Tech'ed Up

Senior Director of Policy at Reddit, Jessica Ashooh, joins Niki remotely to talk about her non-traditional path to Silicon Valley - from earning a Ph.D. in International relations, to working in Abu Dhabi and at think tanks. They take a quick dive into how Reddit works, why its community is so passionate about governance, and, of course, talk cat subreddit threads.

"I would say that Reddit is the democratic curation engine of the internet." -Jessica Ashooh

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• Explore just a few of the many subreddit threads about cats:
• https://www.reddit.com/r/blackcats/ 
• https://www.reddit.com/r/airplaneears/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/CatsStandingUp/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/catsofukraine/

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CEO of Biofire, Kai Kloepfer, joins Niki remotely in the studio to talk smart guns. They explore the technology that helps make these guns a safer option for home protection, the unique challenges of developing deep tech hardware, and some sobering statistics that keep Kai and his team motivated to help with one small part of a major, uniquely American, public health epidemic.

"…there's a big need for applying American innovation and ingenuity to all sorts of areas." -Kai Kloepfer

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• Learn more about Biofire

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Former U.S. Treasury spokesperson, current SVP of Public Affairs at Clyde Group, and crypto commentator John Rizzo joins Niki in the studio to talk about the state of play of crypto. Is there a future for crypto in America or will unelected bureaucrats successfully push the industry overseas? They discuss the broader regulatory climate and how other emerging technology, such as AI, could find itself in a similar deathmatch in Washington. 

"I think the AI industry is in real danger of getting run over by Washington if they don't make fast moves now." -John Rizzo

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• John recommends the SlowBoring Substack
• Learn more about Clyde Group
• Read John’s Op-Eds on CoinDesk

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Axios reporter Ashley Gold joins Niki in the studio for a lighthearted conversation about what Big Tech should expect from Congress this year. They talk Federal Trade Commission dynamics, Ticketmaster drama, and foreign investments in the United States. Ashley shares her insights as the lead reporter for Axios’ Pro Tech Policy newsletter: Who’s interested and what’s what? And Niki cracks wise about Taylor Swift, Vrbo, and TikTok (of course).

"We're still talking about AI at a pretty high level, but the level of seriousness is something I haven't seen with other tech policy issues for a while." -Ashley Gold

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• Learn more about Axios Pro
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Former Department of Homeland Security official, Paul Rosenzweig, joins Niki in the studio to share his thoughts on AI, hacking, and national security.  They dish some stories from the past and take a look to the future of big tech in China, talk AI hallucinations, and Paul shares his thoughts on what Congress should be doing to respond to the changing - and rapidly evolving - national security landscape.  

"It {AI] already has its own problems with hallucinations and things like that. Imagine if the hallucinations weren't accidental but were forced upon us by outside bad actors?" - Paul Rosenzweig

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• Learn more about  Red Branch Consulting
• Listen to Paul on The Federalist Society Podcast
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NY Times best-selling author, reporter, and host of Hello World, Ashlee Vance joins Niki to talk about the wild and wonderful characters driving the new space race. He shares stories from his new book ‘When the Heavens Went on Sale’ and why he believes this new space gold rush will change life as we know it.  

"...if you're interested in money and, and sort of power and what's going on, low Earth orbit is, is where all the action is." -Ashlee Vance

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• Check out Hello World
• Buy ‘When the Heavens Went on Sale’  Here 
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Cyber defense expert, Matteo Tomasini, joins Niki on the podcast to shine a light into the deepest, darkest parts of the web. He explains the differences between the “Clearnet" aka the surface web, deep web, and the dark web. While they dive into the dangerous - and legitimate - motivations for anonymous web browsing, Matteo also provides helpful tips for protecting your own privacy online. 

"…the hard part is a lot of people just don't know. So, they just kind of will blindly visit websites, click on things, allow location, do this without understanding what the repercussions of that are." -Matteo Tomasini

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• Learn more about Prescient
• Discover District4Labs 
• Listen to the ‘Hunting Warhead’ podcast
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CEO and co-founder of AudioShake, Jessica Powell, joins Niki remotely to talk AI and music. Her company created tech that has helped artists and fans alike since before we ever heard of a musical “deep fake.” In this episode, they chat karaoke, video game music, and Jessica breaks down what a stem is - as well as the creative impact AI will have on the music industry as we know it.

"…what more logical next iteration of fandom and fan engagement than trying to create music with your favorite artist's voice, right?....I can see a whole infrastructure that could easily spring up to support all that. " - Jessica Powell

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• Learn more about AudioShake
• Listen to this episode's playlist
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Washington-based litigator, Previn Warren, joins Niki in the studio to talk about his law firm’s multi-district litigation against social media giants Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube. They discuss the growing epidemic of social media addiction among teens and tweens, and its impact on kids’ mental health, their developing brains, and bodies.

"…we [Motley Rice]were kind of at the forefront of fighting the tobacco wars and preventing cigar companies from marketing to kids. Right? So, we won that fight in the nineties. And to me, this is really the sequel." -Previn Warren

**This episode contains some serious subject matter including mentions of suicide, eating disorders, and violent sexual social media content.**

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Denelle Dixon, CEO of the Stellar Foundation, joins Niki in the studio to talk about the real world, right-now positive use cases blockchain technology is having on the underbanked. They explore the work the foundation is doing with the UNHCR and IRC in Ukraine, their partnership with MoneyGram, and why you should care. Denelle shares some sage advice for the industry on how to better communicate with regulators.  

"I actually feel like we're gonna make this, we're gonna make a shift here in the United States because we have to, because I don't wanna see technology leave this country. I don't wanna see operators leave this country. And I, I actually don't think that they will if we can just have those conversations and listen to one another." -Denelle Dixon

• Learn more about the Stellar Foundation
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• Remittance Research
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