The Ars Technicast

Ars Technicast Special Edition: The Role of Open Systems in Connecting The Joint Force Feb 01, 2021

In the second part of this two-part special edition of the Ars Technicast, we talk to Northrop Grumman's Richard Sullivan about the role of open systems in connecting what’s referred to as the "Joint Force," the combined and coordinated functioning of multiple service branches from the US and its international allies.

Ars Technicast Special Edition: The Internet of Military Things Jan 21, 2021

For at least a couple of decades, the US Department of Defense has been trying to make the tools we use to fight battles more like the tools we use in peacetime with more connectivity, more data, and more smarts. The difference this time around, is that technology has caught up to the point where what we can do in real life almost mirrors what we can do in movies. On this special episode, we talk to Scott Stapp, Chief Technology Officer of Northrop Grumman about the shape of the modern battlefield and why the Military IOT is critical to connecting the Joint Force.

Ars Technicast Special 1.3: Adversarial AI Feb 27, 2020

Join Ars Technica editors Sean Gallagher and Lee Hutchinson in this special AI-focused edition of the Ars Technicast, produced in cooperation with Darktrace. In this last of three episodes, we talk with ForAllSecure CEO David Brumley (who is also a professor at Carnegie Mellon) about adversarial AI—that is, using AI as both cyber weapon and cyber defense.

Ars Technicast Special 1.2: Insider Threats Feb 20, 2020

Join Ars Technica editors Sean Gallagher and Lee Hutchinson in this special AI-focused edition of the Ars Technicast, produced in cooperation with Darktrace. In this second of three episodes, we talk with Carnegie Mellon Director for the Center of Computational Analytics of Social and Organizational Systems Kathleen Carley on how AI is helping companies detect threats from inside their own walls.

Ars Technicast Special 1.1: AI in Sports Feb 13, 2020

Join Ars Technica editors Sean Gallagher and Lee Hutchinson in this special AI-focused edition of the Ars Technicast, produced in cooperation with Darktrace. In this first of three episodes, we talk with NTT's Senior Director of Global Advanced Technology for Sport Tim Wade about how machine learning analytics are changing the nature of competitive sports.

Ars Technicast Experimental #13.4: Rob Reid and Naval Ravikant, 4 of 4 Jun 20, 2019

Today we’re presenting the fourth and final installment of my conversation with Naval Ravikant about existential risks. The theme of today’s installment: there’s hope. Yes, really! If there’s one thing that any religious, national or political mindset should agree on, it’s that we don't want some maniac wiping us all out. This creates an extreme good-guy-to-bad-guy ratio, which itself could be decisive—even if lone destructive actors become massively empowered.

Ars Technicast Experimental #13.3: Rob Reid and Naval Ravikant, 3 of 4 Jun 19, 2019

Today we’re presenting the third installment of my conversation with Naval Ravikant about existential risks. In this segment, Naval and I move on from yesterday’s topic of AI risk to the dangers inherent in the rise of synthetic biology, or synbio.

Ars Technicast Experimental #13.2: Rob Reid and Naval Ravikant, 2 of 4 Jun 18, 2019

Today we’re presenting the second installment of my conversation with Naval Ravikant about existential risks. Today, we focus on that time-honored Hollywood staple—super AI risk.

Ars Technicast Experimental #13.1: Rob Reid and Naval Ravikant, 1 of 4 Jun 17, 2019

This week’s guest is Naval Ravikant. Naval is a renowned angel investor and entrepreneur. But our topic this week is something quite a bit darker than entrepreneurial finance. Specifically, it’s existential risk. This refers to a set of dangers which might, in a worst-case scenario, imperil humanity’s very existence.

Ars Technicast Experimental #12.3: Rob Reid and Sarah Parcak, 3 of 3 Nov 02, 2018

Today we present the third and final installment of my interview with Sarah Parcak, a prominent founding figuring the emerging field of astroarchaeology. Most of today’s installment concerns a crowd-enabled detection project Sarah created with proceeds from the TED Prize. It’s called GlobalXplorer. Partly inspired by Galaxy Zoo, it let armies of “citizen scientists” scan twelve million quadrants of Peruvian satellite imagery for hints of archaeological remains.

Ars Technicast Experimental #12.2: Rob Reid and Sarah Parcak, 2 of 3 Nov 01, 2018

Today we’re presenting the second installment of my interview with Sarah Parcak, a prominent founding figuring the emerging field of astroarchaeology. Sarah’s team may just have pinpointed a long-lost (and eagerly-sought) pharaonic capital. Satellite data helped them establish the Nile’s approximate course during the capital’s heyday—as well as the locations of settlement-friendly highlands.

