Azeem Azhar's Exponential View

Visa processes more than 500 million transactions every day. How is the world’s largest digital payment platform adapting to new technologies and fresh competition? Charlotte Hogg, executive vice president and CEO of its European operations, joins Azeem Azhar to explore the evolving ecosystem of digital payments. They also discuss: Why Visa should be seen as a platform-based technology company like Google, despite being an established financial institution. Why the Visa’s “open network” model demands a level playing field for all participants. Why an increasingly cashless world is pushing central banks towards digital currencies. How the payment platform is now enabling settlement in the USDC stablecoin – a cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar. @azeem @exponentialview Further resources: “Visa launches suite of AI tools to enable smarter payments” (TechRadar, 2021) “Central banks get serious on digital currencies” (Financial Times, 2021) “Bitcoin and the Future of Decentralized Finance” (Exponential View podcast, 2021)

From predictive policing to automated credit scoring, algorithms applied on a massive scale, gone unchecked, represent a serious threat to our society. Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, director of Machine Learning Ethics, Transparency and Accountability at Twitter, joins Azeem Azhar to explore how businesses can practice responsible AI to minimize unintended bias and the risk of harm. They also discuss: How you can assess and diagnose bias in unexplainable “black box” algorithms. Why responsible AI demands top-down organizational change, implementing new metrics and systems of redress. How Twitter led an audit of its own image-cropping algorithm that was alleged to bias white faces over people of color. The emerging field of “Responsible Machine Learning Operations” (MLOps). @ruchowdh @azeem @exponentialview Further resources: “Sharing learnings about our image cropping algorithm” (Twitter Blog, 2021) “As AI develops, so does the debate over profits and ethics” (Financial Times, 2021) “It’s time for AI ethics to grow up” (Wired, 2020) “Auditing Algorithms for Bias” (Harvard Business Review, 2018)

AI hackers are coming, and it’s not just our computer networks at risk – our laws and regulations are also vulnerable. Bruce Schneier, internationally renowned security technologist and fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, joins Azeem Azhar to explore how humans have always exploited loopholes in rule-based systems, and how that will change as AIs become more powerful. They also discuss: Why making AI systems easier to monitor and regulate also makes them less powerful. Why we need mechanisms for agile policy response when legislation and regulation get hacked. Why AI hackers might end up benefiting system designers and cyber-defenses in the long run. @schneierblog @azeem @exponentialview Further resources: “Cybersecurity in the Age of AI” (Exponential View podcast, 2019) “The Coming AI Hackers” (Belfer Centre report by Bruce Schneier, 2021) “Why Was SolarWinds So Vulnerable to a Hack?” (New York Times, 2021)

Could we have a financial industry without banks or brokers? That’s the vision of decentralized finance – or DeFi – in which financial products are built from tamper-proof digital smart contracts interacting with blockchains. Sergey Nazarov, co-founder of Chainlink, joins Azeem Azhar to explore the promise of this emerging sector to bring greater transparency, control, and yield for both customers and businesses. They also discuss: How blockchains and smart contracts work together to reconfigure the fundamentals of finance, as we currently experience it. Why the outrage felt by Robinhood users (when trading in GameStop was paused) reveals an underlying weakness in traditional finance. What blockchain oracles are, and how Chainlink is using them to build the decentralized infrastructure that will enable the widespread adoption of DeFi products and cryptocurrencies. @SergeyNazarov @azeem @exponentialview “Bitcoin and the Future of Decentralized Finance” (Exponential View podcast with Meltem Demirors, 2021) “DeFi Can ‘Transform Global Finance’” (Decrypt, 2021) “What Is Chainlink and Why Is It Important in the World of Cryptocurrency?” (Yahoo Finance, 2021)

AI can offer a new type of competitive advantage, but entrepreneurs need to know what it is and how to unlock it. Ash Fontana, author of The AI First Company and managing director at Zetta Venture Partners – a firm that exclusively invests in early-stage AI startups, joins Azeem Azhar to explore the risks and rewards of applying AI to business problems. They also discuss: Why the high up-front cost of developing AI models favors multi-sector businesses. Which is more important for an AI-focused company: domain expertise or AI expertise? How AI startups should assess the risk of being usurped by Big Tech. Why Amazon’s sophisticated AI regularly offers nonsensical recommendations. @ashfontana @azeem @exponentialview “Creating an AI-First Business with Andrew Ng” (Exponential View podcast, 2019) “Businesses are finding AI hard to adopt” (The Economist, 2020) “Competing in the Age of AI” (Harvard Business Review, 2020) The AI First Company: How to Compete and Win With Artificial Intelligence (Ash Fontana, 2021)

