Mike & Amit Talk Tech
Mike & Amit Talk Tech is hosted by IMD professors Mike Wade and Amit Joshi. The show examines the latest technology trends, including AI, ChatGPT, and the future of the web. Each episode offers expert discussion and analysis aimed at understanding how emerging technologies shape business and society.
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Is AI good or bad for sustainability?
AI is a double-edged sword for the environment. Its growth requires masses of energy, water, and rare earth metals. The LLMs of tomorrow may even require the world to bring old power plants, powered by fossil fuels, back online. On the other hand, AI has the potential to accelerate sustainable transformation by providing innovative approaches to energy production and consumption. So, is A
The Trump effect on tech
Michael Wade is a Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 books and more than 100 case studies, as well as articles on topics such as digital business transformation, innovation, strategy, and dig
What is the impact of technology on K-12 education?
*****Michael Wade is a Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 books and more than 100 case studies, as well as articles on topics such as digital business transformation, innovation, strategy, an
The launch of the AI safety clock
The IMD AI Safety Clock is a tool designed to evaluate the risks of Uncontrolled Artificial General Intelligence (UAGI) – autonomous AI systems that operate without human oversight and could potentially cause significant harm.Our mission is to evaluate and communicate these risks to the public, policymakers, and business leaders, helping ensure the safe development and use of AI technolog
Tech and finance: Building the blockchain
Mike and Amit explore the impact of emerging technologies on finance.*****Michael Wade is a Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 books and more than 100 case studies, as well as articles on top
Defence tech: From TNT to AI
Since the dawn of history, humans have turned to technological innovations to win wars.In the battle of Agincourt, French knights saw their superior numbers whittled down by English longbows. On the fields of Flanders, tanks and machine guns heralded a new age of mechanized destruction. The advent of TNT brought explosive power to battlefields long before the atomic bomb changed the face
How Silicon Valley firms are putting the "AI" in retail
This year, Amazon celebrated 30 years in business.By creating a virtual space where (almost) everything was available at the click of a button, the Seattle-based tech firm changed the face of retail. Tempted away from brick-and-mortar stores by the convenience of online shopping, Amazon created a whole new kind of consumer.However, not all of its retail ideas have been successful. The com
Tech & sports: Could your next coach be a computer?
In an era of desk jobs, sedentary lifestyles are common. Combined with the rise of ultra-processed food, it's no wonder so many people find it hard to stay in shape, despite their best intentions.To help out, there's a plethora of tech to choose from. From apps that count calories to wearable health trackers, innumerable gadgets promise a slimmer, stronger you.But at what point does all t
Tech & sports: The rise of Esports
Mike and Amit discuss how games like football and tennis have paved the way for the $2bn industry of Esports.*********Michael Wade is a Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 books and more than
Tech in sports: How analytics has changed the pros
There's no doubt that statistics and data play an important role in professional sports. Whether in soccer, cricket, or American football, superfans have always been interested in goals scored, passes caught, or wickets taken. But the point at which the value of that data became apparent was the advent of "Moneyball" in the early 2000s, which revolutionized Major League Baseball.Populariz
NVIDIA: The tech giant building the future of chips
Mike and Amit talk about the giant chipmaker NVIDIA, and how it's creating the technology of tomorrow.*********Michael Wade is a Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 books and more than 100 cas
Why does artificial intelligence need regulating?
In March 2024, the European Union approved the world’s first set of major regulatory rules to govern artificial intelligence. The EU AI Act categorizes technologies by risk – low, medium, high, and "unacceptable." Those deemed the most dangerous can, in Europe, be shut down entirely.It was a huge change in the tech world, but many may wonder why it was needed. Forms of AI have been used f
How AI is taking the Biotech industry by storm
Mike & Amit talk about the future of Biotech, and how Artificial Intelligence may speed up healthcare and drug development.*********Michael Wade is a Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 bo
Sora and Gemini: Innovations in AI
The 21st century has been dominated by video. At its start, camcorders allowed amateurs to make their own home movies, and by 2023, the likes of TikTok had become ubiquitous. Phones and social media platforms made shooting and editing child play.But 2024 is seeing another change, one that may shake the very foundation of video itself.Sora, from Open AI, is an Artificial Intelligence const
Mike & Amit talk 2024: Our predictions for the new year
From deepfakes to AI assistants, the technology of tomorrow may help or hinder the world depending on whose hands it's in. In the final episode of 2023, Mike and Amit discuss what to expect in the coming year, and give their predictions over how to prepare.*********Michael Wade is a Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformat
Generative AI: What comes next?
The world has become familiar with artificial intelligence that can answer questions, often in a convincingly human manner. But so far, the technology has been limited by some key constraints. The first is that humans are still required to come up with the initial inputs, or 'prompts', to start conversations or processes. A second is that the relationship is bi-directional, interactions g
AI ethics and the future of big data
Since generative AI exploded into public consciousness, people and companies have been worrying about its ethics. But, says Amit Joshi, before considering rogue programs or the replacement of human thought, one must first consider the ABCs of AI ethics. Accuracy is the first big issue. How can one trust or disseminate the work of generative AI when it is so prone to hallucinating? Bia
How will Generative AI impact jobs and productivity?
