The All Turtles Podcast

We check in with Jeremy Vandehey, co-founder and CEO of Disco, just 24 hours after his company’s successful launch. Jeremy explains the benefits of building a culture of appreciation and celebrating the contributions of all team members. Your hosts Phil Libin, Jessica Collier, and Blaise Zerega also tackle the tangled connection between .ai, .io, and colonialism, introduce a new segment called “Advice to Politicians,” and share their admiration for the late Ursula K. Le Guin. Listener questions include such topics as robots caring for the elderly, and All Turtles’ plans for 2020. Show notes Colonialism, .ai, and .io (1:42) The dark side of .io: How the U.K. is making web domain profits from a shady Cold War land deal (GigaOm) 5,000 .ai domains registered Vince Cate web site New segment: Advice to our elected officials (4:41) Hillbillies who code: the former miners out to put Kentucky on the tech map (The Guardian) For Job Retraining Programs To Work, People Need To Show Up (NPR) The Retraining Paradox (The New York Times) Appreciation: Ursula K. Le Guin (12:37) Ursula K. Le Guin website Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew by Ursula K. Le Guin (See page 17 of the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2015 edition by Mariner Books) Le Guin’s letter to editor John Radziewicz Send reading suggestions for our book club to hello@all-turtles.com Conversation with Jeremy Vandehey, co-founder and CEO of Disco (18:01) Disco A startup from Phil Libin's 'studio' thinks its artificial intelligence will make employees happier at work (Business Insider) Listener questions Why are robots caring for elderly patients with Alzheimer’s? Shouldn’t this require empathy, something that AI lacks? (39:39) What have you learned so far? What are All Turtles’ plans for 2020? (43:20) We want to hear from you Please send us your comments, suggested topics, and questions for future episodes: Email: hello@all-turtles.com Twitter: @allturtlesco with hashtag #askAT For more from All Turtles, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to our newsletter on our website. Thanks for listening  

We check in with Ken Inoue, general manager of All Turtles Tokyo, who explains that being regarded as a “bent nail” can be a good thing. Ken also discusses the “black ships” phenomenon and tells us that Japan is a pun-loving nation. Your hosts Phil Libin, Jessica Collier, and Blaise Zerega share encounters with everyday AI when using Safari on mobile, seeking information on Michelangelo, and going for a mountain bike ride with Strava. Along the way, they answer questions about AI taking jobs and startups with .ai URL suffixes. Show notes Everyday interactions with AI Auto-suggested Google searches within iOS -- Phil (2:02) Michelangelo at the Met or Uber Michelangelo? -- Blaise (3:05) Strava as a ride-partner finding service -- Jessica  (4:35) Conversation with Ken Inoue, general manager of All Turtles Tokyo (7:41) “The nail that sticks out shall be hammered down” (12:30) Japanese politicians force colleague with baby to leave chamber (20:43) Black Ships (25:08) Phil’s three sentences to drop into everyday conversation:  “I’m spending this week working out of the Tokyo office.”  “Set the controls for the heart of the sun” -- Pink Floyd  “Fire the explosive bolts!” -- Dr. Strangelove Contact: hellojapan@all-turtles.com Listener questions AI will kill jobs. What can we do about? (32:48) The number of startups with .ai URL suffixes doubled in 2017. Is this evidence of AI hype? (38:54) Bonus How we come up with episode titles (45:10) We want to hear from you Please send us your comments, suggested topics, and questions for future episodes: Email: hello@all-turtles.com Twitter: @allturtlesco with hashtag #askAT For more from All Turtles, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to our newsletter on our website. Thanks for listening  

