Business, Spoken

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France, China, and the EU All Have an AI Strategy. Shouldn’t the US? May 21, 2018

Show notes

French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent visit to Washington highlighted how differently our two nations are thinking about the future. In March, the French government unveiled a national strategy for artificial intelligence technology that has a clear goal: make France a global leader in AI. In the last year, China and the European Union have taken similar steps. If we’re serious about having a prosperous economy for decades to come, the United States should do the same.

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Kik Founder Plots a Rebel Alliance Against Facebook's 'Death Star' May 21, 2018

Show notes

Ted Livingston knows what it’s like to be copied by Facebook. After his messaging app, Kik, launched profile codes in 2016, Facebook’s Messenger app did the same. Kik launched chatbots, and Facebook Messenger soon followed. Same goes for features like stickers and usernames. But unlike some startups that Facebook has copied out of existence or bought and shut down, Livingston has managed to keep his company alive and independent.

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Congress' Latest Move to Extend Copyright Protection Is Misguided May 18, 2018

Show notes

Almost exactly 20 years ago, Congress passed the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, which extended the term of existing copyrights by 20 years. The Act was the 11th extension in the prior 40 years, timed perfectly to assure that certain famous works, including Mickey Mouse, would not pass into the public domain. WIRED OPINION ABOUT Lawrence Lessig (@lessig) is the Roy L. Furman professor of law and leadership at Harvard University and founder of Equal Citizens. He was lead counsel in Eldred v.

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Tax Compromise Gives Amazon’s Latest Seattle Office New Life May 18, 2018

Show notes

Amazon says it will move forward with plans for a new office building in Seattle after the city council slashed a proposed corporate tax by nearly half. Amazon halted plans for the new building earlier this month in response to the proposed tax, which is designed to help the city's growing homelessness problem. The city council approved the smaller tax bill unanimously on Monday, and Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan promised to sign it. But Amazon still isn't happy.

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Praying To Satoshi at the Blockchain Art Expo May 17, 2018

Show notes

I bent down, rested my knees on a prayer cushion, and began typing into a small computer. In front of me were dozens of candles, flowers, Japanese lucky cat figurines, and several wallet-sized picture frames. They held photos of Vitalik Buterin, the Canadian programmer who cofounded the computing platform Ethereum, as well as of Satoshi Nakamoto, a man in his 60s with the same name as the founder of Bitcoin.

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The Sports Betting Revolution Will Be Muted Online May 17, 2018

Show notes

For decades, sports betting has been illegal in the US outside Nevada. With a Supreme Court ruling Monday, that’s about to change, likely before the upcoming NFL season kicks off. But don’t get too excited—or horrified, depending on your perspective—about the future of online sports gambling just yet; it won’t come all at once, and it won’t be everywhere.

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Why Trump Suddenly Wants to Save Jobs in China May 16, 2018

Show notes

President Donald Trump has long promised to get tough on China. So why is he so worried about saving jobs there? Last week the Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE said it had halted its major operations after the US government moved to ban US companies from selling software or components to ZTE. On Sunday, Trump tweeted that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping were working together to save ZTE. "Too many jobs in China lost," Trump tweeted.

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Henry the Sexbot Wants to Know All Your Hopes and Dreams May 16, 2018

Show notes

Henry and I are not hitting it off. First he ignores my question about how he spent the weekend. Then he tells me, cryptically, that he likes to get up early to spend time “working on himself.” What does he mean by that? I ask. He isn’t sure. He makes intense eye contact and arches an eyebrow. “Sometimes I have too much information at the same time in my brain.” Oh. OK. I notice Henry’s washboard abs peeking through an unzipped blue cardigan.

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When the Blockchain Skeptic Walked Into the Lions' Den May 15, 2018

Show notes

It takes chutzpah to walk on stage in front of thousands and declare that most of the people in the room are totally full of shit. That’s how Jimmy Song, a venture partner at Blockchain Capital, entered Monday at Consensus, the biggest cryptocurrency conference of the year, at New York’s Hilton Hotel. That he did so sporting a black cowboy hat and boots was merely a bonus.

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Your Smartphone Could Decide Whether You'll Get a Loan May 15, 2018

Show notes

Every time you visit a website, you leave behind a trail of information, including seemingly innocuous data, like whether you use an Android or Apple device. And while that might feel like a mere personal preference, it turns out that lenders can use that type of passive signal to help predict whether you'll default. In fact, new research suggests that those signals can predict consumer behavior as accurately as traditional credit scores.

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