It's hard to argue that generative AI won't improve productivity in the long run. You only need to ask Chat GPT a few questions to understand how fast it can pull together disparate facts, help you structure a workday, or simply find you a recipe. Early studies are backing that up too. A recent review by Harvard University and Boston Consulting Group showed that consultants using large la
Generative AI: Who will win the race for industry domination?
Open AI, the company behind ChatGPT, is probably the most famous of the emerging artificial intelligence powerhouses. The firm is backed by Microsoft, a tech giant that hopes to dominate the world of generative AI. But several Silicon Valley titans like Google and Meta have other ideas.From Llama to Bard, AI-enabled chatbots and programs have been released at breakneck speed. The competit
What makes AI today so much more advanced than its predecessors?
In the first episode of Mike & Amit’s mini-series on artificial intelligence, our hosts discussed the birth of AlphaGo and the technological underpinnings of generative AI.But what makes ChatGPT different? Is there anything that fundamentally sets this latest generation of AIs apart from their predecessors?At heart, says Amit Joshi, generative AI is still based on probability. Based o
The rise of Generative AI: From AlphaGo to ChatGPT
Artificial intelligence has been talked about for decades, but over the last year, there has been a shift in the conversation.The rise of ChatGPT and other forms of generative AI has led to a fierce debate. While some have heralded a new utopian world in which artificial intelligence fixes our problems, others have sounded the alarm, warning of a dystopian future ruled by machines. Global
Nuclear power: How we learned to stop loving the atom
Nuclear power was once associated with a brighter future. The technology to extract energy from uranium was scalable, efficient, and billed as a source of cheap, clean power for generations to come.So why has the promise of an atomic age failed to materialize?Today there are around 440 nuclear power generation stations around the world, accounting for only 10% of the total power that we c
3D printing dreams: Why the consumer technology of the future has flopped
Ten years ago, 3D printing was heralded as the answer to so many of life's problems. By now we were supposed to be using a 3D printer to print our food, our clothes, and even to build the house of our dreams. Some predicted that 3D printers would be as common as washing machines and that most middle-class households would be making their day-to-day essentials out of liquid silicone. The
Quantum computing: The tech revolution that wasn't
From ChatGPT to Apple Vision Pro, the latest tech products garner a lot of hype. But while AI chatbots have the potential to change our relationship with the internet, and spatial computing could do the same to the world around us, these tech developments might also fizzle out. Hype does not always result in success in the long run.To understand why that is, we need to look at concepts th
Can a growing tech sector ever be sustainable?
We're used to tech companies making big promises. A future filled with driverless cars, virtual realities to live in, and ever-more impressive gadgets. But what will these achievements amount to in a world ravaged by climate disasters?In the last decade, the global conversation has been dominated by two mega-trends: digitization and sustainability. Mike Wade says that there have been surp
Autonomous Vehicles: The bumpy road to self-driving cars
Companies like Waymo and Tesla are throwing the kitchen sink at autonomous vehicles. Every year from 2015 to 2021, Elon Musk predicted that we would have fully self-driving cars within 12 months. He's been proven wrong over and over again. With hundreds of billions of dollars being sunk into the technology, it's a wonder to some that we are still using steering wheels and gear shifts to
Moore's Law: Is the search for more processing power holding back tech?
In 1965, the American engineer Gordon Moore came up with a novel idea: that the number of semiconductors that you could fit on a silicon chip would double exponentially. It was an idea that seemed revolutionary, perhaps even a little foolhardy. But it turned out to be true. Today, all modern technology, from autonomous cars to smartphones, is built on this massive increase in processing p
The Metaverse: A place to live, or Silicon Valley pipe dream?
"The Metaverse" is a term that defies easy definition. Even before you start to outline its features, you first have to ask if it's the metaverse, a metaverse, or if it's metaverses (plural) you're discussing.But regardless of how you define it, The Metaverse is creating waves in the tech sector. Several companies have put it at the center of their growth strategies – and, in the case of
UPDATE: Is a pause to AI research necessary?
In a short update special Mike and Amit discuss a letter signed by Elon Musk & other tech leaders, demanding AI research.****Michael Wade is a Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 books and
Will Web 3.0 give power back to the people?
One of the biggest topics among the Technorati today is Web 3.0. For many, this came out of the blue. How many even realized that there was a Web 2.0? Proponents of Web 3.0 say that soon, users will have full control of their online persona and be able to connect with friends, purchase products and services, and consume content without having to rely on large commercial platforms. Based o
Chat GPT: Hype or reality?
New digital services and technologies are released all the time, and every so often, one comes along that hits the viral jackpot. Bitcoin did this in 2017, Google’s audio chatbot duplex made a big splash in 2018, and the metaverse and Web 3.0 caught fire in 2022. Some, like Bitcoin, endure; most, however, fade away or shrink. Remember Clubhouse, anyone? Or the upcoming 3D printing revolut
