Episodios

  • Reid riffs on if AI can become conscious

    Reid riffs on if AI can become conscious
    Jun 11 2025
    On this week's Riffs, Reid and Aria unpack last week’s conversation with Yuval Noah Harari, discussing AI's rapid advancements, its potential impacts on humanity, and the meaning of consciousness. Reid and Aria also discuss who will be responsible for making sure AI is aligned with human values –– no matter what the future looks like. 00:00 Introduction and overview 00:16 Reflecting on the conversation with Yuval 05:14 The role of AI labs and accountability 11:45 Philosophical questions on AI and consciousness For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/
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    18 m
  • Yuval Noah Harari on trust, the dangers of AI, power, and revolutions

    Yuval Noah Harari on trust, the dangers of AI, power, and revolutions
    Jun 4 2025
    What will it take to create AI that is as trustworthy, if not more trustworthy than humans? This week, Reid and Aria sit down with Yuval Noah Harari, historian, philosopher, and best-selling author of several books including Nexus, Sapiens and Homo Deus. When it comes to outlook on AI, Yuval, Reid, and Aria agree on the importance of building both human trust in AI and AI that is genuinely truth-seeking, but they differ on how possible it is to achieve. Together, they dig into their diverging opinions on the outcomes of the AI revolution, global cooperation, and how AI will learn from humans. They also discuss the differences between intelligence and consciousness, and whether conscious AI is a goal worth pursuing. Yuval turns to history to ground his warnings about AI. Even though he’s cautious about technology, he is critical of cynicism. Yuval shares his philosophy on human compassion as a guiding principle that can allow us to steer away from collapse and ultimately, build a better AI future. For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/ Topics: 3:38 - Hellos and intros 3:58 - Questions for the Buddha 5:48 - Yuval’s relationship with technology 8:57 - Technologies that help humans share stories and myths 10:37 - Is AI the most significant invention after writing 13:02 - How AI will transform society 20:12 - Guidance for a successful AI revolution 24:24 - Using AI to support humanity's self-correcting mechanisms 26:13 - Midroll 26:45 - How to build self-correcting mechanisms for a better future 31:28 - Humans as parents of AI 36:33 - What political leaders need to do to create a positive AI future 39:11 - Artificial intelligence v.s. artificial consciousness 42:35 - AI as a tool for rebuilding trust 44:50 - Rapid-fire Questions Select mentions: History of the Franks by Gregory of Tours Heartstopper Possible is an award-winning podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Tune in for grounded and speculative takes on how technology—and, in particular, AI—is inspiring change and transforming the future. Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with an ambitious builder or deep thinker on a topic, from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. Each episode seeks to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.
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    52 m
  • Reid riffs on AI companions, human friends, and age gates

    Reid riffs on AI companions, human friends, and age gates
    May 28 2025
    On this week’s Riff, Reid reacts to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s suggestion that AIs can help address the loneliness epidemic and function as friends. He and Aria discuss why AIs can be great companions but not great friends, along with how to protect against agent misuse and deception. For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/
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    20 m
  • Alexis Ohanian on the future of online and offline communities

    Alexis Ohanian on the future of online and offline communities
    May 21 2025
    How do we build products and platforms that support a healthy, prosperous future? What will it take to “make the internet fun again?” Should kids be using AI? This week, serial entrepreneur and investor Alexis Ohanian—who co-founded Reddit two decades ago and is currently working to reinvent the social news aggregator Digg—joins Reid and Aria to talk about (re)building online and offline communities in the age of AI. They hear from Alexis on his recent bid for U.S. TikTok, the startups and women’s sports ventures he’s backing through his VC firm Seven Seven Six, and his approach to raising AI-forward daughters with his wife, tennis legend Serena Williams. For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/ Topics: 03:03 - Hellos and intros 03:24 - Being a “Daddy Caddy” for Olympia 04:36 - Inspiration behind 776 08:26 - Making the internet “fun” again 12:25 - Internet culture vs. the platform 17:49 - Bid for Tiktok 21:47 - AI and online communities 27:01 - AI in women’s sports 30:16 - Hardware vs. software 31:46 - Midroll 32:00 - Kids, parenting, and learning in the age of AI 34:55 - Physical products in a digital world 40:46 - Tech optimism 41:56 - Alexis’s collectibles 44:29 - Rapid-fire questions Select mentions: Seven Seven Six Teenage Engineering Art For Kids Hub Synthesis Tutor Monumental Labs Mantel Unreasonable Hospitality Possible is an award-winning podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Tune in for grounded and speculative takes on how technology—and, in particular, AI—is inspiring change and transforming the future. Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with an ambitious builder or deep thinker on a topic, from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Each episode seeks to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.
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    54 m
  • Reid riffs on PBCs, jobs and automation, and AI access for kids

    Reid riffs on PBCs, jobs and automation, and AI access for kids
    May 14 2025
    Reid breaks down OpenAI’s shift to a public benefit corporation—what it really means, why it matters, and why some critics are missing the point. Aria asks whether all frontier AI companies should follow suit. Reid and Aria discuss how educators can navigate the “messy middle” of AI in the classroom. They also dig into the future of assessment, what students (and job seekers) should be learning now to prepare for an AI future, and whether AI-intensive fields are worth the bet. For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/ Select mentions: Public Benefit Corporation Everyone Is Cheating Their Way Through College by James D. Walsh Something Alarming Is Happening to the Job Market by Derek Thompson Shopify memo Duolingo memo Ethan Mollick Our Possible episode with Ethan Mollick Opportunity at Work
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    19 m
  • Jane Goodall on Hope, AI, and the Natural World