We check in with Octane AI cofounder and COO Ben Parr about bots and ecommerce, and the surprising ways parrots may help build company culture. Along the way hosts Phil Libin, Jessica Collier, and Blaise Zerega question the importance of boards of directors in a segment called, “Maybe it’s kinda bull----?” They also discuss whether design can address ethical concerns for AI and what the demise of Facebook M means for chatbots. Show notes Boards of directors: Maybe it’s kinda bull----? (1:40) The Board’s Most Important Function (Harvard Business Review) The Board of Directors: Role and Responsibilities (Fred Wilson, AVC.com) Interview with Ben Parr, Octane AI cofounder and COO (13:01) Octane AI Automating Your Sales (MSNBC) Cult of the Party Parrot   Listener Questions How do you think about AI and ethical challenges, and how do you help studio companies think about them? (34:11) It was just announced that Facebook is killing Facebook M. What does that mean for the AI industry? (40:07) We want to hear from you Please send us your comments, suggested topics, and questions for future episodes: Email: hello@all-turtles.com Twitter: @allturtlesco with hashtag #askAT For more from All Turtles, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to our newsletter on our website. Thanks for listening  

The new year began with an ominous forecast: 12,000 U.S. retail stores are expected to close in 2018, a 33-percent increase from 2017. Hosts Phil Libin, Jessica Collier, and Blaise Zerega examine what this means for jobs, shopping, and the proverbial Main Street full of mom-and-pop stores. They manage to agree that online advertising has never been more annoying and pervasive, and debate whether AI will improve things anytime soon. Listener questions include hyper-personalization and differences between Japanese and American entrepreneurs. Show notes 12,000 retail stores predicted to close in 2018 (00:57) A tsunami of store closings is about to hit the US — and it's expected to eclipse the retail carnage of 2017 (Business Insider) Fellow pour-over kettle (Image credit: Fellow) Why Kurt Vonnegut used a typewriter (Descriptedlines)   Intrusive, online advertising (16:58) The Attention Deficit (The Baffler), a review of The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads by Tim Wu How privacy will change internet advertising in 2018 (Boomtown) Adblock Plus: “Surf the web without annoying ads!” What is post-purchase marketing? (Iconic Digital)   Predictions for 2018 (25:03) Panera Bread (Image credit: Mike Mozart Flickr/Creative Commons) Pantera, the band (Image credit: Pantera/Facebook)   Pantera, an Italian sports car (Image credit: Car Photography Tutorials)   Listener questions (33:02) YouTube as an example of successful hyper-personalization as discussed in Episode 5 (33:25)     Testing Russian Military MRE (YouTube) How are entrepreneurs in Japan different from entrepreneurs in the U.S.? (38:20) We want to hear from you Please send us your comments, suggested topics, and questions for future episodes: Email: hello@all-turtles.com Twitter: @allturtlesco with hashtag #askAT For more from All Turtles, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to our newsletter on our website. Thanks for listening

We check in with Replika CEO and cofounder Eugenia Kuyda shortly after her company’s AI confidant became available to more than 1.5 million people on a waitlist. Hosts Phil Libin, Jessica Collier, and Blaise Zerega speak with Eugenia about the challenges of creating an AI friend that is always there for you. She shares what differentiates Replika from conventional chatbots, therapy apps, and voice assistants like Siri and Alexa, drawing connections between how we behave towards AI and towards each other. Listener questions include glucose monitors and whether growth hacking works. Show notes Interview with Eugenia Kuyda, CEO of Replika (1:11) Replika Speak, Memory (The Verge) What my personal chat bot is teaching me about AI’s future (Wired) Replika Is A Strangely Therapeutic Chatbot For Talking To Yourself (Vocativ) Listener Questions What glucose monitor did Phil wear while fasting? (44:07) Is growth hacking important? (45:57) We want to hear from you Please send us your comments, suggested topics, and questions for future episodes: Email: hello@all-turtles.com Twitter: @allturtlesco with hashtag #askAT For more from All Turtles, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to our newsletter on our website. Thanks for listening  

