Possible

What would it look like to build coalitions to disrupt poverty, pollution, and the prison system? This week’s guest received a $100 million grant to do just that. Van Jones is a CNN host, New-York-Times-bestselling author, and the co-founder of multiple social enterprises to address issues of criminal justice, climate change, and social equity. Aria and Reid spoke with Van about what it will take...

What does it look like to build true access with technology? Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, CEO and co-founder of Promise, is creating that reality. She sat down with Reid and Aria to discuss how her company is revolutionizing the way people receive welfare in its client states. By leveraging data, questioning preconceived assumptions, and focusing on eliminating bias, Promise has become a model for socia...

How can humanities and the arts flourish as artificial intelligence continues to grow and evolve? Contemporary artist Sarah Sze joins the podcast to talk about the relationship between art and technology. Reid, Aria, and Sarah discuss her recent exhibit at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, the relationship between the physical and the digital, and the importance of taking art off its pedesta...

What is the connection between the future of humanity and the future of technology? Science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson (The Mars trilogy, Ministry for the Future) joins the podcast to speculate about how we might evolve as a civilization. Science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson joins the podcast to speculate about how we might evolve as a civilization. His books, such as The Mars tril...

What if every doctor and every patient had an artificial intelligence copilot to help with medical decisions? Peter Lee joins the show to offer his expertise as co-author of The AI Revolution in Medicine: GPT-4 and Beyond and Corporate Vice President of Research and Incubations at Microsoft. Peter is working at the cutting edge of how to safely incorporate AI into medicine, training healthcare pro...

Hey listeners! Possible is off this week but we’re bringing you an episode from another podcast hosted by Reid called Masters of Scale.  Questions in this episode include: Are AI’s harshest critics causing irreversible harm to humanity? How far should leaders lean into AI? And just what would Reid sound like speaking Chinese with a British accent? Reid Hoffman sits down with CEO of WaitWhat and lo...

Will artificial intelligence change what it means to be human? Cancer physician, researcher, and author Siddhartha Mukherjee joins the podcast to help rethink how we understand human health—and the ways AI can help. Sid talks about using AI to emancipate patients from disease as well as enhance patient health and wellbeing. He also discusses the risks that come along with incorporating AI into the...

How will artificial intelligence reshape diplomacy and war? Renowned diplomat and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice joins the show to explore that question. As director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and a member of the board of directors of C3 AI, Dr. Rice is at the intersection of our geopolitical climate and the advancement of AI. Reid, Aria, and Dr. Rice explore the...

Can technology help us fulfill our potential as caring beings, as well as rational, calculating beings? Anne-Marie Slaughter is a scholar, public intellectual, and CEO of New America, a think tank that focuses on a wide range of public policy issues. She joins the podcast to talk about public interest technology, the care economy, and, ultimately, the ways technology can help make humans whole. Re...

What if the best technology were deployed on the biggest problems for humanity? So asked Marques Brownlee, who joined us on Possible to open the first episode of season 2. Also known by his YouTube channel name, MKBHD, Marques is a self-taught YouTube creator who has nearly 18 million subscribers and has been posting tech-focused reviews and analysis on YouTube for nearly 15 years. Marques, Aria a...

The award-winning Possible podcast is back with a new season 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. This season, hosts Reid Hoffman and...

What does AI mean for the leaders of tomorrow? On this bonus episode of Possible, Reid talks about the role of AI in shaping the future, the importance of beauty in technology, AI as a tool for amplification, and the responsibility of us all in using AI as a tool to benefit humankind.  This speech was originally delivered by Reid Hoffman in English on September 8, 2023 at the Bologna Business Scho...

What if you could tweak the questions you ask ChatGPT and make you ten times more effective or productive? Ethan Mollick is an Associate Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He studies and teaches innovation and entrepreneurship, and also examines the effects of artificial intelligence on work and education. He’s also an insightful and leading voice in the AI space, e...

What if we each had a personal “buddy” to support us? Maja Mataric is a computer scientist, roboticist and AI researcher at the University of Southern California. She pioneered the field of socially assistive robotics: the design of robots to help humans—especially vulnerable people such as kids with autism, the elderly, and people struggling with illness—navigate complicated social needs. In the...

It’s easy to assume that we all have kindness and care in our daily lives. But not everyone has a family member or friend to lean on during hard times. What if there was a technology that provides easy access to support and consideration? In the first episode of our miniseries about AI and the personal, Reid and Aria are joined by artificial intelligence researcher and founder Mustafa Suleyman. Mu...

What is the future of the Possible podcast? This week, Reid and Aria wrap up the first season of the podcast with reflections on the show, its guests, and what’s been covered so far. Plus, Reid discusses his new company, Inflection; his book, Impromptu; and what’s next for Possible.   Read the transcript of this episode here.  Listen to Reid’s Vanderbilt commencement speech here. Read Impromptu by...

What if we could commute to space for work? Or rest and relax in a floating pod, immersed in a galaxy? Such easy access to space might not be as far away as we think. This week, Reid and Aria sit down with Ariel Ekblaw, director of the MIT Space Exploration Initiative and founding CEO of Aurelia Institute. Ariel talks about democratizing access to space and using advancements in space technology t...

How might we develop and deploy beneficial, safe artificial general intelligence for humanity? Reid and Aria are joined by Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, and Greg Brockman, OpenAI co-founder and president. Sam and Greg trace their journey—from articulating their mission to early company projects and decisions to scaling and sharing GPT-4 with the world. They also explore the transformative impact...

What if we had a copilot for every profession? Or if we had the capability to create digital clones of ourselves to pursue our creative projects? These prospects aren’t too far-fetched thanks to the latest developments in AI. What does the future of work actually look like? This week, Reid and Aria sat down with Jaime Teevan, Chief Scientist and Technical Fellow at Microsoft, and former technical...

What if, instead of punishing people who made mistakes, we helped them? Bryan Stevenson, founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative, has spent his career working toward a more equitable and restorative criminal justice system. He joins Reid and Aria this week to discuss the root causes of mass incarceration in America and how we can build safe communities without excessive poli...

What if we didn’t need cars? Janette Sadik-Khan, former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation, helped revolutionize some of New York’s most famous streets into navigable, car-free areas. She joins the show this week to paint a picture of cities that put people first. How has the purpose of the city changed over time? Is it really possible—and preferable—to remove cars from...

What if every student had access to the same high-quality educational tools? This week, Reid and Aria are joined by Ben Nelson to discuss higher education. Ben is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of the Minerva Project, a for-profit educational organization that created the non-profit Minerva University with the mission of reforming global education through an interdisciplinary curriculum and fully a...

What if society completely phased out fossil fuels? This week, Saul Griffith joins the show to discuss how this future is actually possible. Best of all, much of the work can be done with our existing technology—starting from inside the home. Saul founded the organizations Rewiring America and Rewiring Australia, dedicated to the electrification of those countries. He’s also the author of Electrif...

What if there was a source of energy that was virtually inexhaustible, produced no greenhouse gasses, and generated minimal waste? Well, it already exists – almost. Reid and Aria sit down with Dr. Kim Budil, director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, to talk about the future of fusion energy. Last December, Dr. Budil’s lab achieved fusion ignition. She explains what that historic brea...

What if every TV show could be perfectly tailored to each viewer's interests, knowledge level, and needs? Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger sit down with Trevor Noah to talk about how technology—including artificial intelligence—might influence the future of entertainment. They chat about the strengths and shortcomings of artificial intelligence, how jobs—and the way we will work—will evolve with AI, a...