Rana el Kaliouby, Founder of Affectiva, Deputy CEO of Smart Eye, and Emotion AI Pioneer
Behind The Tech with Kevin Scott
Release Date: 02/14/2023
Year in Review 2024
Behind The Tech with Kevin Scott
As 2024 comes to an end, we take a look back at some of the biggest themes that emerged on Behind the Tech over this incredibly exciting year for tech and AI: creativity, education, and transformation. And we take a stroll through some of Kevin’s obsessions – from ceramics to Maker YouTube to classical piano – alongside guests like Xyla Foxlin, Lisa Su, Ben Laude, Ethan Mollick, Refik Anadol, and more. Discover and listen to other .
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Refik Anadol, Director / Media Artist at Refik Anadol Studio, Visiting Researcher & Lecturer at UCLA's Design Media Arts Department.
Behind The Tech with Kevin Scott
Refik Anadol, an internationally renowned media artist and director, joins Behind the Tech to discuss his journey from a childhood fascination with computers in Istanbul to becoming a pioneer in the aesthetics of data and machine intelligence. In this episode, Refik shares his early inspirations—including his first encounter with a Commodore computer and the impact of science fiction on his imagination—and discusses how his work explores the intersection of art and technology. Kevin and Refik delve into the challenges and possibilities that ubiquitous computing has imposed on...
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Ben Laude, Professor of Music (Piano Literature & Aural Skills) at Utah State University
Behind The Tech with Kevin Scott
Ben Laude, a concert pianist and music educator, joins Behind the Tech to discuss his journey from a suburban childhood in Austin, Texas to becoming a world-renowned classical pianist and YouTube creator. Ben shares his early inspirations—including his father's dabbling in piano and his own private obsession with classical music that began in high school—and discusses the importance of having a good teacher and the role of the early Internet in fueling his passion for piano. In this episode, Kevin and Ben explore the impact of AI on art and artists, the significance of classical...
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Sal Khan, Founder and CEO of Khan Academy
Behind The Tech with Kevin Scott
Sal Khan, founder and CEO of Khan Academy, joins Behind the Tech to discuss his journey from a curious child fascinated by science and technology to a global leader in education innovation. Sal shares his early inspirations that led him to pursue a career in engineering and a degree at MIT, and outlines his lifelong passion for education rooted in the belief that all students have the potential to excel in subjects like math and science with the right tools and encouragement. In this episode, Kevin and Sal explore Sal's vision for Khan Academy, his insights on the intersection of...
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Ethan Mollick, Author and Associate Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Behind The Tech with Kevin Scott
Ethan Mollick is an associate professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches innovation and entrepreneurship. His research focuses on the impact of AI on work and education, and he has published numerous papers and a New York Times-bestselling book on AI, "Co-Intelligence." Ethan is also behind the popular Substack ”,” which explores the implications of AI for work, education, and life. In this episode, Kevin and Ethan discuss Ethan’s background as a long-time technology enthusiast, his academic journey, and his insights on the current AI...
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Mike Volpi, Partner at Index Ventures
Behind The Tech with Kevin Scott
Mike Volpi is a longtime venture capitalist who joined Index Ventures in 2009 to establish the firm's San Francisco office and North American operations. Prior, he was Chief Strategy Officer at Cisco, overseeing a run of acquisitions still studied today as a model for technology merger strategy. Mike invests primarily in artificial intelligence, infrastructure, and open-source companies, and currently serves on the boards of multiple companies including Aurora, ClickHouse, Cockroach Labs, Cohere, Confluent, Covariant.ai, Kong, Scale, Sonos, and Wealthfront. In this episode,...
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Mike Schroepfer, Partner, Gigascale Capital
Behind The Tech with Kevin Scott
In 2023, after departing his role as CTO of Facebook, Mike Schroepfer launched the climate venture capital investment firm Gigascale Capital with the goal of building climate tech companies. Working alongside co-founders Victoria Beasley and Evaline Tsai, Gigascale’s investments are today driving advancements in clean energy, biotech and computing. In this episode, Kevin and Mike discuss Mike’s early childhood and how he got interested in the study of computer science, career experiences in engineering that shaped him, and what ultimately led to his decision to focus on climate change and...
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Xyla Foxlin, Engineer and YouTube Creator
Behind The Tech with Kevin Scott
Xyla Foxlin is an engineer and YouTuber with a passion for making things dating back to her early childhood love of art and creative exploration. What began as a way to entertain herself with whatever materials she could find blossomed into a career as a content creator and maker, showcasing her skills crafting everything from a rocket to a sailboat. In this episode, Xyla and Kevin discuss the challenges she’s faced in the maker space, overcoming imposter syndrome, and the work she’s done to help encourage other women and people of color interested in science, math, and engineering. ...
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Lisa Su, Chair and CEO, AMD
Behind The Tech with Kevin Scott
As Chair and CEO of AMD, Lisa Su leads the transformation of the strategy and product execution of one of the fastest growing semiconductor companies in the world. She’s the recipient of numerous awards, and a recent appointee to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. In this episode, she discusses her upbringing as the daughter of a mathematician, her early interest in engineering and figuring out how things work, and why she thinks this is the most exciting time in hardware in recent decades. | Discover and listen...
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Year in Review 2023
Behind The Tech with Kevin Scott
As 2023 comes to an end, we take a look back at some of the year’s most compelling, thought-provoking conversations with guests like Bill Gates, Neil deGrasse Tyson, OpenAI’s Mira Murati, Shopify’s Tobi Lutke, will.i.am, Sci-fi author Adrian Tchaikovsky, and many more. The year’s programs featured a wide range of topics including equity in tech, advocating for science and, of course, the transformative power of AI. Discover and listen to other .
info_outlineEmpathy and emotions are at the center of how we connect and communicate as humans—in fact, 93 percent of how we communicate is accomplished through non-verbal means. Emotion AI (a subset of AI that measures, understands, simulates and reacts to human emotions) pioneer Rana el Kaliouby is on a mission to bring more emotional intelligence to the digital world. In this episode, Kevin talks with Rana about her upbringing and how she got into tech, her experience and challenges co-founding Affectiva and as Deputy CEO of Smart Eye, and the importance of infusing IQ and EQ into technology.
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