NVIDIA AI Podcast - podcast cover

NVIDIA AI Podcast

One person, one interview, one story. Join us as we explore the impact of AI on our world, one amazing person at a time -- from the wildlife biologist tracking endangered rhinos across the savannah here on Earth to astrophysicists analyzing 10 billion-year-old starlight in distant galaxies to the Walmart data scientist grappling with the hundreds of millions of parameters lurking in the retailer’s supply chain. Every week, we’ll bring you another tale, another 30-minute interview, as we build a real-time oral history of AI that’s already garnered nearly 3.4 million listens and been acclaimed as one of the best AI and machine learning podcasts. Listen in and get inspired. More information: https://ai-podcast.nvidia.com/

Episodes

NVIDIA’s Sarah Tariq Turning Cars into Software-Defined Vehicles - Ep. 162

Autonomous driving has evolved from science fiction to technology that is actively deployed on roads today. Sarah Tariq, vice president of autonomous driving software at NVIDIA, has been a key player in this transition. She worked on the ground floor of autonomous vehicle development at both NVIDIA and robotaxi company Zoox, and is now developing solutions for the coming generation of software-defined vehicles. Tariq is working to redefine how the world views personal transportation, transformin...

Feb 09, 202218 min

Listen Up: How Audio Analytic Is Teaching Machines to Listen - Ep. 161

From active noise cancellation to digital assistants that are always listening for your commands, audio is perhaps one of the most important but often overlooked aspects of modern technology in our daily lives. Audio Analytic has been using machine learning that enables a vast array of devices to make sense of the world of sound. We spoke with Dr. Chris Mitchell, CEO and founder of Audio Analytic about the challenges, and the fun, involved in teaching machines to listen.

Feb 02, 202232 min

Fusing Art and Tech: MORF Gallery CEO Scott Birnbaum on Digital Paintings, NFTs and More - Ep. 160

Browse through MORF Gallery — virtually or at an in-person exhibition — and you’ll find robots that paint, digital dreamscape experiences, and fine art brought to life by visual effects. The gallery showcases cutting-edge, one-of-a-kind artwork from award-winning artists who fuse their creative skills with AI, machine learning, robotics and neuroscience. Scott Birnbaum, CEO and co-founder of MORF Gallery, a Silicon Valley startup, spoke with NVIDIA AI Podcast host Noah Kravitz about digital art,...

Jan 19, 202231 min

‘AI Dungeon’ Creator Nick Walton Uses AI to Generate Infinite Gaming Storylines - Ep. 159

What started as Nick Walton’s college hackathon project grew into AI Dungeon, a popular text adventure game with over 1.5 million users. Walton is the co-founder and CEO of Latitude, a Utah-based startup that uses AI to create unique gaming storylines. He spoke with NVIDIA AI Podcast host Noah Kravitz about how natural language processing methods can generate infinite open-ended adventure plots for interactive games like AI Dungeon, which draws an average of 150,000 new players each month. https...

Jan 05, 202226 min

AI Pioneer Kai-Fu Lee Discusses His New Work of Fiction - Ep. 158

One of AI’s greatest champions has turned to fiction to answer the question: how will technology shape our world in the next 20 years? Kai-Fu Lee, CEO of Sinovation Ventures and a former president of Google China, spoke with NVIDIA AI Podcast host Noah Kravitz about AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future. The book, his fourth available in the U.S. and first work of fiction, was in collaboration with Chinese sci-fi writer Chen Qiufan, also known as Stanley Chan. Lee and Chan blend their expertise in...

Dec 15, 202130 min

Real or Not Real? Attorney Steven Frank Uses Deep Learning to Authenticate Art - Ep. 157

Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of Jesus, known as Salvator Mundi, was sold at a British auction for nearly half a billion dollars in 2017, making it the most expensive painting ever to change hands. However, even art history experts were skeptical about whether the work was an original of the master rather than one of his many protégés. Steven Frank is a partner at the law firm Morgan Lewis, specializing in intellectual property and commercial technology law. He’s also half of the husband-wife tea...

Nov 30, 202141 min

AI of the Tiger: Conservation Biologist Jeremy Dertien - Ep. 156

Fewer than 4,000 tigers remain worldwide, according to Tigers United, a university consortium that recently began using AI to help save the species. Jeremy Dertien is a conservation biologist with Tigers United and a Ph.D. candidate in wildlife biology and conservation planning at Clemson University. He spoke with NVIDIA AI Podcast host Noah Kravitz about a project deploying AI-equipped cameras to monitor poaching in central India, where more than 70 percent of the remaining tiger populations re...

