Episode 79 - Hot Takes and Real Talk on AI with Paco Nathan - Part 1

AI is the mosts hyped technology right now, and the buzz has been growing for several years exploding after ChatGPT launched. But should you believe the hype? Renowned data and AI expert, and unabashed critic of hype, Paco Nathan of derwen.ai delivers some real talk and hot takes with Austin Forum executive director Jay Boisseau about what’s real, what’s over hyped, and what sources you should follow and use to be informed about AI, not misled by marketing.

Episode 78 - A Conversation about AI, Tech, Spirituality, and Humanity

Rabbi Neil Blumofe, a Austin civic leader and human-centric thought and spirituality leader (and jazz afficionado), returns to the Austin Forum Upload in the post-ChatGPT era to have a conversation with Austin Forum executive director Jay Boisseau about how the growing personal usage and evolving capabilities and AI—and tech in general—can influence our spirituality and quality of our lives. They discuss the pros and cons, share experiences, and offer their own opinions and suggestions for how humans and humanity can benefit from AI as a tool and as a partner... and maybe suggest a new business idea, RabbAI. :)

Episode 77 - Lessons from a Lifelong Technology Leader on Professional Relationships

In this special episode of the Austin Forum Upload, Brad Englert - longtime partner at Accenture and CIO at The University of Texas at Austin (and supporter of the Austin Forum!) - talks with Austin Forum executive Director Jay Boisseau about his new book, “Spheres of Influence: How to Create and Nurture Authentic Business Relationships.” Brad shares his insights, experiences, and advice for how to cultivate and sustain effective professional relationships, both in your inner circle, or internal sphere of influence, and your external sphere of colleagues and associates. Themes including integrity and sincerity, clarity of communication, and commitment to excellence arise throughout this conversation, and it is easy to see why Brad was such an effective leader and professional - and to discover how you can be, too!

Episode 76 - The Smart AF Team - Insights and Observations on AI

The Austin Forum on Technology and Society team (all employees of Vizias, the AI, HPC, and advanced computing tech consultancy that supports and manages the Austin Forum) shares their opinions about the state of AI as the Austin Forum begins its third “AI April” program of activities. The Vizias team has been using, developing, and teaching AI for years, and every April we get to plan presentations, other events, and podcasts that bring other AI experts to the Austin Forum community. Dr. Luke Wilson, John Lockman, Adnan Khaleel, and Mary Garza talk with Austin Forum executive director and founder (and Vizias colleague) Jay Boisseau about what they are most excited about in AI as we enter April 2024, and what they are most concerned about in AI. Everyone shares why they are excited about different events coming up in the Austin Forum’s “AI April,” and why listeners should participate by registering for these events at www.austinforum.org.

Episode 75 - Global and Austin Technology Trends for 2024

Austin technology ecosystem experts, community builders, and fellow podcast hosts Jason Scharf (Austin Next podcast) and Thom Singer (Austin Tech Connect podcast) join Austin Forum executive director Jay Boisseau (and Austin Forum Upload podcast host) to discuss technology trends facing the world in 2024, and what Austin's impact, role, and ecosystem opportunities and challenges as we head into 2024. Join us for a great conversation about technology and society, and learn about Austin's place in tech and the lessons it has for other tech hubs.

Episode 74 - Previewing SXSW 2024: Bigger Tech Program, AI Everywhere, and More, with Hugh Forrest

SXSW 2024 is coming in mid-March 2024, and it will have a bigger tech program than ever! Hugh Forrest, co-president and chief programming officer of SXSW, joins Austin Forum executive director Jay Boisseau to preview SXSW 2024. Hugh shares what new tracks are part of the conference festival, how AI is prevalent throughout the programming, other technologies that are highly represented in the programming, emerging technologies he is most excited about, and the big societal challenges that the tech program content addresses. Hugh also shares his advice on how attendees can get the most out of their SXSW 2024 experience, and even how those not attending can still benefit from the cutting-edge technology content and creative programming of SXSW 2024. Get the early scoop from Hugh so you can make the most of SXSW 2024!

