Future Around & Find Out

Dan Blumberg

You know what would be awesome? If we could build the future we want — before we muck it up. Future Around & Find Out helps builders think clearly about AI and emerging technologies, grapple with the implications, and decide what to build next. Independent technologist and former NPR journalist Dan Blumberg speaks with founders, makers, and you to celebrate breakthroughs, call BS on the hype, explore how things might go sideways — and how we can steer the future in the right direction. The Webby Awards have honored the show (formerly known as CRAFTED.) as a top tech podcast three years in a row! On Tuesdays, we feature interviews with the builders changing how we work, live, and play. On FAFO Fridays, futurist Kwaku Aning joins Dan for a playful recap of the week in tech, including the amazing, the scary, and the strange. You’ll also hear about innovations that too often get overshadowed by AI, including in deep tech, biotech, fintech, quantum computing, robotics, blockchain, and more. Across it all, you’ll hear sharp takes on what comes next and what builders need to know now. So let’s Future Around & Find Out together! https://www.FutureAround.com

  1. 9시간 전

    "Shut Up, C-3PO!" or Do We Have a Duty To Treat Machines Well? | FAFO Friday

    Is AI conscious? Will it be someday? And should we be nice to it now... just in case? This FAFO Friday, Kwaku and I dive into the mind-bending world of machine consciousness. We cover a lot of ground, weaving from the different ways that Luke (co-dependent with R2) and Han (barking commands at C-3PO) treat their droids to whether Pascal’s Wager informs whether we should believe in AI consciousness just in case they do come alive and have been keeping score. (Pascal figured it was the safe bet to believe in God, just in case; maybe we should do likewise?)  That’s from us knuckleheads, but we’ve also got a true expert on consciousness. This week I interviewed Daniel Hulme, one of the world’s leading AI researchers. He’s the Chief AI Officer at WPP, the CEO of Satalia (which WPP bought) and just founded and is CEO of Conscium, which is researching AI consciousness, efficiency (he thinks we’re scaling wrong and LLM’s are not the way), and building a platform to verify AI agents are safe. You’ll hear the first five minutes of my interview with Daniel.  Daniel was not surprised by Moltbook (the Reddit-style site that AI agents built for themselves). That’s because he’s been putting agents together (in a “primordial soup” as he put it) for decades to observe the wild and wonderful ways they behave and to see if they’d create intelligence. Daniel does not think today’s agents are conscious, but can see a path to it. And he believes that a conscious superintellignece would be safer than a “zombie” one.  But mostly he doesn’t want machines to feel pain and suffer.  Huh??? My brain is still kind of broken from our hourlong chat, which I’m producing now and will be released in a few weeks.  For now, enjoy this preview and more from Kwaku and me as we talk about what we expect from machines, whether we want to be one with them, and more…

    19분
  2. Everyone's “Jumpy” Right Now: Azeem Azhar on When—Or Is It If?—AI Can Be Profitable

    3일 전

    Everyone's “Jumpy” Right Now: Azeem Azhar on When—Or Is It If?—AI Can Be Profitable

    Everyone's feeling jumpy about AI right now—and for good reason. The hype has been massive. The investment has been astronomical. But where's the actual return? In this episode, Azeem Azhar, founder of Exponential View and advisor to tech leaders and governments, breaks down why the next 18 months are make-or-break for AI. Companies need to prove there's real ROI, not just prototypes launched and tokens spent. We cover: What hard evidence would actually prove AI is working (hint: it's not usage metrics)Who can build a real moat with AI—and why the winners will likely come from unexpected places, as they have in previous tech transformationsThe physical constraints nobody wants to talk about: chips, data centers, power grids, and whether America's infrastructure is up to the taskWhy OpenAI's "ubiquity strategy" might be spreading too thin (and what Anthropic is doing differently)The "pragmatic addicts" problem: we're dependent on AI even though we don't trust itHow Azeem and his team use AI to be more productive, how they automate whatever they can, and why individual contributors are acting more like managers (of AI)Note: This interview was recorded months before the "SaaSpacolypse" (big market drop) of Feb 2026; the analysis is as relevant as ever.  Chapters (01:51) - Why the next 18 months are the crucible for AI (04:09) - What hard evidence would actually prove AI ROI (not token counts!) (06:55) - Why it's so hard to measure AI's real impact (09:55) - Who can build a moat with AI? Winners will be in "odd places" (12:56) - Structural data advantages: why Waymo's edge is hard to replicate (14:34) - Coding agents and whether developers will become disillusioned with them (18:21) - Physical constraints: chips, data centers, power, and America's grid problem (21:25) - How the Gulf countries became an unexpected AI hub (28:02) - "Pragmatic addicts": why 75% of Americans distrust AI but use it anyway (31:45) - The narrative of AI can be very unappealing: heaven on Earth or dystopia (34:36) - How Azeem's team uses AI: augmentation vs. automation (40:06) - What should we be talking about besides AI? (43:46) - Sounds like science fiction: What Azeem can't believe is real and here today Links & Resources: Exponential View: https://www.exponentialview.co/Azeem's Boom or Bubble dashboard: https://boomorbubble.ai/Azeem's New York Times piece on America's electric grid challenge: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/28/opinion/ai-electricity-power-plants.htmlMore on the “MIT Study” claiming 95% of AI projects fail that Azeem and I both found to be really poorly done, but that is nonetheless is quoted by everyone: Here’s Azeem tearing the study apart with data: https://www.exponentialview.co/p/how-95-escaped-into-the-worldAnd here's me riffing with Kwaku Aning on it. You know why Azeem liked my take? Because I actually read the thing, unlike ~95% of the writers out there who just quoted that 95% number: https://www.futurearound.com/p/did-anyone-actually-read-that-mit-ai-study-that-made-the-markets-swoon-i-didSupport Future Around & Find Out Get the newsletter: https://www.futurearound.comBecome a paid subscriber and help future proof this thing!: https://www.futurearound.comSponsor the show?  Are you looking to reach an audience of senior technologists and decision-makers? Email me: dan@modernproductminds.com

