Raw Data

There’s an epic struggle under way: a challenge to lead the world in A.I. — artificial intelligence. But this space race for the 21st century doesn’t seem to be getting enough attention from at least one of the world’s superpowers — the United States. Futurist Amy Webb tells the story of the world’s leading artificial intelligence companies, and the struggle between East and West in her new book, The Big Nine: How the Tech Titans & Their Thinking Machines Could Warp Humanity. We learn about China’s growing dominance in A.I., and how U.S. companies, in spite of stunning technological innovation, might someday fall behind. What’s at stake is nothing less than the future of power, governance, and freedom. Find out more at rawdatapodcast.com

When we think of killer robots, images of the Terminator, Robocop, and other dystopian movies often spring to mind. These movies usually don’t end well (for the humans, at least). So it seems crazy that we would even consider building machines programmed to kill. On the other hand, some argue that autonomous weapons could save lives on the battlefield. We are not yet living in a world killer robots; but we might be getting close. What goes into the decision to kill? How can we possibly program robots to make the right decisions, given the moral stakes?

Shoshana Zuboff doesn’t mince words when it comes to the data economy. According to Zuboff, author of the recent book *The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, *our very souls are at stake. But the seeds of surveillance capitalism were planted rather innocently, back in the heady days of the dotcom bubble. As Zuboff tells it, it all began with Google. When the young company entered crisis mode, they needed to find new ways to make money. And a whole new economic logic was born — one that has now spread across every sector of the economy, and has invaded every facet of our online lives. Zuboff warns that surveillance capitalism threatens much more than just our privacy.

At the start of the 20th century, the United States Census Bureau was in a bit of a pickle. The electric tabulating machines that had saved the census in 1890 worked beautifully — but they were expensive. And there was only one source: Herman Hollerith (an inventor who helped lay the foundation for IBM). So the census decided to go into business for itself. They started up their own machine shop to, essentially, copy Hollerith’s device. This decision set off a cascade of events that, by the 1950s, set the stage for one of the most important moments in tech history — the birth of an entirely new kind of machine. Find out more at rawdatapodcast.com

At the birth of the United States, the new nation faced a problem. How do you make a crazy new idea — power coming not from a king, but from the people — a reality? There was no handbook; the framers of the Constitution had to just kind of make it up. They landed on the idea of a census. You count the people in each state, and apportion power thusly. A great idea, and certainly a totally new one. But also one that, over the centuries, led to a multitude of unforeseen crises. It turned out that, to keep representative democracy on the rails required some technical innovations — and led to the invention of a magnificent, and very significant, machine. Find out more at rawdatapodcast.com

On Raw Data, we take a look at the new source of power in the 21st century: data. Whoever controls data has power. But is this making things better? Worse? Raw Data is a show about how information becomes power. Find out more at rawdatapodcast.com

Silicon Valley and Washington DC have a showdown when Zuckerberg goes before Congress. Silicon Valley has grown powerful because it advances a vision for how technology will set us free. So what’s missing from the Silicon Valley story?

Technology is an almost god-like force that acts upon all of humanity. What does it actually want?

Can democracy survive the internet? What country will take the lead in shaping our online environment – and how?

The tech giants that control the internet have destroyed 20th century institutions and challenged the role of an independent press. Whither the 4th estate? Susan Athey, Frank Foer.

Within 15 years, social media has become the dominant force shaping the Valley. What does it mean for individuals around the world and for society at large to be publicly performing in so many aspects of our lives? Andrew Smith, Alice Marwick.

Silicon Valley reveres garage start-ups and the myth of the entrepreneur. But, in the wake of the dotcom crash, power dynamics shift. Have the entrepreneurs, these quintessential American characters,captured too much power? Steve Blank, Sarah Lacy.

Netscape’s IPO electrifies the dotcom era, and “New Economy” proponents insist that cyberspace will redefine the rules of prosperity. The data economy is born. Guests: Fred Turner, Kevin Kelly, Lou Montulli, Rosanne Siino, Tim Wu.

In the post-Watergate era, two academics battle the NSA and establish the technology that protects our online information. Cryptography remains a fundamental tool, but can it save us from entering a post-privacy world? Guests: Michal Kosinski, Whit Diffie, Marty Hellman, and Henry Corrigan-Gibbs

The Valley comes of age as the center of innovation and personal computing. Doug Englebart delivers the Mother of All Demos. Steve Jobs makes a fateful visit to Xerox PARC. On The WELL, people learn what it means to socialize online. Guests: Leslie Berlin, John Markoff, and Howard Rheingold.

Inspired by cybernetics and LSD, Stewart Brand creates the Whole Earth Catalog as a how-to manual for the commune movement. The catalog articulates a philosophy of tech idealism and individual empowerment. Guests: Fred Turner, John Markoff, and Kevin Kelly.

Before tech, there were orchards in the “Valley of Heart’s Delight.” Federal funding for Cold War research changes everything, and the semiconductor industry brings silicon to the Valley. The Traitorous Eight create Fairchild Semiconductor. And the weather here is “perfect.” Guests: Daniel Swain, Steve Blank, Margaret O’Mara, Leslie Berlin.

The seeds of Silicon Valley were sown long ago. The Gold Rush, the railroad barons, the founding of Stanford University, and myths of the American West still echo today.

Introducing the series. Silicon Valley’s power: how did we get here?

How are algorithms and data science making their way into the American criminal justice system? The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world, and it’s clear from the statistics that minorities – most notably, black Americans – are locked up at disproportionate rates. So there are good reasons to take a close look at how new technologies are creeping into police departments and courts. Perhaps we can "code" for more equality and fairness by taking some decision making power away from humans and giving it to algorithms...but given this country’s inescapable history of discrimination, do we run the risk of ossifying a system that some describe as “the new Jim Crow?" Thank you so much for listening to this season of Raw Data. This episode is our season finale! We’ll be back in a few months. Please get in touch with feedback and episode ideas anytime at rawdatapodcast@gmail.com. Peace – Leslie & Mike