Episode 73 - Supercomputing - What is New in the Biggest, Fastest Computing for Science and Industry

Supercomputing, or high performance computing (HPC), is about building computers that can accurately and quickly solve big problems - climate and weather modeling, developing new drugs and materials, researching new energy solutions, designing new structures and vehicles, training new AI models, understanding the formation and evolution of stars and galaxies, and much more. Supercomputing also drives innovations that make their way into mainstream, everyday computing, giving everyone more capability and power. Join us for a review of the state of supercomputing after the annual international SC23 conference, as Mike Ignatowksi of AMD, Fernanda Foertter of Voltron Data, and John Lockman of Dell Technologies and the Austin Forum team talk with Jay Boisseau, executive director of the Austin Forum, about this year's highlights in supercomputing - and what may come next year!

Episode 72 - The Future of Infrastructure is Smart

Data analytics and AI are changing the way we work and live, and increasingly they will be embedded in the infrastructure around us, fueled by data from networked sensors. Bill Pugh, co-founder of Smart Connections Consulting, joins Austin Forum executive director to discuss smart infrastructure: how these technologies will improve power grids, buildings, roads and driving, and more!

Episode 71 - How Tech Can Reinvent Fashion

Samuel Alexander, CEO of C2C Fashion and Technology, shares with Austin Forum executive director Jay Boisseau how his innovative fashion company is using everything from AI, AR, and VR to new sustainable materials to create a new kind of fashion company.

Episode 70 - Are Large Language Models the Evolution of Information Organization?

Byron Reese, noted futurist, author, entrepreneur, speaker, and general all-around thought leader, joins the Austin Forum Upload again to talk with Austin Forum executive director Jay Boisseau about the evolution of organizing and encoding information. Starting with DNA being the first stage of information organization, then brains, followed by language, writing, and printing presses, then the Internet, the web, and search engines, Byron talks about how large language models (LLMs) are the latest stage in the evolution of encoding information and organizing it.

Episode 69 - The Challenges of Digital Privacy

Anastasia Uglova, founder of Agency and co-host of The Privacy Podcast, joins Austin Forum executive director Jay Boisseau to have a discussion about privacy, digital privacy, where we are and the challenges of ensuring privacy, and what everyone should be aware of about your privacy or lack thereof! They also talk about possible solutions, at least conceptually, and why these will be challenging to implement.

Episode 68 - The Many Benefits of Gender Diversity in Tech Innovation

Emily Gupton of Austin Women in Technology joins Austin forum executive director Jay Boisseau to talk about the lack of gender diversity in the tech sector, the many reasons, and why gender diversity is good not just for women but for companies and innovations. The conversation covers the many reasons for this gender imbalance, both historical and current, and discusses the current situation and how thins are changing (slowly). Most Importantly, Emily shares what tech companies -and professionals of all genders- can do better to help attract, retain, and promote women in tech.

Episode 67 - Hot Summer, Hot Technologies - And the Value of Community and Networking

Emily Gupton of Austin Women in Technology joins Austin forum executive director Jay Boisseau to talk about the lack of gender diversity in the tech sector, the many reasons, and why gender diversity is good not just for women but for companies and innovations. The conversation covers the many reasons for this gender imbalance, both historical and current, and discusses the current situation and how things are changing (slowly). Most Importantly, Emily shares what tech companies -and professionals of all genders- can do better to help attract, retain, and promote women in tech.

Episode 66 - Web 3.0: It’s Coming, It's Different, and Why You Should Care!

While the current World Wide Web is amazingly capable of the things we use it for, including now (in so-called Web 2.0) sharing content via social media and smartphones and other devices that update the web content in real-time, there are limitations and weaknesses. Web content lives only on specific servers, major web platforms are dominated by a small number of companies, there is limited ownership of one’s own data or event tracking of how it is used, and there is no mapping of the web to the physical world. However, change is coming in the form of Web 3.0: a new set of protocols that create a spatial web of things, enable distributed intelligence ("active inferencing") that enables more autonomy and better-augmented decisions, decentralizes control and shifts it to data owners, and much more. And yet, it does not break the current web but creates new capabilities that will enhance it to create a closer mapping of the physical and digital worlds and greater security and user ownership. Denise Holt, host of the Spatial Web AI podcast, discusses all this and more with the Austin Forum's Jay Boisseau and John Lockman!

