The {Closed} Session

Are we walking a tightrope with AI, jeopardizing humanity's ethical core? Is AI more than just algorithms, acting as a mirror to our moral values? And when machine learning grapples with ethical dilemmas, who ultimately bears the responsibility? Harvard's Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science, James Mickens, joins Tom Chavez and Vivek Vaidya on "The {Closed} Session." Together, they dive deep into The Ethical Tech Project (a think-and-do tank crafting blueprints for ethical data use), Harvard's Institute for Rebooting Social Media, the art of data stewardship, privacy engineering, and the evolving landscape of AI regulation. PLUS bonus content: super{set} Spotlight on Checksum.ai co-founder Gal Vered and his experience so far working alongside Tom, Vivek, and the super{set} team at Checksum. Learn more about The Ethical Tech Project: www.ethicaltechproject.orgLearn more about The Ethical Tech Project's ThePrivacyStack: https://theprivacystack.org/Learn more about James Mickens: mickens.seas.harvard.edu Learn more about super{set}: www.superset.comLearn more about Tom Chavez: www.superset.com/team-members/tom-chavez  /  Tom's LinkedInLearn more about Vivek Vaidya: www.superset.com/team-members/vivek-vaidya / Vivek's LinkedInListen to previous episodes of The {Closed} Session: www.theclosedsession.comLearn more about Checksum:  https://checksum.ai/

Is AI our salvation or is it going to kill us all? Tom and Vivek roam widely on others’ takes about artificial intelligence, adding their insight and experience to the mix. Along the way they consider Descartes, Ray Kurzweil, Salt Bae, Marc Andreessen among others. If you are looking for a down to earth conversation that tempers the extremes at either end of the debate, this is the one you’ve been waiting for.Hosts Tom Chavez and Vivek Vaidya delve into the multifaceted world of generative AI, examining its effects on truth, deepfakes, business integration, and the workforce. They explore provocative questions such as the potential for AI to befriend or betray humanity, touching on concepts like the singularity and reflecting on notable thinkers' warnings. The conversation also navigates the portrayal of AI in popular culture, challenging the often dystopian images and asking why AI can't be seen as a cooperative force. Tune in for a balanced discussion that embraces both the exciting possibilities and pressing concerns of artificial intelligence.www.theclosedsession.com@ClosedSeshPod@[email protected]

What does ‘AI alignment mean? Can philosophy help make AI less biased? How does reinforcement learning influence AI's unpredictability? How does AI's ‘frame problem’ affect its ability to understand objects? What role does human feedback play in machine learning and AI fine-tuning?An acclaimed author and researcher who explores the human implications of computer science, Brian Christian is best known for his bestselling series of books: "The Most Human Human" (2011), "Algorithms to Live By" (2016), and "The Alignment Problem" (2020). The latter explores the ethical issues in AI, highlighting the biases and unintended outcomes in these systems and the crucial efforts to resolve them, defining our evolving bond with technology. With his deep insights and experiences, Brian brings a unique perspective to the conversation about ethics and safety challenges confronting the field of AI.Listen to the episode and read the transcript at superset.comGuest: Brian ChristianTwitter: @supersetstudio@ClosedSeshPod @tommychavez @vsvaidya

Does it matter where you go to college? Should the SAT be abolished? Do you have to have a degree in computer science to work in tech? What are the differences between higher education in the US and in India? Why did Tom and Vivek ban Harvard and Stanford degrees from working at their first company?Even though both Tom and Vivek have – in their own words – fancy degrees themselves, they also acknowledge that they came into the job market when there were fewer graduates in computer science than there are today. So what do the thousands of freshly minted CS graduates need to know about becoming successful? As Vivek notes, sometimes all you need is an opportunity.Listen to the episode and read the transcript at superset.comsuper{set} Twitter: @supersetstudio, @ClosedSeshPodLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/superset-studio/Twitter: @tommychavez, @vsvaidya

Few technologies have captured the attention of the general public as well as seasoned software engineers and entrepreneurs like ChatGPT. But how does it work? How can humans use it to increase productivity and output? And how is it likely to evolve? Our guest for this episode is Rama Ramakrishnan, Professor of the Practice, Data Science and Applied Machine Learning, at MIT Sloan School of Management. He joins Vivek for a wide-ranging conversation about ChatGPT and generative AI, with amusing asides into why Vivek rejected a job offer from Rama at one of his early start ups, why the extinction conversation about AI is misguided, and how Rama is enjoying academia after a storied career as an entrepreneur.Listen to the episode and read the transcript at superset.com.Guest: Rama RamakrishnanLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramar/TW: https://twitter.com/rama100super{set} Twitter: @supersetstudio, @ClosedSeshPodLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/superset-studio/Twitter: @tommychavez, @vsvaidya

