Behind The Tech with Kevin Scott

Helion is building the world’s first fusion power plant, and co-founder and CEO David Kirtley is on a mission to improve access to clean energy for a better future. We’re inspired by the work that they’re doing—in fact, Microsoft recently announced that Helion is going to provide the company fusion power starting in 2028. In this episode, Kevin and David discuss David’s early childhood and how he got interested in science, how he got into the field of fusion, his current role at Helion and how the company is building fusion generators to create zero-carbon electricity.  David Kirtley | Helion   Kevin Scott   Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott   Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.     

William A. Adams is a software engineer, DEI innovator, and philanthropist whose contributions to the field have been documented by the Computer History Museum. He spent more than 20 years at Microsoft, where he rolled out critical XML code globally, co-founded the Leap program, and served as Kevin’s first technical advisor. In this episode, Kevin and William discuss how William got interested in STEM at a young age, founding a software development company in the 80s, his career at Microsoft and pioneering D&I programing, and the importance of equity and diversity in tech.  William A. Adams  Kevin Scott   Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott   Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.   

Kevin Roose is a technology columnist for The New York Times covering technology innovation, including AI. He’s also the author of three books: his latest, Futureproof, is a “guide to surviving the technological future,” including nine rules to help people more confidently navigate a machine-filled world. In this episode, Roose discusses how he developed an interest in technology at a young age, how he became a journalist and an author (and how technology has impacted both industries), what it’s like writing about AI right now, and the importance of media and journalism to hold companies accountable.   Kevin Roose | The New York Times Kevin Scott   Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott  Discover and listen to other Microsoft Podcasts. 

will.i.am is most well-known as the founder and lead member of the Black Eyed Peas. Simultaneously, he is also an entrepreneur and Founder & CEO of FYI.AI, a Web 3.0 AI messenger, where he spends a lot of his time investing in software and operating systems incorporating AI, natural language understanding, and voice computing. In this episode, Kevin and will.i.am discuss his upbringing and how he got interested in technology, his optimism around AI and where it’s going (especially in creative fields), how he started his foundation providing STEAM education for disadvantaged youth, and much more.  This episode includes strong language and may not be appropriate for all audiences. will.i.am | FYI.AI  will.i.am also co-hosts the Changemakers podcast with Omar Abbosh. Check it out here. Kevin Scott   Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott  Discover and listen to other Microsoft Podcasts. 

Mira Murati is one of the most innovative tech leaders of our time. She has helped to scale OpenAI to the company it is today and lead teams to build innovative technologies and products including ChatGPT, DALL-E, and GPT-4. In this episode, Kevin and Mira discuss how she became interested in the sciences and technology, her innate sense of curiosity which led her to a career in artificial intelligence, and how OpenAI is deploying their technology responsibly for developers and consumers.   Mira Murati | OpenAI   Kevin Scott   Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott   Discover and follow other Microsoft podcasts at aka.ms/microsoft/podcasts.

Neil deGrasse Tyson is one of America’s best-known astrophysicists and a huge advocate for the sciences and scientific thinking. Neil has a great talent for presenting complex concepts in a clear and accessible manner, a critical aspect of his role as an educator and director of the Hayden Planetarium. In this episode, Kevin talks with Neil about his interest in the sciences and innate curiosity, how he stays up to date in pop culture, topics he explores in his book Starry Messenger, and so much more!  Neil deGrasse Tyson | StarTalk  Kevin Scott   Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott   Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.     

Adrian Tchaikovsky is an award-winning science fiction and fantasy writer and probably one of our favorite authors right now. He is best known for his series Shadows of the Apt and Children of Time. In this episode, Kevin talks with Adrian about his upbringing and how he got interested in science fiction, his unique storytelling abilities, and how current AI technology such as ChatGPT will impact the future of sci-fi novels.   Adrian Tchaikovsky  Kevin Scott   Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott   Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.   

Today, we have a special guest joining us on the podcast—Bill Gates. With the rapidly evolving AI landscape, including the release of products like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and the new Bing, it was the perfect time to have Bill join to talk about this unique moment in the history of computing. In this episode, Kevin talks with Bill about the latest in AI research, including the release of GPT-4, how past technology revolutions have led us to where we are today, how AI is evolving his philanthropic work, his love of reading, and so much more!   Bill Gates | GatesNotes  Kevin Scott   Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott   Discover and follow other Microsoft podcasts at aka.ms/microsoft/podcasts.

