The Brave Technologist

Carissa Véliz, Associate Professor at the Institute for AI at the University of Oxford, discusses the erosion of privacy by tech giants, advocating for individual rights. She explores privacy in AI design, alternative data economies, and the role of analog experiences. The podcast delves into the intersection of technology and ethics, highlighting the importance of protecting privacy in the digital age.

Ryan Brown (Filterset Engineer at Brave) and Peter Snyder (Senior Privacy Researcher at Brave) discuss the latest advancements in ad-blocking technology, and how Brave's control over its browser stack plays a crucial role in maintaining a private yet fully operational Web experience. They also reflect on the resilience of the ad-blocking community, especially in response to the looming changes of Manifest V3, and its potential to reshape the extension landscape. Key Takeaways:  How privacy tools have evolved over time as users have gotten more familiar with these tools, and more sophisticated in their usage. The arms race between Big Tech and ad blockers, and the community-driven ad filtering that powers many of today's best privacy tools. What the chromium Manifest V3 update is and how it will impact ad blocking. What distinguishes Brave's privacy features from other competing browsers, and how Brave’s product principles influence product development. Guest Bios: Ryan Brown is a Filterset Engineer at Brave and a List Author Maintainer for the Easylist project and Webcompat Fixer. Peter Snyder is a Senior Privacy Researcher and Filterset Engineer at Brave Software, who received a PhD from the University of Illinois at Chicago, focusing on Web privacy, security, and measurement. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About this Show: The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all! Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together. The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API. Music by: Ari Dvorin Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Josh Swihart, CEO at Electric Coin Co., discusses public perception of pseudonymity versus privacy, and how this impacts adoption of privacy preserving products. He also explores the increasing challenge of crypto wars—which impacts cryptographic and privacy rights worldwide—and why he believes encryption should be mandated for US citizens. Key Takeaways: Why physical cash should be treated/regulated differently than digital money Examples of regulation and policy overreach, and how this slows progress and innovation  Why user experience and ease of use needs to catch up with protocol  The importance of the Zcash and Brave initiative Guest Bio: Josh Swihart is CEO at Electric Coin Co. (ECC). Prior to ECC, he served as the SVP of Global Marketing for K2, leading global growth from start-up to acquisition by Francisco Partners. He began his career as a software engineer, and has served as a global practice principal for EMC, the CEO of Aspenware, and VP of software development for 3t Systems. Josh has received numerous global and national awards for leadership, marketing, and solution delivery. He’s an advocate for underserved and/or exploited people all over the world, most actively with those living in the slums of Mumbai and Pune, India. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About this Show: The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all! Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together. The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API. Music by: Ari Dvorin Produced by: Sam Laliberte  

The podcast discusses the false sense of privacy presented by big tech, importance of privacy over anonymity, and impact of location on privacy rights. It also explores Proton's privacy-first marketing strategy, the cultural shift towards privacy, and the concept of owning your identity for privacy control.

Preston Byrne, Partner at Brown Rudnick LLP, discusses the benefit of using public private keys as a solution to authenticate communication, and avoid both AI scams and fraud. He also shares his predictions for how AI and cryptocurrency will work together in the future, leaning on each other’s polar-opposite strengths. Key Takeaways:  The role that crypto and AI could play in the upcoming US elections Challenges with achieving harmony in global regulations for cryptocurrency and blockchain technology Why everyone should be trading their public private keys Guest Bio: Preston Bryne, is a lawyer with the law firm of Brown Rudnick LLP where he advises cutting-edge technology startups in the crypto, AI, and consumer Internet sectors. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About this Show: The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all! Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together. The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API. Music by: Ari Dvorin Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Anupam Chander, Scott Ginsburg Professor of Law and Technology at Georgetown, and Visiting Scholar at Harvard’s Institute for Rebooting Social Media, discusses the future of humanity during a wave of paid technology innovation. He also shares how AI is impacting digital sovereignty. Key Takeaways:  Why Section 230 of the US Communications Decency Act has been so important for people online How US Internet Laws impact its dominance as a world innovation leader Ways that regulators are having to balance new technologies The impact that judges, regulators, and the courts have had on the evolution of new technologies Guest Bio: Anupam Chander is Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Law and Technology at Georgetown. A Harvard College and Yale Law graduate, he is the author of The Electronic Silk Road, published by Yale University Press. He practiced law in NY and Hong Kong with Cleary, Gottlieb, and has been a visiting law professor at Yale, Chicago, Stanford, Cornell, and Tsinghua. A recipient of Google Research Awards and an Andrew Mellon grant, he has consulted for the World Bank, World Economic Forum, and UNCTAD. A non-resident fellow at Yale's Information Society Project, he is a member of the American Law Institute. In 2023-24, he’s a Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Rebooting Social Media at Harvard University, and Cheng Yu Tung Visiting Professor at the University of Hong Kong. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About this Show: The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all! Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together. The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API. Music by: Ari Dvorin Produced by: Sam Laliberte  

