Advertise on podcast: The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce

On "Nine to Noon" host Kathryn Ryan and Mark discuss Anthropic's latest 'Mythos' AI model,  considered so dangerous to cybersecurity the company has set up a cross-company partnership to work on patching all of the hacks it found. Will other companies be as responsible if similar, powerful models of AI are created? Ronan Farrow's New Yorker piece on Sam Altman paints him in a diabolical light. And the new White House app has some really concerning security features... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leading AI firm Anthropic drew two red lines on their work with the newly renamed US 'Department of War': No mass surveillance of Americans, and no autonomous weapons. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hesgeth threatened to declare Anthropic a 'supply chain risk' (basically, an enemy of the state) unless they erased those red lines. Anthropic held fast - and that's changed the politics of AI. Plus: Let the app know you're not dead! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

RNZ replay 30 January 2026 In conversation with RNZ "Nine to Noon" host Kathryn Ryan, we look at the recent massive layoffs at Amazon, France's social media laws for under 15s, Microsoft giving the keys to your data kingdom to the FBI, and what happens when an organisation tasked with maintaining the safety of the airways turns to a computer to 'flood the zone' with regulation? Thanks to RNZ - Nine To Noon The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel and Myrtle and Pine   Listen on Spotify, Apple  Sign up for 'The Practical Futurist' newsletter here. https://nextbillionseconds.com  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Abby Bloom, Catherine Ball and I (along with Sally Dominguez) are heading back to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to see the latest innovations in 'agetech' - technologies that help restore ability and increase agency as we age. Is agetech "the" solution to the crisis in care, or is it, instead, kit that helps support us as we transition toward a culture where care is a central and valued activity? The second of two SXSW Sydney 2025 live recordings.  https://cadense.com/ - grippy sneakers Hapta The Skip with Joy See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Abby Bloom wants us to face an uncomfortable truth: we need a lot more space and time for care in our culture. A rapidly aging population - living twenty to thirty years longer than the generations preceding - means we're going to have to rethink and redesign our lives, our work and our whole civilisation so that we don't disappear beneath a burden of care that no one can bear alone. How do we make that transition? Abby's new book "The Cost of Not Caring", offers some suggestions. It's the shadow looming over all our bright futures - and it's front and centre on THE NEXT BILLION SECONDS. The first of two SXSW Sydney 2025 live recordings.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Could it be that the smartphone and social media brought us together only to make us completely intolerant? Research seems to be pointing that way - so what can we do? Also, fake receipts, fake voices and fake apologies - the more AI we use, the more we get faked out. Finally, 'mind captioning' - could bring a voice to those who can not use their own! Recorded live on Radio New Zealand's "Nine To Noon" show on Thursday 20 November 2025 - with big thanks to host Kathryn Ryan! The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel and Myrtle and Pine   Listen on Spotify, Apple  Sign up for 'The Practical Futurist' newsletter here. https://nextbillionseconds.com  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While the US put its car in reverse (at speed!) and European automakers chased their own tails about whether or not to abandon ICEs, the Chinese put the pedal to the metal in their high-tourque EVs, leaving everyone one else in the dust. A once-in-a-lifetime platform transition - without any international competitors! Co-host Sally Dominguez, Special Correspondent Drew Smith and host Mark Pesce discuss a world that already looks radically different from the beginning of the year, then make some predictions for 2026. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What a difference a year makes. A transition to EVs that once seemed utterly inevitable has been thoroughly disrupted by a change of regime in the United States. Using every tool in its arsenal to bribe, cajole and even threaten its allies into dropping any support or incentives for electrification, the USA seems intent upon reviving a past where the internal combustion engine ruled unchallenged. Will it work? Co-host Sally Dominguez, Special Correspondent Drew Smith and host Mark Pesce go looking for answers on this special two part episodes of THE NEXT BILLION CARS. Co-host Sally Dominguez and Mark Pesce reflect on something that should be easy, yet proves to be surprisingly difficult. Hosted by award-winning podcast creator, journalist & futurist Mark Pesce, The Next Billion Cars is everything you need to know about the future of cars. For more information about this podcast and The Next Billion Seconds, please visit https://nextbillionseconds.com. The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is Executive Produced by Josh Butt at Ampel - https://ampel.com.au and produced with James Brettell. Produced at Myrtle & Pine Studios in Sydney, Australia