Nov 17, 202131 min

Metaspectral’s‌ ‌Migel‌ ‌Tissera‌ ‌on‌ ‌AI-Based‌ ‌Data‌ ‌Management‌ ‌ - Ep. 155

‌Moondust‌,‌ ‌minerals‌ ‌and‌ ‌soil‌ ‌types‌ ‌are‌ ‌just‌ ‌some‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌materials‌ ‌that‌ ‌can‌ ‌be‌ ‌quickly‌ ‌identified‌ ‌and‌ ‌analyzed‌ ‌with‌ ‌AI‌,‌‌ ‌based‌ ‌on‌ ‌images‌ ‌of‌ ‌them.‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Migel‌ ‌Tissera‌ ‌is‌ ‌co-founder‌ ‌and‌ ‌CTO‌ ‌of‌ ‌Metaspectral,‌ ‌a‌ ‌Vancouver-based‌ ‌startup‌ ‌that‌ ‌provides‌ ‌an‌ ‌AI-based‌ ‌data‌ ‌management‌ ‌and‌ ‌analysis‌ ‌platform‌ ‌for‌ ‌ultra-high-resolution‌ ‌images.‌ ‌ ‌ He‌ ‌spoke‌ ‌with‌ ‌‌NVIDIA‌ ‌AI‌ ‌Podcast‌‌ ‌host‌ ‌Noah‌ ‌Kravitz‌ ‌ab...

Nov 03, 202132 min

Researchers Chris Downum and Leszek Pawlowicz Use Deep Learning to Accelerate Archaeology - Ep. 154

The more advanced modern technologies become, the more they can help us understand the past. Chris Downum and Leszek Pawlowicz, researchers in the Department of Anthropology at Northern Arizona University, are using GPU-based deep learning algorithms to categorize sherds — tiny fragments of ancient pottery. They spoke with NVIDIA AI Podcast host Noah Kravitz about analyzing sherds to learn more about American Southwest culture, circa 825 to 1300 A.D. https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2021/10/20/ai-p...

Oct 20, 202126 min

Maya Ackerman on LyricStudio, an AI-Based Writing Songwriting Assistant - Ep. 153

Lennon and McCartney. Ashford and Simpson. Many of our all-time favorite tunes have come from songwriting duos. Now, anyone can find a snazzy compositional partner in AI. Maya Ackerman is the CEO of WaveAI, a Silicon Valley startup using AI and machine learning to, as the company motto puts it, “unlock new heights of human creative expression.” She spoke with NVIDIA AI Podcast host Noah Kravitz about WaveAI’s LyricStudio software, an AI-based lyric and poetry writing assistant. https://blogs.nvi...

Oct 01, 202123 min

Wild Things: NVIDIA’s Sifei Liu Talks 3D Reconstructions of Endangered Species - Ep. 152

Endangered species can be difficult to study, as they are elusive, and the very act of observing them can disrupt their lives. Now, scientists can take a closer look at endangered species by studying AI-generated 3D representations of them. Sifei Liu, a senior research scientist at NVIDIA, has worked with her team to create an algorithm that can reconstruct 3D meshes — graphics models used to display the edges, vertices and overall shape of an object — from 2D inputs like images and videos. Liu ...

Sep 20, 202121 min

GE's Danielle Merfeld and Arvind Rangarajan on AI and Renewable Energy - Ep. 150

At GE Renewable Energy, CTO Danielle Merfeld and technical leader Arvind Rangarajan are among those making advances throughout renewable energy. Merfeld and Rangarajan spoke with NVIDIA AI Podcast host Noah Kravitz about how the company uses AI and a human-in-the-loop process to make renewable energy more widespread. The International Energy Agency has set a goal to reach a net zero energy sector by 2050. To reach this goal, 88 percent of electricity needs to come from renewable sources. Wind en...

Aug 20, 202131 min

Jules Anh Tuan Nguyen Explains How AI Lets Amputee Control Prosthetic Hand, Video Games - Ep. 149

Path-breaking work that translates an amputee’s thoughts into finger motions, and even commands in video games, holds open the possibility of humans controlling just about anything digital with their minds. Using GPUs, a group of researchers trained an AI neural decoder able to run on a compact, power-efficient NVIDIA Jetson Nano system on module (SOM) to translate 46-year-old Shawn Findley’s thoughts into individual finger motions. And if that breakthrough weren’t enough, the team then plugged ...

