Luminary

Tim O’Reilly, founder of O’Reilly Media, discusses open source software, execution strategies of companies like Google and Amazon, algorithmic rents, and non-consensus views in the tech industry.

Yochai Benkler, Professor of Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard Law School, discusses the role of capitalism, institutions, and ideology in shaping technology and societal outcomes. He challenges the belief that technology is the cause of change, emphasizing how power dynamics within capitalism drive technological development. The podcast explores topics such as the impact of digital technology on society, the manipulation of preferences for innovation, the imperfections of free markets and state regulation, the trade-off between broadly distributed knowledge and market adoption, and the value of non-profit, socially-oriented systems.

Jason Crawford is the founder of Roots of Progress and a prolific writer on all things technology and progress. Jason was previously a startup founder and engineering manager. His mission is to understand the causes of progress and help usher in a new era of human advancement via a philosophy of progress fit for the 21st century. You can find his essays on rootsofprogress.org. Our conversation with Jason centers around progress and the history of technology. We cover the relationship between human civilization and technology, assorted inventions, and lessons to consider in the development and implementation of future technologies. We also talk about why progress matters, how things went wrong in the 20th century, and Jason’s idea of a new philosophy of progress. Jason has encyclopedic knowledge of diverse topics which made this an especially rich conversation. About and From Jason Crawford: https://jasoncrawford.org/ https://rootsofprogress.org/ https://twitter.com/jasoncrawford  The spiritual benefits of material progress  Recommendations and References: The Ascent of Man: Bronowski, Jacob, Dawkins, Richard On the Origin of Clockwork, Perpetual Motion Devices, and the Compass Economics of the singularity | IEEE Journals & Magazine    Robin Hansen The Population Explosion Charles I. Jones – Wikipedia Paul Romer – Wikipedia Robert Solow – Wikipedia One Process | Reaction Wheel Derek Thompson (journalist) – Wikipedia Noahpinion Ezra Klein – The New York Times David Deutsch Steven Pinker  Where Is My Flying Car? (Audible Audio Edition): J. Storrs Hall, Jonathan Todd Ross, Stripe Press: Books  Ayn Rand – Wikipedia The Industrial Revolution The Conservative Futurist by James Pethokoukis | Hachette Book Group The Industrial Revolution, 1760-1830 – T. S. Ashton – Oxford University Press Slate Star Codex FreakTakes The Lunar Society The Making of the Atomic Bomb | Book by Richard Rhodes | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster The post Jason Crawford on progress and the history of technology  appeared first on Luminary.fm.

Noah Smith, economics and current events commentator, discusses digital technology adoption, economic activity, solar and nuclear energy, and his framework for thinking about technology.

Renowned scholar Carlota Perez discusses her framework for studying technological change and the adoption of digital technologies, exploring topics such as technology cycles, the role of capitalism, and the impact of government in accelerating digital adoption. Other topics include the intersection of technology and economics, the role of the state in innovation and entrepreneurship, the relationship between technological revolutions and economic growth, and the impact of technological revolutions on capitalism.

Clay Shirky is the Vice Provost of Educational Technologies at New York University and an associate professor at the New York University Tisch school of arts. He is a prominent thinker on the social and economic effects of the Internet and the Web. Clay has authored a number of books, including Here Comes Everybody and Cognitive Surplus. Our conversation with Clay gravitates around models of value generation in the context of digital technologies and the impact of ai on education. We talk about the social and economic impact of digital technologies, the nature of the internet, and why distributed version control is a new and important form of arguing. We also touch on how the university model of education might co-evolve with the growth of digital technology. About and From Clay Shirky: Clay Shirky Clay Shirky: Wikipedia Clay Shirky (@cshirky): Twitter Clay Shirky: TED Speaker    Clay Shirky: Books Clay Shirky: Institutions vs. collaboration  Recommendations and References: ChatGPT Is Here — What’s NYU Doing About It? – YR Media  Beware the Shirky Principle: John M Jennings  Clay Shirky Quotes: BrainyQuote  Danah Boyd: Wikipedia David Weinberger: Wikipedia   Yochai Benkler: Wikipedia Marshall McLuhan Attribution of “we shape our tools and then our tools shape us”  Ward Cunningham John Herman Randall Jr: Wikipedia.  Bob Lewis: books, biography, latest update  Midjourney Luminary Podcast: Visit us Follow us on Twitter Luminary on Linkedin  Luminary on Youtube Channel Music: Music used in this podcast: Simplex Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com): Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Chipper Doodle Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com): Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 The post Clay Shirky on value generation, ChatGpt, and education appeared first on Luminary.fm.

