Today's interview is with Mark Weiss, Data Engineer at Beeswax and host of Using Reflection which is a podcast where engineers talk about what they love and what they've learned in their careers. I asked him about what he personally has learned from his interviews and from his own career started in the news media. Then, we turn to the craft of data engineering - on which the viability of all the internet services you love (or hate) hinge upon. There is so much change going on in the data enginee...
Mar 19, 2019•48 min
There's a lot of confusion over what a "data scientist" is these days, and the job titles can mean multiple things to multiple people. It's also getting tougher for new entrants into the job market. Max breaks it down and gives advice for those looking to break in. On the technical side, Max starts with the argument from analogy, a philosophical argument that works alongside Bayes which we use without knowing every single day. Then, a connection to machine learning is made with a description of ...
Mar 12, 2019•39 min
Google's "VP of Trust and Safety" has put out Google's strategy for weeding out fake news. Do they have the right definition? Will it work? What is a VP of Trust and Safety? We'll discuss whether Google is looking out for their users. In that vein, we wanted to discuss new ways fake news might be generated, and found this site thispersondoesnotexist.com created images of people who are not real but look pretty convincing. They use Generative Adversarial Networks. After listened, you'll know how ...
Mar 05, 2019•58 min
Author David Auerbach covers Bitwise: A Life in Code. We discuss: - The consequences of data everywhere from the 1980s to today. - Taxonomies and their bias and imperfection. Applications to Mental Illness, personality (meyers-briggs + PI), marketing age buckets - Dealing with Bias in AI and Humans - David's Role in the fight for compatibility between MSN messenger and AIM Get the Book: https://www.amazon.com/Bitwise-Life-Code-David-Auerbach/dp/1101871296/ Show notes page: localmaxradio.com/55 G...
Feb 26, 2019•52 min
We discuss 5G and what that means for mobile tech in the 2020s, as well as augmented reality, virtual reality, mesh networks, gaming, and self driving cars. See the show notes: localmaxradio.com/54 Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe
Feb 19, 2019•1 hr 5 min
Swati Doshi, Founder and Managing Director of Human Results, has Max and Maryam take time-tested behavioral assessments. We learn about our results live and respond to them on-air. Also covering: - Why these assessments can be useful in forming teams. - Considering team chemistry - Examples from Foursquare Labs Take the assessment Swati gave to Max and Maryam here or write to [email protected] . Show notes: localmaxradio.com/53 Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.co...
Feb 12, 2019•57 min
Today I look back at my 7 years, 8 months, and 1 day working at Foursquare, including: - How my career splits into 2.5 year increments - The initial data team at Foursquare - More discussion on the Swarm/Foursquare app split - More on Marsbot and Recommender Systems - Superuser voting, and a shoutout to Foursquare Superusers - My new role starting February 6th Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe...
Feb 05, 2019•37 min
Foursquare Swarm PM Avneesh Kohli tells us about the lifelogging app and more. We cover: - The controversial Foursquare/Swarm app split of 2014 - The importance of Slack reaction emojis - Editing and Storytelling in consumer apps - Timehop - The evolution and turnaround of Microsoft during Avneesh's time there - The growing role of data analytics in basketball strategy localmaxradio.com/51 @avneeshk91 @maxsklar Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe...
Jan 29, 2019•43 min
Facebook is definitely not going to allow me to advertise this one! - Cryptocurrency/Bitcoin as the alternative to Patreon and the Credit Cards - Anonymous Reddit Users seems to know inside details about the Google Memo Situation - An article comes out about Facebook's internal problems among employees, but how much of this is common? Affiliate Link Trezor Hardware Wallet to hold your cryptocurrency: https://shop.trezor.io/?offer_id=10&aff_id=1299&source=ShowDesc50&tiny_url=1 Show No...
