#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.