Best Pragmatic AI Labs Podcasts (2025)

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How Crusoe is Reducing the Carbon Intensity of AI Data Centers 30:50

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6d ago30:50

30:50

Hui Wen Chan, Senior Director of Sustainability at Crusoe, describeshow the rapid rise of AI is reshaping energy demand and Crusoe’s efforts to design more sustainable data centers. She explains how Crusoe leverages stranded energy sources, repurposed electric vehicle batteries, on-site renewables, and innovative energy-efficient cooling technologi…

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Ultra-processed data: the hidden risk AI can’t solve 30:26

7d ago30:26

30:26

In this episode of the Data Malarkey Podcast, Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, welcomes Kelly Beaver, Chief Executive of Ipsos UK & Ireland, to explore why the data industry is at a crossroads. Kelly shares insights from the Market Research Society’s "Campaign for Better Data" - tackling synthetic data, the risks and benefits of AI to the mark…

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Scaling Carbon Capture for Hard-to-abate sectors: Danielle Rapson of Mantel 40:07

20d ago40:07

40:07

Danielle Rapson, HBS alum and Co-founder and COO of Mantel, joins Climate Rising to explain how her company is developing a novel molten-based carbon capture system for hard-to-abate industrial sectors. Danielle shares the story of how Mantel spun out of an MIT lab, what sets its technology apart from existing amine-based carbon capture, and why th…

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ELO Ratings Questions 3:39

1M ago3:39

3:39

Key Argument Thesis: Using ELO for AI agent evaluation = measuring noise Problem: Wrong evaluators, wrong metrics, wrong assumptions Solution: Quantitative assessment frameworks The Comparison (00:00-02:00) Chess ELO FIDE arbiters: 120hr training Binary outcome: win/loss Test-retest: r=0.95 Cohen's κ=0.92 AI Agent ELO Random users: Google engineer?…

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The 2X Ceiling: Why 100 AI Agents Can't Outcode Amdahl's Law" 4:19

1M ago4:19

4:19

AI coding agents face the same fundamental limitation as parallel computing: Amdahl's Law. Just as 10 cooks can't make soup 10x faster, 10 AI agents can't code 10x faster due to inherent sequential bottlenecks. 📚 Key Concepts The Soup Analogy Multiple cooks can divide tasks (prep, boiling water, etc.) But certain steps MUST be sequential (can't sti…

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Building Climate-Resilient Farming with Robotics: Eric Adamson of Oishii and Tortuga 43:13

1M ago43:13

43:13

Eric Adamson, Robotics Executive at Oishii and co-founder of Tortuga AgTech, joins Climate Rising to share how automation and AI are transforming fruit farming. Eric explains how his team designed a strawberry-harvesting robot capable of operating in outdoor tunnels and vertical farms, bringing operational efficiency, labor savings, and climate res…

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Microsoft ’s Climate Strategy and Its Carbon Removal Deal with Chestnut Carbon 44:34

1M ago44:34

44:34

Microsoft’s Brian Marrs, Senior Director of Energy and Carbon Removal, and Chestnut Carbon CFO Greg Adams share their perspectives as a major buyer and developer of carbon removal credits. Their 2025 deal is one of the largest carbon removal deals in the U.S. and seeks to deliver 7 million tons of nature-based carbon credits over 25 years. Brian ex…

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Agentic coding in analytics engineering (w/ Mikkel Dengsøe) 44:20

1M ago44:20

44:20

Tristan talks with Mikkel Dengsøe, co-founder at SYNQ, to break down what agentic coding looks like in analytics engineering. Mikkel walks through a hands-on project using Cursor, the dbt MCP server, Omni’s AI assistant, and Snowflake. They cover where agents shine (staging, unit tests, lineage-aware checks), where they’re risky (BI chat for non-ex…

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Best of Series 8: Perception, Purpose, and Persuasion - The Data Malarkey Podcast 57:52

