Possible with Reid Hoffman

Reid talks about why he invested in California Forever, the ambitious sustainable city project in Solano County, California. He contends with some of the concerns that have been raised about the initiative and states his case for the best way to fix the affordable housing crisis. The answer just might be surprisingly simple. Aria also asks Reid about exciting sustainability projects that aren’t getting the attention they deserve.

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/

What if we could build the ideal sustainable city from scratch? This week’s guest is aiming to do that, and he has unique insight into what making that dream a reality can look like. Jan Sramek is the founder of California Forever, a company aiming to build an affordable, urban community in Solano County, California. Reid—an investor in California Forever—and Aria sat down with Jan to talk about the vision for the city, where it draws inspiration from, and some of the controversy that has sprung up around the initiative since it was announced in 2023. Why build a new city rather than developing existing ones? How will this new city be connected to the surrounding community? And when might the first residents be able to move in?

Read the transcript of this episode here.

For more about: 

California Forever/East Solano Plan (https://eastsolanoplan.com/) 

Zipline (https://www.flyzipline.com/) 

Living Carbon (https://www.livingcarbon.com/) 

JFK speech at Rice University (https://www.rice.edu/jfk-speech) 

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/ 

Topics:

03:45 - Hellos and intros

04:25 - Where does Jan draw inspiration from

05:57 - Jan’s journey to real estate

08:18 - What is California Forever’s timeline?

10:44 - AI weighs in on initiatives to refresh existing cities

13:07 - Cities to look to for inspiration

14:48 - How to create economic opportunity in a new city

17:58 - The importance of local jobs

21:23 - Responding to criticism

24:30 - Most exciting developments

25:55 - Most common misconceptions

27:04 - Community feedback and climate efforts

30:53 - How to connect to public infrastructure

32:38 - How feasible is California Forever, exactly?

35:14 - Learning from past and present initiatives

39:52 - Nonprofit and government stakeholders

42:24 - Why is building from scratch greener?

45:08 - Rapid-fire questions

Possible is an award-winning podcast 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. Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with an ambitious builder or deep thinker on a topic, from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Whether it's Inflection’s Pi, OpenAI’s ChatGPT or other AI tools, each episode will use AI to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.

In this episode, Aria asks Reid about the path from idea to execution—and Reid draws from LinkedIn to share his launch lessons. Plus, Reid predicts how AI will—and won’t—impact food, dining, and restaurants. 

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/

What role might artificial intelligence play in making the perfect meal? How will AI transform food creation—and creation more generally? Massimo Bottura—legendary Italian chef and entrepreneur—joins Possible to talk about the future of food, human creativity, and how technology factors in. Massimo, Aria, and Reid discuss the roles of joy and innovation in fine dining, technology’s potential to enhance human connection, and Food For Soul, the nonprofit Massimo and his wife Lara created to turn surplus food into incredible community meals for people in need around the world. 

Plus, Massimo reacts to a few AI surprises, including: Reid’s avatar speaking Italian; Pi’s predictions about restaurants of the future; and a customized copy of Reid’s book, Impromptu, that includes a personalized section for Massimo. 

Read the transcript of this episode here.

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/ 

Topics:

3:36 - Hellos and intros

4:24 - Reid’s AI avatar has a message for Massimo

7:02 - The relationship between invention and human connection

13:14 - Joy and innovation in fine dining

20:16 - Discussing Massimo’s custom copy of Impromptu 

27:32 - Massimo’s work for the next generation

31:03 - Food for Soul 

38:32 - Slow Food, Fast Cars 

21:46 - Pi’s thoughts on restaurants 50 years in the future

41:34 - Rapidfire Questions

Select mentions: 

Food for Soul

Slow Food, Fast Cars by Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore

Reid’s 2023 Bologna Business School commencement speech 

Gastromotiva founder David Hertz

Possible is an award-winning podcast 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. Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with an ambitious builder or deep thinker on a topic, from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Whether it's Inflection’s Pi, OpenAI’s ChatGPT or other AI tools, each episode will use AI to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.

What will being a software engineer look like in the future, when the predominant coding language is English—or whatever language you speak—instead of JavaScript? In this episode, Reid reflects on his own education, including the value of studying philosophy. Plus, he shares what he’d prioritize in designing kids' classroom experiences today and gets into AI’s potential to help customize lessons to align with students’ curiosities and learning styles. 

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/

What does AI literacy mean for students and their teachers? Code.org Chief Academic Officer Pat Yongpradit—himself a former middle school computer science teacher—joins Reid and Aria for the first-ever live-taping of Possible, recorded at the ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego. 

In this episode, they discuss why school-wide bans on AI are a terrible idea and what “always be learning” refers to in an age of AI. Plus, Pat unveils, for the first time publicly, Code.org’s newest tool for teachers: an AI assistant that helps computer science teachers grade assignments. 