Ars Technicast Experimental #12.1: Rob Reid and Sarah Parcak, 1 of 3 Oct 31, 2018

This week my guest is Sarah Parcak, a co-founder of the emerging field of astroarchaeology, which enlists satellite imagery to identify ancient, undiscovered sites on our home planet. Sarah’s work in this field won her the 2016 TED prize—which came with a million-dollar check to advance her work.

Ars Technicast Experimental #11.3: Rob Reid and Chris Anderson, 3 of 3 Oct 25, 2018

Today we present the third and final installment of my interview with Chris Anderson. Today’s episode starts in the greener pastures that Chris’s startup, 3DR, found after Chinese behemoth DJI annihilated its drone manufacturing business. 3DR is now all about construction. We then explore Chris’s nuanced take on China as a competitive force. He’s extremely fair-minded, and even generous toward the company that all but liquidated his startup.

Ars Technicast Experimental #11.2: Rob Reid and Chris Anderson, 2 of 3 Oct 24, 2018

Today we’re presenting the second installment of my wide-ranging interview with Chris Anderson. He was Wired magazine’s editor-in-chief for twelve years, and then started one of the most influential companies in the brief history of consumer drones: 3D Robotics. Chris all but invented both the term and the concept of open source hardware—and we have a fascinating discussion about it in today’s installment.

Ars Technicast Experimental #11.1: Rob Reid and Chris Anderson, 1 of 3 Oct 23, 2018

Our guest is Chris Anderson, who was the editor-in-chief of Wired magazine for twelve years—until he did something quite unusual for an editor and started a high-profile, venture-backed startup, 3D Robotics. Chris doesn’t have the background you might expect. For one thing, he dropped or failed out of multiple schools when he was young. For another, he played bass for R.E.M. (and there’s something of a twist to this fact—but you’ll need to hear to our conversation to find out what it is).

Ars Technicast Experimental #10.4: Rob Reid and Sam Harris, 4 of 4 Oct 19, 2018

We open today’s conversation talking about bioterrorism. Because that’s not uplifting enough, we then move on the dangers a super AI could present in certain worst-case scenarios. The final part of the podcast is a conversation between me and podcasting superstar Tom Merritt. In it, Tom and I discuss my interview with Sam—as well as a chunk of the novel After On.

Ars Technicast Experimental #10.3: Rob Reid and Sam Harris, 3 of 4 Oct 18, 2018

Today, we start off discussing Sam’s first bestselling book, The End of Faith. It was inspired by September 11th attacks. Having recently spent ten years on his own self-styled spiritual journey, “I immediately recognized the spiritual intensity of that enterprise,” he recalls. Of Osama Bin Laden, Sam says, “He was not faking his belief. He believed what he said he believed, and it was only rational to take his stated beliefs at face value.”

Ars Technicast Experimental #10.2: Rob Reid and Sam Harris, 2 of 4 Oct 17, 2018

In today’s installment, we discuss some of the experiences that shaped Sam's perspectives. As a freshman at Stanford (where he and I happened to overlap as undergraduates), he recalls being irked by the special treatment he felt the Bible received in a required course on western culture. However, he didn’t label himself an “atheist” at the time – although in retrospect, he essentially was one. Everything changed when he tried the drug MDMA (which is more commonly known to its friends as Molly, or

Ars Technicast Experimental #10.1: Rob Reid and Sam Harris, 1 of 4 Oct 16, 2018

This week my guest is Sam Harris: a neuroscientist turned bestselling author turned podcasting colossus. Sam has described his job as “thinking in public.” The uniqueness of Sam’s perspective is evidenced by his ability to trigger comparable gusts of outrage from both the left and the right (generally from the extremes of each camp). Also, he made Ben Affleck really angry on Bill Maher's show this one time.

Ars Technicast Experimental #9.3: Rob Reid and Adam Gazzaley, 3 of 3 Oct 12, 2018

The main topic today is consciousness. Adam has his own rather eclectic take on this mysterious force and presence. The final chunk of the podcast is a conversation between me and podcasting superstar Tom Merritt. In it, Tom and I discuss my interview with Adam—as well as a chunk of the novel After On.

Ars Technicast Experimental #9.2: Rob Reid and Adam Gazzaley, 2 of 3 Oct 11, 2018

Adam and I open today’s installment discussing techniques that mad scientists like him can use thwack the brain (legally, and safely, of course), so as to increase its neuroplasticity. We then talk about the limits of medical imaging—and the lamentable fact that this technology isn’t rocketing down a Moore’s Law-like curve. In closing, we discuss some of the newer things Adam’s lab is exploring. There’s some intriguing work connected to meditation.

Ars Technicast Experimental #9.1: Rob Reid and Adam Gazzaley, 1 of 3 Oct 10, 2018

This week, we’re serializing another episode of the After On Podcast here on Ars. Our guest is UCSF neuroscientist Adam Gazzaley, who runs one of the largest academic neuroscience labs on the West Coast and researches tuning games to combat neurological aliments. At the heart of today’s conversation is Adam’s take on neuroplasticity. I’ve known this term for years, and long thought I understood it. But this interview brought me a far more nuanced comprehension of it.

Ars Technicast Experimental #8.1: Rob Reid and Don Hoffman, 3 of 3 Oct 04, 2018

UC Irvine quantitative psychologist Don Hoffman presents his wildly counterintuitive theory on the nature of reality. We kick off today talking about what’s widely referred to as "the hard problem of consciousness." Don takes a highly contrarian approach to it. Next we discuss the eerie results of several hundred brain-splitting surgeries, which were performed a few decades back. We close by discussing of "panpsychism."

Ars Technicast Experimental #8.1: Rob Reid and Don Hoffman, 2 of 3 Oct 03, 2018

Don and I open this episode by discussing his take on space-time. He refutes that the notion that space itself existed at all before consciousness. Don essentially believes that if you’re alone in a room and look at a chair, that chair ceases to exist when you look away from it. Almost inevitably, we get into quantum physics. But rest assured, Don isn’t some New Age guru citing spooky physics as part of a healing crystal sales pitch. He’s a serious thinker who understands this stuff cold.

Ars Technicast Experimental #8.1: Rob Reid and Don Hoffman, 1 of 3 Oct 02, 2018

Today’s guest is UC Irvine quantitative psychologist Don Hoffman. In today’s installment, he lays the foundation of this wildly contrarian worldview. An ardent Darwinist, Don argues that evolutionary forces will almost always favor perceptive systems that present a simplified, even dumbed-down take on reality. This is the start of a pretty wild ride, which I believe any curious mind will enjoy—even ones which fully reject Don’s perspective.

Ars Technicast Experimental #7.3: Rob Reid and Tim O’Reilly, 3 of 3 Aug 02, 2018

In today’s installment, Tim rejects the fashionable forecast that automation will eradicate all human jobs next week. Being closer than most of us to Jeff Bezos, he knows a thing or three about operations at Amazon, which presents a fascinating case in point. Then Tim goes a bit dark. With reference to Facebook and Google, he compares the world economy to an optimizing algorithm that’s gone off the rails. Tim closes with a nuanced take on our future.

Ars Technicast Experimental #7.2: Rob Reid and Tim O’Reilly, 2 of 3 Aug 01, 2018

Tim and I start off today talking about "The Whole Internet User’s Guide & Catalog," which he published in 1992. And yup—that’s a two at the end of that number. Jumping forward many years, Tim tells us about convening a small summit of tech honchos, which quite literally named open-source software. This launches a tour of Tim’s thoughts about platforms & tech ecosystems, and their abusers. This leads us to his very nuanced takes on Uber, AirBnB, and others—all of which surprised me on one or mor

Ars Technicast Experimental #7.1: Rob Reid and Tim O’Reilly, 1 of 3 Jul 31, 2018

Our guest is tech’s preeminent publisher and top prognosticator Tim O’Reilly. O’Reilly Media has published a huge share of our world’s top books for as long as I’ve been around – even as it led the charge with ebooks, digital training, and other disruptions to its ink-on-paper legacy. But Tim’s real mojo comes from being the industry’s convener-in-chief.

Ars Technicast Experimental #6.2: Rob Reid and Daniel Kraft, 2 of 2 Jul 25, 2018

Today, we build on the amazing results Google attained with its experimental eye scan study, and consider the unlikely things that might one day be meaningful early-warning markers for health problems. We close by talking about the Cancer X Prize, which Daniel is overseeing. It’s all about early detection.

Ars Technicast Experimental #6.1: Rob Reid and Daniel Kraft, 1 of 2 Jul 24, 2018

Our guest is pediatric oncologist and medical futurist Daniel Kraft. We begin today discussing Daniel’s background and Singularity University itself. We then delve into the world of advanced quantified-self devices, and how they’re finally starting to link into the caregiving world in ways that could truly saving lives. When I question navigability of the inevitable data glut, Daniel points to the taming potential of AI, by citing some astounding work recently done at Google.

