Should This Exist?
By WaitWhat
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Description
It's the question of our times: How is technology impacting our humanity? "Should This Exist?" invites the creators of radical new technologies to set aside their business plan, and think through the human side: What is the invention’s greatest promise? And what could possibly go wrong? Show host Caterina Fake (Partner, Yes VC; Cofounder Flickr) is a celebrated tech pioneer and one of Silicon Valley’s most eloquent commentators on technology and the human condition. Joined by a roster of all-star expert guests who have a knack for looking around corners, Caterina drops listeners into the minds of today’s ingenious entrepreneurs and guides them through the journey of foreseeing what their technology might do to us, and for us. Should This Exist? is a WaitWhat original series in partnership with Quartz.
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CleanAffectiva: Software that detects how you feel | What if your computer had an "emotion chip" — AI that could read the expression on your face (or the tone in your voice) and know how you’re feeling? Could online courses teach you better if they knew when you were bored or confused? Could your car help you stay awake if you drift off when driving? These are the questions Rana El-Kaliouby asked when she built an AI tool that examines every micro-muscle in the human face to detect universal emotions — happiness, fear, grief, disgust. Through her company Affectiva, Rana wants to make technology more human, which she believes will serve us better. But if put the wrong hands, could this emotion-reading engine take advantage of us at our most vulnerable moments? Could our inner thoughts be displayed publicly if we don’t want them to be? How might advertisers exploit us if they are able to read our facial expressions? To help us see around corners — we’re joined by special guests including Esther Perel (Relationship expert; host of podcast “Where Should We Begin?”), Joy Buolamwini (Founder, Algorithmic Justice League); Sam Altman (Chairman Y Combinator, Cofounder Open AI); Greg Brockman (Cofounder, Open AI); and Joi Ito (Director, MIT Media Lab). | 3/13/2019 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWoebot: A virtual therapist powered by AI | Woebot is a mobile app that gives one-on-one therapy and gets 2 million messages a week. But Woebot isn't a person – it's a chatbot. It was invented and developed by psychologist Alison Darcy and it uses AI to guide users through a session, anytime, anywhere. Darcy hopes that Woebot will help break down the stigma of therapy and help provide services to communities with a lack of mental health resources. But what happens when we remove the human therapist from therapy? Host Caterina Fake, Woebot founder and CEO Alison Darcy, and experts Esther Perel, Baratunde Thurston, and Kevin Delaney debate the possibilities. | 2/26/2019 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHalo: A headset that makes you learn faster | Neuroscientist Daniel Chao created a headset that hacks your brain with electricity so you can learn as fast as a kid again. It’s called Halo, and it helps you learn motor skills faster. Athletes use it; musicians too. But we’re not far from a future when Halo could help anyone master anything. Where will that take us? Host Caterina Fake leads the journey, joined by Comedian Baratunde Thurston and Quartz Editor in Chief Kevin Delaney, who help Daniel future-cast, and see his invention through the future best for humanity. | 2/20/2019 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanLaunching Feb. 21: Should This Exist? | In the trailer for Should This Exist?, you’ll get a sneak peek (err, listen!) into the first episodes: a wearable that hacks your brain with electric fields so you can learn like a kid again; an AI-driven tool that translates between human and animal languages; a fully automated chatbot that offers one-on-one therapy; and more. Premiering February 21, 2019. | 1/21/2019 | Free | View in iTunes |
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Customer Reviews
Great Podcast with a Refreshing Approach to Discussing New Technologies
I listened to the Halo episode and loved it! I thoroughly enjoyed the point of view - not the usual narrow focus but rather a much more holistic viewpoint. Catarina asks a wide range of questions exploring the technology, it’s impact on humanity, ethical issues, and more. This episode definitely looked “around the corners” to deliver an informative and entertaining podcast with a different (and refreshing) twist on looking at innovative technologies.
Should this podcast exist? 100 times YES!
An ethical question the tech community should be asking more often! So excited about this podcast and the interesting conversations! Couldn't have picked a better host! I look forward to each episode and love the guest stars (Baratunde, Esther Perell.) I wish more people in tech cared more about the consequences of the technologies they are building!
The question of our time!
Finally, a voice that puts technology’s effects on humanity front and center! After a decade-long love affair with Silicon Valley, we’re coming to grips with the other side of the tech coin: a climate warming faster than our best experts predicted; autocracies using our algorithms to turn their countries into AI-powered panopticons; trolls exploiting the openness of our social platforms; children struggling with depression and robots automating what used to be reliable, well-paying manufacturing jobs; and underneath all this a dramatic increase in wealth inequality that leaves millions hopelessly far from access to the American dream, but steeping in an enormous supply of weapons and opioids. This show could not be more timely! The new generation of innovators knows it faces truly hard problems. This is a show for them.
