The AI in Business Podcast

Dan Bacher is a Senior Research and Development Engineer at Brown University. He is also the Founder of the Speak Your Mind Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization that emerged out of the BrainGate lab at Brown University and Massachusetts General Hospital. In this interview, Dan speaks about the synthesis of electrical engineering and neuroscience, which ultimately led to the creation of Brown's BrainGate Group & the Speak Your Mind Foundation. Bacher discusses the future of assistive technologies & the new technologies that BrainGate is currently developing. For More Information, Visit the HUB of Startups / Business in Emerging Technology. From Robotic Limbs to Getting Angel Investment, from Biotech to Intellectual Property: http://www.TechEmergence.com Interested in the Future of Humanity and the Ramifications of Emerging Tech? Sentient Potential Covers the Ethical Considerations and Future Projections at the Crossroads of Technology and Consciousness: http://www.SentientPotential.com

Josh Maher started off in Microsoft, and since has become engaged in nearly every level of the startup ecosystem in Seattle. His blog at www.JoshMaher.com covers his musings in investing, networking, and more. Now he runs TechCafe (a startup networking event), and is involved in a number of other events in the Seattle startup scene. In this interview, Josh talks about the way HE likes to be approached by founders (as an investor himself), and goes into detail about WHERE and HOW to meet investors, and a few simple "no-no"s of contacting networkers (maybe you've done a few of these yourself). For More Information, Visit the HUB of Startups / Business in Emerging Technology. From Robotic Limbs to Getting Angel Investment, from Biotech to Intellectual Property: http://www.TechEmergence.com Interested in the Future of Humanity and the Ramifications of Emerging Tech? Sentient Potential Covers the Ethical Considerations and Future Projections at the Crossroads of Technology and Consciousness: http://www.SentientPotential.com

Anyone awarded 30 honorary degrees is likely to be enough of an expert to have on the podcast here at TechEmergence. Dr. Susan Greenfield of Oxford University is not only one of the world's best known psychologists, she's also a member of England's House of Lords. In 2000 she was elected to an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians and in 2007 to an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. She was appointed Chancellor of Heriot Watt University in 2005. She is the author Outspoken about many issues related to emerging technology, this in this interview, we hone in on her thoughts on the ammeliorative and potentially post-human potential of drugs and brain-machine interfaces. For More Information, Visit the HUB of Startups / Business in Emerging Technology. From Robotic Limbs to Getting Angel Investment, from Biotech to Intellectual Property: http://www.TechEmergence.com Interested in the Future of Humanity and the Ramifications of Emerging Tech? Sentient Potential Covers the Ethical Considerations and Future Projections at the Crossroads of Technology and Consciousness: http://www.SentientPotential.com

Emerson Spartz is a middle school dropout. Not because he was forced to work on a family farm, or because he moved to a foreign country, but because he wanted to homeschool himself - and his parents permitted the transition. In addition, the 12-year old was already in business and didn't want to wait any longer. In 2009, the 22-year-old Spartz founded Spartz Media, creator of - among dozens of other successful websites - www.OMG-Facts.com, which by itself receives 30 pageviews per month. Virality became Emerson's focus, and his company of content creators and data scientists continue to pump out successful site after successful site, all based on psychological and empirical notions of "virality." In this episode, Emerson goes through a number of quick and immediately useful tips for any startup or organization looking to add "virality" into their marketing efforts. For More Information, Visit the HUB of Startups / Business in Emerging Technology. From Robotic Limbs to Getting Angel Investment, from Biotech to Intellectual Property: http://www.TechEmergence.com Interested in the Future of Humanity and the Ramifications of Emerging Tech? Sentient Potential Covers the Ethical Considerations and Future Projections at the Crossroads of Technology and Consciousness: http://www.SentientPotential.com

In this episode, my business partner Edmond Lowell hosts an "Investor's Perspective" interview with Emerging Markets investor Dean van Drasek. For More Information, Visit the HUB of Startups / Business in Emerging Technology. From Robotic Limbs to Getting Angel Investment, from Biotech to Intellectual Property: http://www.TechEmergence.com Interested in the Future of Humanity and the Ramifications of Emerging Tech? Sentient Potential Covers the Ethical Considerations and Future Projections at the Crossroads of Technology and Consciousness: http://www.SentientPotential.com

