Kaleidoscope

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Waymo, Google Brain… What’s Next? Inside the Lab Designing the Future Today on The Story, we pulled back the curtain on X, Alphabet’s moonshot factory—the team behind Waymo’s self-driving cars and Google Brain’s AI breakthroughs. But X isn’t just chasing the next big thing. It’s searching for ideas that will still matter decades from now. Astro Teller, X’s “Captain of Moonshots,” joined me to explain how they test, break, and refine ambitious ideas—until they find the ones that could truly redefine the future. Here’s what stood out: ++ Breaking Rules Is a Job Requirement ++ There’s a line on X’s office floor that says, “You may never cross this line! Ever!” Everyone has to cross it to get into work in the morning. It’s a reminder that most limits are self-imposed, and challenging assumptions is where real progress begins. ++ Failure Isn’t an Endpoint; It’s Raw Material ++ Nothing goes to waste. A scrapped teleportation project might leave behind patents, algorithms, or insights that spark the next breakthrough. Whether it’s hardware, research, or code—if an idea doesn’t take off, it gets repurposed into the next moonshot. ++ Look Where No One Else Is Looking ++ While the world focuses on LLMs and generative AI, X is thinking further ahead. One big bet? Biology as an engineering discipline. Imagine reprogramming cells like software—to grow materials, recycle plastics, or even replace factories. We also spoke about the relationship between government, private companies and university research in driving innovation because Astro's grandfather, Edward Teller, was part of the Manhattan Project. For more on how innovations take flight, listen to The Moonshot Podcast, where Astro Teller offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at the ideas, challenges, and breakthroughs that shape the future. Listen to today’s TechStuff episode here: https://lnkd.in/eNUg4bcG

Proud that Kaleidoscope has partnered with Bloomberg News to tell such an important story about how the A.I. future is already here and affecting real people's lives. Levittown, from Olivia Carville & Margi Murphy, tells the story of a group of young woman who were the victims of deepfake porn ... and who fought back, exposing the perpetrator where law enforcement failed, and ultimately winning their day in court. The timing of the release couldn't be more urgent, as the (rare) bipartisan Take It Down Act, moves through Congress -- many are supportive but some say it will strangle free speech and empower the executive branch. The trailer is out now and the show launches March 21st. https://lnkd.in/gKmGbkwv

Who is winning the race for AI supremacy? That's the conversation this week on TechStuff with Azeem Azhar, creator of the Exponential View newsletter. In China, DeepSeek's scalable and affordable reasoning models are being rapidly and widely deployed, with government backing. In the U.S., rumors suggest that OpenAI is working on PhD-level AI agents with price tags reaching $20,000 per month. Here are the key takeaways from our conversation: ++ China's New AI Researcher Accelerates Tech Race with the US ++ If your work involves research, you might want to keep an eye on Manus. This new agent from a Chinese startup doesn’t just generate answers—it researches like a human. It opens tabs, pulls sources, refines queries, and synthesizes results, mimicking the way we tackle complex questions. The difference? It gets it all done in an hour. ++ The Innovation vs Diffusion Paradigm ++ Breakthroughs grab attention, but adoption drives impact. AI’s value isn’t just in invention—it’s in how fast businesses put it to work. China’s lower-cost, government-backed approach could speed up diffusion, while the U.S. bets on innovation. ++ AI’s Power Problem ++ Server racks in data centers currently consume 20–30kW each, but new models will require 100–140kW. With thousands of racks in a single facility, energy use—already 4% of U.S. electricity consumption—could triple by 2030. While China continues to expand its power grid, U.S. energy production has remained stagnant for two decades. The real limitation to AI’s growth? Maybe infrastructure, not algorithms. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/e-4PhfNS

I’m really proud that TechStuff has become part of the Kaleidoscope network, hosted by Karah Preiss and me. We’re publishing two episodes a week, and I’ll be sharing some of the highlights here. The Story drops every Wednesday, featuring an in-depth conversation with a fascinating person in and around tech. Last week, I sat down with Meredith Whittaker, an intrepid leader in the tech world, who has been driving change for years. Meredith is also the president of the Signal Foundation—the world’s largest private communication network. We spoke about how Signal is playing a critical role in protecting privacy in an age of increasing surveillance. But Meredith’s message is clear: “A grim diagnosis is not an invitation to pessimism.” Tune in to hear more about why optimism—and action—are crucial as we navigate this tech-driven world. Small shoutout to the team that helps bring TechStuff to life: Lizzie Jacobs, Eliza Dennis, Kate Osborn, Katrina Norvell, and Victoria Dominguez Peek. Listen now: https://lnkd.in/gRG8wHFR

This week on The Story, I had the opportunity to speak with the Godfather of AI, Geoffrey Hinton. The Nobel Prize-winning computer scientist shared insights into his early life, his research, and how he created his own auction process to secure a deal with Google, allowing him to continue his academic work and advise his students. He also shared deep concerns about AI safety, warning of an “existential threat that will arise when we create digital beings that are more intelligent than ourselves.” Reflecting on his own experience grieving his wife, Hinton shared how it shaped his view of a potential AI takeover, stressing the importance of maintaining a realistic mindset to better mitigate its dangers. Check out today’s episode of TechStuff to hear why Hinton investing in safety is critical to prevent a future where AI could lead to our extinction. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/gd8RAURf?

This week on The Story, I sat down with Hany Farid, a professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences at UC Berkeley, to discuss his pioneering work in digital forensics. Hany has been a leading voice in the field, developing programs to detect digital manipulation. We explored how misinformation is not only created and spread, but also how it gradually erodes trust in our institutions. Hany pointed out the risks of losing our shared sense of reality, saying, “If we don’t have a shared factual system—a shared sense of reality—we do not have a society or democracy.” Finally, we talked about the AI revolution and its potential impact on our perception of death.?Hany brought up the concept of digital immortality, saying “Is there a story here, where I can keep teaching after I die? There’s something sort of magical about that.” Tune in to TechStuff for more on the ethics of a digital afterlife. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/eWXT6MYM?

This week, I wrote a piece for Air Mail about how, before he took a chain saw to government spending, Elon Musk used taxpayer funds to turn a failing business into a trillion-dollar company. We get into Tesla, SpaceX, Starlink and the longer history of how U.S. government investments have fostered technologies ranging from A.I. to Ozempic. Special thanks to David Eaves, who gave a generous interview and a brilliant quote: “The government's main role is an aggregator of capital so it can make investments. And if the public is robbed of its confidence in the public sector's ability to make investments that generate public good outcomes, then we've been robbed of a critical tool to address key problems of our time.” Also big thanks to Michael Hainey for having me as a guest on the Air Mail podcast this week. https://lnkd.in/eHT3WBRh

What does it take to live on Mars—physically, psychologically, and maybe even evolutionarily? A couple weeks ago on Tech Stuff: The Story, we talked to journalist Nathaniel Rich about NASA’s Mars Dune Alpha, a simulator designed to test what life on the Red Planet could really be like. We reflected on the dreams and fantasies of tech titans, the realities of space colonization, and whether the first Martian settlers might become something... more than human. If Interstellar and the future of space exploration fascinate you, you’ll love this episode. Listen now: https://lnkd.in/em3FNJmv

If you haven't read my business partner and friend Oz Woloshyn's Air Mail piece on DOGE and the hypocrisy of the cuts to the funding and investments in science, it's worth the time. https://lnkd.in/eV_z8rCQ (also, be sure to check out Tech Stuff, the fun and informative podcast he co-hosts with the wonderful Karah Preiss)