Robots taking jobs. The AI apocalypse. Universal basic income. These themes encompass the fears of many parents as they think about a future for their children. In this week’s episode, Phil Libin, Jessica Collier, and Blaise Zerega address this worry and include advice from the likes of Senator Mark Warner, Kai-fu Lee, and Stephen Wolfram. Your hosts also assess notable developments in practical  AI from 2017 and share their daily encounters with iMessage, LinkedIn, and financial services app Penny. Show notes Developments in practical AI from 2017 (00:45) AlphaGo Zero (01:51) Voice assistants go mainstream (04:57) Everyday AI use cases iMessage autofill for calendar (6:12) LinkedIn Premium for U.S. military veterans; Thank you for your service (7:30) Penny, a financial services bot (8:46) Listener question What should I tell my two-year old daughter to help her survive the AI apocalypse? (11:45) Senator Mark Warner, interviewed by Blaise Zerega on May 30, 2017, at the New Deal Ideas Summit in San Francisco. Kai-Fu Lee, interviewed by Blaise Zerega on May 22, 2017, over lunch in San Francisco. Stephen Wolfram, interviewed by Blaise Zerega on May 4, 2017, onstage with Group M’s Irwin Gottlieb at the Collision Conference in New Orleans. Cafe X first Robotic Cafe in USA Robot Baristas serve up coffee Meet SAM, the bricklaying robot Building Tomorrow - Robotics in Construction Tomorrow Daily - Japanese construction firm using robotic bulldozers guided by drones, Ep. 257 Wolfram Alpha: What jobs will still be important after the AI revolution? Will Robots Take Our Children’s Jobs? (The New York Times) Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Yuval Noah Harari (2014) Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, by Yuval Noah Harari (2016) We want to hear from you Please send us your comments, suggested topics, and questions for future episodes: Email: hello@all-turtles.com Twitter: @allturtlesco with hashtag #askAT For more from All Turtles, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to our newsletter on our website. Thanks for listening  

This week’s guest Veronica Belmont shares wisdom and tips from more than a decade of podcasting and recounts her journey to product manager of Growbot. Hosts Phil Libin, Jessica Collier, and Blaise Zerega speak with Belmont about privacy and anonymity, AI and chatbots, communication and diversity, and the importance of authentic company values. They also discuss the many, many reasons to be polite to your voice assistants. Your hosts revisit the role of AI in battling information asymmetry and reveal two AI products they’d like to see made next year. Show notes Information Asymmetry (1:16) Previous discussion of information asymmetry in All Turtles Podcast Episode 3 (27:04)(iTunes) E.F. Hutton: Stock broker with access to exclusive information (YouTube) Phil Libin on historical asymmetries of information (Quora) Interview with Veronica Belmont, product manager of Growbot (6:55) Veronica Belmont Veronica Belmont bio (Wikipedia) Growbot  IRL (Podcast) Sword and Laser (Podcast) Tor (The Tor Project) Jad Abumrad (Radiolab) Veronica Belmont’s podcasting protips (19:45) Phil Libin on fart apps and crap bots How to outrun a bear (Backpacker) Listener questions (39:47) Does All Turtles work with teams that are not on the West Coast? (39:59)  What AI products would you like to see developed in 2018? (40:55)  

This week’s show is devoted to security and trust. After hackers stole the records of 57 million Uber customers and drivers last year, the company failed to disclose the data breach and paid the hackers $100,000. Your hosts Phil Libin, Jessica Collier, and Blaise Zerega offer the ride-sharing company no sympathy and explore what’s needed to safeguard everything from DNA to airports to social security numbers. They talk with Alex Pachikov, CEO of Sunflower Labs, who aims to reinvent home security with autonomous drones and AI. Your hosts also consider the roles of HR and physical security devices in the sexual harassment allegations against TV host Matt Lauer. Show notes Uber security breach (01:02) Uber Hid 2016 Breach, Paying Hackers to Delete Stolen Data (The New York Times) Genetic testing threatens the insurance industry (The Economist) Transportation Security Administration: What Can I Bring? (TSA) Will biometrics "active authentication" help do away with passwords? (CBS News) Interview with Alex Pachikov, CEO of Sunflower Labs (17:05) Sunflower Labs Sunflower Home Awareness System (video) Under The Shell: Sunflower Labs takes flight  Listener questions (41:00) Is there an app that can help stop sexual harassment? (41:18) Matt Lauer Accused of Sexual Harassment by Multiple Women (Variety) What’s with the secret button Matt Lauer allegedly used to lock his door? (44:04) About That Secret Button in Matt Lauer's Office We want to hear from you Please send us your comments, suggested topics, and questions for future episodes: Email: hello@all-turtles.com Twitter: @allturtlesco with hashtag #askAT For more from All Turtles, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to our newsletter on our website. Thanks for listening  