Ars Technicast Experimental #5.3: Rob Reid and Robert Green, 3 of 3 Jul 19, 2018

Today we open with an heartening story about an infant who went through one of Robert’s studies, and may have picked up fifteen IQ points as a direct result (this is neither a metaphor nor an exaggeration)! We then talk about the vast potential of pre-conception genetic screening, and an early initiative in this area that has almost eradicated a genetic disease that long plagued the Ashkenazi Jewish population. We close by discussing an ambitious government initiative that’s called “All of Us.”

Ars Technicast Experimental #5.2: Rob Reid and Robert Green, 2 of 3 Jul 18, 2018

Today we present the second installment of my interview with medical geneticist Robert Green, about the promise and pitfalls that could lie in reading out your full genome. In this installment, we discuss why some medical researchers view personal genetic information as a literal toxin before moving on to discussing rare genetic diseases, and how incongruously common they are.

Ars Technicast Experimental #5.1: Rob Reid and Robert Green, 1 of 3 Jul 17, 2018

My guest this week is a medical geneticist Robert Green, and our topic is the promise and peril that could come from reading your full genome. Whole-genome sequencing will soon become a mass phenomenon, because it will be better to know something than nothing in enough cases to justify the effort. But not in all cases!

Ars Technicast Experimental #4.3: Rob Reid and Stephen Webb, 3 of 3 Jul 13, 2018

Today we present the third and final installment of my interview British astronomer Stephen Webb on the subject of Fermi’s paradox. we open by talking about some of the amazing instruments and projects that are coming online in the coming decade – both to extend the search for extraterrestrial life, and to advance the much broader field of astrophysics. The episode concludes with a conversation between me and Tom Merritt, of the Daily Tech News Show.

Ars Technicast Experimental #4.2: Rob Reid and Stephen Webb, 2 of 3 Jul 12, 2018

Today we present the second installment of my interview British astronomer Stephen Webb on the subject of Fermi’s paradox. We open by talking about the second category of solutions to the paradox. This is that intelligent aliens out there, but we just haven’t detected them yet. We then go on to the third category—which is that we are quite alone in our galaxy, and perhaps in the entire universe. Stephen then lays out the solution to Fermi’s paradox that he deems to be most plausible. No spoilers h

Ars Technicast Experimental #4.1: Rob Reid and Stephen Webb, 1 of 3 Jul 10, 2018

This week we ponder Fermi's Paradox with British astronomer Stephen Webb. This is the question of why can’t we detect any signs of intelligent alien life when we look to the skies. No signs of astro-engineering projects. No signatures of relativistic space travel. No obviously artificial electromagnetic waves, and so forth. And when you think of it, this is rather surprising. Or at least it was surprising to the ingenious physicist Enrico Fermi, who first drew attention to the matter.

Ars Technicast Experimental #3.2: Rob Reid and Mary Lou Jepsen, 2 of 2 Jun 29, 2018

Today we open by talking about some astounding work of UC Berkeley neuroscientist Jack Gallant—in which he trained an AI system to infer what test subjects were viewing on a video screen just by watching their brains light up on an MRI. We then get to the truly speculative stuff. Could near-infrared light be used to excite, or trigger neurons? If so, could some creepy descendant of this technology be used to implant memories, or desires into people?

Ars Technicast Experimental #3.1: Rob Reid and Mary Lou Jepsen, 1 of 2 Jun 28, 2018

This week my guest is a holographer, a one-time academic, a former CTO of Oculus, and a present-day entrepreneur named Mary Lou Jepsen. We open today’s installment discussing the roots of Mary Lou’s new company. Like so many things, it all started with holography and a brain tumor.We then zip through Mary Lou’s career, and then comes the cool part: we start talking about near-infrared light.

Ars Technicast Experimental #2.3: Rob Reid and Rodney Brooks, 3 of 3 Jun 22, 2018

We start today’s installment with the very cliffhanger sentence yesterday’s installment ended with: Rodney saying “Yeah, let’s talk about deep learning.” This leads to an argument similar to yesterday’s point about self-driving cars, which takes us to super AI risk, which Rodney believes is quiet overblown.

Ars Technicast Experimental #2.2: Rob Reid and Rodney Brooks, 2 of 3 Jun 21, 2018

We start with the new robotic era that dawned when Rethink Robotics launched its Baxter robot. Baxter and its successor, Sawyer, shifted the industry. We then consider the ancient legacy equipment and standards that still plague so much factory automation. Next, we dive into society’s urgent need for robots to assist with elder care in the coming years. We close with Rodney’s fascinating take on how a poor understanding of a technology’s history distorts perspectives on its near-future prospects.