2M ago57:52

57:52

In this Greatest Hits episode, Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, rounds up the sharpest, most compelling, and most insightful moments from Series 8 of Data Malarkey - the podcast about using data, smarter. From AI and ethics to storytelling with data, this episode features golden snippets of conversations with: VW’s Nick Ratcliffe on marketing …

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Reducing Household Emissions with Dishwashing Innovation: A Conversation with P&G ’ s Ashley Fill 48:02

2M ago48:02

48:02

Ashley Fill, Global Director of Sustainability at P&G Home Care joins Climate Rising to discuss how consumer behavior and innovative technologies can reduce household carbon and water footprints. Ashley shares how life cycle assessments reveal that 87% of the emissions in P&G’s Home Care portfolio come from product use, particularly dishwashing. Sh…

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Under the hood of Apache Iceberg (w/ Christian Thiel) 55:59

2M ago55:59

55:59

Tristan digs deep into the world of Apache Iceberg. There’s a lot happening beneath the surface: multiple catalog interfaces, evolving REST specs, and competing implementations across open source, proprietary, and academic contexts. Christian Thiel, co-founder of Lakekeeper, one of the most widely used Iceberg catalogs, joins to walk through the st…

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Measuring what matters: Darryl Sparey on comms, metrics, and making data sing 52:31

2M ago52:31

52:31

In this episode of The Data Malarkey Podcast, host and Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, talks with Darryl Sparey, Managing Director and Co-Founder of UK-based PR agency, Hard Numbers. A seasoned expert in communications and marketing measurement, Darryl breaks down what it really means to use data effectively in PR, how vanity metrics mislead,…

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AI for Climate Resilient Food Systems with ClimateAi’s Himanshu Gupta 46:16

2M ago46:16

46:16

ClimateAi co-founder and CEO Himanshu Gupta explains how hiscompany uses machine learning to forecast extreme weather and help businesses adapt to climate volatility. Himanshu shares his journey from rural India to co-founding ClimateAi while he was an MBA student. He describes how ClimateAi's "biophysics-driven AI" combines limited weather and cro…

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The Extinction of Experience: Christine Rosen on reclaiming humanity in a digital world 48:07

3M ago48:07

48:07

In this episode of The Data Malarkey Podcast, host and Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, is joined by Christine Rosen, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of the 2025 book, The Extinction of Experience. They dig into what happens when real-world, face-to-face experiences are replaced by screens and algorithms. Christin…

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The pragmatic guide to AI agents in the enterprise (w/ Sean Falconer) 49:59

3M ago49:59

49:59

What does it mean to be agentic? Is there a spectrum of agency? In this episode of The Analytics Engineering Podcast, Tristan Handy talks to Sean Falconer, senior director of AI strategy at Confluent, about AI agents. They discuss what truly makes software "agentic," where agents are successfully being deployed, and how to conceptualize and build a…

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Designing for Resilience: with Alex Berkowitz of Coastal Protection Services 38:10

3M ago38:10

38:10

This episode is another in our series on Climate Resilience featuringAlex Berkowitz, Founder and CEO of Coastal Protection Solutions (CPS), astartup developing nearshore infrastructure that reduces wave energy and enhances climate resilience. Alex shares how her personal experience with Hurricane Sandy in her hometown of Rockaway Beach led to the c…

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How AI Thinks: Chris Summerfield on human brains and machine algorithms 51:41

3M ago51:41

51:41

In this episode of Data Malarkey – the podcast about using data, smarter – Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, talks to Chris Summerfield, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Oxford. Chris shares insights into what makes human intelligence so remarkable, how AI models are both fundamentally different from AND similar to human…

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How Amazon S3 works (w/ Andy Warfield) 50:05

3M ago50:05

50:05

In this season of the Analytics Engineering podcast, Tristan is deep into the world of developer tools and databases. If you're following us here, you've almost definitely used Amazon S3 it and its Blob Storage siblings. They form the foundation for nearly all data work in the cloud. In many ways, it was the innovations that happened inside of S3 t…

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Investing in Climate Resilience and Poverty Alleviation: Acumen Founder & CEO Jacqueline Novogratz 57:24