Why does raising money from family sometimes make Angel investors believe even more in a startup founder? How do Angel "funds" and independent Angel groups differ in their dynamics for funding startups? In this episode, get the investor perspective with Sammy Abdullah from the Dallas Angel Network. For More Information, Visit the HUB of Startups / Business in Emerging Technology. From Robotic Limbs to Getting Angel Investment, from Biotech to Intellectual Property: http://www.TechEmergence.com Interested in the Future of Humanity and the Ramifications of Emerging Tech? Sentient Potential Covers the Ethical Considerations and Future Projections at the Crossroads of Technology and Consciousness: http://www.SentientPotential.com

Dr. Jessica Richman is a character, but a brilliant one at that. This Oxford / Stanford educated scientist is working on getting the world of citizen scientists united to crack the code of the human microbiome - the countless "bugs" that live on an inside us - in order to determine their relevance for our health. In this interview she talks about her unique startup story with uBiome, and the entrepreneurial opportunities in the new world of genetic data. For More Information, Visit the HUB of Startups / Business in Emerging Technology. From Robotic Limbs to Getting Angel Investment, from Biotech to Intellectual Property: http://www.TechEmergence.com Interested in the Future of Humanity and the Ramifications of Emerging Tech? Sentient Potential Covers the Ethical Considerations and Future Projections at the Crossroads of Technology and Consciousness: http://www.SentientPotential.com

Bob Lamkin is a veteran of the sales and marketing world. Having held a number of high positions (currently with Marketing Advocate Inc.) and authoring his own book on sales, he's now managing director for Bay Angels in Boston, MA. In this interview Bob talks with me about some common sales pitfalls of startup companies - and how you can avoid them. For More Information, Visit the HUB of Startups / Business in Emerging Technology. From Robotic Limbs to Getting Angel Investment, from Biotech to Intellectual Property: http://www.TechEmergence.com Interested in the Future of Humanity and the Ramifications of Emerging Tech? Sentient Potential Covers the Ethical Considerations and Future Projections at the Crossroads of Technology and Consciousness: http://www.SentientPotential.com

Paul Silva started as an entrepreneur with a crazy idea: "What if we could create video games for blind people?" As you can imagine, getting the attention of investors wasn't easy, but despite a limited market and an admittedly off-the-wall concept, Paul made it work, and swiftly got involved in the limited (but earnest) startup scene of Western Massachusetts. He now runs a maker space (ClickSpace), manages a mentorship group for new startups and startup investors (Valley Venture Mentors), and continues to keep the plates spinning to get all aspects of his area's startup ecosystem flourishing. In this interview, Paul shares some insights on what startup founders and startup teams can do to get access to capitol and expertise within their ecosystem, as well as the lesser-known ways of tapping into the expertise already around them. For More Information, Visit the HUB of Startups / Business in Emerging Technology. From Robotic Limbs to Getting Angel Investment, from Biotech to Intellectual Property: http://www.TechEmergence.com Interested in the Future of Humanity and the Ramifications of Emerging Tech? Sentient Potential Covers the Ethical Considerations and Future Projections at the Crossroads of Technology and Consciousness: http://www.SentientPotential.com

Dayakar went from entrepreneurship to the VC world, and hasn't lost a bit of his enthusiasm for finding opportunities for an agile, ambitious team. In this interview, he talks to us at TechEmergence about his ideas of how startups can make a big opportunity with the current state of big data (and some successful case studies to boot). For More Information, Visit the HUB of Startups / Business in Emerging Technology. From Robotic Limbs to Getting Angel Investment, from Biotech to Intellectual Property: http://www.TechEmergence.com Interested in the Future of Humanity and the Ramifications of Emerging Tech? Sentient Potential Covers the Ethical Considerations and Future Projections at the Crossroads of Technology and Consciousness: http://www.SentientPotential.com

