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The Times Tech Podcast
Satya Nadella, Microsoft's Chairman and Chief Executive
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Satya Nadella is only the third boss in the tech giant's 50 year history, but he has pivoted Microsoft towards accelerating technology, and forging partnerships with leading companies including OpenAI. On a whistle-stop AI tour of the world and in his only UK interview this year - this exclusive conversation with Satya Nadella covers the dangers, pitfalls and growth of AI. What better time to sit down with the Microsoft supremo than almost two years after the public launch of ChatGPT? He tells Katie that his major worry is that nations miss the opportunity to take advantage of AI and technological innovation for economic growth "ultimately the benefits of it being much more broad spread are, I think... the real dream."
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Can an AI scientist solve humanity's problems?
33:54|Danny goes solo this week, in old-school Danny in the Valley style. He speaks to Sam Rodriques, the founder and CEO of FutureHouse – a non-profit organisation developing AI scientists that could revolutionise human discovery. Plus, he rounds up the week in tech – from NVIDIA’s chips making a return to China, to Mark Zuckerberg’s ambitious plan to build data centres the size of Manhattan.Linda Yaccarino’s X exit & Figma files for IPO
48:00|Katie speaks to Dylan Field - the CEO of Figma. The design software firm has filed to go public on the New York Stock Exchange with Dylan calling it the most ‘interesting, intense, and fun time’. Danny and Katie also talk about Linda Yaccarino resigning as CEO of X and discuss a so-called ‘Panda watch’ creeping over Silicon Valley!Can a driverless car really cope with London traffic & is the big AI bromance over?
45:37|Katie joins the CEO of Wayve, Alex Kendall, for a journey round the busy 'higgledy-piggledy' roads of London in a driverless car, to see the tech in real action. Plus a special AI news roundup on how Sam Altman & Satya Nadella's relationship may be souring; how Meta might be finding AI's best talent, and defining fair use when it comes to the training of LLMs.Have any questions, or feedback? Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.ukSometimes I look into your eyes
41:44|Danny meets up with Alex Blania, the CEO and one of the co-founders, alongside Sam Altman, of Tools for Humanity. Their project Worldcoin, aims to help us weed out AI imitators by verifying humans online. All you have to do is scan your iris on one of their orbs to get a unique biometric ID and some cryptocurrency. Danny and Katie also take on Tesla’s robotaxi rollout, and question whether it's right and proper for humans to fall in love with AI bots? Spoiler alert! The answer is probably not, for both your sakes.Mistral AI: Europe's answer to Silicon Valley?
35:35|Katie speaks to Arthur Mensch, the 32 year old co-founder and CEO of Mistral AI who believes European sovereignty will be under threat if it does not gain traction in the race for AI supremacy. Plus, does Meta's $15bn investment in Scale AI suggest Mark Zuckerberg is anxious they are falling behind in that same race?Tech's rising stars?
36:31|Katie is at 'Founders Forum' in the Oxfordshire countryside surrounded by titans from the world of tech as well as robots, flying cars, and a host of expensive gear proclaiming everlasting health. She talks to four of the 'Rising Stars' who may one day return as titans themselves - from a French startup working on robots that burrow inside your brain to AI tools creating new materials from scratch. Danny listens and is amazed - almost!An AI-induced recession on the horizon? Klarna's CEO thinks so
38:30|Sebastian Siemiatkowski joins the pod from the SXSW festival in London to tell the story of Klarna, the "buy now, pay later" fintech company he co-founded and currently leads. Press coverage suggests that he has gone all in on AI at the company; he claims his position is more nuanced. But what is clear, in his mind, is that an AI-induced recession may be unavoidable.Any thoughts or questions, get in touch - techpod@thetimes.co.ukOpenAI's iPhone moment & can AI teach?
46:13|Last week Sam Altman announced the acquisition of Sir Jony Ive's hardware startup, io, in order to create a new class of AI-native devices. This week, Katie and Danny ask whether this could be the bet of the century and more than just an expensive video shoot. Meanwhile did Anthropic's early model show a worrying tendency to blackmail it's users? Plus, Danny speaks to the founder of a school where kids may only have to learn for 2 hours a day, maybe! All thanks to AI.Any thoughts or questions, get in touch - techpod@thetimes.co.ukCan the UK invent the next internet?
40:48|The internet, GPS, autonomous vehicles... they all have one thing in common: they're existence is in large part down to the DARPA (the US Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). And the UK is trying to repeat the success of that agency with its own: ARIA (the Advanced Research and Invention Agency). The organisation's CEO, Ilan Gur, joins Katie to discuss how.Any thoughts or questions, get in touch - techpod@thetimes.co.uk