Azeem Azhar's Exponential View

Regina Dugan, CEO of new biomedical non-profit Wellcome Leap and former director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in the U.S., joins Azeem Azhar to explore how she approaches delivering breakthrough technologies, and why she has now set her sights on global health. They also discuss: The thinking behind DARPA’s early support of Moderna’s mRNA vaccine technology. How the DARPA model of innovation can apply to advancing medical technologies. How the lessons from her experience of childhood cancer have guided Dugan’s career. Further resources “Understanding the Enduring Consequences of Covid-19” (Exponential View podcast with Professor Nicholas Christakis, 2020) “The Covid-19 Pandemic May Be a ‘Sputnik Moment’” (Bloomberg New Economy, 2020) “The Health Age” (Wellcome Leap, 2020) @azeem @ExponentialView @WellcomeLeap

Cory Doctorow, award-winning author, technologist, and founder, joins Azeem Azhar to explore the power of big tech monopolies and how a future wave of antitrust lawsuits could unleash innovation across the sector. They also discuss: How antitrust litigation, even if it fails, has a powerful effect on corporate behavior. Why interoperability is key to a competitive marketplace. How software patents have been weaponized to protect monopolies. Further resources: “Regulating Big Tech makes them stronger, they need competition instead” (The Economist, 2019) “Google lawsuit: the opening salvo in a battle to restrain Big Tech” (Financial Times, 2020) “How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism” (Online book by Cory Doctorow 2020) “How US Lawmakers Plan to Tackle Big Tech” (Exponential View – subscribers only, 2020) @doctorow @azeem @ExponentialView

In his reflection on this tumultuous year, Azeem Azhar finds hope in our reaction to the pandemic. The achievements made through collective action and the latest technologies have been life-saving. Azeem also explores: What businesses will need in order to thrive in 2021. How new multi-stakeholder institutions will emerge to meet the challenges in the coming period of friction and fragmentation. Questions sent in by subscribers to the Exponential View Newsletter. Further reading: IKEA: Making a $40 Billion Company Climate Positive (Exponential View Podcast, 2020) What if Every Day Was Pandemic Day (Exponential View, 2020) Your Technologies of the 2020s (Exponential View, 2020) @azeem @ExponentialView

Cory Doctorow, award winning author, technologist, and founder, joins Azeem Azhar to examine how the pandemic mindset around harnessing massive collective action and exponential technologies for the good of humanity could also help us mitigate climate change. They also discuss: How Covid-19 exposed the need to reset the relationship between market and state. Why the predicted 20-30 percent unemployment rate will force dramatic government action in 2021. Further resources: What can climate tech do for us? (Exponential View 2020) Cory Doctorow: Full Employment (Locus Magazine 2020) How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism (Online book by Cory Doctorow 2020) @doctorow @azeem @ExponentialView

Leila Rastegar Zegna, co-founder and general partner of Kindred Capital, joins Azeem Azhar for a deep dive into venture capital: how it really works, what’s broken, and how to fix it. They also explore a new model for venture capital, where founders become partners in the fund. This new approach aims to align incentives for both entrepreneurs and investors, in order to build a healthier innovation community. They also discuss: Why venture capital is a “people business,” not a finance business. Why obsessiveness is a more important than expertise for founders. Why not all startups should seek funding. Further resources: “How Venture Capitalists Are Deforming Capitalism” (The New Yorker, 2020) “What Is Equitable Venture?” (Kindred Capital, 2017) “Silicon Valley Needs a Shakedown with Chamath Palihapitiya” (Exponential View podcast, 2020) @lrastegar @azeem @ExponentialView

