Tech'ed Up

Archer Aviation Founder and CEO, Adam Goldstein, joins Niki in the studio to talk about why, after years of flying cars being science fiction, the eVTOL industry is taking off now, how coordination with the FAA is critical to American dominance in the industry, and what the future of travel looks like. He lays out a future in which flying cars will be as accessible as automobiles. “...talent and capital are the two advantages that the US has that nowhere else in the world has.” -Adam Goldstein TwittervideoArcherwww.techedup.comInstagramYouTubeLinkedIn

Philanthropist and author of ‘Our Biggest Fight’, Frank McCourt sits down with Niki in the studio to lay out his vision for a decentralized internet. He shares why Project Liberty is focused on personhood online instead of data privacy, why a digital bill of rights is not the answer, and shares his optimism for technologists’ ability to build a better digital future. “Let's re-decentralize the Internet so that we put people back in charge.” - Frank McCourt LinkedInhereProject Libertywww.techedup.comInstagramYouTubeLinkedIn

Corporate Counsel at Google, Kat Mauler, sits down with Niki in the Tech’ed Up studio to talk about what’s moving fast in tech news. They break down big legislative moves in Congress with the expansion of FISA Section 702 adding extra surveillance remit to the US government, the TikTok divestiture bill dominating the headlines - and why it’s not a ban, and critique the moves of the new Boston Dynamics Atlas robot. “I had really thought that one of the most enduring takeaways from our last administration and the presidency would be a distrust for executive power. To see an expansion of executive power is really interesting in this moment. ” - Kat Mauler LinkedIn BloombergNYT Atlas Robotwww.techedup.comInstagramYouTubeLinkedIn

The CEO and Founder of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, Imran Ahmed, joins Niki in the studio to talk about what his recent win against Elon Musk means for the proliferation of hate speech online. He and Niki debate who has moral responsibility for online hate but both agree the current climate is untenable. “CCDH advocates a market regulatory solution to a market regulatory failure.” -Imran Ahmed TwitterCCDHwww.techedup.comInstagramYouTubeLinkedIn

Corporate Counsel at Google, Kat Mauler, joins Niki for a D.C. insider take on the latest tech headlines. They talk AI’s insatiable appetite for data and the landmark bipartisan data privacy bill making waves this week. Added bonus, zombie attacks in the Terms & Conditions and the sad trombone sounds of Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” tech. “You always want tech to move ahead of regulators. If tech moved at the speed of government, we would be much less competitive.” - Kat Mauler LinkedIn The Verge WaPowww.techedup.comInstagramYouTubeLinkedIn

SVP of Marketing and Public Affairs at Uber, Jill Hazelbaker, shares lessons learned from her career at the comms helm of John McCain’s presidential campaign, to jumping in head-first at Google, to what keeps her engaged and energized at Uber. “...most companies get a honeymoon period, and you would be very wise to use it to think about those arguments and think about your allies…” -Jill Hazelbaker LinkedInUber NewsroomThe Lab Schoolwww.techedup.comInstagramYouTubeLinkedIn

Founder and CEO of the Chamber of Progress, Adam Kovacevich, joins Niki for a rapid-fire take on the latest tech headlines. They dive into the latest Big Tech anti-trust litigation and have a candid talk about childhood in the smartphone era. “Apple hasn't done anything in the U.S. differently than in Europe. So it's peculiarly American that we've ended up in this situation.” - Adam Kovacevich Chamber of ProgressNY TimesThe AtlanticLinkedIn www.techedup.comInstagramYouTubeLinkedIn

Head of Strategy at The Future US, Evan Burfield, joins Niki with an update on how hacking the regulatory environment for start-ups has changed over the last few years. They take a deep dive into minerals and bioeconomy tech, talk human brain interfaces, and how building coalitions is essential to being strategic in approaching Washington. “The Department of Defense can be an incredibly useful partner to a wide range of startups.” -Evan Burfield LinkedInThe Future USRegulatory Hackingwww.techedup.comInstagramYouTubeLinkedIn

Founder and CEO of the Chamber of Progress, Adam Kovacevich, joins Niki for a rapid-fire take on the latest tech headlines. They talk about TikTok’s headache in Washington, Europe’s misguided Digital Markets Act, and the state of play in Congress. “Even if this bill founders this year, the issue doesn't go away, right? That's the thing. The issue never goes away. There's no path really for TikTok to be a successful app in this country long-term and still be owned by ByteDance.” - Adam Kovacevich Chamber of ProgressBBCITIFLinkedIn www.techedup.comInstagramYoutubeLinkedInwww.techedup.comInstagramYouTubeLinkedIn

Puck reporter Teddy Schleifer pulls back the curtain on tech billionaires and political contributions. He and Niki look into the money and influence wielded by Silicon Valley titans over the presidential campaign. They talk about effective altruists, the “red-pilling” of Silicon Valley, and why tech donations to third-party candidates will continue to make things interesting this election season. “We write about these donor advisors not because it's necessarily the juiciest stuff in the world, but [because] I think it tells you that this person is going to be spending 10 million plus a cycle.” -Teddy Schleifer TwitterPuckNewsletterwww.techedup.comInstagramYouTubeLinkedIn

Steer PR partner Lauren Tomlinson joins Niki for the second installment of Beyond the Buzz, the bi-weekly series of Tech’ed Up that digs into the comms, tech, and DC news creating headlines. They talk “Spamoflauge”, Gemini, and Chat GPT. BLUF newsletterForbesWashington PostNY TimesLinkedIn www.techedup.comInstagramYouTubeLinkedIn

