86 episodes
Another Podcast Benedict Evans, Toni Cowan-Brown
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- Technology
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4.7 • 52 Ratings
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If you're looking for another over-scripted and edited podcast, this is not it. But if you want to listen to honest and unfiltered discussions about the latest in tech and its impact on society, welcome, you have come to the right place.
This is Another Podcast where two friends and colleagues discuss their overlapping experiences and perspectives on what happens in technology. We might know some of the same things, yet we also have different backgrounds and expertise, or at least, we ask different questions.
Benedict Evans has worked in equity research, strategy and venture capital and owns lots of old phones; Toni Cowan-Brown works at the intersection of tech, policy and politics.
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Looking for AI use-cases
Generative AI is the thing, and all new software will be built around it. But while everyone is experimenting and some people are getting huge value out of ChatGPT or Midjourney right now, others haven't worked out how to make it useful. Yet. So how do we find use-cases for a universal, general purpose, magical technology, and is that a crazy question?
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Tiktok, Apple and Temu
Will the US finally break up Tiktok? Will the EU break up the App Store? And why does Temu want to keep your orders under $800?
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Google Gemini and AI bias
Are there questions that an AI chatbot shouldn't answer? Should it always give the 'right answer'? Are you sure? Google has egg on its face this week, but this isn't easy, and with generative AI, we're going to re-run all the arguments and panics we had over content moderation in the last decade.
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Breaking and remaking media
We’re past peak TV, the charts are curving down, and Hollywood is pretty sure that streaming was a bad idea. On the other hand, music is growing strongly and might even end up bigger than CDs. Why have newspapers, books, movies, TV and music coped so differently with the internet?
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Apple's Vision Pro
Yes, we bought one. What’s it like and what can we say that we didn’t say last summer? What has Apple built, what is it for, what does it mean for Meta, and why does it cost $3,500?
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What's your AI strategy?
Everyone needs an AI strategy (there was an email from the CEO!) but what would that mean? How does a big company work out how to deploy a new technology? How is this the same as every other platform shift, and how might it be different?
Customer Reviews
Well informed and unintentionally hilarious!
The subject matter of this podcast is well informed and intelligent, but whether you like it will depend on your attitude to Ben. He's a tremendous narcissist of the English upper class type, with familiar foibles e.g. talks over Toni, even when she agrees with him. At other times she gets the benefit of his poundshop/dollar store knowledge of Moliere and Voltaire (she is a fluent French speaker!) From Twitter it is obvious Ben is rather thin skinned and doesn't perceive the connection between his own rudeness and others' behaviour. Toni has the patience of a saint! I hugely enjoy listening to this show due to its insights into tech and the trauma of a boarding school education. I'm sure Ben means no ill and I'll give him a hug if we ever meet!
Perspectives on tech and its intersection with the modern economy
A weekly opportunity to listen to in depth discussion of some aspect of technology Benedict Evans and Toni Cowan Brown. They always have an interesting topic of discussion devoid from the swivel eyed tech optimism or doomsday scenarios present in a lot of tech commentary. Sign up for Benedict Evans’ email list as well, highly recommended.
“When I went up” (intake of breath)
It’s something of a give to talk about ‘going up’. I think Mr Evans enjoys being the cleverest person on his podcast rather too much.
His analysis is often sophisticated and nuanced. But he needs more editorial control. His co-host is smart and should interact and challenge more.