Dr. Charles Sidman recieved his Masters and then PhD in Harvard in Immunology - and made the transition from tenured professor to seasoned investor. Charles takes his insights in the "process of discovery" in research to be a more rational investor, and in this episode, he shares some useful advice about how startup founders might tweak their presentation for different groups or investors. For More Information, Visit the HUB of Startups / Business in Emerging Technology. From Robotic Limbs to Getting Angel Investment, from Biotech to Intellectual Property: http://www.TechEmergence.com Interested in the Future of Humanity and the Ramifications of Emerging Tech? Sentient Potential Covers the Ethical Considerations and Future Projections at the Crossroads of Technology and Consciousness: http://www.SentientPotential.com

A task doesn't need to be completed by a robot perfectly suited for that task. Instead, it can be completed by a team of robots with a mission, and an ability to learn. This notion could change the course of development in robotics - from lunar exploration to excavation. By programming different teams of robots with different sensors access and different "libraries" of behavior patterns, ASU's Dr. Jekan Thanga is able to "evolve" the proper set of inputs and behaviors that make a team complete a complex job right. How might this apply to the future of clean energy? Tune into this week's podcast to find out. For More Information, Visit the HUB of Startups / Business in Emerging Technology. From Robotic Limbs to Getting Angel Investment, from Biotech to Intellectual Property: http://www.TechEmergence.com Interested in the Future of Humanity and the Ramifications of Emerging Tech? Sentient Potential Covers the Ethical Considerations and Future Projections at the Crossroads of Technology and Consciousness: http://www.SentientPotential.com

When most people comment on robots having feelings, they're talking about emotional intelligence. Eduardo Torres-Jara is talking about the sense of touch. As he explains, touch is an often neglected robotic "sense," and it's a sense that we as humans are more likely to take for granted than sight or sound. Why does touch make for safer robots in the factory, or robotcs better able to walk upright? Find out in this week's podcast. For More Information, Visit the HUB of Startups / Business in Emerging Technology. From Robotic Limbs to Getting Angel Investment, from Biotech to Intellectual Property: www.TechEmergence.com Interested in the Future of Humanity and the Ramifications of Emerging Tech? Sentient Potential Covers the Ethical Considerations and Future Projections at the Crossroads of Technology and Consciousness: www.SentientPotential.com

John build business number 1, then sold it (landscaping company). He then got his MBA, and built business number 2, then sold it (engineering / manufacturing company). His focus then shifted to investing, where John actively invests with the other members of Cherry Stone Angle group in Rhode Island. In this interview, John covers the essential preparation steps that entrepreneurs should make before stepping up the angel investors, as well as some of the pitfalls he's seem some startups fall into when it comes to presenting / pitching their idea to investors. This interview will be of interest to anyone who wants to understand an investor's point of view - particularly from the standpoint of angel investments. For More Information, Visit the HUB of Startups / Business in Emerging Technology. From Robotic Limbs to Getting Angel Investment, from Biotech to Intellectual Property: www.TechEmergence.com Interested in the Future of Humanity and the Ramifications of Emerging Tech? Sentient Potential Covers the Ethical Considerations and Future Projections at the Crossroads of Technology and Consciousness: www.SentientPotential.com

With a burning desire to combine his passions for digital fabrication, biology and computer science, Charles Fracchia came to MIT and Harvard eager to learn. Going to "bio to bits" (gleaning meaningful information from biological data) is something that Charles had never had an opportunity to do at such a high level, and he had high expectations. "I thought: Oh, surely, I'm coming to these awesome labs here in Boston… I'm sure I'll come in and have an awesome dashboard to work with, like the movie Iron Man. I'll have my cell growth rate here, heart rate here… you know… something fantastic."As it turns out, the technology some of the best labs are using to extract data from biology has – at least in some respects – stayed the safe for half a century. Charles was shocked "Then I'd get this blank look like… well… here's your notebook and your timer." [ Listen to the Entire Episode ] For More Information, Visit the HUB of Startups / Business in Emerging Technology. From Robotic Limbs to Getting Angel Investment, from Biotech to Intellectual Property: www.TechEmergence.com Interested in the Future of Humanity and the Ramifications of Emerging Tech? Sentient Potential Covers the Ethical Considerations and Future Projections at the Crossroads of Technology and Consciousness: www.SentientPotential.com

Sagie Davidovich has founded and served as CTO for a number of startups in the technology field, including the semantic web. Now, Sagie's focus has shifted with his new company SparkBeyond - to the future of software. Namely, it's increasing adaptability to entirely new levels of modification and evolution. Sagie discusses his own work in developing "Liquidware," and the forces at play today in the evolution of software. More Information, Visit the HUB of Startups / Business in Emerging Technology. From Robotic Limbs to Getting Angel Investment, from Biotech to Intellectual Property: www.TechEmergence.com Interested in the Future of Humanity and the Ramifications of Emerging Tech? Sentient Potential Covers the Ethical Considerations and Future Projections at the Crossroads of Technology and Consciousness: www.SentientPotential.com

Neil Patel co-founder of KISSmetrics, CrazyEgg, and HelloBar - and has for years toured the country speaking on web marketing and web business. Many people know him from his massively popular blog "QuickSprout" (www.quicksprout.com), or from his many appearances at major web and web business events. In this episode, I pick Neil's brain with regards to some common questions around founding a fast-growing company, and bringing fresh talent onboard. For more interviews and insights on the crossroads of Emerging Technology, Investment and Entrepreneurship, visit: www.TechEmergence.com

Ari Popper is a renown consultant and businessman in the technology domain. Also an avid writer - Ari's present business venture at SciFutures involves crafting a story and positive, flourishing future trajectory for companies. His other company, A2O Technologies, uses emerging technology (like augmented reality [AR] and 3-D printing) to bring those visions to life. Learn more online at: www.Sentientpotential.com www.Techemergence.com

Peter Voss started a technology company as a young man and brought it to the Johannesburg stock exchange, and sold it. Financially independent, Peter explored research in artificial intelligence, and then came back into business ten years later with his company "Adaptive Artificial Intelligence." In our interview, we discuss the applications / ramifications of AI in business, as well as Peter's beliefs as to how genuine exploration of general intelligence is in many ways negated by commercial interest. For more interviews: www.SentientPotential.com www.TechEmergence.com

Dr. Thomas Ray spent years studying life in the rainforest after earning his PhD in Biology from Harvard. Years later - fascinated with evolution and the idea of replicating the evolutionary process, he founded the Tierra project - one of the first successful research projects to replicate evolutionary adaptation in a digital environment. In our interview here, we discuss Dr. Ray's views on the potential impossibility of a man-machine merger, or of machines housing consciousness. In addition, we talk about the very real possibility of biological enhancement, and Dr. Ray's concerns about how we might already be "losing our humanity." For more, visit: SentientPotential.com

Klint Finley has written for a vast number of technology media sources, including TechCrunch - and his present job with WIRED. One of his most popular topics is "Big Data," and in this interview we break down this buzz-word into an understanding of it's meaning and it's implications (including potentially unexpected ways it's being leveraged today). For the full interview and article visit: SentientPotential.com

Dr. Helgi Helgason points out the the field of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) has really only been around since 2008, but that at last there is an interdisciplinary effort to attain a level of general intelligence in machines. In our interview we talk about his research, the most promising applications of AGI, and potential issues with the development of the field today. Full interview online now at: SentientPotential.com

Dr. Robin Hanson is a recognized thought leader in the ramifications of emerging technology on economics and society. Being a featured speaker at the Singularity Summit, a research advisor for the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, and a prolific writer on the topic of existential risk and emerging technology. In this interview, we cover the trouble of honestly looking at future topics, and how current "future" issues are often just sensationalized versions or present concerns. Dr. Hanson says "Few people are ACTUALLY focused on the ACTUAL future." How can we improve, innovate, and collaborate despite this? Listen in. For additional insights from this interview, visit: http://sentientpotential.com/dr-robin-hanson-on-the-difficulty-of-making-progress-towards-beneficial-future/

Aubrey de Grey is possibly the most well-known proponent of the anti-aging movement. His work at the SENS foundation has been pivotal in bringing attention and legitimate scientific gusto to the problem of eliminating aging as a cause of death and detriment. What does he think about "death as a good thing," or about the progress made thus far on curing aging? Tune into the intereview here.

