Possible with Reid Hoffman

Latest Episodes:

Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins on the future of social welfare Dec 20, 2023

Show notes

What does it look like to build true access with technology? Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, CEO and co-founder of Promise, is creating that reality. She sat down with Reid and Aria to discuss how her company is revolutionizing the way people receive welfare in its client states. By leveraging data, questioning preconceived assumptions, and focusing on eliminating bias, Promise has become a model for socially conscious business. This people-first mindset runs so deep that Promise employees personally call clients to apologize for mistakes. Phaedra also uses her high-level view of social systems and business to consider how AI could close access gaps and improve life for the most marginalized.

Read the Atlantic article referenced by Phaedra here.

Read the transcript of this episode here.

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all of the episodes, visit www.possible.fm/podcast.

Topics:

06:24 - Hellos, intros, and a story about Prince

08:41 - How Promise resonated with investors

11:40 - What makes applying for welfare so hard?

13:54 - How Promise uses data for social good

15:40 - Why we should talk about bail reform

17:28 - Why there’s more money in enforcement than welfare

19:27 - How to work toward the ideal welfare system with technology

21:11 - Is Promise considering AI in the context of welfare reform?

25:48 - Pi weighs in on Black maternal healthcare inequity

27:03 - How can we center empathy and address bias in technology design?

33:33 - What AI companies can do to create products for more people

36:22 - How to get people onboard the movement: the Prince secret

38:36 - How to build more companies like Promise

40:25 - Rapidfire questions

This season, hosts Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, are speaking with a new set of ambitious builders and deep thinkers about everything from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Whether it's Inflection’s Pi, OpenAI’s ChatGPT or other AI tools, each episode will use AI to enhance and advance our discussion.

Possible is produced by Wonder Media Network and hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger. Our showrunner is Shaun Young. Possible is produced by Edie Allard, Sara Schleede, and Paloma Moreno Jiménez. Jenny Kaplan is our Executive Producer and Editor. Special thanks to Surya Yalamanchili, Saida Sapieva, Ian Alas, Greg Beato, Ben Relles, Pure Dalisay, Melanie Jones, and Little Monster Media Company.

Sarah Sze on the future of AI and art Dec 13, 2023

Show notes

How can humanities and the arts flourish as artificial intelligence continues to grow and evolve? Contemporary artist Sarah Sze joins the podcast to talk about the relationship between art and technology. Reid, Aria, and Sarah discuss her recent exhibit at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, the relationship between the physical and the digital, and the importance of taking art off its pedestal. Plus, Sarah takes a look at AI-generated art inspired by her body of work and offers her thoughts on AI, art, and ownership.

Read the transcript of this episode here.

View AI-generated art in the style of Sarah Sze here.

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all of the episodes, visit www.possible.fm/podcast.

Learn about Sarah’s spring 2023 Guggenheim exhibition, Timelapse, here.

Topics:

Intros and hellos - 4:21

9:28 - Dichotomies: physical vs. digital and chaos vs. order

11:54 - How AI impacts the intrinsic value of objects

14:54 - Does AI democratize art?

16:55 - Can AI exhibit creativity?

24:35 - Sarah reacts to AI-art inspired by her work

29:44 - How AI can enhance an artist’s work

34:56 - How Sarah incorporates the digital into her art

38:47 - What different mediums do best

41:49 - How technology has previously transformed art

44:10 - Where Sarah’s work is headed

48:31 - Rapidfire questions

Kim Stanley Robinson on narrative and civilization Dec 06, 2023

Show notes

What is the connection between the future of humanity and the future of technology? Science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson (The Mars trilogy, Ministry for the Future) joins the podcast to speculate about how we might evolve as a civilization. Science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson joins the podcast to speculate about how we might evolve as a civilization. His books, such as The Mars trilogy or Ministry for the Future to name a few—address issues like economic inequality, governance, and the ethical dilemmas posed by technological advancements. Reid, Aria, and Stan discuss Stan’s books and characters, how he builds his science fiction worlds, and the shifting pace of human acceleration. Plus, Stan explains the way that humans have organized themselves in the past and how AI may change how humans organize themselves in the future.

Read the transcript of this episode here.

Promotional image credit: Gage Skidmore.

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all of the episodes, visit www.possible.fm/podcast.

Topics:

3:40 - Hellos and intros

6:00 - Stan’s story development process

9:00 - Where we are on the narrative arc of humanity

14:07 - The pace of human progress

19:35 - Science fiction and the political realm

23:54 - How humans organize themselves

29:23 - The strength of AI programmers

34:44 - How Ministry of the Future applies to the real world

43:53 - Rapidfire questions

Possible is produced by Wonder Media Network and hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger. Our showrunner is Shaun Young. Possible is produced by Edie Allard, Sara Schleede, and Paloma Moreno Jiménez. Jenny Kaplan is our Executive Producer and Editor. Special thanks to Katie Sanders, Surya Yalamanchili, Saida Sapieva, Ian Alas, Greg Beato, Ben Relles, and Little Monster Media Company.