Head of Global Communications and Marketing at DeepMind, Dex Hunter-Torricke, joins Niki in the studio to inject some optimism and hope into the doom n’ gloom AI conversations dominating the airwaves. He highlights exponentially innovative developments at the Google subsidiary like AlhpaFold, scientific discoveries of new crystals and minerals, and AI-improved weather forecasting - all of which feeds his optimism for the future of tech. “AI is just opening up such extraordinary new possibilities for us in this century. So, I think it's actually hard, once you understand where the technology is going, not to be an optimist.” -Dex Hunter-Torricke TED talkLinkedIn Podcastwww.techedup.comInstagramYouTubeLinkedIn

Steer PR partner Lauren Tomlinson joins Niki for the first installment of Beyond the Buzz, the bi-weekly series of Tech’ed Up that digs into the comms, tech, and DC news creating headlines. They swap hot takes on “jargon monoxide” when it comes to corporate layoffs, the new space race for AI-augmented satellite surveillance, and the Swifties’ impact on Super Bowl advertising. “...people are talking about [faster data processing in space] in the national security community a ton because obviously, that intelligence will be invaluable, but it's just as applicable across tech.” -Lauren Tomlinson BLUF newsletterFortuneForeign AffairsSuperbowl AdsLinkedIn www.techedup.comInstagramYouTubeLinkedIn

Spotify’s Head of Content Partnerships, Jordan Newman, joins Niki remotely to celebrate Tech’ed Up going weekly and to share podcasting tips and tricks. This episode is a great listen for anyone who has thought they might want to join the ever-growing community of podcasters. Jordan also offers his take on what he thinks the impact of AI will be on the industry. “...podcasting is one of the few mediums that we have left that is really focused on long-form versus short-form.” -Jordan Newman LinkedInVideosInstagramwww.techedup.comInstagramYouTubeLinkedIn

DC-based AI policy and governance expert, Chloe Autio, joins Niki in the studio to break down the state of play in Washington for AI regulations this year. They explore AI’s PR challenge, talk about the awkward optics of recent Congressional briefings, and Chloe explains why the term “artificial intelligence” conceals more than it reveals. “It really should be more about not whether or not AI is going to take your job, but whether or not someone who uses and knows how to use AI will replace your job.” - Chloe Autio classLinkedIn www.techedup.comInstagramYouTubeLinkedIn

What’s happening on the frontlines of tech? Tune in to Tech'ed Up for zippy conversations about emerging technology hosted by industry veteran Niki Christoff. From the C-Suite and Capitol Hill to AI and crypto, quantum computing to the decentralized internet, Niki breaks down the trends in tech to help savvy listeners get even smarter. Guests include experts, enthusiasts, regulators, policymakers, CEOs, and reporters. Listen here or anywhere you get your podcasts to learn more from Niki and guests like SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, SeedAI Founder & President Austin Carson, Bloomberg podcast host & NY Times best-selling author Ashlee Vance, and Stellar Foundation CEO Denelle Dixon. New episodes premiere bi-weekly on Thursdays. Subscribe for the latest episode on YouTube, follow on Instagram, or listen on your podcast app of choice. www.techedup.comInstagramYouTubeLinkedIn

Managing Director at Rock Creek Global Advisors, Matt Swinehart, joins Niki in the studio to talk fintech and the future fate of the USD. Matt previews why alternatives to the US Dollar will be a hot topic globally in 2024, how the Libra project still impacts the way regulators are thinking about crypto, and shares his take on why the EU approaches tech regulation differently than the US. Niki shares her take on Bitcoin and what might have been and Matt forecasts the state of play for regulation with AI in fintech. “There is no world, I think, in which crypto will ever be dead. Even when it comes to things like unbacked crypto, there is such momentum in the market that the goal of regulators is not to reduce that activity to zero.” - Matt Swinehart Follow Matt on LinkedIn Learn more about Rock Creek Global Advisors www.techedup.comInstagramYouTubeLinkedIn

Meghan Joyce, Co-Founder and CEO of AI startup Duckbill, joins Niki in the latest installment of our Profiles in Tech Series. She shares insights from her unconventional career path from the Treasury Department to raising venture capital for an early-stage Boston tech company with stops along the way at Bain Capital, Uber, and Oscar Healthcare. Niki and Meghan share their optimism for the incredible opportunities AI offers both businesses and consumers. “What's so exciting as an entrepreneur in this space is the playing field is still wide open. It's not clear what the winning business model is going to be, where the clearest product market fit is, and that creates enormous potential. And I wouldn't be surprised if we see some many cycles of boom and bust here and a transformation of how we all think about AI.” -Meghan Joyce LinkedInDuckbill freewww.techedup.comInstagramYouTubeLinkedIn

Bruce Mehlman, founder of Mehlman Consulting, a bi-partisan lobbying juggernaut in Washington, DC, joins Niki in the studio to share his thoughts on 2023 and tech. They have a spirited conversation about politics, progress, and the state of play for tech regulation that touches on AI, tech’s impact on polling, and social media. “AI's existence doesn't mean, okay, now we're all going to settle all those old hard things…it's not endemic to some kind of Washington dysfunction that we haven't solved it. It's that hard things are hard.” -Bruce Mehlman XinfographicsStratechery www.techedup.comInstagramYouTubeLinkedIn

Assistant Director of the CIA for the Transnational and Technology Mission Center, Sheetal Patel, joins Niki in the studio to talk about how important tech is to their mission, partnerships with the private sector, and why they are actively recruiting technologists. This episode looks back at technology that the CIA helped bring to our everyday lives and looks forward to the impact of AI. “The global strategic competition in emerging technology is actually occurring in the private sector. And so, for us, for CIA in particular, but I would say for my intelligence community colleagues as well, working with the private sector has never been so important.” -Sheetal Patel LinkedInCIAwww.techedup.comInstagramYouTubeLinkedIn