The Brave Technologist

Christian D'Cunha, Head of the Cyber Coordination Task Force at the European Commission, discusses the critical role of GDPR during the pandemic, and explores how Europe balanced the necessity of contact tracing and mobility data with the imperative to protect personal privacy. He also shares the challenges regulators face in enforcing GDPR against tech giants, and the strategies these companies use to delay compliance.

Key Takeaways:

• The use of anonymized data during COVID-19, and the vital lessons learned from this unprecedented period

• The evolving landscape of data protection laws—including the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act—and their interaction with GDPR

• Critiques to the prescriptive nature of GDPR and its expectations

• How to ensure GDPR is upheld in an evolving technological landscape, and continues to be effective in the future

Guest Bio: Christian D'Cunha is Head of the Cyber Coordination Task Force in the Directorate-General for Communications, Content, and Technology in the European Commission. In recent years he oversaw a study into the future of digital advertising and its impact on privacy; drafted the Data Act proposal and EU cybersecurity strategy; and led the roll out of interoperable contact tracing apps during the COVID pandemic. He was head of the Private Office of the European Data Protection Supervisor from 2015-2020, advising on privacy-related legal and policy developments in the EU, including online manipulation, digital monopolies, digital ethics, and scientific research. He also served for several years as private secretary to the Chairman of the UK Labour Party.

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Bartosz Lipiński, CEO at Cube.Exchange, discusses how they're approaching the exchange model more transparently in the wake of FTX and other opaque exchange issues. We'll explore how Cube.Exchange is redefining blockchain's original promise of a public and trustworthy ledger, and the complex challenge of building a global crypto exchange that adheres to disparate international regulations.

Key Takeaways:

• How AI will shape the future of exchange transparency in the crypto market

• The integration of traditional finance principles within the crypto sphere, including emerging products like ETFs, and the potential of meme coins

• Ways cube is rewarding their community as a growth marketing strategy

Guest Bio: Bartosz Lipiński, CEO of Cube.Exchange—and an alumni of Citadel, BNP Paribas, and JP Morgan—built Cube to protect users from founder risk with a market structure that prevents unauthorized access to funds, and blocks internal parties from mis-appropriating, or otherwise accessing client assets. He's a prolific developer within the Solana ecosystem and a well-known person in crypto circles. He's been quoted in CoinDesk, CNBC, Bloomberg, Blockworks, DL News, The Block, and elsewhere.

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Sophia Yang, Head of Developer Relations at Mistral AI, discusses why they don't open source everything, and how they strike a balance between openness and growing their business. She also discusses how Mistral AI approaches developer relations and community building to advance AI.

Key Takeaways:

• The goal and vision of Mistral AI

• Why Mistral AI doesn't open source all their models

• How Brave and Mistral AI are currently integrated, enhancing Brave's Leo AI tools and search engine

• Ways MistralAI is investing in community through large-scale hackathons

• Why specialized models are the future of innovation in AI

Guest Bio:

Sophia Yang is the Head of Developer Relations at Mistral AI, where she leads developer education, developer ecosystem partnerships, and community engagement. She is passionate about the AI and open-source communities, and she is committed to empowering their growth and learning. She holds an M.S. in Computer Science, an M.S. in Statistics, and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from The University of Texas at Austin.

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Can Big Tech ever truly put users first? In this solo episode, join Luke Mulks, VP of Business Operations at Brave Software, as he dissects the so-called Principal-Agent Problem: the ubiquitous issue where the priorities of tech giants overshadow the needs of users. He'll also dive into the essence of user-first design in software development, especially in Web browsers and search engines.

Key Takeaways:

• How Brave's opt-in advertising model both respects user privacy and empowers users to earn revenue

• The deceptive nature of dark patterns and the importance of transparent, user-friendly features

• They history of web monetization, from the early days of site-specific control to today's all-encompassing tracking by ad tech giants like Google and Facebook

• Why you can't have freedom without privacy

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Rahul Pagidipati, CEO of ZebPay, discusses how India's regulatory environment and technological advancements are paving the way for blockchain's integration into various sectors. From meme coins to top-tier cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, Rahul offers a nuanced perspective on trading and investing in digital assets. He also shares his thoughts on the growing interest in NFTs, and how platforms like Brave are expanding Web3 adoption.

Key Takeaways:

• How India's cultural affinity for gold is influencing its rapid adoption of Bitcoin

• How bots and AI agents could revolutionize financial engineering

• Ways that centralized and decentralized finance can work together

• Advice for early-stage entrepreneurs entering the crypto space

Guest Bio:

Rahul Pagidipati is the CEO of ZebPay, the largest Bitcoin exchange in India. He's been investing in digital assets since 2011, and believes strongly that blockchain technology can transform the world. Rahul is a successful serial entrepreneur and investor. Prior to ZebPay, he co-founded Freedom Health, the largest private health insurance company in America (until it was acquired by Anthem in 2018).

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Josep M. Pujol (Chief of Search at Brave) and Rémi Berson (Principal Engineer at Brave) discuss Brave Search's latest feature, Answer With AI, which is the first privacy-preserving answer engine available at scale. They explore what this new assistant's capabilities mean for traditional search, and its potential to reshape our search habits.