Jan 22, 2019•1 hr 3 min
Daniele Quercia, Professor of Urban Informatics, talks about his research into what makes a city and a travel route good. Our algorithms aren't measuring things like sights, smells, and ambiance, and these are the things that can affect our mood and overall wellbeing. We discussion: - The change in focus from Efficiency to Exploration - The Political Map (or technically accurate map) versus the phychological mind-map - Making daily habits more inspiring - Ideas for urban planners and for changes...
Jan 15, 2019•39 min
Today's discussion with Daniel Kronovet is about social choice theory and voting systems. The topics include: - The history of the theory versus the practice which is much older (American founder and ancient Greece) - Multi-party voting, ranked voting, and Condorcet - Arrow's Theorem - Relation to Surveys and Foursquare - Blockchain voting and allocating budget. The notes for this show are on localmaxradio.com/48 Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe...
Jan 08, 2019•54 min
Today you'll hear Max's first attempt at newsroom-style standup comedy - taking place at the Foursquare 2018 talent show at Foursquare HQ in Flatiron. Afterwards, a discussion with Aaron about the bit, the previous 2 episodes, and our favorite and memorable episodes throughout the year. Also our hopes for 2019 on the Local Maximum. Have your own hopes for the show in 2019? Email [email protected] . Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe...
Jan 01, 2019•53 min
The web was designed for text and images, and all of the interactive elements we use today, and all of the advertising technology backing it up was developed as such. Spotify Machine Learning Engineer Shani Offen asks how we can apply this to audio content like music, podcasts, and audiobooks. We cover: - The role of advertising in driving innovation. - The difficulties of building audio chatbots. - Brainstorming on interactive sound and voice. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximu...
Dec 25, 2018•31 min
A riveting long-form interview with former Google engineer Maryam Aly as she gives us a close-up insight into what it's like to work for the tech giant, and the culture and structures inside. We do not shy away from the hot topics which include: - Google’s Interview and Recruitment Process - Approach to security and privacy - Google's product decision-making and roadmaps - Gravity of search results and the potential for Bias or tampering - Atmosphere during and after the circulation of the James...
Dec 18, 2018•1 hr 27 min
If you want to know how machine learning is used to solve real world problems (even first world problems like helping you out at restaurants) - then this episode is for you. Max and Enrique Cruz talk about how Foursquare ranks its tips, how we used machine learning in the process, and our takeaways from how content is ranked online generally. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe...
Dec 11, 2018•42 min
Self Driving Cars are often in the news, and this month the chatter has picked up! Waymo wants to launch in Phoenix, and GM is investing heavily in it's self driving division. But what does this mean? Will we see true autonomous taxis soon, or will there be a transition period - and what will it look like? We cut through news articles that try to paint a positive or negative story based on the same facts. Aaron joins me today to discuss these issues. localmaxradio.com/43 Also - Google Hangout's ...
Dec 04, 2018•52 min
We discuss the story of an American missionary killed on North Sentinel Island - a forbidden Island off the coast of India which has been isolated for tens of thousands of years. Also: - Complaints about the trains in the northeast US - Some updates on my sabbatical projects - Followup on my discussion with David Pietrusza: Teddy Roosevelt, and the society at the turn-of-the-20th-century. - Answer a listeners question about Google Plus's strategy localmaxradio.com/42 Get full access to The Local...
Nov 27, 2018•1 hr
Discussion with political historian David Pietrusza about the Presidents and the changing political landscape. We cover how our political system was affected by the rise of radio, television, film, and connecting it to today's technological trends. - Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, Pre-1920 use of Phonographs. - the Rise of Radio in the 1920s, FDR's fireside chats - Television, late night, JFK, Nixon, and Reagan - Reality TV, Social Media, and targetted advertising in the age of Obama and Tr...
Nov 20, 2018•57 min
Tech 2025's Charlie Oliver stops by the Foursquare office to discuss her approach to engaging and energizing the public with topics on emerging technology. We discuss: - The evolving attitudes of some of the industry leaders and technical experts, and the disconnect between themselves and the people affects by their creations. - How to engage the public on topics like Machine Learning, AI, and Blockchain without going the route of the "technical boring lecture" - How passions and emotions can be...