Aug 11, 202137 min

Matt Ginsberg Built a GPU-Powered Crossword Solver to Take on Top Word Nerds - Ep. 148

Following a long string of victories for computers in other games — chess in 1997, go in 2016 and Texas hold’em poker in 2019 — a GPU-powered AI has beaten some of the world’s most competitive word nerds at the crossword puzzles that are a staple of every Sunday paper. Dr.Fill, the crossword puzzle-playing AI created by Matt Ginsberg — a serial entrepreneur, pioneering AI researcher and former research professor — scored higher than any humans earlier this year at the American Crossword Puzzle T...

Jul 28, 202128 min

NVIDIA’s Liila Torabi Talks the New Era of Robotics Through Isaac Sim - Ep. 147

Robots are not just limited to the assembly line. At NVIDIA, Liila Torabi works on making the next generation of robotics possible. Torabi is the senior product manager for Isaac Sim, a robotics and AI simulation platform powered by NVIDIA Omniverse. Torabi spoke with NVIDIA AI Podcast host Noah Kravitz about the new era of robotics, one driven by making robots smarter through AI. https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2021/07/14/liila-isaac-sim/

Jul 13, 202128 min

NVIDIA's Simon Yuen Talks About the Future Horizon of Digital Humans - Ep. 146

We all know about the applications for digital humans for films and video games, but at NVIDIA, Simon Yuen has discovered the vast need and potential for digital humans beyond the entertainment industry. Yuen spoke with NVIDIA AI Podcast host Noah Kravitz about how we’re getting to a point where the simulation of digital humans is possible as opposed to just the visual representation. Yuen leads the Digital Human project at NVIDIA. One of the first products the team is developing is Audio2Face, ...

Jun 29, 202134 min

Waste Not, Want Not: AI Startup Opseyes Revolutionizes Wastewater Analysis - Ep. 145

What do radiology and wastewater have in common? Hopefully, not much. But at startup Opseyes, founder Bryan Arndt and data scientist Robin Schlenga are putting the AI that’s revolutionizing medical imaging to work on analyzing wastewater samples. Arndt and Schlenga spoke with NVIDIA AI Podcast host Noah Kravitz about the inspiration for Opseyes, which began with Arndt’s career at wastewater industry leader Ramboll. Effluent has typically been analyzed by sending tightly sealed samples through th...

Jun 16, 202133 min

Getting Clever with Kaolin: Researchers Accelerate 3D Deep Learning with New Tools - Ep. 144

3D deep learning holds the potential to accelerate progress in everything from robotics to medical imaging. But until now, researchers haven’t had the right tools to easily manage and visualize different types of 3D data. NVIDIA Kaolin is a collection of tools within the NVIDIA Omniverse simulation and collaboration platform that allows researchers to visualize and generate datasets, move between 3D tools and retain basic functions for other users. NVIDIA AI Podcast host Noah Kravitz spoke with ...

Jun 01, 202124 min

AI Researcher James Kahn Explains Deep Learning’s Collision Course with Particle Physics - Ep. 143

For a particle physicist, the world’s biggest questions — how did the universe originate and what’s beyond it — can only be answered with help from the world’s smallest building blocks. James Kahn, a consultant with German research platform Helmholtz AI and a collaborator on the global Belle II particle physics experiment, uses deep learning to understand the fundamental rules governing particle decay. Kahn spoke with AI Podcast host Noah Kravitz about the specifics of how AI is accelerating par...

May 19, 202123 min

Walmart’s Grant Gelvin on Prediction Analytics at Supercenter Scale - Ep. 142

With only one U.S. state without a Walmart supercenter — and over 4,600 stores across the country — the retail giant’s prediction analytics work with data on an enormous scale. Grant Gelven, a machine learning engineer at Walmart Global Tech, joined NVIDIA AI Podcast host Noah Kravitz for the latest episode of the AI Podcast. Gelven spoke about the big data and machine learning methods making it possible to improve everything from the customer experience to stocking to item pricing. https://blog...

May 05, 202123 min

NVIDIA’s Julie Bernauer Talks Setting Up One of World’s Fastest Supercomputers - Ep. 141

Julie Bernauer — senior solutions architect for machine learning and deep learning at NVIDIA — led the small team that successfully built Selene, the world’s fifth-fastest supercomputer. Adding to an already impressive feat, Bernauer’s team brought up Selene as the world went into lockdown in early 2020. They used skeleton crews, social distancing protocols, and remote cable validation to achieve what typically takes months with a larger install team in a few weeks. Bernauer told NVIDIA AI Podca...

