The Brave Technologist

Can Big Tech ever truly put users first? In this solo episode, join Luke Mulks, VP of Business Operations at Brave Software, as he dissects the so-called Principal-Agent Problem: the ubiquitous issue where the priorities of tech giants overshadow the needs of users.  He'll also dive into  the essence of user-first design in software development, especially in Web browsers and search engines.  Key...

Rahul Pagidipati, CEO of ZebPay, discusses how India's regulatory environment and technological advancements are paving the way for blockchain's integration into various sectors. From meme coins to top-tier cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, Rahul offers a nuanced perspective on trading and investing in digital assets. He also shares his thoughts on the growing interest in NFTs, and how p...

Josep M. Pujol (Chief of Search at Brave) and Rémi Berson (Principal Engineer at Brave) discuss Brave Search's latest feature, Answer With AI, which is the first privacy-preserving answer engine available at scale. They explore what this new assistant's capabilities mean for traditional search, and its potential to reshape our search habits. Key Takeaways:  How Answer with AI is different from cha...

Steve Kinard, President of the AI Innovation Association, discusses Bitcoin mining and the environmental implications that turned him into an advocate with the Texas Blockchain Council. He also emphasizes the inevitability of AI's disruptive impact across industries, and advocates for prioritizing open source collaboration as the cornerstone of technological innovation. Key Takeaways:  How Texas i...

Pat Walshe, Data Protection Officer at Brave, discusses the intersection of artificial intelligence, privacy, and data protection…and how these elements intertwine with fundamental human rights in the digital realm. He also scrutinizes tech industry giants, questioning the authenticity of their privacy claims and the efficacy of their data protection measures. Key Takeaways:  The current state of...

Greg Jizmagian, CoFounder and CTO at Exponential, shares how trust is being rebuilt in the financial sector through blockchain technology, and ways users are regaining financial autonomy. He also explains the intricacies of making complex DeFi platforms approachable, striking the balance between detail-rich data and a seamless user experience. Key Takeaways:  Why DeFi matters, how to use it safely...

Paul Barron, Founder of the Paul Barron Network, examines power, corruption, and the technology war he expects to see over the next 20 years. He also discusses why gaming is the gateway to Web3 growth, and will lead to a steep adoption curve. Key Takeaways:  How people underestimate AI's ability to scale, despite its speed and the latest advancement in compute requirements.  Why AI will have a neg...

Adam Zarazinski, CEO of Inca Digital and former intelligence analyst, shares his journey from the front lines of international security to leading the charge in harnessing AI for financial innovation. He discusses how Inca Digital's technology is helping to monitor dark web activity, and gives examples of how they've been able to track terrorist financing, including Hamas' use of cryptocurrency. K...

Naomi Brockwell, Founder of NBTV Media, discusses the true cost of "free tools," and why we need a major mindset shift when it comes to trading value for value. She also discusses the illusion of privacy versus the reality that data brokers are working in, and how AI may make the data broker's job obsolete. Key Takeaways:  The easiest ways to reduce your digital footprint, and unpacking the switch...

David Kanter, Executive Director at MLCommons, discusses the work they're doing with MLPerf Benchmarks, creating the world's first industry standard approach to measuring AI speed and safety. He also shares ways they're testing AI and LLMs for harm, to measure—and, over time, reduce—the potential harms of AI. Key Takeaways:  How they're using research to help build public confidence in AI and emer...

Carissa Véliz, Associate Professor at the Institute for AI at the University of Oxford, discusses how our personal data is the currency of power for tech giants, and ways the balance can be tipped back in favor of individual rights. We also address the privacy implications of large language models, and consider whether OpenAI and tools like ChatGPT are complying with the GDPR. Key Takeaways:  How...

Ryan Brown (Filterset Engineer at Brave) and Peter Snyder (Senior Privacy Researcher at Brave) discuss the latest advancements in ad-blocking technology, and how Brave's control over its browser stack plays a crucial role in maintaining a private yet fully operational Web experience. They also reflect on the resilience of the ad-blocking community, especially in response to the looming changes of...

Josh Swihart, CEO at Electric Coin Co., discusses public perception of pseudonymity versus privacy, and how this impacts adoption of privacy preserving products. He also explores the increasing challenge of crypto wars—which impacts cryptographic and privacy rights worldwide—and why he believes encryption should be mandated for US citizens. Key Takeaways: Why physical cash should be treated/regula...

