WhatsApp Cofounder on Calls to Break up Big Tech
WhatsApp Cofounder on Why Privacy is the Future of Tech
WhatsApp Cofounder Says Encryption is Solution to Tech’s Trust Problem
WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton says he hopes his work at privacy non-profit Signal Foundation will help usher in a new era of free expression. Acton speaks openly about how users should navigate privacy in a tech era where trust has been tarnished, and responds to calls to break up big tech. Continue reading WhatsApp Cofounder Says Encryption is Solution to Tech’s Trust Problem
WhatsApp Cofounder Responds to Sen. Warren’s Calls to Break up Facebook
Read an edited transcript below, or listen to the full interview on the First Contact podcast. No one’s pointing a gun to your head and saying, you must use WhatsApp or Facebook or whatever. I mean, there are choices. Laurie Segall: There’s this narrative right now, especially playing out politically where all these tech companies are under fire. Do you think that tech companies have too … Continue reading WhatsApp Cofounder Responds to Sen. Warren’s Calls to Break up Facebook
Bots to Date: The Future is Complicated
Updating our relationship status with tech to “it’s complicated;” In the future, bots might replace humans on the dating apps. Continue reading Bots to Date: The Future is Complicated
Hinge Founder on the Roller Coaster of Success: Depression, Shock Waves and Coping with Uncertainty
In 2015, Justin McLeod rebooted his dating app Hinge with an uncertain outcome. Here’s how he coped. Continue reading Hinge Founder on the Roller Coaster of Success: Depression, Shock Waves and Coping with Uncertainty
Episode 3: WhatsApp Cofounder on Walking Away from Facebook and Why Privacy is the Future
In an exclusive interview, WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton opens up about walking away from more than $850 million dollars at Facebook, and why with all the money in the world he’s betting on privacy. In this candid interview, Brian says he hopes his work at privacy non-profit Signal Foundation will help usher in a new era of free expression. Acton speaks openly about how users should navigate privacy in a tech era where trust has been tarnished, and responds to calls to break up big tech. The notoriously private founder also speaks about his upbringing – from “shoveling shit” far from the Silicon Valley promised land, Acton explains how growing up doing the “non sexy’ jobs led him to success, and why time is his most valued asset. First Contact explores the complicated dynamics of money and happiness, privacy and protection, and the pursuit of free expression in a world where our data has become currency. Continue reading Episode 3: WhatsApp Cofounder on Walking Away from Facebook and Why Privacy is the Future
Episode 2: Bots to date for us. The future of love?
Picture this – in the future, an AI bot will learn you and your preferences. Fancy dinner or dive bar? Tall or short? Funny or serious? The bot will browse the dating apps, start conversations, flirt, and set up dates for you. It might even predict your compatibility score with a future mate. An episode of Black Mirror? Nope. It’s tech already being developed on the fringes. You might be talking to a bot on one of the dating apps right now, and you don’t even know it. Conversational artificial intelligence is getting intimate. Entrepreneur Shane Mac has been building this technology for years. Now he’s talking about it for the first time, and it’s raising all sorts of ethical questions. Do you know if you’re talking to a person or a bot? And is it ok for machines to act human when it comes to our hearts? First Contact explores the blurring lines between love and algorithms. Continue reading Episode 2: Bots to date for us. The future of love?
Episode 1: Hinge Founder: I don't Believe in "the one"
Hinge founder Justin McLeod opens up about addiction, depression, and how his own epic love story fundamentally changed the mission of his company. Justin takes us along the roller coaster ride of entrepreneurship that led him to create one of the most popular dating apps, and gives insight into how the tech company is looking to code vulnerability into a tech-addicted world of swipes and scrolling. Is data the new matchmaker? And why doesn’t the founder of one of the world’s most popular dating apps believe in “the one?” First Contact explores the fine line between success and failure in Silicon Valley, and how leaning into risk and uncertainty helped a company discover its core values. Continue reading Episode 1: Hinge Founder: I don't Believe in "the one"