Possible
What if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Possible is an award-winning, weekly podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Hosts Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger explore what’s possible with forward-thinking leaders, deep thinkers, and ambitious builders across many fields, such as technology, art, education and healthcare. These conversations center on the ways technology—and, in particular, AI—is shaping the future. In episodes, AI tools such as OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Inflection’s Pi are at work, offering informational asides, prompting guests, or demoing what they can do. Lastly, between guest episodes, Aria interviews her co-host Reid on his latest takes on what’s possible if we use technology—and our collective effort—effectively.
Episodes
June 5, 2024 • 10 mins
What will being a software engineer look like in the future, when the predominant coding language is English—or whatever language you speak—instead of JavaScript? In this episode, Reid reflects on his own education, including the value of studying philosophy. Plus, he shares what he’d prioritize in designing kids' classroom experiences today and gets into AI’s potential to help customize lessons to align with students’ curiosities ...
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May 29, 2024 • 48 mins
What does AI literacy mean for students and their teachers? Code.org Chief Academic Officer Pat Yongpradit—himself a former middle school computer science teacher—joins Reid and Aria for the first-ever live-taping of Possible, recorded at the ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego.
In this episode, they discuss why school-wide bans on AI are a terrible idea and what “always be learning” refers to in an age of AI. Plus, Pat unveils, for the ...
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May 24, 2024 • 31 mins
What should we keep in mind as we venture into this new AI era? Reid Hoffman delivers a speech, entitled Humanity’s Hegelian Golden Braid, to address this question. The speech offers six guiding maxims related to AI, humanity, and technology—and weaves through Hegel and Hofstadter, cathedrals and griffins, T.S. Elliot and Hyman Minsky, and more.
This speech was originally given by Reid Hoffman in English on May 24, 2024 after acce...
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May 22, 2024 • 14 mins
In this episode, Aria asks Reid about the roles and responsibilities of technology journalists, along with his thoughts on the TikTok ban (recorded before President Biden signed the TikTok Ban bill into law).
For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/
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May 22, 2024 • 43 mins
Alongside this week’s riff from Reid on tech journalism and last week’s episode with Kara Swisher, we’re bringing you a conversation between Reid and Kara that originally dropped as a March 2023 episode of “On with Kara Swisher.” This duo has known each other since the 90s, when Reid was fresh off the sale of PayPal and before he co-founded LinkedIn. On this episode, they discuss Reid’s donations to Biden and other Democrats, how h...
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May 15, 2024 • 57 mins
What will the media landscape look like as tech companies, as opposed to traditional media, own increasingly more ink? And who better to offer an optimistic take on the news industry’s future than…Kara Swisher?!
Reid and Aria speak with the famous—and famously direct—tech journalist, author, and podcast host about the roles and responsibilities of journalists covering rapidly developing innovations, along with those of the techno...
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May 8, 2024 • 16 mins
Reid recounts the story of a milestone GPT-4 demo at Bill Gates’ house—and shares what series of achievements by AI would most impress and excite him next.
Aria also asks Reid about the investment in technology and AI that he’d like to see be made at the domestic and international level. Lastly, Reid addresses the skepticism people have about AI—and how to best direct that skepticism to the benefit of people.
For more info on t...
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May 1, 2024 • 62 mins
What if artificial intelligence becomes so ubiquitous that, in the future, we won’t be able to imagine what life was like without it?
Kevin Scott is Executive Vice President of AI and Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft. He joins the Possible Podcast to talk about AI, its impact on education, healthcare and jobs, and how AI can benefit more of us, irrespective of our geography. Kevin, Reid, and Aria discuss Kevin’s leading role...
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April 24, 2024 • 2 mins
Reid recently created an AI version of himself—REID AI—and recorded a video Q&A to see how this digital twin might challenge him in new ways. Watch the full clip here: https://youtu.be/rgD2gmwCS10
This is Reid’s latest AI experiment, following the book he co-wrote with GPT-4 (Impromptu), the podcast he co-hosted with ChatGPT (Fireside Chatbots), and, of course, Possible, in which we use AI tools like Pi and GPT-4 to prompt guests ...