Nov 13, 2018•1 hr 1 min
I explore logical paradoxes, especially those ultimately caused by circular logic, or circular definitions. Also includes the Twitter fight about the 2018 midterm elections between Nate Silver, Dinesh D'Souza, and Nassim Taleb. Paradoxes include: - Liar's Paradox - Russell's Paradox - Curry's Paradox - Berry's Paradox Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe...
Nov 06, 2018•39 min
During the Fall 2018 Local Maximum Tech Retreat, we did a panel on the predictions that we make about the future of technology, consumer applications, and society. Topics and analysis include virtual fitness training, online doctors visits, social media moderation, self driving cars, education, complex voice assistants, and more. Including panelists Aaron and Crystal Astrachan (Amazon). Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe...
Oct 30, 2018•48 min
I talk to Naomi Brockwell about Bitcoin and Blockchain - the technology of freedom! In addition to her work in popularizing this emerging technology, and some of it's implications on human liberty and global human development, we also talk about her media career, moderating debates, interest in video, popularizing this emerging technology, and her work with John Stossel and on the Hard Fork TV series. Includes a promo for Swarm 6.0 and clips of Naomi's YouTube videos! Get full access to The Loca...
Oct 23, 2018•43 min
With Google's announcement of the impending demise of Google Plus, we discuss various Google products that have succeeded and failed over the years, and what we can learn from it. Also: the security breaches from Facebook and Google Plus, Amazon's AI hiring program and the bias it sustains, and Tim Berners Lee's dream of a decentralized web. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe...
Oct 16, 2018•54 min
Camille Fournier joins the Local Maximum today to discuss her book on engineering management, Rent the Runway, company culture, engineering ladders, and more! Plus, learn about Foursquare for Good and Max responds to listener messages about ads and censorship. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe
Oct 09, 2018•47 min
Now with extra mappers and reducers! I talk to Joe Crobak of the Data Engineering Weekly newsletter about data engineering, and it's importance in modern software projects. We cover: - The definition of data engineering - Hadoop, MapReduce, and Spark - How data engineering has evolved over the last decade. - Joe's experiences working in government vs. startups. The US Digital service, and the paperwork reduction act. Remember to check out the new website at localmaxradio.com , and Joe's site at ...
Oct 02, 2018•37 min
The Social Media giants can't handle the fact that they can't control the system they've created. Another "smart" podcaster backs us up on the futility of fixing internet moderation through Machine Learning alone. Also - how are our elections affected by new communications technology? It's possible that our current situation has been repeated many times in history - but it's also possible that the pendulum is swinging more wildly. And Facebook's ridiculous ads system finally hits me personally, ...
Sep 25, 2018•1 hr 4 min
Aaron interviews me about what I plan to work on while I take 6 weeks off from Foursquare. We'll talk about the future of this podcast, several prototype ideas that I want to build, and my reading list. Can I get all this done? Probably not ALL of it - but I hope a good chunk of it! Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe
Sep 18, 2018•42 min
We do things every in the hope that it will cause something good to happen as a result. And we're also bombarded with information trying to convince us on what to buy, who to vote for, and how to live. But most of the time, it's very difficult to tell whether A causes B, or if they are merely correlated. I talk to subject matter expert Shirin Mojarad of McGraw-Hill to break down how scientists can detect causality and what to look for in a causality study. Get full access to The Local Maximum at...
Sep 11, 2018•47 min
Some data scientists are attempting to use data and machine learning to predict the outcome of the next season of game of thrones. In this solo show I discuss the merits of this approach, give an overview of decision trees, adversarial problems, and the role of information theory. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe
Sep 04, 2018•35 min
Assembly Member Clyde Vanel and I talk about new technology that affect the State of New York and the world! - The rise of Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies - The possibility of blockchain technology being used to maintain state government records like birth, death, and voting registration. - Automation and Jobs - Entrepreneurship; the opportunities in the new economy - 3d printing and the Rubik's Cube Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe...
Aug 28, 2018•47 min