Alex Kantrowitz, journalist and author of  Big Technology, joins Tom and Vivek in the studio to discuss his road to journalism, ad tech, and the business and ethical considerations of generative AI.Alex recounts his career shift and discusses the impact of generative AI on journalism, drawing from an incident where AI tools were used to plagiarize his work. The discussion also covers the role of AI in improving performance across fields like journalism and software engineering, and its applications in law and music. AI can simply automate specific tasks, but is it likely to replace the necessity for critical thinking and domain expertise?Listen to the episode and read the transcript at superset.com***Guest: Alex KantrowitzLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexkantrowitz/TW: https://twitter.com/KantrowitzSuper{set} Twitter:@supersetstudio, @ClosedSeshPodLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/superset-studio/Twitter:  @tommychavez,  @vsvaidya

On the heels of boombox.io's $7M seed fundraise led by Forerunner, Tom Chavez and Vivek Vaidya sit down with boombox co-founders India Lossman and Max Mathieu for a special episode straight from super{summit} 2023 in New Orleans!Tom, Vivek, India and Max discuss their backgrounds as musicians and techies building a platform where music producers can store, version, and track all of their music files; collect time-stamped feedback on audio files; communicate on the go with iOS/Android apps; manage splits for songwriting and recordings; and create simple legally-binding contracts for song ownership.The gang also discusses some cool generative AI features the boombox team has built into the app: boombox.io leverages Generative AI to enrich and extend a musician’s creative process with Boombot, a friendly, AI-powered collaborator that generates new ideas and fleshes out partial ones to make music creation more dynamic, faster and smarter. Boombot helps users spitball lyrics and song titles, suggests chord progressions, and turns them into MIDI files creators can pull directly into their digital audio workstation.Listen to the episode and read the transcript at superset.comGuests: India Lossman and Max Mathieu, co-founders of boombox.ioLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/india-lossman/; https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxencemathieu/boombox: https://www.linkedin.com/company/boomboxapp/TW: https://twitter.com/boomboxupdatesSuper{set} Twitter:@supersetstudio, @ClosedSeshPodLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/superset-studio/Twitter: @tommychavez, @vsvaidya

We are delighted to share our new episode of the {Closed} Session podcast with guest Alyssa Hutnik. Alyssa looms large in the privacy world, and she’s been thinking deeply about the intersections of data, technology and the law for nearly two decades. She’s also the Chief Privacy and Data Security Architect at Ketch, a super{set} company, as well as a lawyer. Listen to the episode and read the transcript at superset.com***The {closed} session - Season 4, Episode 2Guest, Ayssa Hutnik, Chief Privacy and Data Security Architect at Ketch.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alysahutnikKetch: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ketchdigital/, TW: https://twitter.com/Ketch_DigitalSuper{set} Twitter:@supersetstudio, @ClosedSeshPodLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/superset-studio/Twitter: @tommychavez, @vsvaidya

The {closed} session - Season 4, Episode 1Kicking off the fourth season of the {Closed} Session podcast with a great topic and guest: Frida Polli, CEO and co-founder of pymetrics, which was recently acquired by Harver, joins us to talk about the critical role that technology and specifically AI and neuroscience can play in eliminating bias in hiring and beyond.Listen to the episode and read the transcript at superset.com***Listen to more episodes at www.theclosedsession.comTwitter: @closedseshpodLearn more about super{set} at www.superset.com Guest, Frida Polli, CEO and co-founder of pymetrics (acquired recently by Harver)Twitter: @fridapolliInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/fridapolli/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frida-polli-phd-03a1855Harver: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harverTwitter: https://twitter.com/harverhrm

Twice a month, the super{set} community comes together for a weekly call - often featuring fireside chats with outside speakers and friends of the super{set} Hive. On one such call, we were pleased to welcome Arthur Patterson - founder of the venture capital firm Accel and an investor in Tom and Vivek’s previous companies, Rapt and Krux.Arthur Patterson is one of the greatest VCs of all time, founding Accel as an upstart in 1983 and building out the firm to become the powerhouse it is today. He’s an investor - not an operator himself - but he’s stood shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the world’s finest entrepreneurs and has plenty of insight into building successful software companies.From digging into the Nietzschean energy and other qualities required to be a successful entrepreneur to Accel’s philosophy of “the prepared mind,” to identifying the homegrown unknowns that can become the core of your early team, and to what makes or breaks a successful company idea, Arthur has insights for us all.Learn more about how we at super{set} found and build data-driven companies at superset.com.