"World of DaaS"

Dr. Jonathan Levin is the Dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He’s the winner of the 2011 John Bates Medal, and an expert in market design, game theory, and industrial organization. Auren and Jon discuss how Stanford GSB, one of the most selective schools in the world, thinks about finding talent. Jon breaks down the non-obvious ways universities foster innovation, and how that path of research differs from the private sector. They also discuss whether or not hedge fund managers are overcompensated, what datasets could improve public policy, and what kind of hard and soft skills are the most important today. World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph. For more episodes, visit safegraph.com/podcasts.You can find Auren Hoffman on Twitter at @auren and‍ Jon Levin on LinkedIn or at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. 

Dr. Nir Barzilai discovered the first “longevity gene” in humans and pioneered key research around the biology of aging. He’s the founding director of the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and the author of the book Age Later. Nir and Auren discuss the most promising studies and treatments in the field of anti-aging research and break down the major takeaways from Nir’s seminal studies on centenarians— why they live longer, and what the rest of us can learn from them. Nir also explains the role of genetics vs. environment in longevity and makes some data-backed recommendations for anyone who wants to live a longer, healthier life. World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph. For more episodes, visit safegraph.com/podcasts.You can find Auren Hoffman on Twitter at @auren and‍ Nir Barzilai on Twitter @NirBarzilaiMD.

Tony is a retired 4-star US Army General and was the commander of the US Special Operations Command from 2016 to 2019. During his 35-year military career, he played a key role in numerous high-profile operations, including the mission that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden. He’s currently a partner at Lux Capital.Auren and Tony discuss what we’ve learned from the war in Ukraine and which countries are the strategic winners and losers of the conflict. Tony has a clear, nuanced view of Russia’s strengths and weaknesses and explains how the U.S. should be positioning itself against China.  Auren and Tony also break down how AI should be implemented in military technology, whether NATO is still relevant, and which of the US’s major weapons systems are obsolete.World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph. For more episodes, visit safegraph.com/podcasts.You can find Auren Hoffman on Twitter at @auren and‍ Tony Thomas on Twitter @TonyT2Thomas. 

Auren and Megan discuss some of the less obvious factors that contributed to the superheated economy of the last decade. Megan breaks down how she thinks about monopolies in the tech sector and explains one of the most misunderstood things about markets. Megan also shares some of her insights on politics and culture. She explains how one of the most popular negotiation techniques in politics almost never works, how companies should think about cancellation mobs, and why there’s no point having a pen name on the internet anymore. World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph. For more episodes, visit safegraph.com/podcasts.You can find Auren Hoffman on Twitter at @auren and‍ Megan McArdle on Twitter @asymmetricinfo. 

Jaan Tallinn is one of the founding engineers of Skype and the file-sharing service Kazaa. He’s also a co-founder of the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk and the Future of Life Institute. Auren and Jaan discuss the trajectory of artificial intelligence and the existential risks it could present to humanity. Jann talks about the prevailing attitudes towards risk in AI research and what needs to change in order get aligned, safe AI. Jaan and Auren also talk about how Jaan’s native Estonia has become one of the most tech-forward societies in Europe. World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph. For more episodes, visit safegraph.com/podcasts.You can find Auren Hoffman on Twitter at @auren and‍ Jaan Tallinn’s work on YouTube and at the Centre for Existential Risk and the Future of Life Institute. 

Baroness Dido Harding has held high-level leadership roles in the UK’s National Health Service and in the private sector, at companies like TalkTalk, Tesco, and Thomas Cook. She was executive chair of the NHS’s COVID-19 Test and Trace effort. Dido and Auren break down what we’ve learned about data and public health during the pandemic. Dido explains how publicly accessible data helped leaders and the general public make decisions, and outlines what we should be doing to prepare for the next pandemic. Auren and Dido also talk about running large organizations, staying productive, and what the public and private sectors have in common. World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph. For more episodes, visit safegraph.com/podcasts.You can find Auren Hoffman on Twitter at @auren and Dido Harding on Twitter at @didoharding.

Oren Etzioni was the founding CEO of the Allen Institute for AI, or AI2. He’s founded multiple companies that had successful exits, and he’s a professor emeritus at the University of Washington. Oren Etzioni and host Auren Hoffman discuss Oren’s criteria for artificial general intelligence and what signs he’s looking for to indicate that AGI is about to emerge. They talk about major issues in AI research right now, including the cost of compute, accessing data, and adversarial versus collaborative AI training methods.  Oren shares how AI2 has been able to spin out so many successful companies and how he's found the balance between running a research organization and a business.   World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph. For more episodes, visit safegraph.com/podcasts.You can find Auren Hoffman on Twitter at @auren and Oren Etzioni on Twitter at @etzioni

Vivek Ramaswamy is an entrepreneur, investor and author. He founded Roivant Sciences in 2014 and Strive Asset Management in 2021. He’s also the author of the bestselling books Woke Inc. and Nation of Victims. Auren and Vivek discuss how CEOs and leaders should think about ideology in the workplace— both their own and their employees’. Vivek breaks down the history of the ESG movement and pulls back the veil on two companies that have massive, little-understood power over the public markets— proxy advisory services ISS and Glass Lewis. Vivek also talks about what drives the pharmaceutical industry and what’s holding it back from greater innovation. World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph. For more episodes, visit safegraph.com/podcasts.You can find Auren Hoffman on Twitter at @auren and Vivek Ramaswamy on Twitter at @VivekGRamaswamy

David is a co-founder and partner at Craft Ventures, one of the foremost SaaS VCs. He was the former COO at Paypal and he’s invested in over 20 unicorns, including AirBnB, Facebook, Palantir, Uber, and SpaceX. David and Auren discuss the state of SaaS in 2023 and consider how layoffs, seat contraction, and the broader macro environment could affect the ecosystem this year. David shares some advice on how companies should be positioning themselves to weather the downturn. They also talk about bubbles and cycles in tech, how to spot stand-out founders early, and which analysts have the best record on foreign policy.  World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph. For more episodes, visit safegraph.com/podcasts.You can find Auren Hoffman on Twitter at @auren and David Sacks on Twitter at @DavidSacks

Bret Stephens, a foreign affairs columnist at the New York Times, discusses major takeaways from the war in Ukraine and the US's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He offers predictions about the future of warfare and explains what the US will have to do to remain the preeminent global power. They also touch on cancel culture, decadence, and environmentalism.