Empathy and emotions are at the center of how we connect and communicate as humans—in fact, 93 percent of how we communicate is accomplished through non-verbal means. Emotion AI (a subset of AI that measures, understands, simulates and reacts to human emotions) pioneer Rana el Kaliouby is on a mission to bring more emotional intelligence to the digital world. In this episode, Kevin talks with Rana about her upbringing and how she got into tech, her experience and challenges co-founding Affectiva and as Deputy CEO of Smart Eye, and the importance of infusing IQ and EQ into technology.   Rana el Kaliouby | Smart Eye   Kevin Scott   Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott   Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.   

Tobi Lütke, CEO and founder of the Canadian multinational e-commerce platform Shopify, is always looking for the tools he can use to build a better company. Since his early days running an online snowboard shop from his carport, Tobi has envisioned himself as fundamentally a craftsman first and a business exec second, a mindset that he has used to solve a wide variety of problems over the course of his career. In this episode, he joins Kevin to talk about applying computer science and engineering techniques to build and scale a company, the idea of bringing an ‘apprentice mindset’ to his work, and how his daily practice of writing code and tinkering in his home lab inspires him to be a more creative leader.  Tobi Lütke | Shopify   Kevin Scott   Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott   Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.   

As 2022 winds down, we revisit some of the year’s most inspirational and fascinating conversations with makers, engineers, award-winning sci-fi authors, and tech leaders—discussing topics ranging from building diversity into the ways we do work, to what the metaverse looks like now and far into the future, to imagining robots that know what you need before you do.  Kevin Scott  Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott  Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.  

XKCD is one of our favorite webcomics - and it started out as doodles in Randall Munroe's college notebooks. Munroe describes his work as “a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.” In this episode, he joins Kevin to talk about how he got started, where his inspiration comes from and his latest book, What If? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions. Find out why a surprising number of cartoonists are physicists by training, explore the joy of seeking answers to seemingly impossible questions, and much more! 

Have you ever wondered who was behind the creation of Google Docs? Kevin talks with Sam Schillace, one of the people who launched the transformational – and at the time controversial – idea 16 years ago. Today, Sam is an engineering Corporate VP focusing on consumer product culture and next generation productivity who stresses the importance of asking “What if?” questions. Kevin and Sam talk career advice, the fact that there’s always tension in high functioning teams and why we’re on the cusp of a new technological era.  Kevin Scott  Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott  Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.  

This 31-year old YouTube phenom constantly pushes the envelope with her unique inventions – from her Every Day Calendar or a screwdriver ring to the world’s ‘worst’ jigsaw puzzle. Kevin talks with Simone about how she gets the inspiration to make the things she creates, as well as challenges she faces as a product manufacturer. Learn about her future plans in this exciting episode.  Simone Giertz on YouTube  Yetch Store  Kevin Scott  Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott  Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.  

Producing a blockbuster video game like Halo can be even more complex, creative, - and costly - than making a major motion picture. Kevin talks with Phil Spencer, a 34-year veteran of Microsoft, about video games as an art form, and how critical feedback is to game design. Phil shares some of his favorite games, describes the first program he ever wrote and even divulges his gamer tag! Kevin Scott  Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott  Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.  

Imagine what more than 50 million daily users on a gaming platform can create! David Baszucki is an entrepreneur, engineer and inventor who co-founded Roblox. Anyone with kids likely knows that Roblox is an online game creation platform that lets users design their own games, play games created by others, and even get paid for their creations. Roblox has helped millions of up-and-coming game developers learn the basics of their domain and work on their talents. Kevin and David talk about the potential of these real time connection technology platforms – and what’s in store for our future!  David Baszucki | Roblox  Kevin Scott  Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott  Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.  

In this candid interview Alexis Ohanian, the enigmatic co-founder of Reddit, tells the story of how he created the company and talks with Kevin about his early days with Y-Combinator, how he taps into his ‘flow state’, and his new investment fund 776, which is deploying VC money, funding entrepreneurs, and incubating companies.  Alexis Ohanian | 776  Kevin Scott  Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott  Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.  