    Jane Goodall on Hope, AI, and the Natural World
    May 7 2025
    What would it look like to keep all living creatures in the loop on the development of new technology? Reid sat down for a wide-ranging solo discussion with Jane Goodall on that very subject – and more. They talked about how to maintain hope and focus on local impact in today’s often chaotic world, how technology – and AI in particular – might be helpful for conservation, and Jane’s global youth program, Roots & Shoots. Plus, the Jane Goodall institute shared audio from a cutting edge acoustic array that helped them discover a brand new species in Gombe National Park in Tanzania! Jane reflected on her legacy and shared stories about bridging unlikely divides, defying the scientific community early in her career, young people opening their eyes to the natural world for the first time, and so much more. Thank you to the incredible team at the Jane Goodall Institute and WildMon (L. Pintea, B. Wallauer, K. Harmon, M. Campos, Gabriel Leite, Tomaz Melo, Guilherme Melo, D. A. Collins, D. C. Mjungu) that, with funding from Google, utilized an acoustic array to discover brand new species in Gombe National Park, Tanzania, including Thomas’s Dwarf Galago (Galagoides thomasi). For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/ Topics: 03:38 - Hellos and intros 03:45 - “Name that baby” game 05:34 - How Jane has used technology in her work 09:13 - Discovering a new species with an acoustic array 11:57 - How AI can help conservation 16:55 - AI as an animal translator 19:58 - Essential lesson for research 22:30 - Similarities between humans and chimpanzees 26:42 - Bridging divides between unlikely groups 30:32 - “We must either redefine man, redefine tool, or…” 32:20 - Government funding cut from Jane Goodall Institute 36:26 - Youth program Roots and Shoots 39:57 - How to maintain hope 42:53 - What we can learn from kids 44:33 - Global impact of the Roots and Shoots program 46:18 - Jane’s ideal AI tool 48:22 - Jane asks Reid: Can AI become sentient? 51:27 - AI’s impact on the brain 54:55 - Rapid-fire Questions Select mentions: APOPO’s “Amazing Rats” | How It Works Regeneration by Paul Hawken TACARE Program Roots and Shoots Possible is an award-winning podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Tune in for grounded and speculative takes on how technology—and, in particular, AI—is inspiring change and transforming the future. Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with an ambitious builder or deep thinker on a topic, from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. Each episode seeks to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.
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    59 m
  • Reid riffs on antitrust, AI coworkers, and Chinese manufacturing

    Reid riffs on antitrust, AI coworkers, and Chinese manufacturing
    Apr 30 2025
    Reid weighs in on the U.S. government’s latest antitrust action against Google and what it could mean for competition, innovation, and America’s tech edge. Aria also asks about the rise of Chinese electric vehicles and why BYD might be “the Tesla of tomorrow;” the geopolitical costs of tariffs; and whether saying “please” and “thank you” to ChatGPT is worth it. For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/
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    22 m
  • Derek Thompson on AI, abundance, and human progress

    Derek Thompson on AI, abundance, and human progress
    Apr 23 2025
    Why can the United States government help make a vaccine in a year but not build a high-speed train in a reasonable timeframe? What if our biggest problems—affordable housing shortages, energy limits, and scientific slowdowns—aren’t inevitable, but chosen? This week, Reid and Aria sit down with Derek Thompson—staff writer at The Atlantic and host of the podcast Plain English—to explore how a scarcity mindset is holding American society back. They cover how AI can revolutionize scientific discovery; what Operation Warp Speed got right; and why real progress depends on bold policy, not just better technology. Plus, Reid joins Derek in the hotseat for some “Too Much, Too Little, or Just Right?”—a game co-created with ChatGPT to discuss ideas in Derek’s new best-selling book, Abundance. For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/ Select mentions: Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson “The Anti-Social Century” Every Cure co-founder Dr. David Fajgenbaum Topics: 1:06 – Episode introduction 2:34 – What year would Derek choose to be born and why? 7:14 – What can AI do as a co-author that Ezra Klein can't, and what are Ezra's irreplaceable strengths? 9:08 – AI's impact on the future of work — what AI can and can't do — and what the enduring role of humans will be. 12:00 – The situation with current tariffs, and the potential fixes or silver linings. 14:28 – Operation Warp Speed and other examples of abundance in the U.S. and beyond. 19:39 – What specific government policies could effectively leverage AI to speed up the creation of abundance? 22:40 – Midroll 22:49 – Derek and Reid play a fun game based on Abundance: “Too much, too little, or just right?” 30:46 – What's needed to better incentivize scientific progress and foster innovation? 39:22 – How could society and our relationship with technology be reframed to combat the loneliness epidemic? 45:08 – Derek identifies specific policies that currently hinder abundance and suggests new ones that could promote it. 49:45 – Rapid-fire Questions Possible is an award-winning podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Tune in for grounded and speculative takes on how technology—and, in particular, AI—is inspiring change and transforming the future. Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with an ambitious builder or deep thinker on a topic, from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Each episode seeks to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.
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    54 m
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