Refik Anadol, an internationally renowned media artist and director, joins Behind the Tech to discuss his journey from a childhood fascination with computers in Istanbul to becoming a pioneer in the aesthetics of data and machine intelligence. In this episode, Refik shares his early inspirations—including his first encounter with a Commodore computer and the impact of science fiction on his imagination—and discusses how his work explores the intersection of art and technology.  Kevin and...

Ben Laude, a concert pianist and music educator, joins Behind the Tech to discuss his journey from a suburban childhood in Austin, Texas to becoming a world-renowned classical pianist and YouTube creator. Ben shares his early inspirations—including his father's dabbling in piano and his own private obsession with classical music that began in high school—and discusses the importance of having a good teacher and the role of the early Internet in fueling his passion for piano.  In this...

Sal Khan, founder and CEO of Khan Academy, joins Behind the Tech to discuss his journey from a curious child fascinated by science and technology to a global leader in education innovation. Sal shares his early inspirations that led him to pursue a career in engineering and a degree at MIT, and outlines his lifelong passion for education rooted in the belief that all students have the potential to excel in subjects like math and science with the right tools and encouragement.  In this...

Ethan Mollick is an associate professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches innovation and entrepreneurship. His research focuses on the impact of AI on work and education, and he has published numerous papers and a New York Times-bestselling book on AI, "Co-Intelligence." Ethan is also behind the popular Substack ”One Useful Thing,” which explores the implications of AI for work, education, and life.  In this episode, Kevin and Ethan discuss Ethan’s...

Mike Volpi is a longtime venture capitalist who joined Index Ventures in 2009 to establish the firm's San Francisco office and North American operations. Prior, he was Chief Strategy Officer at Cisco, overseeing a run of acquisitions still studied today as a model for technology merger strategy. Mike invests primarily in artificial intelligence, infrastructure, and open-source companies, and currently serves on the boards of multiple companies including Aurora, ClickHouse, Cockroach Labs,...

In 2023, after departing his role as CTO of Facebook, Mike Schroepfer launched the climate venture capital investment firm Gigascale Capital with the goal of building climate tech companies. Working alongside co-founders Victoria Beasley and Evaline Tsai, Gigascale’s investments are today driving advancements in clean energy, biotech and computing. In this episode, Kevin and Mike discuss Mike’s early childhood and how he got interested in the study of computer science, career experiences in...

Xyla Foxlin is an engineer and YouTuber with a passion for making things dating back to her early childhood love of art and creative exploration. What began as a way to entertain herself with whatever materials she could find blossomed into a career as a content creator and maker, showcasing her skills crafting everything from a rocket to a sailboat. In this episode, Xyla and Kevin discuss the challenges she’s faced in the maker space, overcoming imposter syndrome, and the work she’s done to...

As Chair and CEO of AMD, Lisa Su leads the transformation of the strategy and product execution of one of the fastest growing semiconductor companies in the world. She’s the recipient of numerous awards, and a recent appointee to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. In this episode, she discusses her upbringing as the daughter of a mathematician, her early interest in engineering and figuring out how things work, and why she thinks this is the most exciting time in...

As 2023 comes to an end, we take a look back at some of the year’s most compelling, thought-provoking conversations with guests like Bill Gates, Neil deGrasse Tyson, OpenAI’s Mira Murati, Shopify’s Tobi Lutke, will.i.am, Sci-fi author Adrian Tchaikovsky, and many more. The year’s programs featured a wide range of topics including equity in tech, advocating for science and, of course, the transformative power of AI.   Kevin Scott  Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott  Discover and listen to...

Helion is building the world’s first fusion power plant, and co-founder and CEO David Kirtley is on a mission to improve access to clean energy for a better future. We’re inspired by the work that they’re doing—in fact, Microsoft recently announced that Helion is going to provide the company fusion power starting in 2028. In this episode, Kevin and David discuss David’s early childhood and how he got interested in science, how he got into the field of fusion, his current role at Helion and...

William A. Adams is a software engineer, DEI innovator, and philanthropist whose contributions to the field have been documented by the Computer History Museum. He spent more than 20 years at Microsoft, where he rolled out critical XML code globally, co-founded the Leap program, and served as Kevin’s first technical advisor. In this episode, Kevin and William discuss how William got interested in STEM at a young age, founding a software development company in the 80s, his career at Microsoft...

Kevin Roose is a technology columnist for The New York Times covering technology innovation, including AI. He’s also the author of three books: his latest, Futureproof, is a “guide to surviving the technological future,” including nine rules to help people more confidently navigate a machine-filled world. In this episode, Roose discusses how he developed an interest in technology at a young age, how he became a journalist and an author (and how technology has impacted both industries), what...

will.i.am is most well-known as the founder and lead member of the Black Eyed Peas. Simultaneously, he is also an entrepreneur and Founder & CEO of FYI.AI, a Web 3.0 AI messenger, where he spends a lot of his time investing in software and operating systems incorporating AI, natural language understanding, and voice computing. In this episode, Kevin and will.i.am discuss his upbringing and how he got interested in technology, his optimism around AI and where it’s going (especially in...

Mira Murati is one of the most innovative tech leaders of our time. She has helped to scale OpenAI to the company it is today and lead teams to build innovative technologies and products including ChatGPT, DALL-E, and GPT-4. In this episode, Kevin and Mira discuss how she became interested in the sciences and technology, her innate sense of curiosity which led her to a career in artificial intelligence, and how OpenAI is deploying their technology responsibly for developers and consumers.   ...

Neil deGrasse Tyson is one of America’s best-known astrophysicists and a huge advocate for the sciences and scientific thinking. Neil has a great talent for presenting complex concepts in a clear and accessible manner, a critical aspect of his role as an educator and director of the Hayden Planetarium. In this episode, Kevin talks with Neil about his interest in the sciences and innate curiosity, how he stays up to date in pop culture, topics he explores in his book Starry Messenger, and so...

Adrian Tchaikovsky is an award-winning science fiction and fantasy writer and probably one of our favorite authors right now. He is best known for his series Shadows of the Apt and Children of Time. In this episode, Kevin talks with Adrian about his upbringing and how he got interested in science fiction, his unique storytelling abilities, and how current AI technology such as ChatGPT will impact the future of sci-fi novels.   Adrian Tchaikovsky  Kevin Scott   Behind the Tech with Kevin...

Today, we have a special guest joining us on the podcast—Bill Gates. With the rapidly evolving AI landscape, including the release of products like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and the new Bing, it was the perfect time to have Bill join to talk about this unique moment in the history of computing. In this episode, Kevin talks with Bill about the latest in AI research, including the release of GPT-4, how past technology revolutions have led us to where we are today, how AI is evolving his philanthropic...

Empathy and emotions are at the center of how we connect and communicate as humans—in fact, 93 percent of how we communicate is accomplished through non-verbal means. Emotion AI (a subset of AI that measures, understands, simulates and reacts to human emotions) pioneer Rana el Kaliouby is on a mission to bring more emotional intelligence to the digital world. In this episode, Kevin talks with Rana about her upbringing and how she got into tech, her experience and challenges co-founding...

Tobi Lütke, CEO and founder of the Canadian multinational e-commerce platform Shopify, is always looking for the tools he can use to build a better company. Since his early days running an online snowboard shop from his carport, Tobi has envisioned himself as fundamentally a craftsman first and a business exec second, a mindset that he has used to solve a wide variety of problems over the course of his career. In this episode, he joins Kevin to talk about applying computer science and...

As 2022 winds down, we revisit some of the year’s most inspirational and fascinating conversations with makers, engineers, award-winning sci-fi authors, and tech leaders—discussing topics ranging from building diversity into the ways we do work, to what the metaverse looks like now and far into the future, to imagining robots that know what you need before you do.  Kevin Scott  Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott  Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.  

XKCD is one of our favorite webcomics - and it started out as doodles in Randall Munroe's college notebooks. Munroe describes his work as “a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.” In this episode, he joins Kevin to talk about how he got started, where his inspiration comes from and his latest book, What If? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions. Find out why a surprising number of cartoonists are physicists by training, explore the joy of...

Have you ever wondered who was behind the creation of Google Docs? Kevin talks with Sam Schillace, one of the people who launched the transformational – and at the time controversial – idea 16 years ago. Today, Sam is an engineering Corporate VP focusing on consumer product culture and next generation productivity who stresses the importance of asking “What if?” questions. Kevin and Sam talk career advice, the fact that there’s always tension in high functioning teams and why we’re on the...

This 31-year old YouTube phenom constantly pushes the envelope with her unique inventions – from her Every Day Calendar or a screwdriver ring to the world’s ‘worst’ jigsaw puzzle. Kevin talks with Simone about how she gets the inspiration to make the things she creates, as well as challenges she faces as a product manufacturer. Learn about her future plans in this exciting episode.  Simone Giertz on YouTube  Yetch Store  Kevin Scott  Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott  ...

Producing a blockbuster video game like Halo can be even more complex, creative, - and costly - than making a major motion picture. Kevin talks with Phil Spencer, a 34-year veteran of Microsoft, about video games as an art form, and how critical feedback is to game design. Phil shares some of his favorite games, describes the first program he ever wrote and even divulges his gamer tag! Kevin Scott  Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott  Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.