Guest post by Brett T. Williams (Major General, Air Force, Ret.). General Williams explores corporate leadership and how technology impacts leadership. His favorite quote, "Leadership is technology agnostic," should resonate with any manager or executive trying to lead an organization today.

SHOW NOTES 

“I want to empower every day people to be empowered to have conversations about the technology that affecting their life and the ability to both ask good questions and get good answers so we get to the point where, collectively, we begin to build technologies we want. ” — Dr. Andrew Maynard

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Charlie is thrilled to welcome Dr. Andrew Maynard (former physicist, professor in the Arizona State University School for the Future of Innovation in Society, leading expert in the responsible development of emerging and converging technologies, and Tech 2025 advisor) for our very first tech news roundup episode where we recap the news on the implementation and impact of emerging technologies (the good, the bad, and the ugly!).

Breakdown:

* Upcoming events announcements including our next event, Prototyping the Future: Technologies Driving Disruption in New York’s Manufacturing & Supply Chain Ecosystem (August 14, 6-8pm), and Return on Creativity, Return on the Future” (Friday August 16, Arlington, VA) where Charlie will be speaking on consumer experience and marketing;

* Charlie briefly interviews Andrew about his upcoming book, what he’s learned about writing a book and engaging the public in discourse on the ethics of tech. Andrew also discusses his upcoming book.

* News Roundup! Charlie and Andrew discuss five news items that everyone is talking about and give their feedback (the good, the bad, and the ugly);

* They close out the show by each giving their suggestion for an “under the radar” story that we should be keeping an eye on in the coming week.

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News Stories Discussed:

* In Hong Kong Protests, Faces Become Weapons (New York Times)

* Why I’m turning my son into a cyborg (Quartz)

* Cambridge Analytica made “ethical mistakes” because it was too focused on regulation, former COO says (Vox)

* Why Google employees are donating to Warren and Sanders — presidential candidates who want to break up Google (Vox) and Why 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang doesn’t want to break up Google (Recode)

* New bill would ban autoplay videos and endless scrolling in  (The Verge)

Under the Radar Stories:

* Suggested by Andrew: Sorry, scooters aren’t so climate-friendly after all (

SHOW NOTES 

“Sometimes, the advantage is not being on the inside. ” — David Borish

Charlie welcomes David Borish (serial entrepreneur, innovation thought-leader, and co-Founder of neo 360) to the show, whose extensive experience launching and selling companies makes him an expert on how to find problems to solve, and how to develop solutions, that can be turned into sustainable businesses.

In particular, Charlie and David discuss how he finds opportunities and solutions that are truly ground-breaking. David’s expertise is discovering new technologies (and new uses for existing technologies) which has brought him incredible opportunities — including a recent partnership with Damon John (Shark Tank, investor and founder of FUBU).

David offers key insights on how we should be thinking about emerging technologies like AI, VR, quantum computing (we’ll go more into this with him in future episodes).

Stay tuned for updates on our next episode with David (in a couple of weeks) on quantum computing! We can’t wait! 

SHOW NOTES

“It’s not just about ethical thinking. It’s about changing the rules of the road.” — David Ryan Polgar

Charlie is excited to finally have David Ryan Polgar (Tech Ethicist and Digital Citizen Expert) on the show. For several years now, long before it became the hot topic in mainstream media and a matter of urgency in our society, David has espoused the need for us to be more thoughtful in how we implement emerging technologies and has warned of the negative side effects of not doing this.

David is the founder of All Tech Is Human, a hub and events community the hub for thoughtful tech that unites a broad range of technologists, academics, policymakers, advocates, organizations and students for discourse on the ethics of tech. He’s also co-host (along with comedian Joe Leonardo) of Funny as Tech (a live comedy show and podcast on emerging tech).

Charlie and David, who know each other from the New York tech scene (Charlie has even been a guest speaker on David’s Funny as Tech podcast), explore the difficulties of discussing ethics in technology including what’s NOT being discussed (are we in denial of our own personal ethics?). David shares what he believes are the big three issues we should really be paying attention to in tech ethics today. And finally, find out why Charlie and David demand to know: “Where’s my Tesla??!!!”

David will be guest speaker at Tech 2025’s next Dirty Ethics event which will be on the ethics of techlash. We can’t wait! 