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April 23, 2024 • 3 mins
The award-winning podcast Possible is back with a new season and some new changes! As always, you can tune in every Wednesday for grounded and speculative thoughts on the future from forward-thinking leaders, deep thinkers, and ambitious builders across a range of fields: tech, art, geopolitics, healthcare, climate change, education, and more. But now, the show is on year round — that means Possible won't take a break after a dozen...
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January 31, 2024 • 58 mins
What can we learn from the OpenAI saga? What role might AI play in the 2024 election? What’s the deal with the New York Times suing OpenAI? How will AI evolve our sense of human purpose?
Reid and Aria reflect on season two of Possible and answer questions like these from a variety of sources: Listeners, Pi, ChatGPT, and each other.
Read the transcript of this episode here.
For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all of...
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January 24, 2024 • 53 mins
What would it take for AI to become as trusted a source of information as Wikipedia?
Katherine Maher, former CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation, joins the show to talk about the fundamental building blocks of trust behind Wikipedia.
The use of AI will fundamentally reshape what information is distributed on the internet—and how. Reid, Aria, and Katherine talk about what creating and scaling positive spaces and community-driven ide...
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January 17, 2024 • 59 mins
How can technology change—and actually deepen—human connection?
Kerry Washington is an Emmy-winning, SAG-and-Golden Globe-nominated actor. She’s also a director, and producer, and New-York-Times-bestselling author of the memoir Thicker Than Water. She joins the podcast to talk about how AI and other technology can transform our most important relationships. She, Reid, and Aria also discuss AI’s impact on the entertainment industr...
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January 10, 2024 • 55 mins
What if every learner on the planet had access to a world-class education? This week’s guest has an impressive track record of using technology to make that dream a reality. Sal Khan is the founder and CEO of Khan Academy, an education nonprofit whose pioneering digital tools support K-12 students everywhere, along with parents, teachers, and school districts. In this episode, Sal discusses how technology widens access to education...
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January 3, 2024 • 56 mins
What would it look like to build coalitions to disrupt poverty, pollution, and the prison system? This week’s guest received a $100 million grant to do just that. Van Jones is a CNN host, New-York-Times-bestselling author, and the co-founder of multiple social enterprises to address issues of criminal justice, climate change, and social equity. Aria and Reid spoke with Van about what it will take to rethink our social systems and b...
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December 20, 2023 • 46 mins
What does it look like to build true access with technology? Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, CEO and co-founder of Promise, is creating that reality. She sat down with Reid and Aria to discuss how her company is revolutionizing the way people receive welfare in its client states. By leveraging data, questioning preconceived assumptions, and focusing on eliminating bias, Promise has become a model for socially conscious business. This people...
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December 13, 2023 • 56 mins
How can humanities and the arts flourish as artificial intelligence continues to grow and evolve? Contemporary artist Sarah Sze joins the podcast to talk about the relationship between art and technology. Reid, Aria, and Sarah discuss her recent exhibit at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, the relationship between the physical and the digital, and the importance of taking art off its pedestal. Plus, Sarah takes a look at AI-g...
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December 6, 2023 • 49 mins
What is the connection between the future of humanity and the future of technology? Science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson (The Mars trilogy, Ministry for the Future) joins the podcast to speculate about how we might evolve as a civilization. Science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson joins the podcast to speculate about how we might evolve as a civilization. His books, such as The Mars trilogy or Ministry for the Future to n...
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November 29, 2023 • 48 mins
What if every doctor and every patient had an artificial intelligence copilot to help with medical decisions? Peter Lee joins the show to offer his expertise as co-author of The AI Revolution in Medicine: GPT-4 and Beyond and Corporate Vice President of Research and Incubations at Microsoft. Peter is working at the cutting edge of how to safely incorporate AI into medicine, training healthcare providers on the strengths and limitat...
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November 22, 2023 • 25 mins
Hey listeners! Possible is off this week but we’re bringing you an episode from another podcast hosted by Reid called Masters of Scale.
Questions in this episode include: Are AI’s harshest critics causing irreversible harm to humanity? How far should leaders lean into AI? And just what would Reid sound like speaking Chinese with a British accent?
Reid Hoffman sits down with CEO of WaitWhat and longtime friend Jeff Berman to tack...
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