Dr. Ben Goertzel is widely recognized as the father of Artificial General Intelligence - or the study of super-human artificial intelligence that is not limited to a certain subject, activity, or domain. Through his leadership this "AGI" field has taken shape, and his leadership at the OpenCog Foundation continues to be a driving force in the progress towards human-level intelligence in machines. In this interview we discuss the status and future of AI, as well as some of Ben's own predictions and projects. For more information, check out www.TechEmergence.com or see the full interview article online at: http://sentientpotential.com/ben-goertzel-interview-humans-not-the-sharpest-pencil-in-the-pack/

As far back as Homer's Illiad (and beyond), man has written about creating autonata to do the tasks we don't want to do. Generally, this is the dull, the dirty, and the dangerous work that no human would want to do. Interestingly, in most - if not all - of the historical examples of robot and android servants, they turn against their creators and lead to their downfall. Coincidence? Is this an engrained fear in the human psyche, beyond the effects of culture? Dr. Kevin LaGrandeur "wrote the book" on the history of our thinking about android servants, and sheds some fascinating light on how these historical perspective may influence and even define our perspectives on robots and androids today. Tune in!

What's up with the Japanese and all their robots? What makes the Japanese perspective on robotics and technology so much different than out own here in America? Reno has spent over a dozen years in Japan, and continues to be a prolific writer and contributor in the domains of transhumanism, emerging technology, technology and social change, and robotics. In this interview we delve into the social and religious ideals that may account for the Japanese appraoch and emphasis in technology, as well as the future of emerging technology in general. How do the ideals of Shintoism play a part in the development of Androids? Tune into this episode to find out.

How does the development of video games relate to AI's increasing role in our lives? How can games provide us with insight for applications everywhere? Jeff Orkin is a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from MIT, and co-founder of GiantOtter, a technology company built around Jeff's own work at MIT - where he took the data from real people playing "roles" in video games, and used that data (rather than some pre-programmed notions or ideas of his own) to create virtual "characters" to interact with. In this interview we talk about the future of Jeff's own innovations, as well as the progression and proliferation of artificial intelligence itself.

Massimiliano is CEO of Neurala, a Boston-based Robotics Startup company whose mission is to develop autonomy in machines. In this interview, we talk about the founding of the Startup team, Massimiliano's advice to keeping a diverse team cohesive, and his predictions for the ramifications of robotics and "telepresence" in society and work. Some notable quotes: "People will drive to work less often, and 'beam' to work more often," "People will not do dull tasks, they will be robot managers." Needless to say, it gets interesting.

Karl F. MacDorman received his PhD in Machine Learning from Cambridge University, and went on to teach at Osaka University - where he worked with some of the world's top roboticists. His research and writings are widely published, and his past experience as a CTO of two different venture companies gives him an even wider scope of the applications and implications of emerging technology. Here we discuss the potential of moving beyond human potential.

Jim Karkanias is a Partner in Applied Research and Technology at Microsoft. His formal training is in the domain of information systems, and he's now working with a team at Microsoft (Health Solutions Group) in the area of genetic technologies. His perspective on the seeming inevitability of human enhancement involves Positivism in medicine, and taking biology / genetics from a "black box" to a "white box" situation (understanding the real functions and mechanisms of what makes us tick).

Tim Stevens is Editor in Chief at Engadget, and he's one of the first people outside of Google to wear Google Glass. In this podcast, Tim talks about his experience with "Glass" (as it is often called), in addition to some potential visions of future augmentation, and the natural extensions of technologies like Glass. We then explore potential possiblities and concerns of Virtual Reality, Personal Security, and the reasons behind the spread of technology use.