Possible with Reid Hoffman

How can we take digitally-empowered democracy straight out of science fiction into reality?

This week, Reid and Aria are joined by two digital democracy pioneers, Audrey Tang and Divya Siddarth. Audrey Tang is a cyber ambassador-at-large and former inaugural Minister of Digital Affairs for Taiwan. Their pioneering initiatives like the Sunflower Movement, g0v, and vTaiwan have fought misinformation and influenced policy decisions. Audrey is also a senior research fellow for the Collective Intelligence Project, co-founded and directed by Divya Siddarth. Divya leads projects worldwide that give voice to the public in building better AI. 

Audrey and Divya have spent years investigating how people converge on uncommon ground and how to beat polarization. They discuss the power of collective input and collaboration to create a cycle of collective intelligence. Plus, how AI tools—informed by public input—can enhance governance, digital life, and bring out the best in all of us. 

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

Topics:

3:07 - Hellos and intros

3:38 - Audrey and Divya's partnership backstory

7:06 - Challenges and surprises with AI in governance

10:19 - What problems do CIP's projects aim to solve?

13:04 - Breakthroughs in collective intelligence

15:08 - Fighting polarization in the age of social media

16:50 - Capitalizing on innate collective intelligence

18:51 - The difference between collective intelligence and democracy

20:33 - Design principles for democracy-forward AI

23:30 - Involving the public in AI model building

26:18 - Midroll 

28:32 - Bringing Taiwan's civic wins worldwide

30:41 - Radical transparency in digital tools

35:18 - Why aren't Taiwan's initiatives landing in the U.S.

38:09 - Creating digital twins

39:52 - Reid and Aria's outlook on AI and democracy relations

42:04 - Who would Reid delegate AI centralization to?

45:05 - Rapid-fire

Select mentions: 

Plurality by  E. Glen Weyl, Audrey Tang, and Community

Global Dialogues — The Collective Intelligence Project 

Alignment Assemblies — The Collective Intelligence Project 

“Anthem” by Leonard Cohen

A Half Built Garden by Ruthanna Emrys

The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia by Ursula K. Le Guin

Terra Ignota series by Ada Palmer

Taiwan’s Digital Minister Knows How to Crush Covid-19: Trust | WIRED 

What Could BG Be?

Engaged California

How the Sunflower movement birthed a generation determined to protect Taiwan

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. Each episode seeks to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.

Could the very technology that requires massive amounts of energy to power it also be key to solving the climate crisis? This week, Reid and Aria discuss the global energy arms race and why the U.S. is lagging behind competitors like China. Reid weighs in on the environmental impact and human costs of AI infrastructure, along with mounting tensions between hyperscalers and the communities that host their data centers. 

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

What can public libraries teach us about finding and sharing trustworthy information in the age of AI? How can—and should—AI build upon the technology that is books? This week, Reid and Aria head to the New York Public Library in Manhattan for a conversation with the storied institution’s president and CEO, Tony Marx. They explore the function of libraries in the age of AI, debate the future of work, and discuss what it looks like for civic institutions to embrace transformative technology without sacrificing core values. 

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

Topics:

2:54 - Hellos and intros

3:23 - Tony’s studies and work in South Africa

5:25 - Taking a job as president of Amherst College

8:43 - Eliminating library fines and fees

9:23 - Visiting the Inwood Library

13:30 - Determining what gets digitized 

16:20 - New media 

17:42 -  AI’s function for libraries 

23:08 - Navigating hallucinations

27:57 -  AI becoming our epistemology

29:36 -  Technological advancements at the NYPL

33:54 - Future of work and human costs of AI

39:41 - Can AI close the educational gap?

42:43 - Trust, reliability, and AI

45:18 - Rapid-fire questions

Select mentions: 

Possible | Kim Stanley Robinson on the future of civilization: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6OlJbPDpyc 

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. Each episode seeks to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.

On Part II of last week’s Live Riff, co-hosted with Village Global, Reid fields audience member questions about scale product-market fit, license modeling, data sensitivities, and the future of customer service, along with positive use cases for deepfake technology and the making of Reid AI, his digital twin. He also tells a story from his PayPal days, when Peter Thiel gave him five days to come up with a solution to a problem that was putting money and user trust on the line. 

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

For Reid and Allie Miller’s agent experiment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeLSq9D65m4 

For Reid AI giving Reid’s Perugia speech in multiple languages: https://www.reidhoffman.org/perugia-speech/ 

For the Masters of Scale episode about building trust featuring Daniel Ek: https://mastersofscale.com/daniel-ek-how-to-build-trust-fast/  

What’s the deal with hyperscalers’ recent string of acquisitions betting big on AI talent? When will business schools start requiring classes on managing agents? And how is—and isn’t—AI changing the path to scale and the future of work? Aria asks Reid about all of this and more in a special two-part Riff, recorded for a live audience of AI leaders and founders in New York City in partnership with Village Global in June.  