Special thanks to Will Cullen, Colin Faul, Bella Willis, Braeden Rutherford, Whitney Kim, Samantha Urban Tarrant, Hadi Partovi, Debra Quazzo and Little Monster Media Company.

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/ 

Topics: 

2:19 - Hellos and intros

2:50 - Pat’s social mission video game homework 

4:34 - Pat’s origins with teaching and computer science

6:33 - Making Microsoft Copilot as accessible as possible Code.org’s mission 

8:08 - Learning concept tools for real world applications for 

9:45 - What do young people need to know about AI literacy work

11:58 - What Pat is excited about with generative AI and the future 

13:40 - What are the guardrails for the classroom with AI

16:45 - How does AI enhance teaching and learning

21:31 - Break 

22:04 - Using Devin as a lens into the future 

24:09 - Multidisciplinary ethics around coding 

28:45 - What project would Aria do for Do Something through the lens of AI 

34:55 - What you are most worried about when it comes to AI and education 

39:09 - Code.org secret sauce and future 

41:10 - Rapid-fire questions

Select mentions: 

Cointelligence by Ethan Mollick

TeachAI 

Stanford Accelerator for Learning

Amazon Echo skit from Saturday Night Live

Demo of the AI engineer Devin

Bologna Business School Commencement Speech

ASU+GSV Summit and AIR Show

Possible is an award-winning podcast 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. Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with an ambitious builder or deep thinker on a topic, from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Whether it's Inflection’s Pi, OpenAI’s ChatGPT or other AI tools, each episode will use AI to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.

What should we keep in mind as we venture into this new AI era? Reid Hoffman delivers a speech, entitled Humanity’s Hegelian Golden Braid, to address this question. The speech offers six guiding maxims related to AI, humanity, and technology—and weaves through Hegel and Hofstadter, cathedrals and griffins, T.S. Elliot and Hyman Minsky, and more.

This speech was originally given by Reid Hoffman in English on May 24, 2024 after accepting an honorary doctorate from the University of Perugia. It’s also been translated and delivered by REID AI (an AI version of Reid Hoffman) in nine different languages. For videos of those translated speeches delivered by REID AI, a transcript of the speech in English, and more, please visit: https://www.reidhoffman.org/perugia-speech.

In this episode, Aria asks Reid about the roles and responsibilities of technology journalists, along with his thoughts on the TikTok ban (recorded before President Biden signed the TikTok Ban bill into law). 

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/

Alongside this week’s riff from Reid on tech journalism and last week’s episode with Kara Swisher, we’re bringing you a conversation between Reid and Kara that originally dropped as a March 2023 episode of “On with Kara Swisher.” This duo has known each other since the 90s, when Reid was fresh off the sale of PayPal and before he co-founded LinkedIn. On this episode, they discuss Reid’s donations to Biden and other Democrats, how his political views have impacted his friendships with Peter Thiel and Elon Musk, and why he is so bullish on AI.

What will the media landscape look like as tech companies, as opposed to traditional media, own increasingly more ink? And who better to offer an optimistic take on the news industry’s future than…Kara Swisher?! 

Reid and Aria speak with the famous—and famously direct—tech journalist, author, and podcast host about the roles and responsibilities of journalists covering rapidly developing innovations, along with those of the technologists driving advancements. They cover the OpenAI/New York Times lawsuit, disinformation, TikTok legislation, and AI’s potential to improve healthcare and climate outcomes. Plus, Kara makes the case that today’s content creators benefit from staying relatively small vs. striving for scale. 

Topics:

3:30 - Hellos and intros

3:54 - Technology that makes Kara optimistic

6:40 - Technology to solve climate change

8:43 - Why health-tech and climate tech inspire optimism

10:09 - State of the media landscape

15:34 - Can smaller-scale media work?

16:56 - Pi weighs in on Patrick Soon-Shiong

19:33 - How will AI impact media misinformation

22:27 - Impact of AI in politics

27:52 - Kara’s latest book

30:36 - Is AI training “stealing”?

37:28 - TikTok ban

42:51 - A question for Reid: Is TikTok worth buying?

45:43 - How to shape capitalism

51:30 - Rapid-fire questions

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/ 

Select mentions:

Burn Book by Kara Swisher 

Platformer News founder Casey Newton 

Letters from an American by Heather Cox Richardson 

Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig

Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present by Ruth Ben-Ghiat

Anchor Oyster Bar

What if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Possible is an award-winning, weekly podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Hosts Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger explore what’s possible with forward-thinking leaders, deep thinkers, and ambitious builders across many fields, such as technology, art, education and healthcare. These conversations center on the ways technology—and, in particular, AI—is shaping the future. In episodes, AI tools such as OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Inflection’s Pi are at work, offering informational asides, prompting guests, or demoing what they can do. Lastly, between guest episodes, Aria interviews her co-host Reid on his latest takes on what’s possible if we use technology—and our collective effort—effectively.