SHOW NOTES

“I think there’s a big disconnect between what we do (the Brooklyn of Commerce and other Chambers of Commerce throughout the state) and what people view tech companies are doing, and that we don’t have a lot in common. But I think that there’s a lot more that we should be doing together, and I’m hoping that it will happen.” — Samara Karasyk

It’s National Small Business Week (May 5-11) where we celebrate the contributions and sacrifices that small business owners make to this great country of ours. In celebration of National Small Business Week, Charlie welcomes Samara Karasyk (Chief Policy Officer at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce) to the show for an in-depth conversation on the changing face of New York City through the lens of small businesses, entrepreneurs, policy wonks like Samara, and ordinary citizens who work hard and fight hard (when they need to).

In this interview, as it turns out, Samara and Charlie are just a couple of “Brooklyn girls” reminiscing about some of the most memorable (and often contentious) moments in our city’s recent history where we’ve struggled to define who we are and what we want (or don’t want!) and how we’ve adjusted to change (the good, the bad, and the ugly).

We then learn from Samara how an organization like the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce (which was founded 101 years ago!) supports small businesses and small businesses owners (and their employees!) through programs, benefits, and policy agendas that ensure their voices are being heard.

Charlie and Samara then arrive at the very topic that initially brought them together almost one year ago: how can small businesses (through the Chambers of Commerce) and the tech industry in NYC (which is growing exponentially) come together to learn more about each other’s challenges and to explore opportunities that can be beneficial for everyone? Did they come up with an answer? Are we prepared for the challenges that smart cities of the future will bring? Charlie and Samara explore the possibilities.

ABOUT SAMARA KARASYK

Samara Karasyk is the Chief Policy Officer at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, where she oversees their policy agenda, legislative and intergovernmental affairs, marketing, and public relations. Before her work at the Chamber, Samara worked for the government of New York City for many years. She began her public service career at the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation working on workforce development and job readiness training, later moving to the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission to focus on transportation policy and constituent affairs. She then handled intergovernmental affairs at the NYC Department of Transportation. Between 2011 and 2017, Samara was Assistant Commissioner of External Affairs at the NYC Department of Finance, managing all public affairs for the organization.

Samara has a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Hispanic Studies from Brown University and a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University. She lives in Brooklyn with her family and loves living here and working with the people and businesses of this dynamic borough.

ABOUT THE BROOKLYN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce is the largest and fastest-growing Chamber of Commerce in New York. It was named 2017 Chamber of the Year by The Business Council of New York State. The Chamber promotes economic development across the borough and serves as an advocate for its member businesses.

Artificial "intelligence" is a nebulous term that means, basically, fast automatic processing of information. How well do instances of it work? From a standpoint of 50 years' experience in the development of computer methods (while trying to maintain a typical-human status) I present here a cautionary appraisal.

SHOW NOTES

“The middle might not get the headlines but it’ll get the job done… You need to first fix how we’re doing things and then think about technology. Otherwise, technology is just a way to run everything into the ground faster.” — Thomas Hollman

Charlie starts the show in an unusual way after inspired by her interview with guest Thomas Hollman, Ph.D., Executive Director, Center for Services Leadership and Clinical Associate Professor of Marketing, W. P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University. During the interview, Charlie and Thomas discuss how emerging technologies are disrupting service industries and what executives should do to embrace this extraordinary era of industrial transformation.

Thomas also shares the unique challenges students and faculty face preparing for the future of work.

Some of the topics Charlie and Thomas cover in this episode include:

* The biggest challenge of helping students to see their leadership potential and of helping to develop their potential today;

* Robert Kennedy’s 1968 speech talks about how we measure everything except that which makes things worth while. What are the limits of business efficiencies and technologies?

* Defining corporate culture in the new (and future) workplace;

* An article from Fast Company, “It’s Time to Awaken the Humanity in Business“;

* We aren’t happy at work. But the goal of work was never to be happy. It was to be efficient. With robots taking over, what does it mean to be happy or fulfilled at work now?

* How leaders of companies should be thinking about the future in the next 10 years.