Peter Lee on the future of health and medicine Nov 29, 2023

Show notes

What if every doctor and every patient had an artificial intelligence copilot to help with medical decisions? Peter Lee joins the show to offer his expertise as co-author of The AI Revolution in Medicine: GPT-4 and Beyond and Corporate Vice President of Research and Incubations at Microsoft. Peter is working at the cutting edge of how to safely incorporate AI into medicine, training healthcare providers on the strengths and limitations of technology like GPT-4 in a medical setting. Reid, Aria, and Peter discuss how to regulate AI while encouraging innovation. Plus, Peter provides a fascinating live demonstration of GPT-4’s ability to listen to a patient’s symptoms and provide a second opinion, illustrating AI’s potential to bridge healthcare gaps and revolutionize care.

Read the transcript of this episode here.

Read Peter’s book here.

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all of the episodes, visit www.possible.fm/podcast.

Topics:

03:47 - Hellos and intros

04:16 - Mapping Peter’s career

07:00 - How patients can use AI in healthcare

08:54 - Peter’s personal experience using AI in healthcare

11:35 - Demo of GPT-4 as a physician’s copilot

15:30 - How best to educate about GPT-4’s capabilities

19:33 - Demo of GPT-4’s “critical thinking” skills

26:57 - How to safely incentivize innovation

30:37 - The importance of building effective technology around AI

31:47 - Exploring “hallucinations” in AI, and other limitations

35:28 - How to best use partnerships to foster innovation

38:21 - Example of new technology using AI in healthcare

40:37 - Rapidfire questions

This season, hosts Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger are speaking with a new set of ambitious builders and deep thinkers about everything from art to geopolitics, and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Whether it's Inflection’s Pi, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, or other AI tools, each episode will use AI to enhance and advance our discussion.

Possible is produced by Wonder Media Network and hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger. Our showrunner is Shaun Young. Possible is produced by Edie Allard, Sara Schleede, and Paloma Moreno Jimenez. Jenny Kaplan is our executive producer and editor. Special thanks to Katie Sanders, Surya Yalamanchili, Saida Sapieva, Ian Alas, Greg Beato, Ben Relles, Katie Zoller, Katy Halliday, Rhoades Clark, and Little Monster Media Company.

Feed Drop: Masters of Scale | Reid Hoffman confronts the AI critics Nov 22, 2023

Show notes

Hey listeners! Possible is off this week but we’re bringing you an episode from another podcast hosted by Reid called Masters of Scale.

Questions in this episode include: Are AI’s harshest critics causing irreversible harm to humanity? How far should leaders lean into AI? And just what would Reid sound like speaking Chinese with a British accent?

Reid Hoffman sits down with CEO of WaitWhat and longtime friend Jeff Berman to tackle these pressing questions and more. Join them in an unguarded exploration of how the AI landscape has continued to shift in the six months since Reid published Impromptu, the book he co-authored with GPT-4.

Reid also gives a sneak peek into his work with Microsoft's research-only, commercially unreleased AI text-to-speech tech, and discusses why he chose not to join Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak and other tech leaders in signing an open letter warning about the existential threat of AI.

This episode was produced by the team at Masters of Scale, the award-winning business podcast hosted by Reid Hoffman. In each episode of Masters of Scale, Reid joins iconic business leaders to unpack their scale journeys, delving into the moments—and mindsets—behind their success.

Follow Masters of Scale: https://listen.mastersofscale.com/Possible

Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com

Siddhartha Mukherjee on the future of disease and diagnostics Nov 15, 2023

Show notes

Will artificial intelligence change what it means to be human? Cancer physician, researcher, and author Siddhartha Mukherjee joins the podcast to help rethink how we understand human health—and the ways AI can help. Sid talks about using AI to emancipate patients from disease as well as enhance patient health and wellbeing. He also discusses the risks that come along with incorporating AI into the medical world and how new technologies in medicine are ushering in a “new human.” Plus, Sid and Reid pose a thought exercise: if there were five spots on a spaceship about to be sent off to restart humanity, which professions would get those seats?

Read the transcript of this episode here.

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all of the episodes, visit www.possible.fm/podcast.

Topics:

6:22 - Hellos and intros

8:50 - What excites Sid most about cancer research right now

13:08 - Bringing CAR T-cell therapy to India

15:48 - Reflections on AI and medicine

19:31 - Can we make something completely new in medicine with AI?

22:01 - Pi explains AlphaFold

23:35 - What risks are worth taking to accelerate science?

25:23 - The New Human

32:36 - Enhancement vs. Emancipation

39:43 - Sid’s thoughts on the meaning of humanity writ large

47:04 - Which professions should be on the spaceship that’s sent off to restart humanity?

54:18 - Rapidfire questions

Possible is produced by Wonder Media Network and hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger. Our showrunner is Shaun Young. Possible is produced by Edie Allard, Sara Schleede, and Paloma Moreno Jimenez. Jenny Kaplan is our Executive Producer and Editor. Special thanks to Surya Yalamanchili, Saida Sapieva, Ian Alas, Greg Beato, Ben Relles, Yan Ma, and Little Monster Media Company.