This inspirational entrepreneur is building economies in underserved communities around the U.S by democratizing opportunities that technology can provide. Olguin raised one of the largest Series A rounds ever for a female, Latinx-led company, and as CEO and co-founder, she oversees Bitwise's operations teams, tech-focused training programs, and software development. Kevin talks with Irma about resilience, what it takes to overcome adversity, and giving back to your community.   Irma Olguin | Bitwise Industries Kevin Scott  Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott  Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.  

Meet one of Kevin’s favorite sci-fi authors who influenced him as a kid growing up in rural Virginia. Kevin and this award-winning writer talk about metaverse and misinformation, as well as ways to combat climate change - including carbon capture, which Neal believes will be one of the biggest tech projects in human history.  Neal Stephenson  Kevin Scott  Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott  Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.  

Imagine nature inspiring us to create robots of the future! Kevin explores the future with Dr. Daniela Rus, who heads MIT’s CSAIL program. Hear about the latest research on everything from AI & ML to Human-Computer Interaction and Computational Biology.  Daniela Rus Kevin Scott  Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott  Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.

It's time for our annual episode that revisits inspirational guests, including AI experts, bioengineers, Grammy winners, entrepreneurs and digital influencers. Topics range from research on AI and protein design, to robotics, to the importance of recruiting more girls for STEM. We also catch up with a few of our past guests to find out what they're up to these days. Wishing you all happy holidays and a healthy 2022! Show links: Kevin Scott Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts

What could be more interesting than the human mind? Pinker is a best-selling author interested in all aspects of language and human nature. Kevin talks with this Harvard professor about the human mind, rationality and developmental linguistics. Click here for transcript of this episode. Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott Steven Pinker Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts. 

iJustine – popular techie, gamer, and YouTube tech reviewer – has nearly 7 million subscribers across YouTube. Kevin talks with Justine about her career path, tapping tech to help build your own online platform and insights into what it’s really like to be a content creator. Click here for transcript of this episode.  Kevin Scott iJustine: https://www.youtube.com/ijustine

Kevin talks with Peter Lee about critical response scientific research, deep learning and neural networks – all related to Covid-19 and Microsoft’s growing healthcare and life sciences initiative. Listen in as they also discuss the key role that public trust plays in the work of scientists and researchers. Click here for transcript of this episode.  Kevin Scott Behind the Tech  

Steven Bathiche, who’s behind some of the most innovative Microsoft products, shares his philosophy of life and talks about new computing form factors from AI and machine learning to robotics. Listen in as Kevin talks with Steven about where creative ideas originate – and how to use failure to create your next success. Kevin Scott Click here for transcript of this episode.

Join Kevin for a fascinating conversation with Chase Jarvis – CEO and Founder of CreativeLive. The CreativeLive platform gives millions of people ways to discover their passions. Find out how exploring your “creative side” can inspire a successful career. It’s Creativity with a capital “C”.   Click here for transcript of this episode. Kevin Scott CreativeLive

Technology is influencing protein design research in ways that would have been science fiction a decade ago. Find out how engineering and biology are working together today to improve our health and how researchers are designing new biological compounds to fight chronic disease - and prepare us for the next pandemic. Click here for transcript of this episode.  Kevin Scott Rosetta@home Foldit

This charismatic leader talks about untapped potential – and why encouraging young people to study computer science is critical for the future of technology. Find out how Kimberly’s efforts are impacting STEM initiatives across the U.S. Click here for transcript of this episode.  Kevin Scott BlackGirlsCode

Join Kevin and this new distinguished scientist at Microsoft, Ashley Llorens, as they explore the future promise of artificial intelligence, robotics and autonomous systems. Ashley is also a hip-hop artist known as Soulstice. Listen to their discussion about the parallels between careers in science and music. Kevin Scott SoulStice on Apple Music Click here for transcript of this episode.

Kevin’s conversation with this amazing duo was so fascinating, we’re publishing this bonus episode! Grammy-award winning musician Jacob Collier and MIT PhD Ben Bloomberg reflect on human and artificial intelligence and its impact on creativity. Find out how AI is playing a constructive role in this amazing duo’s creative work. Click here for transcript of this episode.  Kevin Scott Ben Bloomberg Jacob Collier Subscribe to Behind the Tech Podcast with Kevin Scott - Microsoft