Possible

Reid Hoffman
Possible

What if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Possible is an award-winning, weekly podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Hosts Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger explore what’s possible with forward-thinking leaders, deep thinkers, and ambitious builders across many fields, such as technology, art, education and healthcare. These conversations center on the ways technology—and, in particular, AI—is shaping the future. In episodes, AI tools such as OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Inflection’s Pi are at work, offering informational asides, prompting guests, or demoing what they can do. Lastly, between guest episodes, Aria interviews her co-host Reid on his latest takes on what’s possible if we use technology—and our collective effort—effectively.

  1. Alexis Ohanian on the future of online and offline communities

    1D AGO

    Alexis Ohanian on the future of online and offline communities

    How do we build products and platforms that support a healthy, prosperous future? What will it take to “make the internet fun again?” Should kids be using AI? This week, serial entrepreneur and investor Alexis Ohanian—who co-founded Reddit two decades ago and is currently working to reinvent the social news aggregator Digg—joins Reid and Aria to talk about (re)building online and offline communities in the age of AI. They hear from Alexis on his recent bid for U.S. TikTok, the startups and women’s sports ventures he’s backing through his VC firm Seven Seven Six, and his approach to raising AI-forward daughters with his wife, tennis legend Serena Williams.  For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/  Topics: 03:03 - Hellos and intros 03:24 - Being a “Daddy Caddy” for Olympia 04:36 - Inspiration behind 776 08:26 - Making the internet “fun” again 12:25 - Internet culture vs. the platform 17:49 - Bid for Tiktok 21:47 - AI and online communities 27:01 - AI in women’s sports 30:16 - Hardware vs. software 31:46 - Midroll 32:00 - Kids, parenting, and learning in the age of AI 34:55 - Physical products in a digital world 40:46 - Tech optimism  41:56 - Alexis’s collectibles 44:29 - Rapid-fire questions Select mentions: Seven Seven Six Teenage Engineering Art For Kids Hub Synthesis Tutor Monumental Labs Mantel Unreasonable Hospitality Possible is an award-winning podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Tune in for grounded and speculative takes on how technology—and, in particular, AI—is inspiring change and transforming the future. Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with an ambitious builder or deep thinker on a topic, from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Each episode seeks to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.

    54 min
  2. Reid riffs on PBCs, jobs and automation, and AI access for kids

    MAY 14

    Reid riffs on PBCs, jobs and automation, and AI access for kids

    Reid breaks down OpenAI’s shift to a public benefit corporation—what it really means, why it matters, and why some critics are missing the point. Aria asks whether all frontier AI companies should follow suit. Reid and Aria discuss how educators can navigate the “messy middle” of AI in the classroom. They also dig into the future of assessment, what students (and job seekers) should be learning now to prepare for an AI future, and whether AI-intensive fields are worth the bet. For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/  Select mentions:  Public Benefit Corporation Everyone Is Cheating Their Way Through College by James D. Walsh  Something Alarming Is Happening to the Job Market by Derek Thompson Shopify memo Duolingo memo  Ethan Mollick  Our Possible episode with Ethan Mollick Opportunity at Work

