Podcast · 125 episodes
Pioneers of AI
by WaitWhat · English
Pioneers of AI is your guide to the latest technological frontier. Each week, host Rana el Kaliouby (AI scientist, investor, author, co-founder of Affectiva) is joined by the leading creators, critics, and thinkers behind mind-blowing technology and asks the important questions about how artificial intelligence is changing the way we live. As we venture together into the unknown, Pioneers is your tool to understanding and anticipating what comes next.
Latest episodes
Possible: Training robots for a world they've never seenTraining general-purpose robots that can act in unfamiliar real-world environments (warehouses/homes) using end-to-end vision-language models, emphasizing that scale alone isn’t enough; data…30 Sep 2026 · 58 min
The slippery slope of artificial intimacySherry Turkle argues that “artificial intimacy” is an oxymoron: chatbots can simulate empathy and companionship, but lack human experience, vulnerability, and shared life arcs.23 Sep 2026 · 40 min
The ROI on AI is obvious in these industriesRudina Cesarri (Glasswing Ventures) argues AI ROI is clearest in vertical AI—AI-ifying legacy industries—because workflow understanding and proprietary vertical data drive productivity and measurable…16 Sep 2026 · 38 min
All episodes
Possible: Training robots for a world they've never seenTraining general-purpose robots that can act in unfamiliar real-world environments (warehouses/homes) using end-to-end vision-language models, emphasizing that scale alone isn’t enough; data…30 Sep 2026 · 58 min · 28 chapters
The slippery slope of artificial intimacySherry Turkle argues that “artificial intimacy” is an oxymoron: chatbots can simulate empathy and companionship, but lack human experience, vulnerability, and shared life arcs.23 Sep 2026 · 40 min · 21 chapters
The ROI on AI is obvious in these industriesRudina Cesarri (Glasswing Ventures) argues AI ROI is clearest in vertical AI—AI-ifying legacy industries—because workflow understanding and proprietary vertical data drive productivity and measurable…16 Sep 2026 · 38 min · 17 chapters
Rapid Response: When AI agents do your shopping, everything changes, with Shopify’s Jess HertzShopify COO Jess Hertz discusses trade-war/tariff uncertainty and how agentic AI is reshaping e-commerce—especially shopping agents, merchant incentives, and company culture.14 Sep 2026 · 30 min · 18 chapters
Zapier wants to be the AI hub where all your agents connectWade Foster (CEO of Zapier) explains how Zapier is evolving from app-to-app automation into an “AI hub” that connects AI agents to business tools using Model Context Protocol (MCP), plus how…9 Sep 2026 · 36 min · 11 chapters
Axios’ Ina Fried reads the AI fine print, so you don’t have toIna Fried (Axios) explains how AI companies use user data, focusing on “fine print” privacy policies, opt-in vs opt-out training, memory, personalization, advertising incentives, and risks if data is…2 Sep 2026 · 36 min · 14 chapters
Rapid Response: What the jobs report isn't telling you about AI & the workforce, with Upwork’s Hayden BrownHow AI is reshaping the workforce beyond what the U.S. jobs report shows, using Upwork’s marketplace data; includes fractional work, AI agents, hiring spam, and leadership/strategy under fast change.31 Aug 2026 · 30 min · 16 chapters
Government benefits are broken. Is AI the fix?Promise CEO Phaedra Ellis-Lampkins argues U.S. public benefits are “broken” because outdated systems don’t update when laws/policies change, forcing long lines, wrong denials, and manual paperwork.26 Aug 2026 · 35 min · 23 chapters
World Models: a trillion dollar opportunityOdyssey CEO Oliver Cameron explains “world models” as AI trained on visual/video observations to simulate reality (physics, dynamics, cause/effect, human behavior), arguing they’re the next frontier…19 Aug 2026 · 41 min · 17 chapters
Rapid Response: OpenAI’s Critterz blowback — Director Nik Kleverov on year zero for HollywoodDirector Nik Kleverov discusses “Critters,” an AI-assisted animated feature, and the industry shift toward AI video—plus the blowback when OpenAI pulled Sora mid-production.17 Aug 2026 · 32 min · 13 chapters
