating wealth in the hands of a few and why we need to spread AI skills and understanding across society. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 17, 201924 min

Rana Yared on investing in fintech

John Thonhill talks to Rana Yared, a partner and managing director at Goldman Sachs’ Principal Strategic Investments, about how technology is transforming the banking industry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 10, 201923 min