The Consumer Privacy Movement and Brand Safety Challenges with Big Tech

Andy Yen, Founder & CEO at Proton, discusses how big tech is presenting a false sense of privacy to its users—and why this is dangerous. He also unpacks the confusion between privacy and anonymity, and how where you live impacts your right to each. 

Key Takeaways:

• How Proton has attracted users and early adopters while sticking to a privacy-first marketing strategy.

• What we can learn from the cultural shift to environmental responsibility as it relates to privacy, and to the future rules of the Internet.

• Why being in control of your privacy starts with owning your identity.

Guest Bio: Andy Yen is the Founder and CEO of Proton, one of the fastest growing consumer tech companies in Europe. Proton offers the world's first privacy-by-default ecosystem, providing encrypted email, calendar, file storage, VPN, identity management, and more, all built on the principle of “your data, your rules.” Andy launched Proton's first product, ProtonMail—now the world's largest encrypted email service—in 2014 while working as a CERN scientist. Since then, Andy has become a leading voice in the global privacy movement. Today, Proton has more than 100M accounts and a team of more than 400 people worldwide.

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Preston Byrne, Partner at Brown Rudnick LLP, discusses the benefit of using public private keys as a solution to authenticate communication, and avoid both AI scams and fraud. He also shares his predictions for how AI and cryptocurrency will work together in the future, leaning on each other’s polar-opposite strengths.

Key Takeaways: 

• The role that crypto and AI could play in the upcoming US elections

• Challenges with achieving harmony in global regulations for cryptocurrency and blockchain technology

• Why everyone should be trading their public private keys

Guest Bio: Preston Bryne, is a lawyer with the law firm of Brown Rudnick LLP where he advises cutting-edge technology startups in the crypto, AI, and consumer Internet sectors.

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Anupam Chander, Scott Ginsburg Professor of Law and Technology at Georgetown, and Visiting Scholar at Harvard’s Institute for Rebooting Social Media, discusses the future of humanity during a wave of paid technology innovation. He also shares how AI is impacting digital sovereignty.

Key Takeaways: 

• Why Section 230 of the US Communications Decency Act has been so important for people online

• How US Internet Laws impact its dominance as a world innovation leader

• Ways that regulators are having to balance new technologies

• The impact that judges, regulators, and the courts have had on the evolution of new technologies

Guest Bio: Anupam Chander is Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Law and Technology at Georgetown. A Harvard College and Yale Law graduate, he is the author of The Electronic Silk Road, published by Yale University Press. He practiced law in NY and Hong Kong with Cleary, Gottlieb, and has been a visiting law professor at Yale, Chicago, Stanford, Cornell, and Tsinghua. A recipient of Google Research Awards and an Andrew Mellon grant, he has consulted for the World Bank, World Economic Forum, and UNCTAD. A non-resident fellow at Yale's Information Society Project, he is a member of the American Law Institute. In 2023-24, he’s a Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Rebooting Social Media at Harvard University, and Cheng Yu Tung Visiting Professor at the University of Hong Kong.

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Shubham Shrivastava, Head of Machine Learning at Kodiak Robotics, discusses how AI is solving the increasing challenges within the long haul trucking industry, specifically with safety and driver supply. He also provides practical examples of Kodiak’s safety strategy and redundancies they’ve put in place.

Key discussion topics:

• How soon we can expect to see autonomous trucks on the road

• The balance between AI innovation and regulation, and how Kodiak is navigating regulation at both the state and national levels across the US

• Practical examples of how multimodal networks are already transforming various industries including education, healthcare, and robotics

• Collaboration gaps between academia and industry (and missed opportunities for advancement)

Guest bio: Shubham Shrivastava is a leading figure in machine learning and computer vision. At Kodiak, he's the mastermind behind all machine learning endeavors, steering the development of the safest autonomous driving technologies. His leadership and innovations at Ford Autonomy, particularly in 3D perception for vehicles, have set new industry standards. Shubham's numerous patents and publications echo his pivotal role in advancing autonomous vehicle technology, and underline his commitment to transforming the future of transportation.

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Gabriele Mazzini, Team Leader - AI Act at the European Commission, discusses the risk-based approach they took when crafting specific rules for the Artificial Intelligence Act (versus simply opposing the technology as a whole). He also discusses the complexities involved in regulating emerging technologies that evolve at a much faster pace than the legislation itself. 

Key Takeaways:

• Recommendations put forward for regulating emerging technologies within the AI Act

• What the process has been like for the development of the AI Act, including the key players 

• Where regulation in this space can be most helpful despite the complexities involved

Guest Bio: Gabriele Mazzini is the architect and lead author of the proposal on the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) by the European Commission, where he has focused on the legal and policy questions raised by new technologies since August 2017. Before joining the European Commission, Gabriele held several positions in the private sector in New York and served in the European Parliament and the EU Court of Justice. He holds a LLM from Harvard Law School, a PhD in Italian and Comparative Criminal Law from the University of Pavia, and a Law Degree from the Catholic University in Milan. He is qualified to practice law in Italy and New York.

