#11: Cade Metz, The New York Times: Genius Makers

In this week's episode, show host Paul Roetzer sits down with Cade
Metz, technology correspondent for The New York Times, and author
of the book Genius Makers: The Mavericks Who Brought AI to Google,
Facebook and the World. This special episode took place during
MAICON 2021 when Paul and Cade sat down for a fireside chat to
discuss the story of AI throughout the past few decades. Cade's
book, published in 2021, gives readers an insider’s look at the
mavericks leading the race for AI supremacy. Genius Makers
dramatically presents the fierce conflict between national
interests, shareholder value, the pursuit of scientific knowledge,
and the very human concerns about privacy, security, bias, and
prejudice. Like a great Victorian novel, this world of eccentric,
brilliant, often unimaginably yet suddenly wealthy characters draws
you into the most profound moral questions we can ask. And like a
great mystery, it presents the story and facts that lead to a core,
vital question: How far will we let it go?  As one of Paul's
opening lines of the interview, "[Genius Makers] literally just
changed my perspective on the significance of what's happening,"
this episode dives into greater detail into some important moments
in the book.