https://myrtleandpine.com   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can a big business transform its processes and workflows using AI? With very few successful examples to follow, how does the Big End of Town even get started? L'Oreal Groupe - the biggest beauty products firm on Earth - got started three years ago. We sit down with L'Oreal Groupe ANZ CEO Alex Davison to explore how they did it, why they did it - and how it's changed their business. L'Oreal is rated by FORTUNE Magazine to be the #1 most innovative firm in the world - so maybe we can all learn something from them. The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel and Myrtle and Pine   Listen on Spotify, Apple  Sign up for 'The Practical Futurist' newsletter here. https://nextbillionseconds.com  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's an elephant in the room along with artificial intelligence - its impact on the climate. Demand for electricity has skyrocketed as Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Google and Microsoft build vast new data centres to handle the anticipated global demand for AI products and services. Is that wise? In conversation with legendary entrepreneur and ClimateSalad CEO Mick Liubinskas, we explore whether we're approaching the age of AI with enough prudence. The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel and Myrtle and Pine   Listen on Spotify, Apple  Sign up for 'The Practical Futurist' newsletter here. https://nextbillionseconds.com  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Massive increases in productivity lure businesses into adopting artificial intelligence. But what if pursuit of that elusive 'superprodctivity' produces exactly the opposite? A rebroadcast of Radio New Zealand's Nine To Noon from16 October 2025, host Kathryn Ryan and I ask whether any business advantage can be gained by the 'promiscuous' use of AI. The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel and Myrtle and Pine   Listen on Spotify, Apple  Sign up for 'The Practical Futurist' newsletter here. https://nextbillionseconds.com  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What would you do if you lost your job to an AI? Would you even know? It happened to me - and I didn't learn the truth for six months. In the aftermath I recognised how my work needed to change. That became the core of 'Building Resistance', a set of practices that help us focus on the most human elements of our work. Leaning into those - in this episode, you'll learn how - makes it harder to get automated into oblivion. For more information about this podcast and The Next Billion Seconds, please visit https://nextbillionseconds.com. The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is Executive produced by Josh Butt Ampel and James Brettell at Myrtle and Pine studios in Sydney, Australia.  Listen on Spotify, Apple  Sign up for 'The Practical Futurist' newsletter here. https://nextbillionseconds.com  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While the US focuses on putting the brakes on 'woke AI' (whatever that is) the rest of the world's nations confront thorny questions about how to regulate a technology that's both moving very quickly and lacks any clear definitions. Could regulators strangle AI in the process of regulating it? Or will innovators it outpace all efforts to contain it?  At the intersection of commerce and geopolitics, we speak with researcher Kate Carruthers, who puts these questions into a global context. Anthropic vs USA The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel and Myrtle and Pine   Listen on Spotify, Apple  Sign up for 'The Practical Futurist' newsletter here. https://nextbillionseconds.com  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ALWAYS IMPERFECT Episode 3: A BETTER WAYUsed well, artificial intelligence can automate labor-intensive and rote processes, freeing people for the work they want to do. That's the theory, anyway - but what about the practice? SUPAHMAN founder and CEO Dave Howden shares his experiences helping businesses adopt AI within their workflows - and admits, in order for that to work, he needs to be the 'dumbest person in the room'. Humility and artificial intelligence - is that the foundation of 'a better way'? For more information about this podcast and The Next Billion Seconds, please visit https://nextbillionseconds.com. The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is Executive produced by Josh Butt Ampel and James Brettell at Myrtle and Pine studios in Sydney, Australia.  Listen on Spotify, Apple  Sign up for 'The Practical Futurist' newsletter here. https://nextbillionseconds.com  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can a computer program a computer as well as a human being can? Artificial intelligence enabled a quantum leap in the quality of the tools programmer use to write code - but they're delicate. Push them too hard and they break. Even when they work they can write reams of code that no human can make heads or tails of. John Allsopp joins us to investigate whether programmers will soon become obsolete - or whether they'll kept around toclean up AI-generated messes. Is AI making the discipline of software engineering any better - or is that just a story we're telling ourselves? The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel and Myrtle and Pine   Listen on Spotify, Apple  Sign up for 'The Practical Futurist' newsletter here. https://nextbillionseconds.com  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.