
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

Feb 14, 2024 • 26min
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.
We Meet:
Tech Journalist & Author Brian Merchant
Credits:
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.

Feb 7, 2024 • 17min
Oral History: Generating Tax Advice
Software can make it easier for people to file their own taxes, but what if you have a question? Would you trust generative AI to give you the answer?
We Meet:
H&R Block VP of Technology Aditya Thadani
Credits:
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.

Jan 31, 2024 • 21min
Live: What’s Your Digital Footprint?
An analysis by Consumer Reports suggests that every person on Facebook is being monitored by thousands of companies, but new tools and laws are starting to make it easier for people to take back their privacy.
This episode was recorded in New York City at an event hosted by the responsible tech nonprofit All Tech Is Human.
We Meet:
Consumer Reports R&D Director Ginny Fahs
New York Times Contributing Opinion Writer & Investigative Journalist Julia Angwin
Block Party Founder & CEO Tracy Chou
Credits:
This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens. The on-site recording engineer was Josh Chapdelaine. SHIFT is mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art direction by Anthony Green. The Founder and President of All Tech is Human is David Ryan Polgar.

Jan 24, 2024 • 15min
AI Art Gets a Poison Pill
Artists are starting to use AI to fight back against AI with free tools that let visual artists deter–even poison–AI models that use their work without permission.
We Meet:
Carl Franzen, Head of News at VentureBeat
Credits:
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.

Jan 17, 2024 • 15min
Unlearning Bad AI Behavior
A new study explores how an AI model that’s been taught to lie might be brought back into line.
We Meet:
Brown University Professor of Computer Science Michael Littman
Credits:
This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens, and mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski.

Jan 10, 2024 • 19min
Oral History: Coding Gets an AI Assistant
In the latest installment of our oral history project we meet one of the central figures behind generative coding tools.
We Meet:
GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke
Credits:
SHIFT is produced by Jennifer Strong and Anthony Green, with help from Emma Cillekens. It’s mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski.

Jan 3, 2024 • 21min
Oral History: Crafting a National AI Strategy
Esther Kunda, Director General of Innovation & Emerging Technologies for Rwanda's Ministry of ICT, discusses Rwanda's national AI policies, challenges in AI implementation, upscaling talent, data infrastructure, and global collaboration for responsible and ethical AI.

Dec 27, 2023 • 16min
Oral History: Personal Finance Gets Generative
In the latest installment of our oral history project we meet Ryan Graciano, a co-founder of the personal finance company, Credit Karma.
We Meet:
Ryan Graciano, Co-founder & CTO of Credit Karma
Credits:
SHIFT is produced by Jennifer Strong and Anthony Green, with help from Emma Cillekens. It’s mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski, with special thanks this week to the folks at TED AI.

Dec 20, 2023 • 15min
What to Watch: Tech Trends for 2024
As this year draws to a close we’re bringing you a look at the tech trends we’ll be watching in 2024.
We Meet:
Deloitte’s Chief Futurist Mike Bechtel
Credits:
SHIFT is produced by Jennifer Strong, Anthony Green, and Emma Cillekens. It’s mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski.

Dec 13, 2023 • 22min
Breaking Language Barriers with AI
Language translation increasingly falls to artificial intelligence—but AI still doesn’t speak many of the world’s languages.
We Meet:
Vasco Pedro, CEO, Unbabel
Paulo Dimas, VP Product Innovation, Unbabel
Pelonomi Moiloa, CEO, Lelapa AI
Credits:
SHIFT is produced by Jennifer Strong, Anthony Green, and Emma Cillekens. It’s mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski.