Tech'ed Up

What’s happening on the frontlines of tech? Tune in to Tech'ed Up for zippy conversations about emerging technology hosted by industry veteran Niki Christoff.

From the C-Suite and Capitol Hill to AI and crypto, quantum computing to the decentralized internet, Niki breaks down the trends in tech to help savvy listeners get even smarter. Guests include experts, enthusiasts, regulators, policymakers, CEOs, and reporters. 

Listen here or anywhere you get your podcasts to learn more from Niki and guests like SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, SeedAI Founder & President Austin Carson, Bloomberg podcast host & NY Times best-selling author Ashlee Vance, and Stellar Foundation CEO Denelle Dixon. 

New episodes premiere bi-weekly on Thursdays. Subscribe for the latest episode on YouTube, follow on Instagram, or listen on your podcast app of choice. 

• Learn More at www.techedup.com
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Managing Director at Rock Creek Global Advisors, Matt Swinehart, joins Niki in the studio to talk fintech and the future fate of the USD. Matt previews why alternatives to the US Dollar will be a hot topic globally in 2024, how the Libra project still impacts the way regulators are thinking about crypto, and shares his take on why the EU approaches tech regulation differently than the US. Niki shares her take on Bitcoin and what might have been and Matt forecasts the state of play for regulation with AI in fintech. 

“There is no world, I think, in which crypto will ever be dead. Even when it comes to things like unbacked crypto, there is such momentum in the market that the goal of regulators is not to reduce that activity to zero.”  - Matt Swinehart

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• Learn more about Rock Creek Global Advisors 

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Meghan Joyce, Co-Founder and CEO of AI startup Duckbill, joins Niki in the latest installment of our Profiles in Tech Series. She shares insights from her unconventional career path from the Treasury Department to raising venture capital for an early-stage Boston tech company with stops along the way at Bain Capital, Uber, and Oscar Healthcare. Niki and Meghan share their optimism for the incredible opportunities AI offers both businesses and consumers. 

“What's so exciting as an entrepreneur in this space is the playing field is still wide open. It's not clear what the winning business model is going to be, where the clearest product market fit is, and that creates enormous potential. And I wouldn't be surprised if we see some many cycles of boom and bust here and a transformation of how we all think about AI.” -Meghan Joyce

• Follow Meghan on LinkedIn
• Learn more about Duckbill 
• Try out Duckbill as a friend of the pod for one month free 

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Bruce Mehlman, founder of Mehlman Consulting, a bi-partisan lobbying juggernaut in Washington, DC, joins Niki in the studio to share his thoughts on 2023 and tech. They have a spirited conversation about politics, progress, and the state of play for tech regulation that touches on AI, tech’s impact on polling, and social media. 

“AI's existence doesn't mean, okay, now we're all going to settle all those old hard things…it's not endemic to some kind of Washington dysfunction that we haven't solved it. It's that hard things are hard.” -Bruce Mehlman

• Follow Bruce on X
• Dive into the infographics
• Bruce recommends subscribing to Stratechery

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Assistant Director of the CIA for the Transnational and Technology Mission Center, Sheetal Patel, joins Niki in the studio to talk about how important tech is to their mission, partnerships with the private sector, and why they are actively recruiting technologists. This episode looks back at technology that the CIA helped bring to our everyday lives and looks forward to the impact of AI. 

“The global strategic competition in emerging technology is actually occurring in the private sector. And so, for us, for CIA in particular, but I would say for my intelligence community colleagues as well, working with the private sector has never been so important.” -Sheetal Patel

• Follow Sheetal on LinkedIn
• Careers at the CIA

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CEO of Project Liberty, Martina Larkin, joins Niki remotely in the studio to talk about the non-profit’s hope for the future of the internet. They take a deep dive into data, decentralization, and how DSNP gives power back to the user. Niki makes the case for a digital backpack or ID and Martina shares how researchers, NGOs, and tech can partner together to make the next generation of the web safer for all.

"This is not about pointing out the harms or the problems only. This is really about building a solution and an alternative way forward." - Martina Larkin

• Follow Martina on LinkedIn
• Learn more about MeWe
• Find out more at Project Liberty

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New York Times reporter and host of the popular podcast Hard Fork, Kevin Roose, joins Niki remotely to talk all things AI and why he’s a “sub-optomist” when it comes to how this latest tech revolution will impact our future. He shares some tips from his book, Futureproof, about how to be resilient in the age of AI in the workplace. Turns out being more human is the answer because you just can’t out-hustle a machine.

“People should start thinking about it [AI] more as a tool for displacing tasks within jobs rather than entire jobs.”  Kevin Roose

• Follow Kevin on Twitter
• Check out Hard Fork
• Listen to Rabbit Hole 
• Read Kevin’s NYT article

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Laura Dooley,  Head of Global Government Relations at StubHub, sits down with Niki in the studio to talk about the tech behind ticket pricing, why competition in the ticketing industry is so important for consumers, and highlights some smart and reasonable paths for policy solutions that will empower consumers and fans.

"When you buy a ticket, it should be yours. That's our point of view. Do what you want with it. Unfortunately, that's not how it works in the status quo." - Laura Dooley

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• Careers at StubHub 

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Niki is joined by Penny Lee, President & CEO of the Financial Technology Association and Amena Ross, Head of Global Policy at CashApp for a fintech coffee klatch: What’s brewing in DC for fintech? They have a lively conversation about open banking, the fate of the CFPB, and data privacy. Amena explains why screen scraping is a good thing and Penny makes the case for keeping America in the lead when it comes to fintech regulation.

"Data is like the new oil." -Amena Ross

"We need to have a federal data privacy law that clearly spells out what you can and cannot do with that data." - Penny Lee

• Follow Penny on LinkedIn
• Learn more about the FTA
• Follow Amena on LinkedIn
• Learn more about Block

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Niki looks back at the last two years of Tech’ed Up and shares some of her favorite moments from the podcast.  This episode highlights engaging clips from episodes featuring Bloomberg reporter Ashlee Vance, US presidential candidate and former Congressman Will Hurd, Washingtonian Tech Titan 2023 Amy Gilliland of GDIT, Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), Denelle Dixon, CEO of the Stellar Development Foundation, and many more.  

Listen in as Niki and guests explore all things tech: covering emerging technology from AI to crypto, speculating about government regulation, and geeking out about the future of tech in general. 

• Learn more about where we record at Switch & Board

• Learn More at www.techedup.com
• Check out video on YouTube
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