
SHIFT
Hosted by Jennifer Strong, SHIFT is a weekly podcast taking a closer look at the far-reaching impact of automation on our daily lives.From policy to process, we seek to understand how lives are changing alongside rapid breakthroughs in frontier technologies and artificial intelligence. Join us as we navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by this reshaped reality.
Latest episodes

Nov 20, 2024 • 27min
(AI)nvesting
AI startups dominate the funding landscape, from mega deals like xAI, to more modest investments. But how do venture capitalists see this market evolving? This episode was taped before a live audience at Web Summit 2024.We meet:Khosla Ventures Partner Kanu GulatiMangusta Capital Co-Founder & Managing Partner Kevin JiangFaber Ventures Partner Carlos Silva Clone Founder and CEO Clement Benoit Credits:This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong with help from Emma Cillekens. It was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Meg Marco.

Nov 13, 2024 • 31min
Digital Citizens or Digital Subjects?
Frank McCourt is an American executive and philanthropist. He’s also the author of a new book about the internet, called “Our Biggest Fight: Reclaiming Liberty, Humanity, and Dignity in the Digital Age”. We talk to him about that fight before a live audience in New York City at a gathering held by the responsible technology non-profit, All Tech Is Human.We Meet:Frank H. McCourt, Jr., civic entrepreneur and executive chairman of McCourt Global, founder and executive chairman of Project LibertyCredits:This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong with help from Emma Cillekens. It was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Meg Marco.

Nov 6, 2024 • 18min
Architect of the EU AI Act Expresses Concerns
EU AI Act architect and lead author Gabriele Mazzini shares his experience drafting the law. He also talks about his concerns with implementation, and its potential impact on European competitiveness, and how that led him to quit his job, in the latest installment of our oral history project.This episode was recorded at TEDAI in Vienna.We Meet:MIT Media Lab Research Affiliate & MIT Connection Science Fellow Gabriele MazziniCredits:This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens, and it was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Meg Marco.

Oct 30, 2024 • 26min
Encore: The New Luddites
Activists are fighting back against generative AI and reclaiming a misunderstood label in the process, says Brian Merchant in a new piece for The Atlantic.Originally aired February 14, 2024.We Meet:Tech Journalist & Author Brian MerchantCredits:This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens, and it was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

Oct 23, 2024 • 22min
The Race to Superintelligence
This is the final installment of a special series documenting the race to build superintelligent AI systems. The Race to Superintelligence is a deep dive into the rapidly expanding world of artificial intelligence. Join us as we explore the groundbreaking, mystifying and world-changing potential of the next machine age. Support for this program comes from The Pulitzer Center’s AI Accountability Network, supporting and bringing together journalists reporting on AI, and with AI, globally.Credits:The Race to Superintelligence is created and produced by Jennifer Strong, with Emma Cillekens, Daniela Hernandez, and Meg Marco. We had additional research and production assistance from Sonya Gurwitt, Niamh McAuliffe, Anthony Green and Luke Robert Mason. The show is mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski.

Oct 16, 2024 • 19min
The Race to Superintelligence
This is part two of a special series documenting the race to build superintelligent AI systems.The Race to Superintelligence is a deep dive into the rapidly expanding world of artificial intelligence. Join us as we explore the groundbreaking, mystifying and world-changing potential of the next machine age. Support for this program comes from The Pulitzer Center’s AI Accountability Network, supporting and bringing together journalists reporting on AI, and with AI, globally.Credits:The Race to Superintelligence is created and produced by Jennifer Strong, with Emma Cillekens, Daniela Hernandez, and Meg Marco. We had additional research and production assistance from Sonya Gurwitt, Niamh McAuliffe, Anthony Green and Luke Robert Mason. The show is mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski.

Oct 9, 2024 • 18min
The Race to Superintelligence
The Race to Superintelligence is a deep dive into the rapidly expanding world of artificial intelligence. Join us as we explore the groundbreaking, mystifying and world-changing potential of the next machine age. Support for this program comes from The Pulitzer Center’s AI Accountability Network, supporting and bringing together journalists reporting on AI, and with AI, globally.Credits:The Race to Superintelligence is created and produced by Jennifer Strong, with Emma Cillekens, Daniela Hernandez, and Meg Marco. We had additional research and production assistance from Sonya Gurwitt, Niamh McAuliffe, Anthony Green and Luke Robert Mason. The show is mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski.Special thanks to our guest Cade Metz at The New York Times.

Oct 2, 2024 • 31min
Inside Disney’s AI Dystopia
Disney’s science-fiction thriller, The Creator, paints a picture of a future world at war—humans vs. artificial intelligence. This episode we meet the film’s director Gareth Edwards, who unpacks just how complex the relationship is between the two, and why he decided to explore it in this film.We Meet:Director Gareth EdwardsCredits:SHIFT is produced by Jennifer Strong and Anthony Green, with help from Emma Cillekens. It’s mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from Jacob Gorski.

Sep 25, 2024 • 16min
Oral History: Get Ready for Interspecies Money?
There’s a world in which a group of mountain gorillas in Rwanda might one day be able to pay for their own protection. It involves a new financial model with an AI-powered digital wallet and data that’s provided by the gorillas themselves, as well as the people who live and work around them.All of this might sound far-fetched, but the man behind this project has brought other unlikely ideas to life. Jonathan Ledgard is a futurist thinker on risk, nature, and advanced technology in Africa and emerging markets, as well as a pioneer of drone delivery and interspecies money. We hear his story in the latest installment of our oral history project.We Meet: Jonathan Ledgard, CEO of TehanuCredits:SHIFT is produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens. It’s mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.

Sep 18, 2024 • 29min
What Makes Us Unique in the Age of AI?
Perhaps the greatest fear about artificial intelligence is it will eventually replace human intelligence altogether, because if AI takes over decision-making, what’s irreplaceable about humans?We Meet: Neil Lawrence, professor of machine learning at the University of CambridgeCredits:SHIFT is produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens. It’s mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Anthony Green.