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Austin Campbell, Managing Partner at Zero Knowledge Consulting,  discusses the outdated infrastructure of finance and how blockchain is positioned to solve many of the current challenges. He also tackles the complex issues regulators face, and cultural hesitancy towards harnessing the full potential of innovations like blockchain.

Key takeaways: 

• The power of self custody, and how emerging technologies can help avoid events like the 2008 financial crisis

• The anticipated collaborations between AI and crypto, and why blockchain is poised to combat AI-generated spam

• Emerging crypto regulations, especially within Asia

• Crypto anonymity myths and what needs to be changed

Guest Bio: Austin Campbell is the founder of Zero Knowledge Consulting and a professor at Columbia Business School. Previously, he ran the stablecoin platform and portfolio management at Paxos, and acted as their chief risk officer. He has also managed fixed income trading desks at JP Morgan and Citi, covering over $100B in cash derivatives. 

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Sexually-explicit AI-generated images of Taylor Swift surfaced last week and went viral on many platforms - particularly X (formerly Twitter) who responded by removing the ability to search the singer-songwriter’s name alltogether.
In this bonus solo episode with Luke, he discusses what we can learn from this scandal.

Key Takeaways:

- What are deepfakes and should we be concerned?
- Can we expect new legislation to come from this?
- Debating how much the government should or shouldn’t be involved in regulating - deepfakes
- Solutions for verifying the authenticity of public content
- How can we mitigate the impact of the future impersonations of public or non-public figures?

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Kate Brady, Head of Next Gen D2C Consumer Experience & Direct Digital Marketing Capabilities at PepsiCo, shares how mainstream brands and marketers can utilize Web3 technologies. Kate’s team is currently testing a number of next gen initiatives as part of PepsiCo's newly established Web3 & Metaverse Center of Enablement. 

We also discuss the removal of third-party trackers and moving towards a private internet while still owning the communication with your audience and prioritizing zero first-party data. 

Key Takeaways:  

• Why marketers need to examine the value exchange they're offering their consumers – how to get smarter and more consumer centric.
  
• Ways that mainstream brands like PepsiCo, Starbucks and Walmart are utilizing Web3 technologies like NFTs and the Metaverse to increase loyalty.
  
• Resources for marketers wanting to experiment with Web3 and why this is the best time to get started in the space.
  
• Kate’s brave marketing moment: Combining The Walking Dead, Augmented Reality and the Mountain Dew to motivate consumers to tune into advertising commercials despite a cord cutting trend emerging at this time. 

Guest Bio: Kate Brady is a seasoned marketing veteran with over 20-years media and marketing experience, 12+ of those years within PepsiCo. Kate now leads Next Gen D2C Consumer Experience and Direct Digital Marketing Capabilities, a newly formed team within PepsiCo’s global Strategy and Transformation organization driving growth for PepsiCo through the lens of consumer data and experiences. 

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Guest host: Patrick Rice

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Nell Watson is a pioneering ethics and machine intelligence researcher, and president of EthicsNet. Here, she discusses different scenarios in which things could go “wrong” with emerging technologies, and lead to AI working against the best interests of humanity instead of for it. She also shares the amazing work that’s being done now to prevent this.

Key Takeaways:

• Why AI safety and AI ethics teams need to collaborate and work together over their shared goals, and build better bridges
• The differences and similarities between AI ethics and safety, along with the various approaches to making AI less problematic or risky
• The emergence of “shadow AI,” and the increasing need for ethical transparency and accountability
• Why the tech industry is not ready or able to self-regulate

Guest Bio: Nell Watson is a pioneering ethics and machine intelligence researcher, and a driving force behind some of the most crucial AI ethics standardization and certification initiatives. She’s also the president of EthicsNet.

Nell dedicates her work to protecting human rights and infusing ethics, safety, and values that elevate the human spirit into technologies like artificial intelligence.

Through her public speaking, Nell has inspired audiences to work towards a brighter future at venues such as the World Bank, the United Nations General Assembly, and the Royal Society.

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Keith Sonderling, Commissioner at the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), discusses how HR companies and employers are using AI, and the implications of this usage on employment law. He stresses the importance of governance and regulation to avoid discrimination, prevent HR biases at scale, and to ultimately uphold our civil rights.

Key takeaways: 

• How to use machine learning to make HR decisions that were historically done by a human

• Examples of how AI and HR tech have already impacted every step in the employee lifecycle

• How the use of natural language processing can mitigate against discrimination in the hiring processes

• The work the EEOC is doing to ensure HR tech is being developed in a way that helps all employment decisions remain fair and non-discriminatory

Guest bio: 

Keith E. Sonderling was confirmed by the U.S. Senate, with a bipartisan vote, to be a Commissioner on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 2020. Until January of 2021, he served as the Commission’s Vice-Chair.

Since joining the EEOC, one of Commissioner Sonderling’s highest priorities is ensuring that artificial intelligence and workplace technologies are designed and deployed in a way that’s consistent with long-standing civil rights laws. Commissioner Sonderling has published numerous articles on the benefits and potential harms of using artificial intelligence-based technology in the workplace, and speaks globally on these emerging issues.

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte