The Big Tech Ticket

One of the most obvious and ongoing effects of the pandemic comes in the office environment. As knowledge workers around the world have gotten used to working remotely, and as the pandemic continues to pose uncertainty for their companies, what the workplace might look like in 2022 and the decade beyond is still in flux. Ashok Krish, global head of digital workplace at Tata Consultancy Services, joins the Big Tech Ticket to talk about these changes, including what might or might not be here to stay, and the side effects of this changing environment. Topics Covered 0:45 minute mark – The inflection point for the office 5:30 – Effect on the workweek 7:00 – The old and new rituals around work 12:00 – How to stay flexible in a changing work world 17:30 – Building work community in a hybrid model 22:00 – Adjustments to onboard new employees 25:00 – The acceleration of our global distributed model and the changing balance of power 29:30 – Company winners from this hybrid environment

Healthcare is a sector that has obviously been in the spotlight for the length of this pandemic. As the world has coped with the threat from COVID-19, the sector has been forced to adjust and accelerate its future. Where does that leave us in what we hope is the back stages of the pandemic, and afterwards? On this summer episode of the Big Tech Ticket, James Rogers interviews Dr. Shantanu Nundy, MD, who among other things is the author of Care After Covid, a book analyzing the problems that emerged from the pandemic and the potential opportunities. He talks about the "three Ds" in the future of healthcare, the importance of connecting data across a wider-spread healthcare delivery model, and the challenges of the digital divide. Topics Covered 0:30 minute mark - The acceleration towards remote healthcare 2:00 – The three Ds – distributed, digitally enhanced, and decentralized 4:00 – The role of technology in the COVID vaccination push 6:00 – Connecting all the data as healthcare gets distributed 8:00 – Growth areas in healthcare 12:00 – How does healthcare address the digital divide? 15:00 – Looking back to past healthcare crises for examples of progress 17:30 – Working in resourced-strained environments

We've discussed the ongoing challenges the technology sector will face in the months and years to come, in terms of regulation, reputation, competition, and more. Often, our and the wider media's lens is on the U.S. front, and how changes in U.S. federal or state policy might affect U.S. companies, and how they might react. As this week's guest, Anupam Chander, reminds us, these tech companies are global giants. Which means their company-wide decisions and regulatory context is also global. In today's episode, he talks about that global context for tech companies, the inevitability that internet usage and globalization is going to expand, and how last year's Tik Tok / U.S. government kerfuffle highlights a risk from poorly thought government action. Topics Covered 1:00 minute mark – The shape of the legal battlefield ahead for big tech and for new tech firms 4:30 – The dot com era parallel for start-up creation 6:45 – “Online” as a part of everything 8:15 – The irreversible nature of our modern internet dependence 10:30 – How the global nature of big tech firms affects their decision making 13:30 – The inevitability of increased globalization in services 18:00 – Tech hubs of the future 21:00 – The effect on consumers and the Tik Tok example 25:30 – The Biden administration’s stance, and the key issues that came out with Tik Tok’s saga

Among the many regulatory fronts facing tech is the question over Section 230 and the liability tech companies should face (or not) for the content hosted on their platform. The statute is 25 years old and coming under fire from all sides. Eric Goldman, associate dean for research and professor at Santa Clara University school of law, and this week's guest, makes the case that this is just one front in a broader battle to regulate and destroy the internet as we know it. He makes the case for why Section 230 is the right framework as well as the least-worst option to the problem of "legal but awful" content, and lays out his concerns for the direction of our current political discussion. Topics Covered 0:40 minute mark – Section 230 background 3:15 – Is Section 230 still appropriate, and how it got caught up in the ‘techlash’ 7:30 – Is content moderation up to the task 10:30 – The balance between competitive fairness and regulation 14:00 – The bipartisan nature of the pressure on tech 16:00 – The looming Quibi-fication of the internet 21:30 – Section 230’s powerful framework and why it hasn’t failed 25:00 – The least-worst option, and returning to the ‘lawful but awful’ challenge 28:45 – Is online behavior/amplification worse than offline behavior? 32:30 – A prognosis for the regulatory landscape

