Bill Doyle is executive chairman of Novocure, an Israeli company using an entirely new method to fight cancer: electric fields. Bill tells the story of the founder of Novocure, his unorthodox approach to problem-solving, and how he was able to commercialize a therapy that was considered voodoo science. He also discusses why the research grant process is broken and the FDA's challenge balancing progress with safety.
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.
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resources of Google, how corporates aren't focused on what society actually needs from AI, his proposal to revamp the outdated Turing test, and why programming a robot to understand "harm" is so difficult.
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 to Identify a Cat? 16,000
Scientific American (Marcus) - The Search for a New Test of Artificial Intelligence
NYTimes - For Sympathetic Ear, More Chinese Turn to Smartphone Program
Financial Times - Microsoft’s Tay back swearing on Twitter