Variance

Arun Rao
  • 5.0 (4)
  • PHILOSOPHY
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

Discover how bold ideas are born. In each episode, we sit down with trailblazers in science, tech, art, and design to uncover the variant mindsets and views that spark breakthroughs. Tune in for insights into what it takes to upend convention—and create something truly new.

Episodes

  1. SEP 30 · VIDEO

    3 | Algorithmic movies, AI Dogs, and the Afterlife (Miguel Novelo of Stanford) - 29 SEPT 2025

    How valuable are inanimate material objects, and can we have relationships with them - from computers to art? Why do we have dogs in our lives, which our laws treat as objects, when dogs have no say in the "relationship"? Will our new synthetic beings, our AI and robotic mind children, be more like our pets, or will we be their pets? Join Miguel Novelo, an artist, researcher, and community organizer currently working on algorithmic movies on geological change, game engine storytelling based on dogs-human-technology afterlife, technoshamanisms, technology displacement, and technophobias. He is currently an independent artist and Lecturer at Stanford's Art and Art History Department and San Jose State University. Show Notes: Miguel's Personal Website Interactive Installation: "Ｃｈｕｐａｆｌｏｒ： Ｗｈｉｓｔｌｉｎｇ； Ｄｏｇ Ｓｐｉｒｉｔ， Ａｑｕｉ" (2023) Sonic Sculpture: Judgment Pelicano: Impact (2022) Experimental Films: Super 8 and 16mm (2020s?)

    1h 2m

  2. AUG 20

    2 | AI Reliability and Humans Testing Language Models (Anastasios Angelopolous of LM Arena) - - 20-AUG-2025

    How fast is AI really improving, and how do we know?  What guarantees can we expect from AI systems to be robust and reliable?  What is AGI and have we gotten there? Can AI systems show creativity or even sentience? Join Anastasios Angelopoulos as he lays out his thoughts to these hard questions, as he and his partners build the world's most sophisticated ways to test LLMs as they get better faster than everyone expects. Show Notes: Anastasios's Personal Website Conformal Prediction (Science of AI reliability) LM Arena (Humans testing LLMs) DeepSeek and DeepSeek R1

    57 min

  3. JUN 9

    Architecture for Housing Crises, Wildfires, and Electric Cars (Dan Spiegel of SAW Architects) - 25-MAY-2025

    Why does it cost so much to build housing?  How can we build to live in a world of climate change and wildfires?  How will electric cars and charging stations change gas station architecture? Join Dan Spiegel of SAW Architects as he lays out his solutions to these problems, as he and his partner spend time between San Francisco, Osaka, and Rome. Show Notes: SAW Website SAW Instagram Page Community project - Lots will Tear us Apart Saana Japanese house steel plates Looking After the Fires Expo 2025 Pavilions in Osaka Japan Grave of the Fireflies

    52 min
  • 3 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Discover how bold ideas are born. In each episode, we sit down with trailblazers in science, tech, art, and design to uncover the variant mindsets and views that spark breakthroughs. Tune in for insights into what it takes to upend convention—and create something truly new.

Information

  • Creator
    Arun Rao
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    3
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025
  • Show Website
    Variance

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