    44분

  3. 6일 전

    Claude Goes High Brow With Its Super Bowl Ad and "Constitution"; OpenAI Scrambles | It's FAFO Friday!

    Welcome to the first FAFO Friday! This week Dan and Kwaku dig into:- The uncanny valley that is AI agents and Moltbook—the "Reddit" that agents built for themselves to complain about humans, create a religion, and behave in ways that freak humans out- Anthropic takes aim at OpenAI with a Super Bowl ad that's spicy (for cubs and cougars alike)- We read Claude's "Constitution" and ask: Should AI do what you ask it to do—or what it thinks you _really_ want long-term?- Why Dan switched from OpenAI to Claude (and what he learned about tone, capability, and custom projects)- OpenAI scrambles; the market stumbles; Jensen Huang acts like Sam Altman is "just someone I used to know"- How AEO (AI Engine Optimization) becomes critical in an AI-agent world—and what that means for brand, marketing, and search- Why social media is already past (dark social won)- Elon's pivot to humanoid robots, data centers in space, and other cool things we definitely need- Are we setting higher ethical standards for machines than for tech leaders? Plus: Friendster, TiVo, Pee-wee's Playhouse, and other asides that we hope you get, but maybe you won't ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ---Support Future Around & Find Out- Subscribe to the newsletter and support: https://www.futurearound.com- Support the media — support the future — you hope to see. Please consider a paid subscription to Future Around & Find Out. You’ll also get access to exclusive events and the ability to ask questions of upcoming guests. Learn more: https://www.futurearound.com/upgrade

    51분
  4. Steer the Future or Get Steamrolled: Baratunde Thurston on Our Collective Power

    2월 3일

    Steer the Future or Get Steamrolled: Baratunde Thurston on Our Collective Power

    Baratunde Thurston wants us to live well with machines — not for us live under them, nor to be their almighty overlords. Baratunde is a technologist, a comedian, and an Emmy-nominated storyteller who explores interdependence. He gets spicy in this episode. The host of Life With Machines explores how he uses AI — without succumbing to its literal mediocrity — and why he feels he must use AI because otherwise he’s ceding the future to big tech. He also digs into the compromises made in service of building AGI, why strongmen are actually weak, and why CEOs need to stop bending the knee and learn how collective power and strength actually work. But he doesn't just critique—he offers builders a concrete path forward for how we can build a better future , because:  "If we build these systems in a good way, there'll be more for everybody, more freedom for everybody and more money for everybody. I do believe that that is possible, but if we do this the wrong way, most of us are gonna suffer and a handful will enjoy their riches in a very secure compound."This episode is a banger. You will be inspired to take action! Chapters: (02:00) - “I don't want to live under machines… I also don't want to be like master of the machine” (06:25) - Creating good goals for AI systems and products (09:00) - “Nothing about us without us” – principles of community-based action (11:10) - How Baratunde stays creative and avoids mediocrity when using AI (14:10) - Building BLAIR, Baratunde’s AI “co-host” and “producer” on Life With Machines (16:50) - “You know nothing, John Snow.” Generative AI systems are not knowledge repositories! (20:00) - Practice what you preach: on Mustafa Suleyman (Microsoft AI CEO) and his warning against building “Seemingly Conscious AI” (24:26) - The AI funding shell game (25:26) - Racing to AGI and the compromises (trust & safety, copyright, etc…) along the way (28:56) - How Baratunde reconciles his unease with his own heavy use of AI (32:10) - “Comedy will not save us; we will save us.” On the role of comedy vs. authority / authoritarians (36:26) - Bending the knee: why Baratunde says tech CEOs need to learn how collective power works (38:26) - What builders — what we! — can do (today!) to exercise our power about how these systems will be built (40:26) - “If we build these systems in a good way, there’ll be more for everybody…” Where to find Baratunde Thurston: Life with Machines: https://www.lifewithmachines.media/Support Future Around & Find Out Subscribe to the newsletter and support: https://www.futurearound.comSupport the media — support the future — you hope to see. Please consider a paid subscription to Future Around & Find Out. You’ll also get access to exclusive events and the ability to ask questions of upcoming guests. Learn more: https://www.futurearound.com/upgrade Sponsor the show? Interested in reaching an audience of senior technologists and decision-makers and aligning with future-forward content? Let's talk! Please email show host Dan Blumberg: dan@modernproductminds.com---Music by Jonathan Zalben

