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PODCAST

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce

Sign up for "The Practical Futurist" newsletter here Hosted by award-winning podcast creator, journalist & futurist Mark Pesce, The Next Billion Seconds is everything you need to know about the future — so you can make the best decisions today. The rate of change we are experiencing is the fastest humanity has ever seen. Stay informed as Mark simplifies the complex technological and societal changes we face. How we will work, connect, use money, drive, eat is all changing at a rapid pace. For

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All Episodes

25:28

ALWAYS IMPERFECT - THE CLIMATE QUESTION

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce ·

2025/10/28

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

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12:00

ALWAYS IMPERFECT - ISN'T IT IRONIC?

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce ·

2025/10/21

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 andMyrtle and Pine Listen on Spotify, Apple Sign up for 'The Practical Futurist' newsletter

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13:09

ALWAYS IMPERFECT - EPISODE 5 - BUILDING RESISTANCE

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce ·

2025/10/14

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

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20:19

ALWAYS IMPERFECT - EPISODE 4 - STOP THE WOKE AI!

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce ·

2025/10/07

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

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30:02

ALWAYS IMPERFECT - A BETTER WAY

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce ·

2025/09/29

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

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26:11

ALWAYS IMPERFECT: "VIBE SLOGGING"

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce ·

2025/09/23

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

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27:06

ALWAYS IMPERFECT: "NO MAGIC WANDS"

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce ·

2025/09/16

Always Imperfect - Episode 1 - NO MAGIC WANDS Artificial intelligence may be amazing but it’salways imperfect. Anyone trying to use AI professionally lands on the horns of a dilemma: will a productivity increase gained through automation represent any savings, after factoring in the extra supervision needed to use these amazing (but unreliable) new tools? In this mini series, we chat with Drew Smith, co-founder of Wisely AI, a firm dedicated to helping businesses use AI safely and wisely. (I

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60:51

TWO FUTURISTS GO 'VIBE FORECASTING'

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce ·

2025/09/10

Whenever fellow futurist and longtime friend Rob Tercek and I (Mark Pesce) get together, we go crazy deep on the future: What happens when lazy humans outsource their thought process to machines? You get a society that vibes its way into a blurry, sub-optimal future. The surge of slop means that AI is creating more work for humans instead of stealing our jobs. I join Rob on his podcast The Futurists to cut through the hype and the skepticism about modern tech, calling out AI mediocrity and reminding

en-AU

14:28

RNZ Nine to Noon: ADDICTION IS THE BUSINESS MODEL

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce ·

2025/09/04

Mark joins RNZ Nine to Noon host Kathryn Ryan to delve into the sudden phenomenon of 'viral' AI videos - getting better at capturing your eyeballs. Did you see those cute bunnies bouncing on a trampoline? Never happened - but made you look. The fusion of TikTok and AI video looks to be potent - and addictive. Next up, shocking and sad story of Adam Raine, a 16 year old who confided his suicidal thoughts to ChatGPT. ChatGPT aided him in his eventual suicide - so Raine's parents are suing OpenAI, and

en-AU

9:22

The Next Billion Cars - Experiences in 'Range Anxiety'

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce ·

2025/08/21

On a recent trip to the San Francisco Bay Area, Mark rented an EV, drove to a rural town on the Mendocino coast, then drove back again. That trip taught Mark a lot about what it means to drive an EV - and how it changes both thinking and behaviour behind the wheel. Unless we fundamentally revise how we power personal transportation in the US (and Australia) along lines similar to those in China, the EV revolution will fade away in favour of hybrid vehicles. Co-host Sally Dominguez and Mark Pesce

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17:58

RNZ Nine to Noon: DOES CHATGPT MAKE YOU STUPID?

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce ·

2025/07/01

A recent study from MIT shows students tasked with writing essays showed significantly lower levels of brain activity when allowed to use ChatGPT. Mark Pesce reviews the implications of this finding with RNZ NineToNoon host Kathryn Ryan, going on to reveal how an internet filled with AI-generated content becomes increasingly 'toxic' for those same AIs. Plus, would you agree to be 're-animated' as an 'AI ghost'? In conversation with host Kathryn Ryan, we explored the recently emerging phenomenon of

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20:05

RNZ NINE TO NOON: CAN CHATGPT MAKE YOU CRAZY?

