SED News is a monthly podcast from Software Engineering Daily where hosts Gregor Vand and Sean Falconer unpack the biggest stories shaping software engineering, Silicon Valley, and the broader tech industry.

In this episode, they cover Jeff Bezos’s unexpected return to the CEO seat with  Project Prometheus, the growing debate over whether AI investments are sustainable, and the ecosystem forming around OpenAI. They also dig into the surge of Nordic startups, and what it signals about innovation hotspots outside the Bay Area.

Gregor and Sean then dive deep into the idea of technology tipping points, when breakthrough products finally cross the threshold from fringe curiosity to mainstream adoption.

Finally, they highlight standout threads from Hacker News, including moss surviving in outer space, a typographer’s re-creation of San Francisco’s light-rail signage, CERN’s guiding principles for responsible AI adoption, and why classic Pixar films looked better on 35mm than they do in 4K.

Sean’s been an academic, startup founder, and Googler. He has published works covering a wide range of topics from AI to quantum computing. Currently, Sean is an AI Entrepreneur in Residence at Confluent where he works on AI strategy and thought leadership. You can connect with Sean on LinkedIn.

Please click here to see the transcript of this episode.

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