Matt Clancy is a research fellow at Open Philanthropy and a senior fellow at The Institute for Progress, a think tank for accelerating scientific, technological, and industrial progress. He maintains New Things Under the Sun, a living literature review about innovation. Our conversation with Matt gravitates around the state of knowledge of technological innovation. We talk about inputs to innovation, models of innovation, the discipline of Progress Studies, and ways to measure technological progress. We also cover the relationship between policy and innovation. About and From Matt Clancy: Personal Website  What’s New Under the Sun: What academia knows about innovation  Are Technologies Inevitable?  Matt’s dissertation  References and Recommendations: Institute for Progress  Ned Gulley: Patterns of innovation, a web-based MATLAB programming contest  Anton Howes  William Nordhaus: Do Real-Output and Real-Wage Measures Capture Reality? The History of Lightning Suggests Not   Tyler Cowen: Marginal Revolution  Pop Culture Happy Hour Podcast  George Elliot: Middlemarch Ursula K. Le Guin: Dispossessed Sonia Ben Ouagrham-Gormley: Barriers to Bioweapons Luminary Podcast: Visit us Follow us on Twitter Luminary on Linkedin  Luminary on Youtube Channel Music: Music used in this podcast: Simplex Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com): Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Chipper Doodle Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com): Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 The post Matt Clancy on innovation, policy, and Progress Studies  appeared first on Luminary.fm.

Martin Gurri is the visiting research fellow at Mercatus Center and a former CIA analyst. Martin’s core interests center around politics, information, and media. His book The Revolt of the Public received notoriety for its cogent analysis of the effects of information on political change.  Our conversation with Martin centers around the societal and political implications of how information is organized and controlled. We launch into Martin’s thesis in The Revolt of the Public which tells the story of How insurgencies—enabled by digital devices and a vast information sphere—have mobilized millions of ordinary people around the world, and talk about what’s changed since it was last published in 2018. We discuss the evolution of technology and information structure and its implications for how societies are organized, the nature of the current political discord, and democracy. Martin also offers some practical advice for engaged citizens and aspiring politicians. About Martin Gurri: Martin Gurri – Wikipedia  Martin Gurri – Mercatus Center  Martin Gurri – Twitter From Martin Gurri: The Fifth Wave The Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium Recommendations: Light in August: Weiner, Tim San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities: Shellenberger, Michael Luminary Podcast: Visit us Follow us on Twitter Luminary on Linkedin  Luminary on Youtube Channel Music: Music used in this podcast: Simplex Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com): Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Chipper Doodle Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com): Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 The post Martin Gurri on the fifth wave, democracy, and technology appeared first on Luminary.fm.

Brian Arthur, storied economist and complexity thinker, discusses topics such as the evolution of technology, the role of software in shaping economic systems, the concept of increasing returns, and the representation of the human condition in Star Wars.

Alissa Cooper is the Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Technology Policy and a Fellow at Cisco Systems. She is also currently a board member of the Tor Project. Alissa was chair of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), an organization that develops and promotes voluntary open Internet standards, from 2017 to 2021. She previously served as chief computer scientist at the center for democracy and technology. Our conversation centers around the Internet. What is the nature of the internet? Why are technology standards important and how do standards influence the Internet? How are decisions on standards for the Internet made? We also discuss policy and regulation of the internet and emerging technologies, as well as digital privacy. About Alissa Cooper: Alissa CooperAlissa Cooper – IETFAlissa Cooper – Center for Democracy and TechnologyAlissa Cooper – Twitter Speaker references: IETF | Internet Engineering Task ForceIEEE Tor Project | Anonymity Online Ken Kesey – WikipediaGalaxy Brain Hang Up and Listen, a sports podcast  Luminary Podcast: Visit usFollow us on TwitterLuminary on Linkedin Luminary on Youtube Channel Music: Music used in this podcast: Simplex Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com): Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0Chipper Doodle Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com): Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 The post Alissa Cooper on building the internet appeared first on Luminary.fm.