GeekWire

If the use of generative AI in the workplace didn’t seem complicated enough already, just consider what it means for big cities and other governmental agencies. The implications of common AI problems such as algorithmic bias and attribution of intellectual property are magnified in the public sector, and further complicated by unique challenges such as the retention and production of public record...

For more than four decades, since the 1980s, pointing and clicking has been the primary method of using a personal computer. What if that changed to simply thinking, typing and doing? That's one promise of AI. Rather than remembering the keyboard shortcut to take a screenshot, or the setting to shift the screen into dark mode, you could just tell the computer what you want it to do in natural lang...

"Our rule is, we risk capital — we don't risk people." That was the guiding principle for Everett-Wash.-based OceanGate, as described by its CEO, Stockton Rush, at the GeekWire Summit in October 2022. Rush's engineering decisions, and his tolerance for risk, as reflected in his comments at our event, are getting new scrutiny after the apparent implosion of OceanGate's Titan submersible, near the s...

Our guest this week is Jason Del Rey, a business reporter who covered Amazon, Walmart and the business of online retail for more than a decade at Recode and Vox Media. His new book is "Winner Sells All: Amazon, Walmart, and the Battle for our Wallets," which takes an inside look at what he calls "the defining business clash of this generation—a battle waged for our loyalty and wallets, with hundre...

This week: the origins of data, and the future of the digital species. Our guest is business and tech leader Bob Muglia, a startup investor and advisor who played key roles in the emergence of Microsoft's database, server, and business software products, and served as the CEO of data warehouse company Snowflake Computing. He's the author, with Steve Hamm, of a new book called  "The Datapreneurs: T...

Apple CEO Tim Cook on Monday unveiled the company's new $3500 Vision Pro headset, declaring a new era for spatial computing, and it was difficult not to notice the similarities to Microsoft's unveiling of its HoloLens headset back in 2015.  The comparison of Vision Pro and HoloLens, and the way the devices match a certain historical pattern, is one of our topics this week in a broader discussion a...

Hundreds of Amazon employees walked out of the office in Seattle this week, gathering in between the company's headquarters towers while holding signs, participating in chants and listening to speakers urge the tech giant to do better. It was part of a global walkout that organizers said drew participation from more than 2,000 Amazon employees worldwide.  So why did they walk out, and what do they...

This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we're coming to you from our mobile recording studio, aka Todd's car, as he and John make the most of their time in a clogged parking garage to discuss the comments they had just heard from T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert at the Technology Alliance annual State of Technology luncheon. Topics include artificial intelligence, national security concerns over Chinese hacki...

The theme at this week's GeekWire Awards was Star Wars, but we didn't need to go to a galaxy far, far away to find the force that promises to reshape the technology industry. The game-changing potential of AI was on the minds of many finalists and attendees, and integral to the business models of many of the companies featured on stage. This episode features conversations with finalists and attend...

We're back this week on the GeekWire Podcast as humans, not bots, we promise, but we've still got a lot of AI to talk about. On this week's episode, Todd shares highlights from his visit to Google I/O, including two of the generative AI tools that demonstrated the potential of technology to change the way we process and convey information.  Todd and John wrestle with the implications of these AI t...

For all the hype over generative artificial intelligence, how far has AI really advanced? Where is the new line between humanity and technology, and what does it mean for the future of our daily lives and work? GeekWire is exploring these questions in our Bot or Not series , and this week on the GeekWire Podcast, we share and assess the preliminary results of an experiment that we’ve been doing as...

Today's top STEM teachers embrace learning opportunities wherever they arise, whether it's baby squirrels that have fallen from their nest, or engineering design failures that literally go up in smoke. At the GeekWire Awards on May 18, we’re celebrating two STEM Educators of the Year: Ted Rodriquez, an instructor for high school juniors and seniors at the Sno-Isle TECH Skills Center in Everett, Wa...