    19 min
  3. Jane Goodall on Hope, AI, and the Natural World

    MAY 7

    Jane Goodall on Hope, AI, and the Natural World

    What would it look like to keep all living creatures in the loop on the development of new technology? Reid sat down for a wide-ranging solo discussion with Jane Goodall on that very subject – and more. They talked about how to maintain hope and focus on local impact in today’s often chaotic world, how technology – and AI in particular – might be helpful for conservation, and Jane’s global youth program, Roots & Shoots. Plus, the Jane Goodall institute shared audio from a cutting edge acoustic array that helped them discover a brand new species in Gombe National Park in Tanzania! Jane reflected on her legacy and shared stories about bridging unlikely divides, defying the scientific community early in her career, young people opening their eyes to the natural world for the first time, and so much more. Thank you to the incredible team at the Jane Goodall Institute and WildMon (L. Pintea, B. Wallauer, K. Harmon, M. Campos, Gabriel Leite, Tomaz Melo, Guilherme Melo, D. A. Collins, D. C. Mjungu) that, with funding from Google, utilized an acoustic array to discover brand new species in Gombe National Park, Tanzania, including Thomas’s Dwarf Galago (Galagoides thomasi). For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/  Topics: 03:38 - Hellos and intros 03:45 - “Name that baby” game 05:34 - How Jane has used technology in her work 09:13 - Discovering a new species with an acoustic array 11:57 - How AI can help conservation 16:55 - AI as an animal translator 19:58 - Essential lesson for research 22:30 - Similarities between humans and chimpanzees 26:42 - Bridging divides between unlikely groups 30:32 - “We must either redefine man, redefine tool, or…” 32:20 - Government funding cut from Jane Goodall Institute 36:26 - Youth program Roots and Shoots 39:57 - How to maintain hope 42:53 - What we can learn from kids 44:33 - Global impact of the Roots and Shoots program 46:18 - Jane’s ideal AI tool 48:22 - Jane asks Reid: Can AI become sentient? 51:27 - AI’s impact on the brain 54:55 - Rapid-fire Questions Select mentions:  APOPO’s “Amazing Rats” | How It Works Regeneration by Paul Hawken TACARE Program Roots & Shoots Possible is an award-winning podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Tune in for grounded and speculative takes on how technology—and, in particular, AI—is inspiring change and transforming the future. Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with an ambitious builder or deep thinker on a topic, from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. Each episode seeks to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.

    59 min
  4. Reid riffs on antitrust, AI coworkers, and Chinese manufacturing

    APR 30

    Reid riffs on antitrust, AI coworkers, and Chinese manufacturing

    Reid weighs in on the U.S. government’s latest antitrust action against Google and what it could mean for competition, innovation, and America’s tech edge. Aria also asks about the rise of Chinese electric vehicles and why BYD might be “the Tesla of tomorrow;” the geopolitical costs of tariffs; and whether saying “please” and “thank you” to ChatGPT is worth it.   For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/

    22 min
  5. Derek Thompson on AI, abundance, and human progress

    APR 23

    Derek Thompson on AI, abundance, and human progress

    Why can the United States government help make a vaccine in a year but not build a high-speed train in a reasonable timeframe? What if our biggest problems—affordable housing shortages, energy limits, and scientific slowdowns—aren’t inevitable, but chosen? This week, Reid and Aria sit down with Derek Thompson—staff writer at The Atlantic and host of the podcast Plain English—to explore how a scarcity mindset is holding American society back. They cover how AI can revolutionize scientific discovery; what Operation Warp Speed got right; and why real progress depends on bold policy, not just better technology. Plus, Reid joins Derek in the hotseat for some “Too Much, Too Little, or Just Right?”—a game co-created with ChatGPT to discuss ideas in Derek’s new best-selling book, Abundance.  For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/  Select mentions:  Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson “The Anti-Social Century”  Every Cure co-founder Dr. David Fajgenbaum  Topics: 1:06 – Episode introduction 2:34 – What year would Derek choose to be born and why? 7:14 – What can AI do as a co-author that Ezra Klein can't, and what are Ezra's irreplaceable strengths? 9:08 – AI's impact on the future of work — what AI can and can't do — and what the enduring role of humans will be. 12:00 – The situation with current tariffs, and the potential fixes or silver linings. 14:28 – Operation Warp Speed and other examples of abundance in the U.S. and beyond. 19:39 – What specific government policies could effectively leverage AI to speed up the creation of abundance? 22:40 – Midroll 22:49 – Derek and Reid play a fun game based on Abundance: “Too much, too little, or just right?”  30:46 – What's needed to better incentivize scientific progress and foster innovation? 39:22 – How could society and our relationship with technology be reframed to combat the loneliness epidemic? 45:08 – Derek identifies specific policies that currently hinder abundance and suggests new ones that could promote it. 49:45 – Rapid-fire Questions Possible is an award-winning podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Tune in for grounded and speculative takes on how technology—and, in particular, AI—is inspiring change and transforming the future. Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with an ambitious builder or deep thinker on a topic, from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Each episode seeks to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.