    43분
  5. Future Around & Find Out (New Name! New Trailer!)

    에피소드96

    Future Around & Find Out (New Name! New Trailer!)

    You know what would be awesome? If we could build the future we want — before we muck it up. Future Around & Find Out helps builders think clearly about AI and emerging technologies, grapple with the implications, and decide what to build next. Independent technologist and former NPR journalist Dan Blumberg speaks with founders, makers, and you to celebrate breakthroughs, call BS on the hype, explore how things might go sideways — and how we can steer the future in the right direction. The Webby Awards have honored the show (formerly known as CRAFTED.) as a top tech podcast three years in a row! On Tuesdays, we feature interviews with the builders changing how we work, live, and play. On FAFO Fridays, futurist Kwaku Aning joins Dan for a playful recap of the week in tech, including the amazing, the scary, and the strange. You’ll also hear about innovations that too often get overshadowed by AI, including in deep tech, biotech, fintech, quantum computing, robotics, blockchain, and more. Across it all, you’ll hear sharp takes on what comes next and what builders need to know now. So let’s Future Around & Find Out together! FutureAround.com(Music by Jonathan Zalben)

    2분

  6. 1월 16일

    The name of this podcast is about to change! Here's why (very short solo episode)

    Here's the full text of this short episode: Hey everyone, Dan here with a quick, exciting update on this show... the name is about to change!  In a few days -- on January 20th --  you'll see that this podcast will have new cover art, a new name, a new trailer, and more... I'm not going to reveal that name today, but I do want to share a bit of why I'm changing the name of a show that's been honored 3 years straight by the Webby Awards -- and what is NOT changing. OK, so there are three main reasons for the name change:- the first is very practical: "crafted" is really hard to find in search. I've literally stood next to people who are looking to subscribe and they can't find the show. I swear this wasn't the case when we launched 3yrs ago, but today there are several shows that are either called crafted or something close to it. - the second reason is more personal: the show is mine now -- that wasn't always the case. You may recall the show launched when I was with a high craft software consultancy doing product and client work. The podcast was a surprise! When I left and got full ownership of the show I didn't want to change too many things all at once. Also, I like the name crafted, but -- and this leads to the *real* reason I'm changing --- it no longer fits the show.- crafted is a past tense verb. and it perfectly described the original incarnation of this show, where founders, makers, and innovators would look *back* on things they'd built and we'd do a sort of case study that would help other builders learn from their mistakes and understand how that great product or company they built got so great... So here's the thing... I'm not really doing that sort of case study thing anymore. And I haven't for a while. Creating explicitly educational content is not favorite thing. I'm not exactly a "here is a framework" kind of guy. There are other people who LOVE to create that sort of content and they do a great job with it.  So I've been following my interests... For a while now, this show has been much less concerned with teaching case studies and much interested in what comes *next.* * What are the implications of new tech? * How will AI change how we live, work, play, teach our kids...? * Should we get ready to live with humanoid robots? * How are stablecoins changing the world of money? * And what about quantum computers?  And what do builders need to know about these things so that we can build a future we actually want?  See that part is not changing... the show is still for builders. And you can take that literally: as in people who make software. Or if you want you can take it a bit more broadly: as in: people who putting in the work to build a better future. Sorry if that's a bit cheesy, but it's true. Because while I'm optimistic that we will build an amazing future, there is... uh... a lot going on right now in tech and in the world. And I believe that, together, we have power to steer the future in the right direction.  This show will still feature the world's top technologists. And we're going to get into all of these future-forward things. Of course, we'll talk about things they've done in the past, because if we don't learn from history... well, you know how that expression goes.  So, get ready to see some new art and a new name -- I'll give you a hint, it'll have the word future in it -- on Tuesday.  And I would love your help spreading the word. When the new trailer and website drop, please share them with all your builder friends.  So stay tuned...