Apr 21, 202130 min

NVIDIA’s Shalini De Mello Talks Self-Supervised AI, NeurIPS Successes - Ep. 140

Shalini De Mello, a principal research scientist at NVIDIA who’s made her mark inventing computer vision technology that contributes to driver safety, finished 2020 with a bang — presenting two posters at the prestigious NeurIPS conference in December. A 10-year NVIDIA veteran, De Mello works on self-supervised and few-shot learning, 3D reconstruction, viewpoint estimation and human-computer interaction. She told NVIDIA AI Podcast host Noah Kravitz about her NeurIPS submissions on reconstructing...

Apr 07, 202136 min

Drum Roll, Please: AI Startup Sunhouse Founder Tlacael Esparza Finds His Rhythm - Ep. 139

Drawing on his trifecta of degrees in math, music and music technology, Tlacael Esparza, co-founder and CTO of Sunhouse, is revolutionizing electronic drumming. Esparza has created Sensory Percussion, a combination of hardware and software that uses sensors and AI to allow a single drum to produce a complex range of sounds depending on where and how the musician hits it. In the latest installment of the NVIDIA AI Podcast, Esparza spoke with host Noah Kravitz about the tech behind the tool, and w...

Mar 31, 202132 min

Author Cade Metz Talks About His New Book "Genius Makers" - Ep. 138

Call it Moneyball for AI. In his just released book, "Genius Makers," New York Times writer Cade Metz tells the funny, inspiring — and ultimately triumphant — tale of how a dogged group of AI researchers bet their careers on the long-dismissed technology of deep learning. https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2021/03/17/ai-cade-metz

Mar 16, 202134 min

NVIDIA’s Marc Hamilton on Building the Cambridge-1 Supercomputer During a Pandemic - Ep. 137

Since NVIDIA announced construction of the U.K.’s most powerful supercomputer — Cambridge-1 — Marc Hamilton, vice president of solutions architecture and engineering, has been (remotely) overseeing its building across the pond. Cambridge-1, which will be available for U.K. healthcare researchers to work on pressing problems, is being built on NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD architecture for a whopping 400 petaflops of AI performance. Located at KAO Data, a data center using 100% renewable energy, Cambridge-...

Mar 02, 202127 min

Miracle Qure: Founder Pooja Rao Talks Medical Technology at Qure.ai - Ep. 136

Pooja Rao, a doctor, data scientist and entrepreneur, wants to make cutting-edge medical care available to communities around the world, regardless of their resources. Her startup, Qure.ai, is doing exactly that, with technology that’s used in 150+ healthcare facilities in 27 countries. Rao is the cofounder and head of research and development at the Mumbai-based company, which started in 2016. The company develops AI technology that interprets medical images, with a focus on pulmonary and neuro...

Feb 18, 202129 min

Making Machines More Human: Best-Selling Author Brian Christian on the Alignment Problem - Ep. 135

Not many can claim to be a computer programmer, nonfiction author and poet, but Brian Christian has established himself as all three. Christian has just released his newest book, The Alignment Problem, which delves into the disparity that occurs when AI models don’t do exactly what they’re intended to do. The book follows on the success of Christian’s previous work, "The Most Human Human and Algorithms to Live By." Now a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley, Christian joined AI Podcast host Noah Krav...

Feb 01, 202135 min

Otter.ai CEO Sam Liang on Bringing Live Captions to a Meeting Near You - Ep. 134

Sam Liang is making things easier for the creators of the NVIDIA AI Podcast — and just about every remote worker. He’s the CEO and co-founder of Otter.ai, which uses AI to produce speech-to-text transcriptions in real time or from recording uploads. The platform has a range of capabilities, from differentiating between multiple people, to understanding accents, to parsing through various background noises. And now, Otter.ai is making live captioning possible on a variety of platforms, including ...

Jan 21, 202124 min

On the Clock: High School Junior Ana DuCristea Creates Timely AI-based Reminder App - Ep. 133

Canadian high schooler Ana DuCristea has a clever solution for the quarantine blues, as days blur into weeks. Using AI and natural language processing, she programmed an app capable of setting customizable reminders so you won’t miss any important activities, like baking banana bread or whipping up Dalgona coffee. DuCristea, who’s familiar with Python and has taken a variety of online AI courses, set to work on the app after winning a Jetson Nano Developer Kit this summer at AI4ALL, an AI summer...

Jan 06, 202122 min