Special thanks to our friends at Village Global for co-hosting this Live Reid Riffs. Tune in next week for Part II of the conversation. 

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

Crypto often feels like a microcosm of the broader government–tech relationship. On one extreme, you have true believers who see blockchain as the next frontier of economic empowerment and radical transparency. On the other, skeptics who point to ransomware attacks, illicit finance, and the flipside of anonymity—and call for an outright ban.

This week on Possible, Reid and Aria talk crypto –– both the positives and negatives ––  and how we can iterate toward better outcomes. Reid discusses pro-innovation regulation, where crypto fits into waves of anti-technology sentiment, and the potential for cryptocurrency to benefit a range of communities. 

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

What if AI helped people develop and deepen their existing expertise, and better outfitted them for the jobs of the future? This week, Reid and Aria are joined by one of the world’s leading labor economists, David Autor, Ford Professor of Economics at MIT and co-director of its Work of the Future Task Force. He is also a Visiting Fellow in the Google Technology and Society Program. David’s landmark research on the China Shock has become foundational for policymakers grappling with globalization’s labor impacts. Reid, Aria, and David discuss the parallels between China Shock and AI Shock, the labor market, how AI can help us make better decisions, automation vs. collaboration, and AI’s potential to enhance human-centered jobs.

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

Topics:

2:27 - Hellos and intros

4:30 - China Shock vs. AI Shock 

10:56 - How AI could affect skill-based labor 

15:37 - Google Gemini aside: more about the air traffic controller shortage

16:31 - How technologies can be amplifiers of expertise

22:09 - AI as a collaboration tool 

24:52 - Why speed of labor market change makes a difference

29:25 - How AI can be good for the middle class

31:04 - Learning to use AI to your advantage

34:27 - More upward mobility at work 

41:39 - Technology increasing quality of life 

47:34 - Tools to put in place to ensure improvements for all 

50:29 - Successfully transitioning to a new AI future

56:51 - Rapid-fire questions

Select mentions: 

Geoffrey Hinton

WALL-E

Mad Max: Fury Road

NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Series

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. Each episode seeks to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.

Aria and Reid dive into the recent flurry of multibillion-dollar AI acquisitions—from OpenAI’s $3B Windsurf deal to Meta’s ~$15B stake in Scale AI—and what they reveal about how companies are racing to refactor for an AI-first future. Are acquihires overtaking acquisitions as the new strategic advantage? And how are companies balancing workforce shifts with long-term innovation? Plus, a look at the robotics boom, government investment in AI, and the underrated wisdom of Adam Smith.

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

What happens when we take numbers seriously—not just at face value, but in terms of their actual impact on our lives?

This week, Reid and Aria are joined by UK-based mathematician and media personality Hannah Fry to explore this deceptively simple question. From cancer diagnoses to dating apps, Hannah makes the case that understanding the math behind our decisions—and the "game" we're really playing—is essential to building a better future. 

They discuss why regret minimization is often a better guide than raw percentages in assessing risks; Hannah’s advice on finding love in a sea of swipe-rights; and how a well-framed question can be more powerful than the right answer. Plus, Inflection’s Pi chimes in with a few Jane-Austen-themed math jokes.

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

Topics:

3:01 - Hellos and intros

3:15 - Considering hairdressing, instant feedback, and becoming a broadcaster

5:11 - Making math emotionally resonant

7:37 - Math as power and who gets to shape the future

9:10 - Understanding AI through probabilities and spectrums

12:01 - The emotional limits of statistics in medical decision-making

16:22 - Choosing the right “game” to optimize for

19:57 - How to build systems that self-correct

23:19 - Rethinking education and assessments in the AI era

26:42 - Updating dating advice for the AI age

30:03 - Real-life “Black Mirror”

36:11 - Storytelling vs. statistics

41:47 - Probability thinking, AI confidence, and useful heuristics

45:31 - Pi delivers math-themed Jane Austen jokes

47:15 - Rapid-fire questions

Select mentions: 

Google DeepMind: The Podcast

The Mathematics of Love TED Talk

When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamín Labatut

“Women also Snowboard: Overcoming Bias in Captioning Models” by Kaylee Burns, Lisa Anne Hendricks, Kate Saenko, Trevor Darrell, and Anna Rohrbach

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. Each episode seeks to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.

This episode has been re-uploaded to correct an error. If you are a subscriber and/or downloaded it on its release, consider deleting and redownloading it to hear the corrected audio. We apologize for the inconvenience.  

On this week's Riffs, Reid and Aria unpack last week’s conversation with Yuval Noah Harari, discussing AI's rapid advancements, its potential impacts on humanity, and the meaning of consciousness. Reid and Aria also discuss who will be responsible for making sure AI is aligned with human values –– no matter what the future looks like. 

00:00 Introduction and overview

00:16 Reflecting on the conversation with Yuval 

05:14 The role of AI labs and accountability

11:45 Philosophical questions on AI and consciousness

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