John Markoff: The past, present and future of Silicon Valley

The Future of Everything - A podcast by Stanford Engineering - Fridays

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John Markoff is perhaps best known as a science and technology writer for the New York Times, but he is also a fellow at the Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence at Stanford. In both roles he is a keen observer and chronicler of the rise of Silicon Valley as the heart of the technological revolution of the past six decades. While Silicon Valley remains the preeminent technology center in the world today, Markoff cautions that nothing lasts forever and a demise can often be just as swift as the rise. The next big thing in tech, he says, will be a surprise and it could come from anywhere. To remain at the top, Silicon Valley cannot rest on its laurels, but must continue to innovate like no other. Markoff has noticed a shift in emphasis in recent years from faster and cheaper computers to artificial intelligence and robotics that may be opening new frontiers to technologists outside of Silicon Valley for the first time in many decades. He says the biggest problem for society will not be losing jobs to robots, but rather dealing with rapidly aging populations around the world. The question, he says, isn’t which jobs will be the first to go, but rather who will be available to fill the jobs that remain. You can listen to this episode of The Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher or via Stanford Engineering Magazine.