Machine learning has shown the capacity to amplify our cultural and gender biases. Addressing the problem begins with admitting it exists. Join Hosts Phil Libin, Jessica Collier, and Blaise Zerega as they discuss ways to limit the impact of language that reinforces stereotypes. They also introduce a new segment called, “Maybe it’s kinda bull----t?” which in this episode casts a skeptical eye on personalization. They evaluate the utility of intelligent assistants from the likes of Amazon, Apple, Facebook. Google, and Microsoft, and explain that not all startups should go international. Show notes Gender bias (00:56) Man is to Computer Programmer as Woman is to Homemaker? Debiasing Word Embeddings Reference Software’s Grammatik Grammarly Friday Night Lights Personalization: Maybe it’s kinda bullshit? (15:35) Yahoo personalized home page Listener questions Please rate the voice assistants from Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft (29:30) Is New York the new Silicon Valley? (32:00) When should startups expand internationally? (34:36) Everyday interactions with AI A non-intuitive shortcut on Digit, a passive savings tool (36:09) A wine club that uses AI-based recommendations (39:19) iOS update includes male and female versions of CEO emoji (43:10) We want to hear from you Please send us your comments, suggested topics, and questions for future episodes: Email: hello@all-turtles.com Twitter: @allturtlesco with hashtag #askAT For more from All Turtles, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to our newsletter on our website. Thanks for listening  

Riding a rollercoaster, taking a leap of faith, and launching a rocket are just some of the phrases used to describe the challenge of starting a company. This week, your hosts Phil Libin, Jessica Collier, and Blaise Zerega dive into the day-to-day realities of being a cofounder to reveal the value of communication, problem solving, and good, old-fashioned hard work. Along the way, they check-in with Jack Hirsch, CEO of Butter.ai, to hear what he’s learned two months after launch. Also, they debunk the gospel of the technical cofounder and describe their interactions with AI while watching HBO, conversing with Replika, and typing in iMessage. Show notes All Turtles Butter.ai Replika Grammarly Watch a video about Butter    Listener questions Why is Blaise’s Replika a female? (31:22) Do startups need a technical co-founder? (32:59) How do people apply to the All Turtles startup studio? (35:40)   Everyday interactions with AI Sir, your Grammarly is showing (38:29) John Oliver, President Trump, and AI (40:36) TFW your generative keyboard trolls you  (41:35)   We want to hear from you Send us your comments, suggested topics, questions for future episodes: Email: hello@all-turtles.com Twitter: @allturtlesco with hashtag #askAT For more from All Turtles, follow us on Twitter @allturtlesco, and subscribe to our newsletter on our website, http://all-turtles.com/#contact.   Thanks for listening  