Shubham Shrivastava, Head of Machine Learning at Kodiak Robotics, discusses how AI is solving the increasing challenges within the long haul trucking industry, specifically with safety and driver supply. He also provides practical examples of Kodiak’s safety strategy and redundancies they’ve put in place. Key discussion topics: How soon we can expect to see autonomous trucks on the road The balance between AI innovation and regulation, and how Kodiak is navigating regulation at both the state and national levels across the US Practical examples of how multimodal networks are already transforming various industries including education, healthcare, and robotics Collaboration gaps between academia and industry (and missed opportunities for advancement) Guest bio: Shubham Shrivastava is a leading figure in machine learning and computer vision. At Kodiak, he's the mastermind behind all machine learning endeavors, steering the development of the safest autonomous driving technologies. His leadership and innovations at Ford Autonomy, particularly in 3D perception for vehicles, have set new industry standards. Shubham's numerous patents and publications echo his pivotal role in advancing autonomous vehicle technology, and underline his commitment to transforming the future of transportation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About this Show: The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all! Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together. The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API. Music by: Ari Dvorin Produced by: Sam Laliberte  

Gabriele Mazzini, Team Leader - AI Act at the European Commission, discusses the risk-based approach they took when crafting specific rules for the Artificial Intelligence Act (versus simply opposing the technology as a whole). He also discusses the complexities involved in regulating emerging technologies that evolve at a much faster pace than the legislation itself.  Key Takeaways: Recommendations put forward for regulating emerging technologies within the AI Act What the process has been like for the development of the AI Act, including the key players  Where regulation in this space can be most helpful despite the complexities involved Guest Bio: Gabriele Mazzini is the architect and lead author of the proposal on the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) by the European Commission, where he has focused on the legal and policy questions raised by new technologies since August 2017. Before joining the European Commission, Gabriele held several positions in the private sector in New York and served in the European Parliament and the EU Court of Justice. He holds a LLM from Harvard Law School, a PhD in Italian and Comparative Criminal Law from the University of Pavia, and a Law Degree from the Catholic University in Milan. He is qualified to practice law in Italy and New York. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About this Show: The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all! Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together. The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API. Music by: Ari Dvorin Produced by: Sam Laliberte  

Austin Campbell, Managing Partner at Zero Knowledge Consulting, discusses the potential of blockchain in preventing financial crises and the importance of privacy in cryptocurrencies. He also explores the potential synergy between cryptocurrencies and AI, and emphasizes the importance of firsthand experience with cryptocurrency.

Sexually-explicit AI-generated images of Taylor Swift surfaced last week and went viral on many platforms - particularly X (formerly Twitter) who responded by removing the ability to search the singer-songwriter’s name alltogether. In this bonus solo episode with Luke, he discusses what we can learn from this scandal. Key Takeaways: - What are deepfakes and should we be concerned? - Can we expect new legislation to come from this? - Debating how much the government should or shouldn’t be involved in regulating - deepfakes - Solutions for verifying the authenticity of public content - How can we mitigate the impact of the future impersonations of public or non-public figures? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About this Show: The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all! Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together. The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API. Music by: Ari Dvorin Produced by: Sam Laliberte