Private space companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic have symbolized a new buzz in the space exploration world. That momentum is fueled by governments around the world as well, and it may bring people not only back to the moon but, in next couple decades, to Mars. To understand this moment, the challenges, the opportunities, and the roles of the different players, James Rogers speaks with Chris Carberry, CEO and co-founder of Explore Mars. He explains where the revival in space interest comes from and how the moon trip can set us up for a successful exploration of Mars. Topics Covered :45 minute mark - Background on Explore Mars 2:00 – The Artemis program 4:30 – The opportunity and challenge for private companies involved in the program 7:30 – The looming 2024 deadline for returning to the moon 9:15 – The Gateway’s role in the moon mission 11:30 – The build-up to Apollo 11 vs. the current environment 14:00 – How NASA might think through the budgeting and what constraints there may be 17:30 – The public private partnership model and how wide innovation will need to go 23:00 – The types of opportunities to innovate for Mars and how they might carry over to Earth 27:00 – The length of Mars missions 30:00 – What type of person will be selected to go to Mars 32:00 – The momentum around space exploration 35:00 – Alcohol in Space

The pandemic globally has been a time of hardship and tragedy. It's also been a time of radical change, as people around the world have had to adapt to new ways of working and living. As we begin to emerge on the other side of that acute time, we return to a 'new normal', with many of the accelerating changes from the pandemic here to stay. Daniel Burrus, a leading futurist and best-selling author on technology disruption, speaks with The Big Tech Ticket about where this period leaves our society vis a vis newer technologies. This episode features a survey of leading technologies to assess where adoption is, as well as Burrus's approach to thinking about adoption and what it means for us all. Topics Covered 1:00 minute mark – Soft trends vs. hard trends and the need for opportunity 5:00 – The multifaceted 5g outlook 8:30 – Thinking through the opportunity for 5g and technological development generally 12:00 – The role of the pandemic in our pace of innovation 17:00 – The future of the blockchain 20:00 – Balancing the usage of AI with respect to disinformation challenges 24:00 – What to watch for around AR/VR 26:45 – The privacy dilemma around AR 28:30 – How AI and humans work together 32:00 – Things to watch for, and the importance of anticipation 34:30 – The future of work

While the ongoing pandemic and government spending bills have grabbed a large share of the 2021 headlines, the  movement to regulate monopolies and strengthen antitrust action is continuing to grow. Tech remains the sector with the most antitrust attention, as Apple's recent trial with Epic Games illustrates. The question is, are we actually reaching a turning point, or is this still just talk? To get at the answer, James Rogers speaks with Krista Brown of the American Economic Liberties Project about the state of our economy and the concentration of economic power among increasingly few companies, and what might or might not change that situation. Topics Covered 0:30 minute mark – Background on the American Economic Liberties Project 1:30 – Why Big Tech is a focus, and what the Apple / Epic Games trial tells us 4:30 – Is this punishing success, and the changing views on antitrust 7:00 – How might the Apple / Epic Games trial play out? 8:30 – Whether it’s time to redefine and update monopoly and antitrust in regulation 11:00 – Are we seeing a turning tide from the federal government towards antitrust enforcement? 14:30 – How tech represents itself vs. reality 16:00 – How close are we to real change? 19:00 – What might catalyze a consumer opinion shift 21:00 – The limited options facing small business competitors and consumers 23:00 – How widespread the industry concentration issue goes, and how it stifles innovation