Episode 65 - Quantum Computing: Weird, Transformational, and Coming Sooner than You Think!

Quantum computing is a very different kind of computing technology that leverages the seemingly weird (but proven) quantum mechanical properties of atomic and subatomic particles to create potential transformational performance. Quantum computers leverage principles called superposition and entanglement to represent many possible states at once, making them the ultimate parallel computers for certain types of problems that even very large 'classical' computers cannot solve in a reasonable time. There are many such problems in nature and business, and as quantum computers continue to grow in scale, connectivity, and reliability, new discoveries and innovations in chemistry and materials science, finance, climate, logistics, pharmaceutical design, machine learning, and more will be possible. And, our experts believe it's imminent-much sooner than you probably think! Listen in as Rima Alameddine, Chief Revenue Officer of IonQ, and Bob Sorensen, Chief Quantum Analyst at Hyperion Research, talk with Austin Forum Director Jay Boisseau about what quantum computing is, why it's so important, what needs to be done, and how soon they think quantum computing will be mainstream for several important types of problems.

Episode 64 - How Can Companies and Organizations Protect Against Cyberthreats?

Cyber threats are not only persistent but growing and evolving. As companies and organizations increasingly put their information, IP, and even raw data into network-attached storage systems the value of stealing these digital assets only increases, driving advances in cyberattack methods. Fortunately, cyber defenses are also evolving, but how can companies and organizations best protect themselves? Join us as David Ochel, an experienced cybersecurity professional, talks with Austin Forum director Jay Boisseau about the current threats, best practices, and future.

Episode 63 - Tech Trends for 2023 Mid-year Review

The Austin Forum on Technology has a big 'tech trends' event at the start of every year. The Vizias experts behind the Austin Forum team--Jay Boisseau, John Lockman, and Luke Wilson--discuss the changes to the tech trends we're seeing halfway through the year--what is new, what is surprising, what is being hyped, and what may be future tech trends but not yet. The conversation ranges from generative AI and AI risks to the pros and cons in the buzz around VR, the increasing hype in quantum computing, and even the resurgence of flip phones--and more! Join our team for this fun 'check-in' on the tech trends shaping our society in mid-2023!

Episode 62 - SXSW Sydney 2023: What Up Down Under, with Hugh Forrest

SXSW is a massive event - conference, festivals, performances, screenings, activations, and more - that share one common thing: creativity. While the creative culture of Austin TX has fueled the success and growth of the main SXSW events for decades, having a creative culture is not exclusive to Austin! SXSW is launching the first-ever SXSW Sydney in October 2023, benefitting from some similarities of Sydney to Austin but also some interesting differences that promise to result in a unique SXSW experience. Listen in as Hugh Forrest, Co-President and Chief Programming Officer of SXSW, talks with Jay Boisseau about SXSW Sydney: what will be similar, what will be new/different, and why it is important.

Episode 61 - Technology Companies and Diversity: Great for People, Companies, and Innovation

Michael Ward Jr, President and CEO of the Austin Urban Technology Movement (AUTMHQ), joins Austin Forum executive director Jay Boisseau to discuss the importance of diverse people and perspectives in technology. Michael’s AUTMHQ is a leader in developing and executing programs for a variety of age groups and experience levels, all designed to provide people in the Black and Hispanic communities with the expertise, resources, and opportunities needed to enter the tech workforce and thereby diversify and improve tech companies. Michael and Jay discuss the importance of providing opportunities and resources for persons in under-represented communities for a wide range of reasons with benefits for all.

Episode 60 - Understanding and Realizing the Value of AR/VR/Metaverse

Hrish Lotlikar, Co-founder and CEO of SuperWorld joins Austin Forum executive director Jay Boisseau to talk about immersive experiences, AR and VR, metaverses, and how the digital world can connect to, complement, and augment the physical world and our lives, experiences, and humanity. This interview will give you a better understanding of what is possible, why there have been some fits and starts, and most importantly why immersive experiences are valuable and inevitable!