Using forests to offset a company’s carbon emissions has been dismissed as “greenwashing.” But Diego Saez Gil argues that a verifiable and transparent global market in carbon credits is a vital tool to mitigate climate change. In part 2 of their discussion, he joins Azeem Azhar to explore how his company, Pachama, uses technology to connect farmers and ecologists with climate-conscious corporations in an effort to evolve the global carbon marketplace. They also discuss: Why companies need offsets to achieve their climate goals. Why carbon offsets should be used only after emission-reducing changes have been maximized. How properly calibrated carbon pricing can incentivize climate-conscious economic activity. @dsaezgil @azeem @ExponentialView Further resources: “IKEA: Making a $40 Billion Company Climate Positive” (Exponential View podcast, 2020) “The merits of a global carbon offset market” (Financial Times, 2020) “Do Carbon Offsets Really Work? It Depends on the Details” (Wired, 2020) “The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review” (HM Treasury, UK Government, 2021)

How do we build a market for carbon offsets that is both trustworthy and effective? Diego Saez Gil, co-founder and CEO of Pachama, believes he has the answer. In part 1 of the conversation, Diego joins Azeem Azhar to explore how AI, satellites, and LiDAR can be leveraged to verify the conservation efforts of farmers, NGOs, and governments and help lay the foundation for sustainable work against climate change. They also discuss: How the rapid cycles of a tech startup interact with the slower rhythms of forest ecology. Why the tropics should be the focus of forest regeneration efforts. Why the priority should be to achieve a “deep” carbon offset market, which is both a platform of exchange and an assurance of quality. @dsaezgil @azeem @ExponentialView Further resources: “How Data Helps Companies Honor Their Climate Goals” (Exponential View podcast, 2021) “As concerns rise over forest carbon offsets, Pachama’s verified offset marketplace gets $15 million” (TechCrunch, 2021) “Applying AI To Mitigate The Effects Of Climate Change” (Forbes, 2020) “The merits of a global carbon offset market” (Financial Times, 2020)

Kenneth Cukier, senior editor at the Economist, and Viktor Mayer-Schoenberger, professor of Internet Governance and Regulation at the University of Oxford, argue that because AI systems have no causal model of the world, they lack the human capacity for imagination and decision-making. Azeem Azhar explores their contention that we should not rely on AI to provide solutions to our problems. Rather we should systematically challenge how we frame our problems in order to produce breakthrough insights and innovations — then use AI to help enact those solutions. They also discuss: How “reframing” old technologies unleashed advances for SpaceX, Apple, Spotify and others. How proper framing empowered New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to battle Covid-19 in her country. Why you should not think “outside the box,” but instead “switch boxes.” @kncukier @Viktor_MS @azeem @ExponentialView Further resources: “You Can Make Better Decisions by Placing Problems in a New Frame” (Bloomberg, 2021) “11 Myths About Decision-Making” (Harvard Business Review, 2021) “Beyond Deep Learning with Gary Marcus” (Exponential View podcast, 2019)

In less than a decade France has gone from tech backwater to the startup engine of the EU. It recently celebrated its 12th company to achieve a $1 billion valuation and is well on the way to President Macron’s goal of “25 unicorns by 2025.” Kat Borlongan, director of La French Tech, joins Azeem Azhar to explore how her government taskforce has been working to effectively drive growth in the French startup scene. They also discuss: Why achieving tech sovereignty has become a key motivator for governments. How France’s visa scheme is part of their offensive strategy to attract top tech talent. Why the French government is directly investing in startups via public investment bank Bpifrance. @katborlongan @azeem @ExponentialView Further resources: “Building Unicorns in Europe” (Exponential View podcast with Reshma Sohoni, 2019) “The State of European Tech 2020″ (Atomico, 2021) “Paris overtakes Berlin for tech start-ups after boost from Macron“ (Financial Times, 2019) “La French Tech ecosystem map“ (Interactive dashboard on France’s tech startups)

Turning a corporate climate pledge into reality is a complex endeavor. Watershed, a software startup co-founded by Christian Anderson, is committed to using data to cut corporate emissions fast. In conversation with Azeem Azhar, Christian shares the challenges of putting this dream into practice. They also discuss: The role of network effects in the net-zero transition. How Watershed’s data business compares to social media. Why carbon removal decisions in companies should reside within the CFO’s office. @chranderson @azeem @ExponentialView Further Reading “IKEA: Making a $40 billion company climate positive” (Exponential View podcast, 2020) “How Measuring and Reducing Emissions Has Become Its Own Business” (Bloomberg, 2021)