Ars Technicast Experimental #2.1: Rob Reid and Rodney Brooks, 1 of 3 Jun 20, 2018

Today’s segment introduces guest Rodney Brooke and includes a discussion of the rigid segregation between human workers and robots that reigned in almost all factories until recently. Brooks started his latest company to disrupt this status quo. Its roots lie in safety concerns, and the troubles that befall legacy robots in the presence of chaotic, imprecise humans.

Ars Technicast Experimental #3: Rob Reid and George Church, 3 of 3 Jun 14, 2018

We start today’s installment by discussing an audacious project to resurrect the wooly mammoth—or at least certain of its genes, which allowed it to thrive in frigid regions. From mammoths, George and I turn to the topic of synthetic meats, which could enter our kitchens and bellies much sooner than most people think. We close by discussing an ambitious longevity project currently underway in George’s lab. It’s not about life extension—but aging reversal.

Ars Technicast Experimental #2: Rob Reid and George Church, 2 of 3 Jun 13, 2018

We begin today’s installment with a discussion of the strengths and shortcomings of the CRISPR gene-editing technique, which George co-invented. Though CRISPR is a great improvement on the nine techniques that preceded it, it isn’t the be-all, and will surely be displaced by more powerful approaches in the future. George discusses this, as well a wish list of improvements that he hopes its successors will bring.

Ars Technicast Experimental #1: Rob Reid and George Church, 1 of 3 Jun 12, 2018

Genomicist George Church talks about his disappointment with the Human Genome Project. He argues that his field’s true golden age began right after the Genome Project ended, and is now building extraordinary momentum. We discuss the blistering price/performance improvements in both DNA synthesis and sequencing. And for those who are new to this field, we arm you with highly accessible definitions of its four major domains (sequencing, DNA synthesis, DNA editing, and assembly).

Ars Technica Live #21: The tech boom and the fate of democracy Apr 18, 2018

Right now the U.S. tech economy is booming, but what will be the long-term effects of automation and AI? Are robots about to steal our jobs? Will Facebook throw the next election? Is social democracy doomed to be a casualty of the tech revolution? To answer these questions and more, we're turning to UC Berkeley economics professor Bradford DeLong. He's in conversation with Ars editor-at-large Annalee Newitz.

Ars Live Episode 16: The Silicon Valley equality crisis Aug 22, 2017

Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz and Cyrus Farivar talk to Catherine Bracy, founder of the TechEquity Collaborative, about Silicon Valley's equality issues and how to make the tech industry work for everyone. Recorded live August 16, 2017 at Eli's Mile High Club in Oakland, CA.

Ars Live Episode 15: Military drones and whistleblowers Jul 25, 2017

Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz and Cyrus Farivar talk to Lisa Ling, former military drone tech and whistleblower about the dilemmas of drone warfare and surveillance, and also her experience as a whistleblower. Recorded live July 19, 2017 at Eli's Mile High Club in Oakland, CA.

Ars Live Episode 14: Government environmental data rescue Jun 28, 2017

Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz and Joe Mullin talk to Lindsey Dillon, UC Santa Cruz Environmental Studies Professor and chair of the EDGI (Environmental Data & Governance Initiative) steering committee, about rescuing EPA and other government data in the wake of the new US administration website removals. Recorded live June 21, 2017 at Eli's Mile High Club in Oakland, CA.

Ars Live Episode 13: Blowing stuff up online May 24, 2017

What's it like to poke, prod, and blow up stuff for a living? Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz and Cyrus Farivar talked with Norman Chan, the editor of Tested, Adam Savage's website and YouTube channel covering the intersections of technology, science, art, and pop culture. Recorded live May 17, 2017 at Eli's Mile High Club in Oakland, CA.

Ars Live Episode 12: tech, the feds, and criminal defense Apr 25, 2017

Ars Technica's Cyrus Farivar and David Kravetz talk with criminal defense attorney Mark Jaffe about his cases with Aurenheimer, Lostutter, and Matthew Keys in front of a live audience in Oakland, CA. Recorded at Eli's Mile High Cafe in Oakland, CA on April 19, 2017.

Ars Live Episode 11: Climate change Mar 22, 2017

Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz talks with Paleoclimatologist Lynn Ingram about climate change in front of a live audience in Oakland, CA. Recorded at Awaken Cafe in Oakland, CA on March 15, 2017.

Ars Live Episode 10: tech, security and immigration Feb 23, 2017