Flux

Natalya Bailey is co-founder and CEO of Accion Systems, an MIT spin-out commercializing miniature propulsion systems for satellites that enable them to maneuver in space.    Natalya reveals why legacy manufacturers are unable to build these non-traditional engines, how she's handled the jump from academia to business, and what she's learned from Bill Swanson of Raytheon about managing a team. She also discusses how the Apollo mission helped push computing forward, her interest in aliens and why space exploration is critical for our survival.   Full episode transcript on Medium. This episode was produced by Allison Behringer.

Gary Marcus, best-selling author and NYU professor, has spent decades studying how children learn and is a known critic of deep learning. Gary was the founder and CEO of Geometric Intelligence, which uses insights from cognitive psychology to build better AI systems. Gary discusses why we still have a long way to go to get to Strong AI and why his sparse data approach is so valuable. We also get into the challenges for AI startups competing with the resources of Google, how corporates aren't focused on what society actually needs from AI, his proposal to revamp the outdated Turing test, and why programming a robot to understand "harm" is so difficult.  Full episode transcript on Medium. This episode was produced by Allison Behringer. Referenced Links: TEDxCERN (Marcus) - Why toddlers are smarter than computers The New Yorker (Marcus) - IS “DEEP LEARNING” A REVOLUTION IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE? The Verge - Driver in fatal Tesla Autopilot crash had seven seconds to take action NYTimes - How Many Computers t

Sophia Dominguez is co-founder and CEO of SVRF, a company making VR content discoverable. Sophia discusses how consumers are scared of the term "virtual reality", why nausea is critical in search rankings, how Snapchat will help bridge the gap to AR, and why Facebook's VR privacy policy is alarming. Sophia also reveals the challenges of being a woman in the industry, why building a company in New York is a better reality check than building in the Silicon Valley bubble, why VR zombies are a great alternative to coffee, and why VR art is amazing. 

Paul Dabrowski is co-founder and CEO of Synthego, a company building a platform of tools for scientists. Paul discusses why CRISPR is much more precise than other gene editing techniques, how China has been pushing ethical boundaries, what it's like building a company with your brother, and how his time at SpaceX shaped the way he thinks.

  Balaji Srinivasan is CEO of 21, a company building the machine payable web. Balaji discusses how his software enables you to earn bitcoin for doing tasks on your phone, why ranking inbound email by most recent first is inefficient, how China's special economic zones had such an impact, why preserving your personal runway is so important, and how Silicon Valley is an exporter of innovation culture.

Peter Platzer is co-founder and CEO of Spire, a company building one of the fastest growing satellite constellations. Peter discusses how his tiny satellites will deliver dramatically better weather forecasting, why private companies are getting into space, how he deals with the risk of rockets blowing up and why he considers himself a citizen of Planet Earth. We'd love to hear from you! Email us at fluxpodcast@gmail.com or message us on our Facebook page FluxFeed. Follow us on Twitter and Medium under the handle @thefluxpodcast

Gabi Lewis is co-founder of Brooklyn-based Exo, a startup that makes cricket powder protein bars. Gabi talks about ordering 2,000 live crickets to his university housing, what they've learned from sushi's rise in America, and how they're marketing their insects. We'd love to hear from you! Email us at fluxpodcast@gmail.com or message us on our Facebook page FluxFeed. Follow us on Twitter and Medium under the handle @thefluxpodcast

Matt Rendall is co-founder and CEO of Clearpath Robotics, a Canadian company automating dull, dirty and dangerous tasks. Clearpath manufactures and operates vehicles for warehouses and distribution centers – they are the self-driving car for indoor industrial tasks. Matt talks about how he made the jump from academia to business, Robotics as a Service, what automation means for jobs in the U.S., and his open letter against “killer robots.” We'd love to hear from you! Email us at fluxpodcast@gmail.com, or message us on our Facebook page FluxFeed. Follow us on Twitter and Medium under the handle @thefluxpodcast

Philip Rosedale is the founder and CEO of High Fidelity, a company providing the building blocks for virtual worlds. Phillip discusses how Virtual Reality parallels the early Web, what he learned from building the virtual civilization Second Life, what it means to move from 2D to 3D browsing, the importance of trustworthy digital identities and whether we are all in a simulation.

Micah Winkelspecht, founder and CEO of Gem, on how he fell down the bitcoin rabbit hole, how the crypto community has evolved, why our healthcare system is so dysfunctional, and why blockchain is the best solution.  

Welcome to Flux, a podcast about the people building the future.