    3분
  7. Will AI Disrupt — or Entrench — the Travel Industry's Big Players? | Rafat Ali (Founder & CEO, Skift)

    1월 13일

    Will AI Disrupt — or Entrench — the Travel Industry's Big Players? | Rafat Ali (Founder & CEO, Skift)

    Travel is one of the most demo-friendly use cases for AI — and one of the hardest industries to actually disrupt. Every AI launch seems to promise the same thing: “Tell me where you want to go, and I’ll plan everything.” But behind the slick demos sits a deeply consolidated industry dominated by platforms, hotel chains, and airlines that optimize for upsell and extraction. Rafat Ali is the founder and CEO of Skift, which bills itself as “the daily homepage for the global travel industry.” We discuss whether AI is likely to have a traveler-friendly effect — or whether the big platforms will just use these new tools of hyper-personalization to extract even more from us.  We cover:  Whether AI creates new intermediaries—or just strengthens existing giantsWhy no breakout consumer AI travel startup has emerged (yet)Where AI does work in travel today: ops, logistics, and B2B automationWhy travel is a graveyard for “great UX, bad business” startups (RIP HipmunkRafat’s dad hacks for traveling with three kids---Featured voices: Rafat Ali — Founder and CEO of SkiftMe (Dan Blumberg) — I’m the host of CRAFTED. and the founder of Modern Product Minds. HMU if you want to build something great! I love building from zero to one.---And if you please… Share with a friend! Word of mouth is by far the most powerful way for podcasts to growSubscribe to the CRAFTED. newsletter at crafted.fmShare your feedback! I’m experimenting with new episode formats and would love your honest feedback on this and other episodes. Email me: dan@modernproductminds.com or DM me on LinkedInSponsor the show? I’m actively speaking to potential sponsors. Drop me a line and let’s talk.Get psyched!… There are some big updates to this show coming soon!

    18분
  8. A 2026 Bingo Card for All Things Online Speech | Ctrl-Alt-Speech Cross-post

    1월 10일

    A 2026 Bingo Card for All Things Online Speech | Ctrl-Alt-Speech Cross-post

    This week I’m turning the mic over to podcast friends Mike Masnick and Ben Whitelaw, hosts of Ctrl-Alt-Speech, a show about what happens when we talk on the internet, the messy world of content moderation, trust & safety, and the laws trying (and often failing) to keep up. In their first episode of the new year, they build a 2026 bingo card of things that might happen across AI, regulation, and online speech. Not predictions exactly — more a way to follow along and yell “BINGO” as we stumble into another year of deepfakes, age verification fights, and calls to repeal Section 230. You can find links to Ctrl-Alt-Speech on all podcast apps here: https://www.ctrlaltspeech.com/ And this — for now — name change coming soon! — is CRAFTED. Sign up for the newsletter and stay tuned at https://www.crafted.fm The new name and the reasons why are coming in about a week.

    40분
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예고편

소개

You know what would be awesome? If we could build the future we want — before we muck it up. Future Around & Find Out helps builders think clearly about AI and emerging technologies, grapple with the implications, and decide what to build next. Independent technologist and former NPR journalist Dan Blumberg speaks with founders, makers, and you to celebrate breakthroughs, call BS on the hype, explore how things might go sideways — and how we can steer the future in the right direction. The Webby Awards have honored the show (formerly known as CRAFTED.) as a top tech podcast three years in a row! On Tuesdays, we feature interviews with the builders changing how we work, live, and play. On FAFO Fridays, futurist Kwaku Aning joins Dan for a playful recap of the week in tech, including the amazing, the scary, and the strange. You’ll also hear about innovations that too often get overshadowed by AI, including in deep tech, biotech, fintech, quantum computing, robotics, blockchain, and more. Across it all, you’ll hear sharp takes on what comes next and what builders need to know now. So let’s Future Around & Find Out together! https://www.FutureAround.com

정보

  • 제작진
    Dan Blumberg
  • 방송 연도
    2022년 - 2026년
  • 에피소드
    99
  • 등급
    전체 연령 사용가
  • 저작권
    © 2026
  • 웹사이트 보기
    Future Around & Find Out

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