Robert Scoble on Remorse, Growth, and Steve Jobs's Last Device

Robert Scoble is a futurist, strategist and the author of four books about technology. His latest book is The Infinite Retina, co-authored with Irena Cronin, which explores the emerging era of spatial computing, including AR, VR, robotics, autonomous vehicles, and more.

Robert has spent his career at the intersection of technology and media, working as a journalist, an evangelist, and a futurist, most notably at Microsoft and Rackspace. During that time, he’s interviewed more than a thousand people from research labs to startups to major tech companies, including the likes of Tony Hseih, Mark Zuckerberg, and Bill Gates. The interviews, mixed with his own insights, formed the basis for the four books on technology trends he’s published over the last 14 years.

But in 2017, he was accused of sexual harassment by several women, which became public during the Me Too movement. What Robert did was wrong, and he admits as much in our conversation. He goes further to describe the necessity for better behavior and better, more diverse company cultures throughout the tech industry. He seeks to counsel founders on the dangerous mindsets that lead to sexual harassment and the damage it causes to victims, their careers, and the companies where they work. He also counsels founders on the risks of loneliness, mental illness, and addiction, which are all far more common than many of us realize. (Jump ahead in the episode to 1:04:16 for this part of the discussion.)

We start our conversation talking about Robert’s latest prediction about Apple and their plans to create the next great spatial computing device.

This interview was recorded a few days before the recent Apple announcement about the AirPod Max, a device that forms the basis of Robert's predictions. He describes something with immersive spatial sound and visuals that can create an entirely new type of experience.

We also talk about Google Glass and its violation of an implicit social contract we have with each other, as well as the role of Tesla in the broader definition of spatial computing.

You can find all of the show notes at thearshow.com.