Andy Yen, Founder & CEO at Proton, discusses how big tech is presenting a false sense of privacy to its users—and why this is dangerous. He also unpacks the confusion between privacy and anonymity, and how where you live impacts your right to each.  Key Takeaways: How Proton has attracted users and early adopters while sticking to a privacy-first marketing strategy. What we can learn from the cult...

Preston Byrne, Partner at Brown Rudnick LLP, discusses the benefit of using public private keys as a solution to authenticate communication, and avoid both AI scams and fraud. He also shares his predictions for how AI and cryptocurrency will work together in the future, leaning on each other's polar-opposite strengths. Key Takeaways:  The role that crypto and AI could play in the upcoming US elect...

Anupam Chander, Scott Ginsburg Professor of Law and Technology at Georgetown, and Visiting Scholar at Harvard's Institute for Rebooting Social Media, discusses the future of humanity during a wave of paid technology innovation. He also shares how AI is impacting digital sovereignty. Key Takeaways:  Why Section 230 of the US Communications Decency Act has been so important for people online How US...

Shubham Shrivastava, Head of Machine Learning at Kodiak Robotics, discusses how AI is solving the increasing challenges within the long haul trucking industry, specifically with safety and driver supply. He also provides practical examples of Kodiak's safety strategy and redundancies they've put in place. Key discussion topics: How soon we can expect to see autonomous trucks on the road The balanc...

Gabriele Mazzini, Team Leader - AI Act at the European Commission, discusses the risk-based approach they took when crafting specific rules for the Artificial Intelligence Act (versus simply opposing the technology as a whole). He also discusses the complexities involved in regulating emerging technologies that evolve at a much faster pace than the legislation itself.  Key Takeaways: Recommendatio...

Austin Campbell, Managing Partner at Zero Knowledge Consulting,  discusses the outdated infrastructure of finance and how blockchain is positioned to solve many of the current challenges. He also tackles the complex issues regulators face, and cultural hesitancy towards harnessing the full potential of innovations like blockchain. Key takeaways:  The power of self custody, and how emerging technol...

Sexually-explicit AI-generated images of Taylor Swift surfaced last week and went viral on many platforms - particularly X (formerly Twitter) who responded by removing the ability to search the singer-songwriter's name alltogether. In this bonus solo episode with Luke, he discusses what we can learn from this scandal. Key Takeaways: - What are deepfakes and should we be concerned? - Can we expect...

Kate Brady, Head of Next Gen D2C Consumer Experience & Direct Digital Marketing Capabilities at PepsiCo, shares how mainstream brands and marketers can utilize Web3 technologies. Kate's team is currently testing a number of next gen initiatives as part of PepsiCo's newly established Web3 & Metaverse Center of Enablement.  We also discuss the removal of third-party trackers and moving towards a pri...

Nell Watson is a pioneering ethics and machine intelligence researcher, and president of EthicsNet. Here, she discusses different scenarios in which things could go "wrong" with emerging technologies, and lead to AI working against the best interests of humanity instead of for it. She also shares the amazing work that's being done now to prevent this. Key Takeaways: Why AI safety and AI ethics tea...

Keith Sonderling, Commissioner at the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), discusses how HR companies and employers are using AI, and the implications of this usage on employment law. He stresses the importance of governance and regulation to avoid discrimination, prevent HR biases at scale, and to ultimately uphold our civil rights. Key takeaways:  How to use machine lear...

Gilad Lumbroso, Squad Lead @ AI21 Labs, discusses the various ways we overestimate AI, and the gaps that currently need to be filled in AI capabilities. He also explains the role that natural language will play in the evolution of new AI, and discusses how to apply natural language usability as a key part of product development.  Key Takeaways:  How to deal with hallucinations and misleading infor...

Greg Diamos, Co-Founder of Lamini, shares how their discovery of the Scaling Laws Recipe led to rapid evolution of language learning models, and inspired Lamini's product offering. He also discusses his message for policy makers, including what we should be worried about, and what pitfalls we should work to avoid.   Key Takeaways:  Why you should build your own LLM How language learning models hav...