Riskgaming

Discussing the controversial use of AI in journalism, the podcast delves into the ethical implications of Perplexity AI summarizing paywalled news. Journalists debate AI's impact on creativity, legislation protecting industries, and the ever-evolving role of journalists in an automated world.

Game designer and researcher Chaim Gingold discusses the creation of SimCity, the history of Maxis, and his experience working with Will Wright. They explore early 90s gaming, the unique aspects of SimCity, and the intersection of game design and scientific ideas.

On the Riskgaming podcast, the co-founders of LatchBio discuss the need for better tools in high-throughput bio research. They highlight the lack of access to top AI/ML talent in the industry and the importance of pioneering new ways to deliver tools to biologists. Topics covered include the changing data economy in biological research, the flaws of open-source software, and the necessity of state-of-the-art machine learning tools for bio research companies.

Novelist Robin Sloan discusses world-building, AI integration, and creativity in his new sci-fi novel Moonbound. He explores the balance between realism and fantasy, the significance of detailed maps, and the impact of series on audience experience. The conversation also touches on AI's role in storytelling, creativity, and the future of writing.

Qasar Younis, co-founder of Applied Intuition, shares how they achieved a $6 billion valuation and a partnership with Porsche by applying Silicon Valley's startup practices to the automotive industry. They discuss the importance of culture, recruitment strategies, open-source technology, Tesla's impact on the industry, and the role of VCs in startup growth.

The podcast discusses the shift in tech from Star Trek's utopia to Douglas Adams' absurdism, exploring design fiction, AI, and creativity. They touch on the influence of sci-fi, management cybernetics, and democratizing programming, highlighting the evolving nature of technology and the importance of imagination in innovation.

We’ve known for decades that one of the key mechanisms of biology — and of life itself — is the binding of molecules to proteins. Once bound, proteins change shape and thus their function, allowing our bodies to adapt and change their molecular machinery as needed for survival. The challenge that remains unsolved is to predict — across billions of potential proteins and a similar number of molecules — how those proteins change and how they might interact with each other. The fervent hope of many scientists and entrepreneurs is that artificial intelligence coupled with experimental and synthetic datasets, may finally unlock this critical piece of the biological puzzle, ushering in a new wave of therapeutics. My guest today is one of those science entrepreneurs, Laksh Aithani, the co-founder and CEO of Charm Therapeutics. He’s made cancer the focus of his work, and through Charm and his team, is building expansive datasets to develop AI models that can predict the 3D shape of proteins. Alongside host Danny Crichton and my Lux colleague Tess van Stekelenburg, we explore protein folding’s past, present and future, the utility and risks of synthetic data in biological research, how much money and time we might expect for future drug discovery, what individualized medicine might look like decades from now, and how new grads can get into the field as the century of biology kicks off. Produced by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Christopher Gates⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠George Ko⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Margaret Mead, an influential anthropologist, delves into the realms of psychedelic research, connecting scientific communities interested in exploring computer science, neurology, and consciousness. Joined by science professor Benjamin Breen and Lux Capital's Sam Arbesman, they explore Mead's work and the historical context of psychedelics post-World War II, shedding light on indigenous traditions, societal transformations, and the intersection of science, social history, and maps.

Ever since the invention of CRISPR technology about a decade ago, biologists have gained increasing power to discover new DNA sequences, cut and mash them up, and then print them in ever larger volumes through biomanufacturers. That freedom and openness is the opening to a long-awaited Century of Bio, with scientists bullish on the potential to discover cures to long-resistant diseases. On the tails side of the coin though, there are fears that the open nature of these tools afford a rebel scientist the means of inventing and distributing well-known or completely novel pathogens that could threaten the lives of millions. It’s not the premise for a bad Hollywood B-movie, but a top security threat that experts at the White House and in the intelligence and defense communities are rapidly trying to solve. Today, I have Kevin Flyangolts of Aclid joining us. Aclid is using artificial intelligence to identify what new sequences of DNA might do, scaling up screening efforts that might allow biomanufacturers the ability to verify their customers’ intentions in a more thoughtful and comprehensive way. Kevin and host Danny Crichton talk about the recent history of bio, the rise of biohacking, the differences between bioweapons, cyberweapons and financial crimes, why we need new approaches to biosecurity, whether executive, legislative or industry approaches might work best, and whether designer bioweapons are as dangerous as many are making them out to be.Finally, a note: in line with the launch of our first riskgaming scenario on the Lux Capital website, Hampton at the Cross-Roads, we have officially condensed the “Securities” podcast name into just “Riskgaming,” which I think captures in one word the risks and opportunities that come from science, technology, finance and the human condition. Same show, more focused name and a great future. Produced by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Christopher Gates⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠George Ko⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & Suno

Josh Wolfe, Lux co-founder, discusses the new theme of 'maintenance' as a growth industry. They explore the value of maintaining existing systems amidst entropy, the significance of maintenance in deep tech investments, financial implications of catastrophic events, the importance of continuous energy input in systems, and the vital role of maintainers in upholding essential systems.