ABOUT THOMAS HOLLMAN

Thomas Hollmann is the Executive Director for the Center for Services Leadership in the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University and is also Clinical Associate Professor of Marketing Thomas’ work experience spans four countries and over 10 years in Fortune 100 companies, including Black & Decker, Xerox, and as an executive at Sun Life Financial. His research interests include Services Science, with a focus on B2B, service analytics, and Relationship Marketing, with a particular interest in relationship outcomes (profitability, customer equity, defection, retention, satisfaction, etc.). His research has appeared in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing and several leading marketing and services conferences. He has received research grants and awards from the Center for Innovation Management Studies, Xerox, IBM, and the Center for Services Leadership. Thomas has consulted with a range of Fortune 500 firms and he received awards for his teaching at Arizona State University and at NC State. Thomas earned a Ph.D. in Marketing from Arizona State University.

Areas of Expertise: Customer Experience, Profitability in Services, Customer Equity, Customer Defection, Customer Retention, Customer Satisfaction, Hearing the Voice of the Customer – Analytical Issues, Innovation in Service Centric Organizations

ABOUT THE CENTER FOR SERVICES LEADERSHIP

The Center for Services Leadership is a groundbreaking research center within the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University that concentrates on expanding service innovation by combining the latest scientific insights from the academic world with the best of service strategy in the business world. The CSL was created in 1985 as a response to the unique set of challenges that companies faced. While others were focusing on products and manufacturing enterprises, the CSL pioneered the study of service. Today, the Center is a globally recognized authority and thought leader in...

SHOW NOTES

Charlie starts off the show with an embarrassing confession but ends the episode on a high note as she basks in the glow of interviewing the incomparable Max Sklar (who we have deemed “Machine Learning Superstar”!).

Max, who attended his first Tech 2025 event a little over a year ago on Blockchain legislation in New York City, is a Machine Learning Engineer at Luminary Media (a podcasting media platform). Before that, he was Machine Learning Engineer at FourSquare for ten years. Max also hosts the popular Local Maximum Radio — a podcast about examining technology, engineering, and social trends through the lense of expanding perspectives and moving beyond the Local Maximum both for ourselves AND for our algorithms.

You can listen to Charlie being interviewed by Max on his podcast: Charlie Oliver on Tech 2025, Open and Thought Provoking Conversations about our Near Future

Some of the topics Charlie and Max cover in this episode include:

* How you can miss one revolution, and then go on to define another one. Max missed the early mobile revolution and then went on to have a lot to do with the rest of mobile;

* The most important thing you need to know about machine learning to grasp the potential of the technology and to understand where it’s going in the future.

* Whether or not tech companies are doing a good job of presenting technologies with a reasonable balance between hope and hype;

* Max’s take on why Mark Zuckerberg was wrong to say that Facebook will solve hate speech on Facebook using machine learning within 10 years (according to Max, “It’s not going to happen!”);

* Max’s “Under the Radar” prediction for 2019 (the technologies no one is paying attention to that will likely be the breakout innovations that make a big impact).

LINKS

* Max’s Local Maximum Radio podcast: https://www.localmaxradio.com/

* Follow Max on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-sklar-b638464/

* Follow Max on Twitter: http://twitter.com/maxsklar

 

REACH OUT TO US AT:

Website: tech2025.com/podcast-show

Twitter: @JoinTech2025

Instagram: @jointech2025

Facebook: facebook.com/jointech2025

Email: [email protected]

Charlie Oliver: Twitter – @itscomplicated

Become a Tech 2025 member: bit.ly/t25member

View our upcoming events: bit.ly/t25events

 

 

SHOW NOTES

Spring is in the air! The weather is starting to mellow out. And Tech 2025 has just launched a new membership subscription model and a ton of the events to usher in the new season!

Charlie pops in to discuss the new membership model that so many of you have been asking for. She also discusses the new Spring events we have in store for New York. And somewhere in there, she tells a story about winning Bingo in Germany when she was 11 years old (it’s all beginning to make sense).

LINKS

* New Membership Subscriptions: bit.ly/t25member

* Upcoming Events Listing: bit.ly/t25events

 

REACH OUT TO US AT:

Website: tech2025.com/podcast-show

Twitter: @JoinTech2025

Instagram: @jointech2025

Facebook: facebook.com/jointech2025

Email: [email protected]

Charlie Oliver: Twitter – @itscomplicated

 

 

 

I've gathered a short list of free online courses that helps us to see “the big picture” and focus on the problems emerging technologies are are being created to solve as opposed to the technology itself (and even the problems that are arising as we implement technologies like algorithmic bias). I'll be adding more to this list in parts 2 and 3 of this post in the coming weeks. It's a great way to kick off the new year!