Key Takeaways:

• How Answer with AI is different from chatbots

• The challenges of AI hallucinations and ensuring accurate responses

• Balancing personalized search experiences with user privacy and anonymity

• The plan for integrating Answer with AI with Brave's browser-based Leo AI experience

Guest Bio: Rémi has been working with AI since 2014, beginning with a Paris-based start-up that offered custom NLP solutions to various media groups, and pioneered large-scale automatic text generation (before transformers made an appearance). Currently, Remi is a senior software engineer at Brave Search, where he has been involved in scaling the ML infrastructure to serve continuously growing traffic and increasingly advanced needs, as well as in the development of Brave Search's latest feature, Answer with AI.

Josep is the Chief of Search at Brave, which he joined in 2021. Josep first started working on building an alternative search engine in 2014; prior to Brave, he served as chief scientist at Cliqz, and led the Tailcat project (which Brave later acquired). Before being involved with search, he was a research scientist at multiple institutions, working on AI, distributed systems, and complex networks. He has authored over 30 papers and holds 4 patents. He also holds a PhD in AI from the Technical University of Catalonia.

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Steve Kinard, President of the AI Innovation Association, discusses Bitcoin mining and the environmental implications that turned him into an advocate with the Texas Blockchain Council. He also emphasizes the inevitability of AI's disruptive impact across industries, and advocates for prioritizing open source collaboration as the cornerstone of technological innovation.

Key Takeaways:

• How Texas is positioning itself as a leader in AI innovation, fostering grid innovation and digital property rights

• Ways that AI is impacting the energy sector; Bitcoin mining and its environmental implications

• Why first principles on open source technology is critical to the AI Innovation Association and the AI sector in general

Guest Bio: Steve Kinard is the President of AI Innovation Association. Previously, he served as the Director of Policy and Director of Bitcoin Mining at the Texas Blockchain Council, an industry association dedicated to making Texas a leader in Bitcoin innovation. He was instrumental in developing innovative programing and workforce development partnerships with universities while growing corporate membership in an emerging industry. He was actively involved in legislative advocacy regarding technology policy, and in opposing onerous regulation and federal government overreach. Prior to that, he was an entrepreneur in the oil and gas industry, and worked in energy banking.

Steve holds a BA in International Studies from Texas A&M University, an MBA from George Washington University. He lives in Richardson, Texas.

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Pat Walshe, Data Protection Officer at Brave, discusses the intersection of artificial intelligence, privacy, and data protection…and how these elements intertwine with fundamental human rights in the digital realm. He also scrutinizes tech industry giants, questioning the authenticity of their privacy claims and the efficacy of their data protection measures.

Key Takeaways:

• The current state of regulation and global data protection laws, and how well those laws are working

• The heightened public awareness of issues like geolocation tracking and data minimization

• Why tech companies have more influence and power than the law itself

Guest Bio: Pat Walshe, Data Protection Officer at Brave, has been working in the field of data protection for over 28 years. Pat prefers the term 'data protection' over just privacy because data about people (and their digital lives) can impact a range of human rights and freedoms (privacy being but one such right).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Greg Jizmagian, CoFounder and CTO at Exponential, shares how trust is being rebuilt in the financial sector through blockchain technology, and ways users are regaining financial autonomy. He also explains the intricacies of making complex DeFi platforms approachable, striking the balance between detail-rich data and a seamless user experience.

Key Takeaways:

• Why DeFi matters, how to use it safely, and why it's poised to shake up the world of traditional banking

• The importance of asset diversification, ways smart contracts can be leveraged in securing investments, and the challenges of transaction costs on the blockchain

• How Exponential is leaning into public criticism, and understanding whose opinions they can change (and whose they can't)

Guest Bio:

Greg Jizmagian is CoFounder and CTO at Exponential, an investment platform dedicated to unlocking financial freedom for all. Prior to Exponential, Greg led engineering at IFTTT, the leading connectivity platform powering the digital transformation of products into integrated services. Prior to IFTTT, Greg led Grocery for the Alexa Shopping team at Amazon, where he managed product, engineering, design, and UX. Greg joined Amazon after leading GoPago to an Amazon acquisition as Vice President of Engineering, Product, and Operations, managing (among other things) mobile and systems engineering, product management, and operations.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Paul Barron, Founder of the Paul Barron Network, examines power, corruption, and the technology war he expects to see over the next 20 years. He also discusses why gaming is the gateway to Web3 growth, and will lead to a steep adoption curve.

Key Takeaways:

• How people underestimate AI's ability to scale, despite its speed and the latest advancement in compute requirements.

• Why AI will have a negative impact on the blockchain.

• Challenges facing the U.S. dollar, and regulatory frontiers shaping the future of finance.

Guest Bio:

Paul Barron started his career in Silicon Valley at Microsoft before moving into media. In the early 2000s, he launched online media outlets, recognizing digital's potential. A podcasting pioneer since 2007, Barron developed and sold significant media properties, establishing himself as a media mogul. Paul published Written Works, a documentary on Amazon Prime, and innovated through his venture PBN3, exploring cutting-edge tech and blockchain. Within 3 years, The Paul Barron Network became a respected media outlet providing insights into sovereign finance and technology.

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte