Shows / Pioneers of AI
Pioneers of AI
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.
Episodes
Pioneers of AIOpen to Debate: should we trust AI agents with our information?
Would you hand a stranger your bank passwords, your private messages, and control of your personal information? That’s the ask when the stranger is an AI…
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Finding love: can the “meet-cute” meet tech?
When host Rana el Kaliouby started online dating, she designed algorithms to weigh multiple factors, and evaluated each date in a spreadsheet. Now, she’s…
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Are we ready for brain-computer implants?
The world of brain-computer interfaces, or BCIs, is here. Implanted into the brain, BCIs can pick up neural signals for all kinds of use cases – turning…
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Reid Hoffman and OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar on where AI goes from here
Few companies have as much influence over AI’s trajectory as OpenAI. Reid Hoffman sits down with CFO Sarah Friar to understand the precipice of the moment we…
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Replay: What my kids taught me about the AI divide
It often feels like the world is divided when it comes to AI — do you lean in, or opt out? But what if that tension exists within your own household? This…
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Is AGI already here? w/ Kevin Roose
Journalist Kevin Roose has closely watched and written about the AI race for about a decade, and his new book “The AGI Chronicles” documents the handful of…
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OpenAI’s Tibo Sottiaux doesn’t want humans to be an ‘afterthought’
Thibault “Tibo” Sottiaux is OpenAI’s head of Product & Platform, making him responsible for the AI tools used by more than a billion users worldwide. Host Rana…
Pioneers of AIPossible: Training robots for a world they've never seen
On this week’s episode we’re excited to share an episode from our sister podcast Possible, a podcast that sketches out the brightest vision of the future…
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The slippery slope of artificial intimacy
For the past four decades Sherry Turkle has studied the social and psychological implications of AI. She’s the Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social…
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The ROI on AI is obvious in these industries
Rudina Seseri is the Founder and Managing Partner of Glasswing Ventures, recently named one of America’s Top Venture Capital Firms of 2026 by TIME and…
Pioneers of AIRapid Response: When AI agents do your shopping, everything changes, with Shopify’s Jess Hertz
For decades, e-commerce rewarded the biggest brands that could buy their way to the top of search results. AI is changing that. Shopify COO Jess Hertz joins…
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Zapier wants to be the AI hub where all your agents connect
Fifteen years ago Wade Foster, CEO of Zapier, co-founded the software company with a simple idea: link thousands of apps that were never designed to talk to…
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Axios’ Ina Fried reads the AI fine print, so you don’t have to
In the world of AI, data is king. And in reporting on tech for nearly 30 years, Axios’ Chief Technology Correspondent Ina Fried has extensively covered…
Pioneers of AIRapid Response: What the jobs report isn't telling you about AI & the workforce, with Upwork’s Hayden Brown
Few leaders have a better real-time read on how AI is actually reshaping the workforce than Hayden Brown. As CEO of Upwork, the platform where 18 million…
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Government benefits are broken. Is AI the fix?
Stories of people standing in line for hours to get their drivers license or being wrongfully denied government food assistance are common in America. Few…
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World Models: a trillion dollar opportunity
In the first half of 2026 alone, investors poured $3 billion into the next frontier of AI: World Models. Google DeepMind, Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs, Yann…
Pioneers of AIRapid Response: OpenAI’s Critterz blowback — Director Nik Kleverov on year zero for Hollywood
Critterz was one of the first feature films built primarily with AI, but OpenAI abruptly shut down Sora, the very tool its director was relying on. Nik…
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Replay: Could a robot fix the loneliness epidemic?
This week we reprise our episode with robotics developer Grace Brown, co-founder and CEO of Andromeda, an Australia- and US-based company. A recently launched…
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The deep AI shifts that will reshape our lives
For nearly two decades, Amy Webb's annual Tech Trends Report was required reading for anyone trying to keep up with technology. But this year, Webb killed the…
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Why AI conversations are always one-sided
Is it possible for us to ever wholeheartedly trust a machine the way we would a human? According to Charles Duhigg, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and New…
Pioneers of AIRapid Response: The quiet reinvention of a $42b business, with Canva’s Cameron Adams
In the last year, Canva redefined itself from the ground up. Co-founder and Chief Product Officer Cameron Adams joins Rapid Response live from the Cannes Lions…
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WorkLab: Culture, not tech, softens AI’s impact
AI's promise is real. But the challenge to realizing its value isn't technology—it's people. Rana el Kaliouby joins WorkLab's Molly Wood to explore what can…
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Stanford’s Silicon Valley pipeline, investigated
American universities are a critical pillar of US innovation. But what happens when Silicon Valley gets more intentional about that, treating a campus more…
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What my kids taught me about the AI divide
It often feels like the world is divided when it comes to AI — do you lean in, or opt out?. But what if that tension exists within your own household? In this…
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AI on the pitch at The World Cup
At the 2026 FIFA World Cup, AI has already played a role in high stakes moments – revealing “just barely” violations that have broken hearts and driven hopes…
Pioneers of AIMasters of Scale: IBM’s $10 billion bet on what comes after AI
While many tech companies race to build ever-larger AI models, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna sees the future differently. Speaking with host Bob Safian before a live…
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Reid Hoffman says the AI race is not a cage match
Anthropic and OpenAI’s plans to go public have set off waves of speculation about the ripple effects, and how they’ll stack up to the SpaceX IPO. What’s really…
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What we risk losing to AI, w/ Natalie Monbiot
Natalie Monbiot is the founder of Virtual Human Economy (VHE) and was one of the first experts to advocate that your digital twin can be one of your most…
Pioneers of AIRapid Response: The race no one can win: AI’s anti-human crisis, with Aza Raskin
Big Tech is moving fast on AI. But who's watching out for the rest of us? Aza Raskin, co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, has spent years sounding…
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Does AI know you better than your doctor? w/ Ōura CEO Tom Hale
Historically, the only way to know what was going on in your body was to make a doctor’s appointment, run tests, and wait for the results. Now, wearable tech…
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Reimagining business school through AI with MasterClass CEO David Rogier
When MasterClass CEO David Rogier was a kid, his grandmother sat him down and told him how she'd lost everything during World War II. The lesson David took…
Pioneers of AIRapid Response: Duolingo’s battle for learning in an AI world, with Luis von Ahn
When Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn sent an internal memo about AI last year, he didn't expect it to go viral — or to ignite a firestorm about the future of work…
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What it means to be raised by AI
Many parents are wondering how their kids’ lives will be shaped by AI. Will it help them land a future job or make that job obsolete? Will it coach them toward…
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How fast can you upskill in AI? We did a sprint to find out.
We all feel the urgency: learn to use AI, or risk falling behind at work. And we all know there's an upside: AI can reduce tedious tasks, streamline…
Pioneers of AIPossible: Should we give AI a bank account?
This week, we're sharing something from our friends over at Possible. In this episode of Possible, Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger talk with Sean Neville…
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I gave AI a year of my life: tech journalist Joanna Stern
It’s not easy to cover AI as a reporter when the technology moves so fast. Joanna Stern’s approach: learn by doing. For one year, the longtime Wall Street…
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John Deere's AI vision for future farms
Tractors are smarter than you think. John Deere, the nearly 200-year-old company, is combining sensors, data, and machine learning in highly advanced vehicles…
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ChatGPT doesn’t want you to email your ex
The rhetoric around AI tends to swing between doomerism and idealism, but the reality is much more nuanced. In this special live episode, Pioneers of AI turns…
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Mining the minerals to power AI
AI is transforming one of the oldest industries on Earth: mining. KoBold Metals is a mineral exploration company using AI to locate deposits of copper…
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What is agentic commerce? Stripe’s CRO of AI explains.
What does a former skydiver have to say about getting started with AI? Go ahead and jump! While Maia Josebachvili doesn’t spend her free time leaping out of…
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SXSW Keynote: Humanize AI before it dehumanizes us, with Dr. Rana el Kaliouby
AI is moving fast. But are we really keeping humans at the center? In this special live Rapid Response, recorded on stage at South by Southwest, host Bob…
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How AI is reshaping Wall Street
Samaya AI is bringing AI agents to Wall Street and the biggest firms are paying attention. Their agents tackle complex analysis that financial professionals do…
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AI Roundup: Anthropic, OpenClaw, layoffs, and more
AI is dominating news headlines, but how do we find a signal in the noise to tell us where AI is headed? Host Rana el Kaliouby brings in Fortune’s AI editor…
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Could a robot fix the loneliness epidemic?
Most humanoids are built to perform tasks. Grace Brown is building one that can authentically connect. As co-founder and CEO of Andromeda, Brown is on a…
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We have a power grid problem. Can AI fix it?
There's no shortage of headlines about AI's environmental toll — but what if this technology could also help solve the climate crisis? Priya Donti, MIT…
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Possible: R.I.P. Computer Keyboard (1964 – 2025)
This week, we're sharing something from our friends over at Possible. In this special live episode, hosts Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger sit down with Wispr Flow…
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Can an AI agent be your CEO?
Business headlines scream about when we’ll see a one-person “unicorn” company, thanks to AI. Journalist Evan Ratliff put this to the test in the second season…
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Hey Siri, who made you?
As agentic AI continues to rise, many wonder when Apple will give Siri an AI overhaul. Siri is perhaps the most ubiquitous and well-known voice assistant, the…
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Replay: Love in the age of AI
Love, dating, and AI — what could go wrong? Or right? In this Valentine’s Day special, Rana el Kaliouby and a series of expert guests explore how AI is…
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The “ChatGPT moment” for agentic AI
We may have reached the “ChatGPT moment” in agentic AI. Over the past couple weeks, an open-source AI agent called OpenClaw (previously known as Clawdbot) has…
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How AI is powering Olympic-level wellness
Winter Olympic success depends on having the right team, on and off the ice. Canadian gold medal skier and current Chef de Mission of the Canadian Olympic team…
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How to network in a ‘non-icky way’
Anthropologists theorize that the human brain is only wired to maintain around 150 relationships and remember 1,500 people. But AI can help expand our natural…
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Meet the robots and drones working in warehouses
Advances in robotics have lagged strides in software for many years. So far, only a few companies seem to have cracked the code to get robots working in the…
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How SaaS can survive the AI revolution, with Aaron Levie
SaaS companies made work easier by revolutionizing enterprise software. But AI is starting to actually do the work for us. So what role do legacy SaaS…
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Can AI cure doctor burnout?
Dr. Shiv Rao wears many hats. When he’s not pulling a clinical shift as a cardiologist or obsessing over the latest Rick Rubin album, he’s running his $5.3…
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Rapid Response: Rana’s AI forecast for 2026, with Bob Safian
How should leaders prepare for AI’s accelerating impact on work and everyday life? AI scientist, entrepreneur, and Pioneers of AI host Dr. Rana El Kaliouby…
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AI’s journey from the lab to the marketplace
The AI boom wouldn’t have been possible without decades of academic research. And now that huge sums of money are flowing into R&D, it’s companies – not just…
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‘Like Disneyland when it just opened’: Arm CEO Rene Haas on the AI revolution
Chances are, you’ve used computer chips from the company Arm. The UK firm’s CPUs are in almost every smartphone, plus a ton of laptops, cars, even…
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Visualizing the AI boom (or bubble), with Carta’s Peter Walker
We’ve all heard the hype, but what does the data say about the AI gold rush? According to Peter Walker, Head of Insights for Carta, around 40 percent of the…
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Walmart, AI, and the future of shopping, with Walmart CTO Suresh Kumar
Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is starting an AI-driven transformation that it says will impact every aspect of shopping and operations. Suresh Kumar…