GeekWire

Alexa, open the pod bay doors. Amazon's voice assistant hasn't quite reached the level of HAL, the iconic AI from 2001: A Space Odyssey. However, we learned this week that Alexa is going to space later this year, and around the moon, for a technology demonstration on the Orion deep-space capsule as part of NASA’s Artemis 1 mission. Veteran space reporter Alan Boyle, GeekWire contributing editor, joins us on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast to explain what Alexa will be doing during the mission, and what the partners on the demonstration — Lockheed Martin, Amazon and Cisco — hope to prove in the process. Then we discuss some of the key milestones from the past year in space, including Blue Origin taking the first paying passenger on a suborbital commercial flight, plus highlights from SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and others. And we look ahead to upcoming events to keep an eye on, as detailed by Alan in his annual space recap and preview. And in our final segment, we come back to Earth, as podcast producer Curt Milton and I discuss celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay's surprising disclosure about what we thought was a well-known Amazon company. Also check out Alan's podcast, Fiction Science.   By the way, we used Alexa Skill Blueprints to get Alexa to impersonate HAL in the opening of this week's show. You'll hear a very different response if you ask Alexa the same question on your own device.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This year was a bit of a blur — fighting through waves of Delta and Omicron. But there was other important news this year, too. And before we wave goodbye to 2021, we thought it would be fun to test your geek knowledge. Spoiler alert: we give the answers as we go, so if you want to test your knowledge first, you can take an interactive version of the quiz in the post for this episode at geekwire.com, then come back here and listen.  Edited by Curt Milton; theme music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Looking at GeekWire’s most-read stories for 2021, this series of headlines stands out as a symbol of the past year, not just for Amazon but for the world at large. March 31, 2021: Amazon updates remote work guidance, plans to ‘return to an office-centric culture as our baseline’ June 10, 2021: Amazon adjusts return-to-office guidance, says employees can work two days a week remotely October 11, 2021: Amazon will leave remote work decisions to individual team leaders in new policy twist In short, no one knew what was going on, or what to do. In the sports world, they would call it a rebuilding year, setting the stage for something better. GeekWire's John Cook puts it more succinctly in our year-end podcast: “It sucked.” At least, that’s the cynical view, which is why it was refreshing to have Ed Lazowska join us again for this year-end show. A professor at the University of Washington’s Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, he’s a longtime Seattle tech leader, and an “inveterate optimist,” in his own words. “Yeah, COVID has thrown us all thrown us all kinds of loops,” he acknowledges, but then offers a few examples of a more upbeat way to look at this year’s list. Listen to the episode for more, as Lazowska joins us again on the GeekWire Podcast to discuss the year's top stories. We also look ahead to the upcoming year, and talk about a few key stories we'll be watching in 2022. Related: As reported recently on GeekWire, several prominent tech leaders have been working establish a series of UW professorships in Lazowska's honor. Learn more about the initiative here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on the GeekWire Podcast: How the pandemic is changing attitudes toward work, jobs, geography. Plus, the market for IPOs and acquisitions, and the future of downtown Seattle from the perspective of a newly public company. Our guest, Zig Serafin, has a unique window into all of these topics as the CEO of Qualtrics, the experience management technology company based in Seattle and Provo, Utah. Qualtrics’ technology helps companies survey employees, customers and other stakeholders, and take action on the resulting insights. With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook. Produced and edited by Curt Milton. Theme music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on the GeekWire Podcast: Is the world relying too much on Amazon Web Services? We assess the fallout from the big AWS outage, which was the subject of a detailed explanation from the company Friday night. Plus, what's your AI IQ? We test our own artificial intelligence literacy in a new online quiz from the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Seattle. Read more in this story by our colleague Alan Boyle. And finally, we try on Amazon's new Halo View, and explain what's different in this new health tracker. Produced and edited by Curt Milton. Theme music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week: how the pandemic, politics, labor shortages, and the rise of remote work are impacting U.S. immigration in the tech industry and beyond — and how ongoing challenges in the system could be putting the country's future at risk. Our guest is Xiao Wang, CEO and co-founder of Boundless, a Seattle technology company that streamlines the immigration process.  Related Stories and Links GeekWire: Immigration startup Boundless raises $25M, eyes opportunity with ‘pro-immigrant administration’ Seattle startup Boundless raises $7.5M to acquire rival RapidVisa and grow online immigration tools Axios: Little-noticed spending bill provision could fix green card backlog New York Times: Contending With the Pandemic, Wealthy Nations Wage Global Battle for Migrants Boundless: House Passes Sweeping Social Spending Plan With $100B Earmarked for Immigration Reform Hosted by GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook. Produced and edited by Curt Milton. Theme music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This was a week when many of us in the U.S. paused to reflect and give thanks. We're keeping the tradition on the GeekWire Podcast. On this special holiday episode, we offer our gratitude for some of the technologies, trends and hopeful developments of the past year, as reflected in news coverage on GeekWire. Hosted by GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook. Produced and edited by Curt Milton. Theme music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can you believe Xbox has been around for 20 years? Our guest on this week's GeekWire Podcast, Robbie Bach, was there at the beginning, and led Microsoft’s gaming business for many years as Chief Xbox Officer and President of the company's Entertainment & Devices Division.  These days, Bach is board chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington, D.C.–based think tank that promotes bipartisanship. He serves on the national board of governors for Boys and Girls Clubs of America and is on the board of the Magic Leap augmented reality company. And to top it all off, he just published his second book, which is his debut novel, a techno-thriller called The Wilkes Insurrection. Referenced in the show:  Listen In with Raquel Ark podcast: Former #Xbox CEO Robbie Bach on #Listening to #Creativity and Writing His first #Novel Alex Kantrowitz: Why LinkedIn Is the One Good Social Network September 2015 GeekWire Podcast discussion with Robbie Bach With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook. Produced and edited by Curt Milton. Theme music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The downfall of Zillow's iBuying business is a reminder of the downsides of relying too much on automation and machine learning algorithms at this stage in the evolution of technology. A conversation about the pitfalls of real estate valuations leads John Cook and Todd Bishop into a larger discussion about the continued importance of human judgment and attention in the modern world. Plus, cat vs. coyote: the crazy scene on Todd's Ring camera this week.  And in our final segment, we test a new feature: Tech Crank, in which Todd and John each offer a rant about something irksome in the tech world this week. Why the iBuying algorithms failed Zillow, and what it says about the business world’s love affair with AI Redfin CEO explains how its iBuyer home buying program avoided pitfalls that sunk Zillow Group NYT: Inside Amazon’s Worst Human Resources Problem Bloomberg: Highly Paid Union Workers Give UPS a Surprise Win in Delivery Wars Forget porch pirates, our Ring camera captured video of a cat escaping a coyote in Seattle Amazon-backed electric vehicle maker Rivian races to huge stock market debut after IPO Microsoft serves up a Google Chromebook rival with $250 Surface Laptop SE for students Podcast produced by Curt Milton. Theme music by Daniel L.K. CaldwellSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jane Park, the CEO of newly public Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp., hadn't imagined herself leading a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, before accepting the job. She decided to consider the pitch from venture capitalist Isabelle Freidheim for one reason. “It took some convincing, a little bit. I wasn’t sure if I had the right capabilities. I have always sat on the entrepreneur side. So to be on the acquiring/money side is a new perspective and vantage point for me,” she said. “I don’t think I would have taken the call if it wasn’t the fact that it was an all-female SPAC.” That's how the Seattle entrepreneur ended up with Freidheim and the Athena team at the New York Stock Exchange this week, as they rang the opening bell a week after raising $230 million in an initial public offering. Next on Athena's agenda is the process of identifying and acquiring a consumer-oriented company, leveraging those funds. Park is believed to be the first Korean-American woman to take a company public as CEO on the NYSE. A Yale Law School graduate and former Starbucks executive, she went on to found and lead Julep Beauty, a physical retail chain and e-commerce brand that was acquired by private equity giant Warburg Pincus. She went on to found sustainable gift-wrap company Tokki, leading the company through a pivot during the pandemic. She’s also a board member of the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship, which holds its 2021 OpportunityTalks Breakfast at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 9. On this episode of the GeekWire Podcast, Park talks about the ambitions of Athena's team, the future of consumer brands in the Amazon era, her family's experience as immigrants, and her own life story. With GeekWire's Todd Bishop and John Cook; Audio editing by Curt Milton; Theme music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.