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce ·

2025/06/02

RNZ NINE TO NOON: CAN CHATGPT MAKE YOU CRAZY? In conversation with host Kathryn Ryan, Mark highlights a number of reports indicating potentially very serious mental health issues associated with the use of chatbots like ChatGPT. These chatbots tend to be very agreeable - a quality known as 'sycophancy'. But being agreeable with someone's delusions only tends to reinforce them, potentially amplifying any underlying mental health issues. Should this mean chatbots are off-limits for people in mental

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15:01

Mo Meta, Mo Problems: Could Facebook be broken up?

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce ·

2025/04/17

From Radio New Zealand's Nine To Noon: Meta - the parent of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and much more besides - finds itself fighting for its life against a suit from the US Federal Trade Commission, charging abuse of monopoly power - because they acquired Instagram and WhatsApp in order to neutralise up-and-coming competitors. Even in Trump's America, that could result in the break-up of the trillion-dollar social media giant. Plus, are you up for a Day of Unplugging? No devices, no screens, for

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12:54

RNZ Nine To Noon - Should we give up copyright to...

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce ·

2025/03/20

Originally broadcast on 20th March, 2025 on Radio New Zealand'sNine To Noon with host Kathryn Ryan. Christie's held its first auction of AI-generated art, earning a million dollars. Those AI artworks had been 'trained' from countless images, owned by other people. Is that legal? OpenAI and Google claim that unless they have free right to use - well, basically everything everywhere ever created by humanity - to train their AI models, the Chinese will win the AI race. Meanwhile, Hollywood's A-listers

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18:54

AI WARTECH - Has technology turned to the dark side?

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce ·

2025/02/13

Originally broadcast on Radio New Zealand'sNine to Noon on 13 February 2025 Last week Google amended its ethical AI policies to allow their AI tools to be used in weapons - to preserve 'national security'. They're among the last to embrace a new market for their products - defense and weapons. Is this a new thing? Or is tech simply returning to its roots as a service industry for the military-industrial complex? Is this why the US and UK refused to sign an international AI declaration this week

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35:12

Gradually. Then Suddenly

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce ·

2024/12/16

"How did you go bankrupt?" begins the oft-quoted line from Hemingway. "Two ways. Gradually - then suddenly." That's how the automotive sector feels at the end of 2024, with Nissan maybe preparing for bankruptcy and Stellantis firing its CEO and VW struggling with strikes and low sales and GM shuttering Cruise and on and on and on. Sally Dominguez and Drew Smith join Mark Pesce in studio to explore what's really happening - and what it all means for THE NEXT BILLION CARS. The Next Billion Cars with

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16:13

The War over Plant-Based foods with Nick Hazell

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce ·

2024/12/10

In 2018, Nick Hazell founded v2food - an amazing startup making plant-based substitutes for meat that got extensive coverage on THE NEXT BILLION SECONDS. Six years later, it's getting difficult to find their product on supermarket shelves - and there's been a broader roll-back from plant-based alternatives. What's happened? Nick Hazel doesn't have all the answers - but he asks some of the right questions...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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37:20

The New Alchemy

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce ·

2024/12/02

The impacts of global heating have become persistent and profound, so we need to do as much as we can to lesson those impacts, as quickly as we can. The best paths forward lean into existing, natural processes - and this is exactly where Nick Hazell has arrived with Algenie. Can algae restore balance to our ecosystem? Is it the moonshot we need to transform our future?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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18:21

The Next Billion Cars - 2024 in Review (part 2)

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce ·

2024/11/27

In this final year in review episode, Sally Dominguez, Drew Smith and Mark Pesce address the big, smelly elephant in the room: The change of government - and direction - over in the United States of America. Could massive tariffs plus 'drill, baby, drill' together land a knockout punch on the US EV industry? Plus - predictions for 2025. We're bringing the year to a thrilling close on this episode of THE NEXT BILLION CARS. Sign up for 'The Practical Futurist' newsletter here Hosted by award-winning

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22:11

The Next Billion Cars - 2024 in review (part 1)

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce ·

2024/11/25

Whenever Mark, Sal and Drew get together, sparks will fly. So much has happened since our visit to CES 2024, we reckoned it time to draw all the year's threads together: Are we pulling back from EVs? Will China dominate manufacturing? And what about all that data vehicles are collecting? It's been full on - enough to require a bit of a 'group hug'. Part one of two. Sign up for 'The Practical Futurist' newsletter here Hosted by award-winning podcast creator, journalist & futurist Mark Pesce, The

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132 results

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