Condoleezza Rice on the future of war and geopolitics Nov 08, 2023

Show notes

How will artificial intelligence reshape diplomacy and war? Renowned diplomat and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice joins the show to explore that question. As director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and a member of the board of directors of C3 AI, Dr. Rice is at the intersection of our geopolitical climate and the advancement of AI. Reid, Aria, and Dr. Rice explore the options for global collaboration in the AI space, how to legislate around AI to prioritize safety without squashing innovation, and the role AI might soon play in foreign affairs. The possibilities for AI in diplomacy are exciting. Where might it assist and amplify the work of officials and diplomats? Dr. Rice shares the story of a tense, private moment with a Russian diplomat that could make or break a war – and Inflection’s Pi chimes in for some context.

Read the transcript of this episode here.

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all of the episodes, visit www.possible.fm/podcast.

Topics:

06:36 - Intros and background

09:20 - Lessons from global nuclear technology agreements

13:54 - The role of the US government in AI

15:22 - Dr. Rice’s three guidelines for supporting innovation

18:53 - How should public/private partnerships work?

22:04 - AI in the military

28:43 - How to build global governance around AI

31:50 - AI in diplomacy

35:32 - Where diplomats make a difference

38:35 - China in the age of AI

40:29 - Innovations that would help the geopolitical landscape

43:04 - Rapidfire questions

Possible is produced by Wonder Media Network and hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger. Our showrunner is Shaun Young. Possible is produced by Edie Allard, Sara Schleede, and Paloma Moreno Jimenez. Jenny Kaplan is our Executive Producer and Editor. Special thanks to Surya Yalamanchili, Saida Sapieva, Ian Alas, Greg Beato, Ben Relles, Eryn Witcher Tillman, and Little Monster Media Company.

Anne-Marie Slaughter on the future of the care economy Nov 01, 2023

Show notes

Can technology help us fulfill our potential as caring beings, as well as rational, calculating beings? Anne-Marie Slaughter is a scholar, public intellectual, and CEO of New America, a think tank that focuses on a wide range of public policy issues. She joins the podcast to talk about public interest technology, the care economy, and, ultimately, the ways technology can help make humans whole. Reid, Aria, and Anne-Marie discuss caring for our elders, the childcare crisis, and speculate on what new era humanity is entering — and how AI and other technologies are contributing to that shift. Plus, Inflection’s Pi joins to offer information on the care economy.

Read the transcript of this episode here.

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all of the episodes, visit www.possible.fm/podcast.

Topics:

5:49 - Hellos and intros

9:00 - How Anne-Marie has been working to amplify public interest technology

12:39 - Defining the care economy

18:33 - How business leaders can bring the care economy into their sector

21:54 - How can AI shift the care economy

26:16 - Anne-Marie talks to Inflection’s Pi

29:35 - The ways technology shifting humanity is changing

36:37 - What next epoch are we entering?

40:47 - The childcare crisis

45:44 - Reorganizing businesses and governments for a better future

48:39 - Rapidfire questions

Possible is produced by Wonder Media Network and hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger. Our showrunner is Shaun Young. Possible is produced by Edie Allard, Sara Schleede, and Paloma Moreno Jimenez. Jenny Kaplan is our Executive Producer and Editor. Special thanks to Surya Yalamanchili, Saida Sapieva, Ian Alas, Greg Beato, Ben Relles, and G. Denise Barksdale at New America.

Marques Brownlee on the future of creators Oct 25, 2023

Show notes

What if the best technology were deployed on the biggest problems for humanity? So asked Marques Brownlee, who joined us on Possible to open the first episode of season 2. Also known by his YouTube channel name, MKBHD, Marques is a self-taught YouTube creator who has nearly 18 million subscribers and has been posting tech-focused reviews and analysis on YouTube for nearly 15 years. Marques, Aria and I talk about the ways AI enhances his work and lowers the barrier to entry for YouTube creators today. He also discusses the many arcs of technological progress, the power and promise of electric vehicles, and what makes a good piece of technology. Plus, Marques has a conversation with Inflection’s Pi.

Read the transcript of this episode here.

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all of the episodes, visit www.possible.fm/podcast.

Topics:

5:49 - Hellos and intros

6:58 - What problems can AI help tackle?

9:59 - Using AI as a YouTube creator

12:48 - How AI can help the next generation of creators

21:23 - Where Marques got his love for gadgets and technology

23:01 - The arc of technological progress

24:35 - The future of electronic vehicles

29:25 - Marques’ investment philosophy

34:03 - Marques talks to Pi

38:28 - Pi’s potential uses and other AI assistants

42:50 - Rapidfire questions

Introducing: Possible season two Oct 23, 2023

Show notes

The award-winning Possible podcast is back with a new season that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Tune in for grounded and speculative takes on how technology—and, in particular, AI—is inspiring change and transforming the future. This season, hosts Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, are speaking with a new set of ambitious builders and deep thinkers about everything from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Whether it's Inflection’s Pi, OpenAI’s ChatGPT or other AI tools, each episode will use AI to enhance and advance our discussion.

The first episode is out this Wednesday, October 25th.

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