This week's episode features an interview with Loretta Napoleoni, conducted by Ross Reynolds, the longtime public radio host and occasional GeekWire Podcast guest host, in an event presented by Town Hall Seattle on April 18, 2024.

Loretta Napoleoni is an Italian economist and journalist whose books include "Rogue Economics" and "Insurgent Iraq." Her newest book is “Technocapitalism: The Rise of the New Robber Barons and the Fight for the Common Good."

In this interview, she explains the concept of the "present future." This refers to the disorienting era in which we're living, characterized by rapid technological change that creates anxiety and a feeling of being constantly behind.

She also discusses the control of technology by a few powerful entrepreneurs, whom she calls "technocapitalists," and the failure of society and the state to direct technological innovation for the common good.

This week's episode features an interview with <a href="https://www.lorettanapoleoni.com/">Loretta Napoleoni</a>, conducted by <a href="https://www.rossreynolds.com/">Ross Reynolds</a>, the longtime public radio host and occasional GeekWire Podcast guest host, in an event presented by <a href="https://townhallseattle.org/">Town Hall Seattle</a> on April 18, 2024.
Loretta Napoleoni is an Italian economist and journalist whose books include "Rogue Economics" and "Insurgent Iraq." Her newest book is “<a href="https://www.sevenstories.com/books/4601-technocapitalism">Technocapitalism: The Rise of the New Robber Barons and the Fight for the Common Good.</a>"
In this interview, she explains the concept of the "present future." This refers to the disorienting era in which we're living, characterized by rapid technological change that creates anxiety and a feeling of being constantly behind.
She also discusses the control of technology by a few powerful entrepreneurs, whom she calls "technocapitalists," and the failure of society and the state to direct technological innovation for the common good.

GeekWire brings you the week's latest technology news, trends and insights, covering the world of technology from our home base in Seattle. Our regular news podcast features commentary and analysis from our editors and reporters, plus interviews with special guests.

GeekWire reporters John Cook, Todd Bishop and guests talk about the latest tech news and trends.

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The rise of 'Technocapitalism' and its impact on humanity, with economist Loretta Napoleoni

This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we explore the frontier of crowd-augmented cognition, the concept of humans working together with the help of technology, including new ways that artificial intelligence is changing the field.

Our guest is Aniket (Niki) Kittur, a professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, where his research focuses on new methods of augmenting human intellect using crowds and computation.

We also talk about a related project that Kittur and his colleagues developed called Skeema, a browser tab manager that helped users organize their work, projects, and ultimately their brains in the process. 

With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop. Edited by Curt Milton.

This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we explore the frontier of crowd-augmented cognition, the concept of humans working together with the help of technology, including new ways that artificial intelligence is changing the field.
Our guest is <a href="https://hcii.cmu.edu/people/aniket-kittur">Aniket (Niki) Kittur</a>, a professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, where his research focuses on new methods of augmenting human intellect using crowds and computation.
We also talk about a related project that Kittur and his colleagues developed called <a href="https://www.skeema.com/">Skeema</a>, a browser tab manager that helped users organize their work, projects, and ultimately their brains in the process. 
With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop. Edited by Curt Milton.

AI, the brain, and the crowd, with CMU prof Niki Kittur

Microsoft and major PC makers this week announced a plan to incorporate artificial intelligence directly into personal computers, adding on-board neural processing units (NPUs) as part of a new architecture that promises better performance, longer battery life, and local AI processing that unlocks new capabilities and features.

We discuss the new Copilot+ PCs with our guest on this week's GeekWire Podcast, Stefan Weitz, an investor and entrepreneur who worked at Microsoft for 18 years in groups including Microsoft Bing and MSN. He is the founder of the new HumanX conference on AI taking place in March 2025 in Las Vegas.

Weitz is bullish on the potential for Copilot+ PCs to improve the overall computing experience and motivate Windows PC users to upgrade their machines, a long-awaited milestone for Microsoft's flagship operating system.

The new Copilot+ PCs have also raised security and privacy concerns, focused primarily on the "Recall" feature that takes regular screenshots of user activity on the machine, creating an index that can be queried using AI. The company released an FAQ that emphasized the underlying security and privacy controls for users, but also made it clear that the feature will be activated if users accept the defaults during initial bootup of a new machine.

Weitz also shares some of his favorite AI apps and tools, including Cleft Notes and Read AI.

Audio editing by Curt Milton. 

Microsoft and major PC makers this week <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2024/microsoft-previews-new-copilot-pc-initiative-in-new-bid-to-revitalize-windows-with-ai/">announced a plan to incorporate artificial intelligence directly into personal computers</a>, adding on-board neural processing units (NPUs) as part of a new architecture that promises better performance, longer battery life, and local AI processing that unlocks new capabilities and features.
We discuss the new Copilot+ PCs with our guest on this week's GeekWire Podcast, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanweitz">Stefan Weitz</a>, an investor and entrepreneur who worked at Microsoft for 18 years in groups including Microsoft Bing and MSN. He is the founder of the new <a href="https://www.humanx.co/">HumanX</a> conference on AI taking place in March 2025 in Las Vegas.
Weitz is bullish on the potential for Copilot+ PCs to improve the overall computing experience and motivate Windows PC users to upgrade their machines, a long-awaited milestone for Microsoft's flagship operating system.
The new Copilot+ PCs have also <a href="https://www.scmagazine.com/news/microsofts-ai-recall-feature-raises-security-privacy-concerns">raised security and privacy concerns</a>, focused primarily on the "Recall" feature that takes regular screenshots of user activity on the machine, creating an index that can be queried using AI. The company <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/privacy-and-control-over-your-recall-experience-d404f672-7647-41e5-886c-a3c59680af15">released an FAQ </a>that emphasized the underlying security and privacy controls for users, but also made it clear that the feature will be activated if users accept the defaults during initial bootup of a new machine.
Weitz also shares some of his favorite AI apps and tools, including <a href="https://www.cleftnotes.com/">Cleft Notes</a> and <a href="https://www.read.ai/">Read AI</a>.
Audio editing by Curt Milton.

Microsoft Copilot+ PCs: Has the AI computer revolution finally arrived?

This week, we go inside the GeekWire Awards, our annual recognition of the top people, companies and innovations in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, which drew a sold-out crowd to the Showbox Sodo on Thursday May 9 in Seattle. We talk with finalists about AI, the economy and key trends in their industries, and we hear from some of the winners on stage during the program.

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This week, we go inside the GeekWire Awards, our annual recognition of the top people, companies and innovations in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, which drew a sold-out crowd to the Showbox Sodo on Thursday May 9 in Seattle. We talk with finalists about AI, the economy and key trends in their industries, and we hear from some of the winners on stage during the program.
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The rise of 'Technocapitalism' and its impact on humanity, with economist Loretta Napoleoni

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