Learn about the latest thinking for autonomous driving technology from Aurora CEO Chris Urmson, who led Google’s self-driving car program. This former Carnegie Mellon professor also tells us about his days with DARPA and shares predictions for 2020 and beyond. Listen to other Microsoft podcasts at aka.ms/microsoft/podcasts

To wrap up the year, we revisit podcast conversations with a few of the incredible thinkers and innovators who have been on the show. Topics range from the democratization of artificial intelligence, to the challenges of social media and the internet. You may also hear some surprising things these folks do in their free time when they’re not changing the course of tech history in some fascinating way.

If you’ve heard of the 10,000 Year Clock, you know Danny. He’s a computer scientist, who pioneered parallel computers and their use in artificial intelligence. Danny founded Thinking Machines Corporation, a parallel supercomputer manufacturer, and was a fellow at Walt Disney Imagineering.

danah is a partner researcher at Microsoft Research, and founder of Data & Society. Her work examines where technology and society intersect. Kevin and danah discuss the dangers of a “move fast and break things” culture. Today, her research focuses on reducing weaknesses in sociotechnical systems.

Neha is cofounder and CTO of Confluent, a company whose mission is to help other companies use Apache Kafka to adopt modern streaming infrastructure.   Check out our other shows about technology, visit: The Intrazone: https://aka.ms/TheIntrazone Sync Up, a OneDrive podcast: http://aka.ms/syncup

Sam started his first company at 19 – and has launched many more since then. From Y Combinator to OpenAI, his insights and determination spark inspiration. Hear Sam’s ideas about career motivation, and why he thinks the human brain may be replicable in silicon. 

Bill is one of Kevin’s engineering heroes. Listen as they talk careers, leadership and scaling teams – as well as a revolution in computer architecture and the resurgence of tech from the 70s, 80s and 90s. Find out what Bill, a partner at Sequoia Capital, says about tech trends to watch.

Fei-Fei Li is a professor at Stanford University and one of the world’s pioneering researchers in AI. Her work focuses on human-centered artificial intelligence. Hear her ideas about everything from visual intelligence to cognitive neuroscience.

From quantum mechanics and string theory to monkey brains and electrophysiology mapping, Surya’s take on AI may surprise you. Can we guide AI so it’s good for the world? This researcher is taking his cues from biology.

Author, angel investor and entrepreneur Reid Hoffman talks about starting and scaling massively valuable companies, hyper-competition, and the secrets of blitzscaling. Hear from Reid about the challenges to watch out for and the keys to success.

This scientist, musician and author is best known for his work in Virtual Reality, and his advocacy of humanism and sustainable economics in a digital context. His 1980’s startup, VPL Research, created the first commercial Virtual Reality products - introducing avatars, multi-person virtual world experiences and prototypes of major VR applications. Hear why he is worried the present Internet may be destroying societies, democracies and economies.

Mixed Reality innovator paints a picture for us about a big shift happening today. Learn how this cutting edge tech is evolving from novelty entertainment to an integral part of our daily lives.

Find out how a man who grew up on a sheep ranch in Argentina ended up a serial entrepreneur who many credit with bringing Bitcoin to Silicon Valley. Wences Casares explains why he believes in cryptocurrency – and how it might help solve some of today’s challenges in the world. Don’t miss this episode!

Science meets art. Danielle Feinberg, director of photography for lighting at Pixar Animation Studios wins Academy Awards by blending computer science with art – creating magical moments. Hear about how she shows the world, especially young women, the beauty of what math, science, code and art can create in the world.

In this episode of Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott, we’ll hear from Judy Estrin, whose distinguished career in the technology industry includes work as an executive, engineer, and serial entrepreneur. Besides serving on the boards at Disney and FedEx, she is former CTO of Cisco. Judy was one of the key figures in the development of the Internet, working with Vint Cerf on the initial TCP-project at Stanford. Tune in to find out to whom and what she attributes her success – it might surprise you!

Is AI the new “electricity”? Find out what one of the most influential leaders in Artificial Intelligence and deep learning has to say about our future.  Behind the Tech’s Kevin Scott talks with Andrew Ng about the Google Brain project, Coursera, Baidu and Ng’s most recent project, deeplearning.ai. You won’t want to miss this episode!