    54 min
  6. Reid riffs on Tobi’s memo, AI and play, and the tweet that cost trillions

    APR 16

    Reid riffs on Tobi’s memo, AI and play, and the tweet that cost trillions

    After Tobi Lütke, the CEO of Shopify, put out a memo stating all his employees should be expected to use AI every day, Reid offers his thoughts on AI in the workplace. He also talks about the interplay between AI, social media, mis/disinformation, and the importance of shaping technology instead of restricting technology. Plus, Reid speculates on how AI can be just as groundbreaking in the world of play as it can be in the world of work.  For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/

    15 min
  7. Demis Hassabis on AI, game theory, multimodality, and the nature of creativity

    APR 9

    Demis Hassabis on AI, game theory, multimodality, and the nature of creativity

    How can AI help us understand and master deeply complex systems—from the game Go, which has 10 to the power 170 possible positions a player could pursue, or proteins, which, on average, can fold in 10 to the power 300 possible ways? This week, Reid and Aria are joined by Demis Hassabis. Demis is a British artificial intelligence researcher, co-founder, and CEO of the AI company, DeepMind. Under his leadership, DeepMind developed Alpha Go, the first AI to defeat a human world champion in Go and later created AlphaFold, which solved the 50-year-old protein folding problem. He's considered one of the most influential figures in AI. Demis, Reid, and Aria discuss game theory, medicine, multimodality, and the nature of innovation and creativity. For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/  Select mentions:  Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams AlphaGo documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXuK6gekU1Y Nash equilibrium & US mathematician John Forbes Nash Homo Ludens by Johan Huizinga Veo 2, an advanced, AI-powered video creation platform from Google DeepMind The Culture series by Iain Banks Hartmut Neven, German-American computer scientist Topics: 3:11 - Hellos and intros 5:20 - Brute force vs. self-learning systems 8:24 - How a learning approach helped develop new AI systems 11:29 - AlphaGo’s Move 37 16:16 - What will the next Move 37 be? 19:42 - What makes an AI that can play the video game StarCraft impressive 22:32 - The importance of the act of play 26:24 - Data and synthetic data 28:33 - Midroll ad 28:39 - Is it important to have AI embedded in the world? 33:44 - The trade-off between thinking time and output quality 36:03 - Computer languages designed for AI 40:22 - The future of multimodality  43:27 - AI and geographic diversity  48:24 - AlphaFold and the future of medicine 51:18 - Rapid-fire Questions Possible is an award-winning podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Tune in for grounded and speculative takes on how technology—and, in particular, AI—is inspiring change and transforming the future. Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with an ambitious builder or deep thinker on a topic, from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Each episode seeks to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.

    57 min
  8. Reid riffs on Signal, AI for cancer detection, and GPT-4o image generation

    APR 2

    Reid riffs on Signal, AI for cancer detection, and GPT-4o image generation

    In the wake of Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg’s accidental inclusion in senior government officials’ Signal group chat discussing war plans, Reid weighs in on how the U.S. government should—and shouldn’t—use encrypted messaging apps. He and Aria also discuss AI-powered breakthroughs in cancer detection and medical diagnostics, along with NVIDIA’s newly announced Superchip and OpenAI’s latest image generation capabilities.  For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/

    15 min
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Trailers

4.6
out of 5
108 Ratings

About

What if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Possible is an award-winning, weekly podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Hosts Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger explore what’s possible with forward-thinking leaders, deep thinkers, and ambitious builders across many fields, such as technology, art, education and healthcare. These conversations center on the ways technology—and, in particular, AI—is shaping the future. In episodes, AI tools such as OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Inflection’s Pi are at work, offering informational asides, prompting guests, or demoing what they can do. Lastly, between guest episodes, Aria interviews her co-host Reid on his latest takes on what’s possible if we use technology—and our collective effort—effectively.

Information

  • Creator
    Reid Hoffman
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    92
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Reid Hoffman 2023
  • Show Website
    Possible

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