GeekWire

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy made it clear in a recent internal meeting that he wants employees to "disagree and commit" to the company's policy of working three days in the office, and find somewhere else to work if it doesn't work for them. We discuss the news in our first segment this week, and ponder why Amazon seems to be getting a bigger backlash than other big companies implementing similar policies. In our second segment, we consider new changes in the MLB automated ball/strike system for Triple-A games, as an update to Seattle Mariners CEO John Stanton's comments in a recent interview with our GeekWire colleague Taylor Soper. And finally, we give a sneak preview of the upcoming GeekWire Summit, scheduled for Oct. 19 at the iconic Seattle movie theater formerly known as the Cinerama.  With GeekWire co-founders John Cook and Todd Bishop. Edited and produced by Curt Milton. Theme music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week’s GeekWire Podcast, we're featuring an episode of Shift AI, a podcast hosted by Boaz Ashkenazy, CEO of AI solutions provider Simply Augmented, with guest Matt McIlwain of Seattle-based venture capital firm Madrona Venture Group.  A thriving tech hub requires access to ideas, people, and experiments that produce collective lessons sooner and with greater fidelity than anywhere else. This is what made the Seattle area the cloud capital of the world. It also positions the region as one of the world’s top centers of excellence for artificial intelligence. That’s one of the insights from Matt McIlwain, managing director at Madrona Venture Group, on this episode of Shift AI, a show that explores what it takes to thrive and adapt to the changing workplace in the digital age of remote work and AI. We discuss Matt’s background and experience building companies and advising founders, and get his take on the future of AI. Subscribe to ShiftAI and hear more episodes at ShiftAIPodcast.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How can startups differentiate themselves in the new era of AI? We've been discussing that question a lot recently on the GeekWire Podcast, and on this episode, we'll get a first-hand look from business and technology veteran Pete Christothoulou, who has been immersed in this world for many years. Christothoulou is the former CEO of Marchex, the call and conversational analytics company, who is now founder and CEO of Xembly, a Seattle-based startup developing AI-powered technology that replicates a chief of staff and executive assistant, automating tasks such as meeting notes, scheduling, and action items. Xembly was founded in Madrona Venture Labs nearly three years ago, long before the current mania over large language models. The company has raised $20 million from major venture capital firms and angel investors. It employs about 45 people, with customers including Salesforce, Qualtrics, and Twilio, among others. We talk about the rapid developments in AI over the past year, and take a close look at Xembly as a case study for insights into how startups can differentiate themselves in this new era of AI. In the final segment, we consider the big-picture implications of AI in the current deluge of information and the quest for meaningful productivity. Related links and resources An executive assistant for every worker: Startup’s AI takes meeting notes, follows up on email, and more Seattle startup Xembly raises $15M for AI ‘chief of staff’ that automates tedious conversational tasks Microsoft’s optimistic view of AI sees technology ending the drudgery of ‘digital debt’ What Happened to All of Science’s Big Breakthroughs? (New York Times) Papers and patents are becoming less disruptive over time (Nature) A Decline in Scientific Innovation? (Science)  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How can baseball embrace technology and new traditions while honoring its legacy and listening to its fans? Those were the questions at the heart of the Seattle Mariners CEO's conversation this week with Taylor Soper, at the GeekWire Rooftop BBQ and Mariners Day at the First Mode headquarters in Seattle.  Stanton brings his experience as a longtime business and tech leader to his role with the Mariners. He also chairs Major League Baseball's competition committee, the group leading some of the biggest changes in the history of the sport, including the pitch clock that has dramatically shortened game times this year. He spoke with Taylor in the midst of a Mariners' winning streak that has since been extended to eight games with a 9-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday. An early McCaw Cellular executive and founding partner at Bellevue, Wash.-based venture firm Trilogy Equity Partners, Stanton was CEO of Western Wireless and VoiceStream, the predecessor to T-Mobile USA, and also served as chairman of broadcast communications provider Clearwire.  Listen for highlights from Stanton's remarks in the second segment, and read an extended writeup with more of his comments on GeekWire. In the first segment, GeekWire co-founders John Cook and Todd Bishop revisit a recent conversation with Brinc CEO Blake Resnick based on John's sighting of the company's technology during an armed standoff in his neighborhood this week.  In the final segment, John and Todd offer their thoughts on Stanton's remarks, Todd rants about an annoying tradition carried on by Seattle Mariners fans in the stands during a pivotal moment in a game this week, and they discuss Todd's idea to use technology to help fans keep more engaged with the action on the field. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we look at how Amazon is positioning itself in the emerging era of generative artificial intelligence. We play and assess clips of Amazon CEO Andy Jassy explaining the company's AI strategy on its earnings call this week. We also discuss the history of AI usage by startups, and consider advice from investors and startup leaders at Seattle Tech Week for emerging tech companies looking to stand out with their own AI applications and solutions. And finally, we reconsider our approach to interacting with machines and contemplate the possibility of artificial intelligence reflecting not just the worst but the best of humanity. Related links and headlines Amazon’s online store sales dip below 40% of net sales for first time, and other earnings notes Leaked email shows Amazon formed a new group to work on the 'most ambitious' AI models How Seattle startups are ‘supercharging’ internal operations with AI Why Using a Polite Tone with AI Matters See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Blake Resnick built a fusion reactor in his garage at age 14, and interned at McLaren Automotive, Tesla, and DJI, before dropping out of Northwestern University in 2017 to launch drone startup Brinc. Now, at age 23, he oversees a team of nearly 100 people making drones and other technology for public safety agencies, serving more than 400 customers. On this episode of the GeekWire Podcast, recorded on-location at the company's headquarters in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood, Resnick talks about Brinc’s origins, its move from Las Vegas to Seattle, the upcoming release of its Lemur 2 drone, his recent White House visit, and the geopolitical forces impacting its products. He also explains the mind-blowing series of events that led OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to become the company’s first investor. Listen to the end for that. Related stories and links Video of the Lemur 2 Video of the Brinc Ball Drone startup Brinc prepares for take off with ex-Amazon engineers and geopolitical tailwinds Meet Blake Resnick, the 22-year-old engineer who just moved his fast-growing drone startup to Seattle  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Microsoft staked its financial claim in the AI gold rush this week, announcing the pricing for its upcoming Microsoft 365 Copilot technology: a whopping $30/user per month on top of its existing enterprise subscription license fees. Wall Street loved it. One analyst called it "eye popping." Investors sent the company's shares to a new record on the day the pricing was announced. The upcoming product, fueled by Microsoft and OpenAI technologies, is designed to integrate with Microsoft productivity apps and work with internal business data, going beyond the capabilities of web-based generative AI technologies. But will companies see that much value in what Microsoft has to offer? Microsoft 365 Copilot is still in private preview, for now, but the pricing suggests that the company likes what it's seeing and hearing from early users. It's part of a big week that also saw the company clear a major hurdle in its $69 billion Activision-Blizzard acquisition, winning a key court ruling and giving itself an extra three months of breathing room to complete the blockbuster gaming deal.  But behind the scenes, Microsoft is grappling with shaky morale amid ongoing cutbacks, and growing questions about the gap between employee and executive compensation. Meanwhile, a high-profile U.S. government breach by a Chinese hacking group is raising new questions about the security of Microsoft products, and threatening to undermine a growing source of revenue for the company. It's shaping up as one of the biggest years in Microsoft history, and this was perhaps the biggest week of the year so far for the company. Next up: Microsoft will make its quarterly earnings report on Tuesday.  Stories discussed on this week's show:  Microsoft sees ‘massive’ economic opportunity in AI; stock nears record on business pricing news Microsoft, Amazon, other tech companies make commitment with White House for responsible AI Microsoft’s stock has risen almost 1,000% since Satya Nadella became CEO in 2014, netting him a reported $1 billion in compensation (Fortune) Google Tests A.I. Tool That Is Able to Write News Articles (New York Times) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we take a closer look at Amazon's Alexa in a world where generative AI is enabling increasingly sophisticated conversations with digital assistants.  How does Alexa stack up against ChatGPT? Is that even a fair comparison? How will privacy play into all of this? And what's Amazon's commitment to Alexa in this era of corporate cutbacks. Those are some of the topics we discuss with Rohit Prasad, the longtime senior vice president and head scientist for Alexa, whose role has expanded in the past year to lead the entire Alexa business.  With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop. Edited and produced by Curt Milton.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If the use of generative AI in the workplace didn’t seem complicated enough already, just consider what it means for big cities and other governmental agencies. The implications of common AI problems such as algorithmic bias and attribution of intellectual property are magnified in the public sector, and further complicated by unique challenges such as the retention and production of public records. Jim Loter, interim chief technology officer for the city of Seattle, grappled with these issues as he and his team produced the city’s first generative AI policy this spring. Loter recently presented on the topic to the U.S. Conference of Mayors annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio, and he joins us to discuss the issue on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast. With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop. Edited and produced by Curt Milton.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For more than four decades, since the 1980s, pointing and clicking has been the primary method of using a personal computer. What if that changed to simply thinking, typing and doing? That's one promise of AI. Rather than remembering the keyboard shortcut to take a screenshot, or the setting to shift the screen into dark mode, you could just tell the computer what you want it to do in natural language. Microsoft is moving in this direction with the development of Windows Copilot, an adaptation of its Open AI-powered Bing search chatbot integrated directly into the operating system, showing as a persistent sidebar once activated by users via a new taskbar button. This week, the company started to give users in the Windows Insider preview program a very early look at Windows Copilot.  On this episode of the GeekWire Podcast, we're featuring a conversation with Aaron Woodman, the Windows vice president of marketing, recorded shortly after Windows Copilot was unveiled a few weeks ago.  Here is the full video of Windows Central's hands-on with the Windows Insider early preview of Windows Copilot, as highlighted in the intro to this episode. With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.