Biomedicine pioneer Leroy Hood says that artificial intelligence will play a key role in the future of healthcare by accelerating the progress of "scientific wellness," an approach that he has championed for many years. Hood, co-founder of the Institute for Systems Biology, delves into this approach in his new book, “The Age of Scientific Wellness, ” which he wrote with co-author Nathan Price , an...

This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we're joined by a University of Washington professor whose Twitter account was abruptly suspended last week for reasons that seemed inexplicable at the time. The story is a glimpse into the erratic, arbitrary, and divided state of social media, communications, and modern economics. We also get a reality check on the new era of artificial intelligence, including t...

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy's annual letter to shareholders this week delivered a dual message: while the company might not be done streamlining its operations, it's also not scaling back its ambitions for future growth. Jassy outlined the company's strategy to expand further into generative artificial intelligence , healthcare, satellite broadband and other sectors, even as he hinted that the company m...

Humans have become increasingly vulnerable to technology engineered to grab our attention, pulling us away from more meaningful and fulfilling moments and interactions in our lives. Can technology itself be part of the solution? Our guest this week on the GeekWire Podcast is Caroline Cadwell, co-founder and CEO of Unpluq , a recent graduate of the Techstars Seattle accelerator program . The startu...

This week on the GeekWire Podcast , we're joined by Ali Partovi , a technology investor, entrepreneur, and mentor who is the CEO of Neo , a startup accelerator, mentorship community, and venture firm. Neo's accelerator this week announced a new AI track , working in collaboration with OpenAI and Microsoft to help startups build businesses on newly emerging artificial intelligence capabilities. Par...

This week on the GeekWire Podcast ... We catch up on the latest on the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, and consider the long-term implications of the meltdown on the startup ecosystem and the U.S. financial system. Then, a point-counterpoint on the issue of the return to office, as Downtown Seattle Association President Jon Scholes laments the "affliction" of remote work , and Zillow Group CEO Rich...

Startups and investors cheered the U.S. government's promise this weekend to fully protect deposits after the Silicon Valley Bank collapse. But the move left many unresolved questions and challenges for the U.S. financial system and the tech industry. Our guests on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast discuss their recent experiences and offer their informed opinions on what could come next. Speak...

This week, we go behind the scenes of Hype Aviation , a news aggregation site that you might think of as Techmeme for aviation, space and defense news. Our guests are Robin Koenig, who started the site, and Isaac Alexander, a Seattle-area aviation geek who serves as its chief content officer. With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop; edited and produced by Curt Milton. See omnystudio.com/listener for...

What was previously a point of pride on Silicon Valley Bank's website now reads like a warning sign: nearly half of U.S. venture-backed technology and life sciences companies bank with the financial institution. Financial regulators on Friday morning shut down Silicon Valley Bank and put it in the hands of the FDIC, a jaw-dropping move that has created a crisis for startup founders and their finan...

The workplace and the job market are a volatile mix of variables these days, including the economy, tech layoffs, inflation, pay transparency, remote work, and a push by some companies to bring employees back to the office. So how are all of these changes impacting pay and perks? Our guest this week is Lexi Clarke, chief people officer at Payscale , the Seattle-based compensation software and data...

This week on the GeekWire Podcast: What happened when Microsoft's new Bing AI search chatbot was called upon to help report a story for a small-town community newspaper. Plus, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy's back-to-office plan draws opposition from the company's employees and support from Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell. And Jeff Bezos appears serious about buying an NFL team. With GeekWire's Todd Bishop and...

Software developer Patrick Husting is excited about the potential of generative AI to transform daily work and life, but he's also cautious about the role of big tech companies -- and he sees an opportunity for independent operators such as himself to unlock the potential of artificial intelligence for users across different platforms.  Husting is the developer of a new third-party add-in called G...

Yusuf Mehdi is a Microsoft veteran of more than 31 years, who has been involved in the development and launch of some of the company's biggest products, including Windows 95 and Windows 11, the Xbox One console, and past versions of Microsoft's search engine. He's currently the corporate vice president and consumer chief marketing officer.  He spoke with GeekWire's Todd Bishop on the Microsoft cam...