Possible

What might it look like if we used AI to make democracy work better and to make society more equal? In this special live recording of Possible, Aria turns the tables on her co-host, interviewing Reid alongside Atlantic CEO Nick Thompson. They discuss AI-native generations, the future of friendship and social connections, media, data, privacy, and democracy in the age of AI. To kick off the episode...

This week, Aria asks Reid about government regulation of AI, including where the U.S. fits in on the global stage and how America can learn from where the early regulation of social media fell short.  For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/

How can the U.S. government support the use of AI to stimulate innovation, bring healthcare to people more effectively, and educate people more equitably—all while thoughtfully navigating technology’s impact on people’s way of life?  On this week’s episode, Reid and Aria sit down with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to discuss her work leading the government’s efforts to minimize the risk...

In this episode, Aria asks Reid about his general and AI-specific investment philosophies, including what draws him to a pitch and what raises red flags. They discuss agentic AI, robots, and hardware.  For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/

This week, Reid and Aria are joined by Ashton Kutcher. While you might know him as the actor and producer who rose to fame on That ‘70s Show, Dude, Where’s My Car, and MTV’s Punk’d, Ashton is also an accomplished venture capitalist. He is co-founder of the VC firm Sound Ventures, and he has been investing in AI for more than a decade. Ashton, Reid, and Aria discuss the future of AI software and ha...

Reid discusses what aspects of urban planning need to be reimagined. He advocates that prioritizing smart technology, clean energy, and data can vastly improve residents’ quality of life. Plus, Aria asks Reid about the potential of technologies existent and forthcoming—including self-flying cars. For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcas...

What if we built cities focused around community, leveraging technology to actually increase human connection, health, and fulfillment? Devon Zuegel, the leader of Edge Esmeralda—a pop-up village that took place in June 2024—joins Possible to discuss how she is reimagining cities to optimize for community. In this episode, Devon, Aria, and Reid get into why designing cities with intention can impa...

Reid talks about why he invested in California Forever, the ambitious sustainable city project in Solano County, California. He contends with some of the concerns that have been raised about the initiative and states his case for the best way to fix the affordable housing crisis. The answer just might be surprisingly simple. Aria also asks Reid about exciting sustainability projects that aren’t ge...

What if we could build the ideal sustainable city from scratch? This week’s guest is aiming to do that, and he has unique insight into what making that dream a reality can look like. Jan Sramek is the founder of California Forever, a company aiming to build an affordable, urban community in Solano County, California. Reid—an investor in California Forever—and Aria sat down with Jan to talk about t...

In this episode, Aria asks Reid about the path from idea to execution—and Reid draws from LinkedIn to share his launch lessons. Plus, Reid predicts how AI will—and won’t—impact food, dining, and restaurants.  For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/

What role might artificial intelligence play in making the perfect meal? How will AI transform food creation—and creation more generally? Massimo Bottura—legendary Italian chef and entrepreneur—joins Possible to talk about the future of food, human creativity, and how technology factors in. Massimo, Aria, and Reid discuss the roles of joy and innovation in fine dining, technology’s potential to en...

What will being a software engineer look like in the future, when the predominant coding language is English—or whatever language you speak—instead of JavaScript? In this episode, Reid reflects on his own education, including the value of studying philosophy. Plus, he shares what he’d prioritize in designing kids' classroom experiences today and gets into AI’s potential to help customize lessons t...

What does AI literacy mean for students and their teachers? Code.org Chief Academic Officer Pat Yongpradit—himself a former middle school computer science teacher—joins Reid and Aria for the first-ever live-taping of Possible, recorded at the ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego.  In this episode, they discuss why school-wide bans on AI are a terrible idea and what “always be learning” refers to in an age...

What should we keep in mind as we venture into this new AI era? Reid Hoffman delivers a speech, entitled Humanity’s Hegelian Golden Braid, to address this question. The speech offers six guiding maxims related to AI, humanity, and technology—and weaves through Hegel and Hofstadter, cathedrals and griffins, T.S. Elliot and Hyman Minsky, and more. This speech was originally given by Reid Hoffman in...

In this episode, Aria asks Reid about the roles and responsibilities of technology journalists, along with his thoughts on the TikTok ban (recorded before President Biden signed the TikTok Ban bill into law).  For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/

Alongside this week’s riff from Reid on tech journalism and last week’s episode with Kara Swisher, we’re bringing you a conversation between Reid and Kara that originally dropped as a March 2023 episode of “On with Kara Swisher.” This duo has known each other since the 90s, when Reid was fresh off the sale of PayPal and before he co-founded LinkedIn. On this episode, they discuss Reid’s donations...

What will the media landscape look like as tech companies, as opposed to traditional media, own increasingly more ink? And who better to offer an optimistic take on the news industry’s future than…Kara Swisher?!  Reid and Aria speak with the famous—and famously direct—tech journalist, author, and podcast host about the roles and responsibilities of journalists covering rapidly developing innovatio...

Reid recounts the story of a milestone GPT-4 demo at Bill Gates’ house—and shares what series of achievements by AI would most impress and excite him next.  Aria also asks Reid about the investment in technology and AI that he’d like to see be made at the domestic and international level. Lastly, Reid addresses the skepticism people have about AI—and how to best direct that skepticism to the benef...

What if artificial intelligence becomes so ubiquitous that, in the future, we won’t be able to imagine what life was like without it?  Kevin Scott is Executive Vice President of AI and Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft. He joins the Possible Podcast to talk about AI, its impact on education, healthcare and jobs, and how AI can benefit more of us, irrespective of our geography. Kevin, Reid, and...

Reid recently created an AI version of himself—REID AI—and recorded a video Q&A to see how this digital twin might challenge him in new ways. Watch the full clip here: https://youtu.be/rgD2gmwCS10 This is Reid’s latest AI experiment, following the book he co-wrote with GPT-4 (Impromptu), the podcast he co-hosted with ChatGPT (Fireside Chatbots), and, of course, Possible, in which we use AI tools l...

The award-winning podcast Possible is back with a new season and some new changes! As always, you can tune in every Wednesday for grounded and speculative thoughts on the future from forward-thinking leaders, deep thinkers, and ambitious builders across a range of fields: tech, art, geopolitics, healthcare, climate change, education, and more. But now, the show is on year round — that means Possib...

What can we learn from the OpenAI saga? What role might AI play in the 2024 election? What’s the deal with the New York Times suing OpenAI? How will AI evolve our sense of human purpose?  Reid and Aria reflect on season two of Possible and answer questions like these from a variety of sources: Listeners, Pi, ChatGPT, and each other.   Read the transcript of this episode here. For more info on the...

What would it take for AI to become as trusted a source of information as Wikipedia?  Katherine Maher, former CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation, joins the show to talk about the fundamental building blocks of trust behind Wikipedia.  The use of AI will fundamentally reshape what information is distributed on the internet—and how. Reid, Aria, and Katherine talk about what creating and scaling positiv...

How can technology change—and actually deepen—human connection?  Kerry Washington is an Emmy-winning, SAG-and-Golden Globe-nominated actor. She’s also a director, and producer, and New-York-Times-bestselling author of the memoir Thicker Than Water. She joins the podcast to talk about how AI and other technology can transform our most important relationships. She, Reid, and Aria also discuss AI’s i...

What if every learner on the planet had access to a world-class education? This week’s guest has an impressive track record of using technology to make that dream a reality. Sal Khan is the founder and CEO of Khan Academy, an education nonprofit whose pioneering digital tools support K-12 students everywhere, along with parents, teachers, and school districts. In this episode, Sal discusses how te...