Replay: Could a robot fix the loneliness epidemic?Grace Brown, co-founder/CEO of Andromeda, discusses Abby, a social humanoid robot aimed at reducing loneliness in aging populations, and how design, emotional intelligence, safety, privacy, and…12 Aug 2026 · 30 min · 15 chapters
The deep AI shifts that will reshape our livesThe episode explains how AI is a “general purpose technology” driving multiple simultaneous system-level “convergences” (not just trends) that will reshape business and daily life, and how leaders…5 Aug 2026 · 38 min · 14 chapters
Why AI conversations are always one-sidedWhy AI “conversations” feel one-sided, and how real connection depends on reciprocal cues, shared conversation type, and neural entrainment.29 Jul 2026 · 39 min · 15 chapters
Rapid Response: The quiet reinvention of a $42b business, with Canva’s Cameron AdamsCanva’s shift from “design company” to “AI company that does design,” and how it’s building an AI product responsibly while shipping faster during AI-driven market pressure (“saspocalypse”).27 Jul 2026 · 24 min · 14 chapters
WorkLab: Culture, not tech, softens AI’s impactHow to deploy AI sustainably in everyday workflows by prioritizing culture and human readiness over “just tech,” including human oversight, emotional/social intelligence, and adoption beyond pilots.22 Jul 2026 · 23 min · 14 chapters
Stanford’s Silicon Valley pipeline, investigatedTheo Baker’s account of Stanford’s “Silicon Valley pipeline,” arguing that Stanford’s incentive structures and elite networking culture encourage “winning at all costs,” including deception, research…15 Jul 2026 · 32 min · 15 chapters
What my kids taught me about the AI divideA parent and her two kids debate the “AI divide” through their opposing approaches—one skeptical about offloading thinking, the other “AI-native”—and what society should keep human as AI becomes…8 Jul 2026 · 47 min · 18 chapters
AI on the pitch at The World CupHow Lenovo and FIFA will use AI to enhance the 2026 Men’s World Cup without replacing referees or coaches, covering officiating, player realism, team analytics, operations, and fan experience.1 Jul 2026 · 32 min · 12 chapters
Masters of Scale: IBM’s $10 billion bet on what comes after AIIBM CEO Arvind Krishna discusses how enterprises should use AI “fit for purpose,” why foundation models will become commodities, the economics and risks behind today’s AI spending, IBM’s approach to…29 Jun 2026 · 41 min · 19 chapters
Reid Hoffman says the AI race is not a cage matchReid Hoffman discusses the AI race, arguing it’s not a winner-take-all “cage match,” and explains how to think about AI company valuations, IPO timing, defensibility for startups, and the future of…24 Jun 2026 · 36 min · 17 chapters
What we risk losing to AI, w/ Natalie MonbiotHow to divide work and thinking between humans and AI without losing agency, creativity, and judgment; includes “digital twin” collaboration, “cognitive division of labor,” and “strong bundle vs weak…17 Jun 2026 · 42 min · 15 chapters
Rapid Response: The race no one can win: AI’s anti-human crisis, with Aza RaskinAza Raskin argues AI deployment is driven by incentives that create an “anti-human” future—either catastrophic misuse (e.g., cyberattacks, engineered diseases) or permanent surveillance—because…15 Jun 2026 · 39 min · 14 chapters
Does AI know you better than your doctor? w/ Ōura CEO Tom HaleHow Oura CEO Tom Hale argues wearables plus AI can shift medicine from “sick care” to proactive, personalized prevention by tracking physiology continuously and predicting health changes before…10 Jun 2026 · 40 min · 13 chapters
Reimagining business school through AI with MasterClass CEO David RogierHow AI is reshaping education and careers, and how MasterClass CEO David Rogier is “reimagining business school” with AI-native, pedagogy-guided learning and digital voice twins.3 Jun 2026 · 35 min · 16 chapters