IKEA generates 0.1 percent of the world’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. Can this $40 billion multinational company become climate positive by 2030? Jesper Brodin, CEO of Ingka Group, joins Azeem Azhar to discuss how to grow a business while investing in renewable energy, sourcing sustainable materials, and building a circular economy. They also discuss: How being a leader in the “green revolution” is a business opportunity. How mass production could actually expedite progress towards sustainability. Why supporting customers in their efforts to re-use and recycle is part of IKEA’s plan. Further resources: “The Drive to Decarbonize with Ramez Naam” (Exponential View podcast, 2020) “Ikea says it’s easier being green if you are private” (Financial Times, 2020) “Ikea Will Buy Back Used Furniture” (New York Times, 2020) @azeem @ExponentialView

“China is no longer a copycat. It’s an innovator,” says Kai-Fu Lee, CEO of Sinovation Ventures and former president of Google China. He joins Azeem Azhar to explore China’s rapidly evolving tech scene, their embrace of automation, and their journey to AI dominance. They also explore: How Covid has dramatically accelerated the use of consumer-facing robots. Why office workers are most vulnerable to replacement by AI. Why China is so attractive for tech investors. Further resources: “China, an AI Superpower” (Exponential View podcast, 2018) “Kai-Fu Lee on how covid spurs China’s great robotic leap forward” (The Economist, 2020) “China Has Caught Up To US In AI, Says AI Expert Kai-Fu Lee” (Forbes, 2020) @kaifulee @azeem @ExponentialView

As the world population grows and climate change intensifies, how can we transform the food supply chain to be more sustainable and resilient? Mike Zelkind, co-founder and CEO of 80 Acres Farms, is building a network of hyper-efficient, high-tech, indoor farms to provide local communities with fresh, nutritious produce. He joins Azeem Azhar to discuss the challenges of disrupting the farming industry to innovate the future of food. They also discuss: Why fruits and vegetables are now bred for logistics, not for flavor and nutrition. How robotics and AI are being used to optimize yield, taste, and growing time. Why “stressing” plants is key to making them healthy. Further resources: “Robots are changing the future of farming” (CNET, 2020) “Growing higher – New ways to make vertical farming stack up” (The Economist, 2019) “Reinventing food: The coming disruption” (Exponential View report, 2020) @80AcresFarms @azeem @exponentialview Exponential View newsletter

Azeem Azhar speaks with Yale Professor of Social and Natural Science, Internal Medicine & Biomedical Engineering, Nicholas Christakis, whose latest book “Apollo’s Arrow,” lays out the three phases of the world’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Christakis argues that each phase will be fraught with risk and will leave an enduring impact on our society, economy, and politics. They also discuss: How a successful vaccine will influence global geopolitics as a soft power. How to deal with the pandemic on individual and community levels. How the “Swiss Cheese model” of accident causation can help policymakers build resilient prevention and response systems. Further resources: “Apollo’s Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live” (Christakis, 2020) “Building Better Cities After Covid-19” (Exponential View podcast, 2020) “Navigating Covid-19 as a Digital Republic” (Exponential View podcast, 2020) “A Swiss Cheese Approach to Pandemic Safety” (The Verge, 2020) @NAChristakis @azeem @exponentialview Exponential View newsletter

Google and Facebook became multibillion-dollar juggernauts by stockpiling data and using it to sell advertising. Governments can now track their citizens en masse. Where will this “surveillance capitalism” lead? Dr. Carissa Véliz from the Institute for Ethics in AI at the University of Oxford joins Azeem Azhar to consider what’s wrong with the data economy, and to explore her bold proposals for ending it. They also discuss: Why Google’s founders were initially opposed to selling ads. Why privacy legislation stalled after 9/11. How personalized content fractures the public sphere. How the Nazis used population data to identify victims. Why we should ban trading in personal data. Further reading: “Surveillance Capitalism with Shoshana Zuboff” (Exponential View podcast, 2019) “Privacy matters because it empowers us all” (Aeon, 2020) “Digital privacy — can we reclaim it?” (Financial Times, 2020) “You’ve heard of tax havens. After Brexit, the UK could become a ‘data haven’” (The Guardian, 2020) @carissaveliz @azeem @exponentialview Exponential View newsletter