If the iPhone 6 reinvented the world of smartphones, then the iPhone X is poised to reinvent the world of contextual computing. Your hosts Phil Libin, Jessica Collier, and Blaise Zerega take a look at the implications of Apple’s new device for products involving facial recognition and everyday AI. They also discuss the potential for AI-based contraception, what UX-focused grad students ought to learn, and the possibility of a world without information asymmetry. Show notes Apple just put machine learning in your pocket Replika Amara’s Law: “We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.” Watch AI’s Big Mistake: Trying to Imitate Humans Watch trailer for My Life as a Dog Digit Natural Cycles Man is to Computer Programmer as Woman is to Homemaker? Debiasing Word Embeddings Phil Libin on “historical asymmetries of information” Woebot Grammarly use case in the wild:   Listener questions Can AI be an effective contraceptive? (19:54) What should UX-focused graduate students know about AI? (22:10) How to avoid bias in machine learning systems? (25:20) What does a world without information asymmetry look like? (26:29) Is it really Turtles all the way down? (34:05) Do you work with teams in Australia? (34:47)   Everyday interactions with AI The value of chatbot therapy (35:46) Grammarly’s keyboard for iOS (37:40) The art of remembering phone numbers (40:39)   We want to hear from you Send us your comments, suggested topics, questions for future episodes: Email: hello@all-turtles.com Twitter: @allturtlesco with hashtag #askAT For more from All Turtles, follow us on Twitter @allturtlesco, and subscribe to our newsletter on our website, http://all-turtles.com/#contact. Thanks for listening!  

There’s a clear opportunity for new applications of AI that solve common problems. Join hosts Phil Libin, Jessica Collier, and Blaise Zerega for a discussion about practical AI products and why it's possible for small teams to build them. Listen as Phil uses a Pocketalk translation device in Osaka and shares sounds gathered while riding Japan Railways. Your hosts answer listener questions about big tech companies and data sets, why there’s plenty of room for startups, and they assess the current state of chatbots. They also share their everyday encounters with practical AI — from language translation to hands-free driving to remembering things. Show notes Watch trailer for Lost in Translation Listen to Japan Railways jingles Meet Noriyuki “Nori” Matsuda, SourceNext CEO Pocketalk, SourceNext Releases 50 Languages Translation Device The Pocketalk device in the wild:  The babel fish from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Amara’s Law: “We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.” Average tenure of employees at 10 biggest tech companies   Listener questions With large tech companies being so active in AI, is there any room for startups? (11:15) Is it easier to build an AI company with great data and a mediocre team or vice versa? (15:45) What industry will be a big player/acquirer of AI in next two years? (16:26) Chatbots were formerly all the rage, are we now in the trough of disillusionment? (23:02) Everyday interactions with practical AI English-Japanese translation, and Russian, too (27:51) Google Assistant 1, Siri 0 (31:02) Lost your photographic memory? There’s a bot for that  (32:30)   We want to hear from you Send us your comments, suggested topics, questions for future episodes: Email: hello@all-turtles.com Twitter: @allturtlesco with hashtag #askAT For more from All Turtles, follow us on Twitter @allturtlesco, and subscribe to our newsletter on our website, http://all-turtles.com/#contact. Thanks for listening!

Introducing the All Turtles Podcast! Our premier episode features Phil Libin, Jessica Collier, and Blaise Zerega. Listen as they discuss the origins of the All Turtles studio and debunk one of Silicon Valley’s most iconic myths: the solo entrepreneur toiling in a garage. Along the way, they explain why founding teams should focus on building products before building companies. They tackle listener questions about blockchain, artificial intelligence, and how to bring more women and underrepresented minorities into the tech workforce. They also share their everyday encounters with AI -- mundane, but practical.   Show notes Watch video from day one of All Turtles Inside the All Turtles AI startup studio Apple’s garage myth Parker Hannafin, a 100-year old tech company Current All Turtles studio companies Butter.ai launch Sunflower Labs partnership with Stanley Black & Decker Listen to Japan Railways jingles   Listener questions What’s All Turtles view of blockchain? (26:00) What’s with so many companies calling themselves AI companies? (29:13) How to get more women involved in leadership positions? (33:27) Why is All Turtles going global? (38:12)   Everyday interactions with AI The value of positive feedback (39:22) Good grammar matters (41:26) “No, Mom, I did not just call you ‘Alexa’” (42:46)   We want to hear from you Please send us your comments, suggested topics, questions for future episodes: Email: hello@all-turtles.com Twitter: @allturtlesco with hashtag #askAT And if you want to hear more from us... For more from All Turtles, follow us on Twitter @allturtlesco, and subscribe to our newsletter on our website, http://all-turtles.com/#contact. Thanks for listening!