The semiconductor shortage has caused snarl in a number of sectors, from automotives to tech to appliances, and stands in for wider supply chain issues as the world starts to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. While the current focus is on how this might affect inflation and the reopening economy, it also may be an opportunity for key players in our economy to rethink how supply chains should be set up. On the newest episode of The Big Tech Ticket, James Rogers speaks with Bindiya Vakil, CEO of Resilinc, a supply chain management and monitoring firm. They talk about how we got into the current back-up, how long it might take to unlock, what the risks are in addressing the situation, and how those risks could give way to opportunities with the right focus. Topics Covered 0:30 minute mark – The background for the current demand outlook in semiconductors 3:00 – What’s making it so acute now? 4:30 – The complexity on the supply side 6:30 – Time horizon for when this gets resolved, and the risks 8:00 – The risk of overbuilding in reaction 10:00 – The risks the shortage poses to the pace of innovation…and the opportunity 12:00 – What is the U.S.’s next move in this area, and how to involve the region 15:30 – The lack of a magic key to unlock all of the supply chain bottlenecks 17:30 – The time to focus on supply continuity 20:15 – Final outlook for solving these issues

Artificial intelligence (AI) already plays a significant role in citizens' lives, and the United States has a clear leadership role in developing the capabilities and applications for AI. As the software gets more salient and visible, the question is whether the U.S. can maintain that leadership. Gilman Louie, co-founder and partner of VC firm Alsop Louie and commissioner on the National Security Commission On Artifical Intelligence, joins The Big Tech Ticket to discuss the commission's recent report on the need for a national strategy in the US, and what that would entail. The discussion touches on how AI is more than a software issue, how big the stakes are for leadership over AI usage, what history can tell us about ways to collaborate with global rivals, and how video games can help individuals close the knowledge gap around AI. Topics Covered :30 minute mark - Direction of AI competition between US and China 4:00 – What steps should the US take 5:45 – Will everybody be onboard to develop a strategy? 8:30 – Reconsidering supply chains with respect to AI 10:00 – How can the government help business play a role in this strategy 11:30 – The stakes around AI development 15:30 – Nuclear détente and its example for setting AI standards 17:00 – Distinguishing between the U.S. system and authoritarian ones 20:30 – Value of AI – discovery functions 22:45 – The AI knowledge gap and getting “AI ready” 25:00 – Video games as a way to close the knowledge gap 29:00 - The Tetris Story Read the NSCAI report here: https://www.nscai.gov/2021-final-report/  

Facebook's power as a publishing platform extending across multiple products and billions of users has long become self-evident. The nature of that power, and Facebook's efforts to maintain their position while acknowledging that power, comes into the spotlight today. With news due this morning on the Oversight Board's decision, the inaugural episode of The Big Tech Ticket breaks down what would have gone into the decision for the board, and what it means for users and investors. Host James Rogers speaks with Jason Mollica, professor of communications at American University, about the pending decision and the repercussions of all of this. Topics Covered 1:00 minute mark - The background on the Facebook Oversight Board’s pending decision 5:30 – What is the board considering? 8:00 – The board’s independence and the stakes of this decision 12:15 – The impact on users 16:30 – How might this affect Facebook’s business as a brand-safe platform? 20:00 – The global political impact of this decision 23:00 – Knock-on effect to other platforms like Twitter 26:00 – What would Trump’s play be in a social media network 32:00 – Facebook’s resiliency 36:30 – The legacy of Trump’s social media use

The technology sector’s rise in relevance, utility, and power in our lives and the international landscape has been increasingly self-evident over the 21st century. The past decade saw once-charming upstarts become behemoths who drew scrutiny from a wide range of critics. And the COVID-19 pandemic has only grown the sector’s salience and our dependence on their products, heightening the contradictory position. As we emerge from that pandemic with the rising awareness of this dependence, there are tons of questions about what happens next, which our new show, The Big Tech Ticket will address. The Big Tech Ticket will explore headline issues in the world of technology to understand what’s behind the stories and what matters for the broader economy and the world. Hosted by veteran journalist James Rogers, the show will feature a weekly interview experts and decision makers in the wider technology industry. The podcast will run for an inaugural 8-episode season, beginning May 5th and then appearing regularly on Wednesdays.