3M ago57:24

57:24

In this Climate Rising episode in our series on climate resilience, Jacqueline Novogratz, Founder and CEO of Acumen shares how impact investing is agriculture is helping smallholder farmers build climate resilience. Jacqueline shares insights from two decades of investing in poverty alleviation that includes climate resilience and adaptation social…

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Rebuilding trust in science with Caitlyn Looby 40:35

3M ago40:35

40:35

In this compelling episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, welcomes Caitlyn Looby - scientist, journalist, and Great Lakes reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. From conducting soil microbe research in tropical cloud forests to demystifying scientific communication for the public, Caitlyn’s career bridges h…

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Forecasting Climate Risk with Geospatial AI: Sarah Russell of X , the Moonshot Factory at Alphabet 35:09

4M ago35:09

35:09

This episode, part of the Climate Rising series on climate resilience, features Sarah Russell, General Manager of Project Bellwether at X, The Moonshot Factory at Alphabet (formerly Google X). Sarah shares how geospatial data and artificial intelligence can help communities and businesses anticipate and respond to climate risks. Sarah shares insigh…

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Mark Bonner on football, data, and the beautiful balance 45:02

4M ago45:02

45:02

In this lively episode of Data Malarkey, Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, is joined by Mark Bonner, Director of Football at Cambridge United. From academy coach to leading the club to shock cup victories, Bonner's football journey is anything but typical. Together, they explore the evolving role of data in football, the emotional highs and low…

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From Docker to Dagger (w/ Solomon Hykes) 48:50

4M ago48:50

48:50

In this season of the Analytics Engineering podcast, Tristan is digging deep into the world of developer tools and databases. There are few more widely used developer tools than Docker. From its launch back in 2013, Docker has completely changed how developers ship applications. In this episode, Tristan talks to Solomon Hykes, the founder and creat…

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Closing the Loop by Recycling Apparel: Reju CEO Patrik Frisk 43:43

4M ago43:43

43:43

Patrik Frisk, CEO of ReJu, joins Climate Rising to discuss his company’s mission to recycle textile waste and build circular supply chains for apparel made of polyester fabric. Patrik brings his prior experience leading Under Armour and other global brands across the textile and footwear industry for over 35 years. Patrik describes how ReJu turns d…

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Turning data into desirability: Automotive insights with Nick Ratcliffe 36:24

4M ago36:24

36:24

Recorded live at the DataComms 2025 conference in London, this very special episode of the Data Malarkey Podcast features Nick Ratcliffe, Customer Experience Director at Volkswagen Group UK. Host and master data storyteller, Sam Knowles, delves into how Nick and his team wield data to enhance customer experience, transform brand desirability, and p…

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The history and future of the data ecosystem (w/ Lonne Jaffe) 53:53

5M ago53:53

53:53

In this decades-spanning episode, Tristan Handy sits down with Lonne Jaffe, Managing Director at Insight Partners and former CEO of Syncsort (now Precisely), to trace the history of the data ecosystem—from its mainframe origins to its AI-infused future. Lonne reflects on the evolution of ETL, the unexpected staying power of legacy tech, and why AI …

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Extending Apparel Lifespan: ThredUp CEO James Reinhart 38:02

5M ago38:02

38:02

James Reinhart, CEO of ThredUp, one of the largest online resale platforms for secondhand clothing. James co-founded the company while he was a Masters’ student at Harvard and has spent the last 15 years scaling a national logistics and digital infrastructure platform for resale. In this episode James describes why the company decided to handle phy…

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Everything terminals (w/ Zach Lloyd) 47:21

5M ago47:21

47:21

In this episode, Tristan talks to Zach Lloyd, founder of Warp—a terminal built for the modern era, including for AI agents. They explore the history of terminals, differences between terminals and shells, and what the future might look like. In a world driven by generative AI, the terminal could once again be the control center of computer usage. F…

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Plastic Shamans of AGI 10:32

5M ago10:32

10:32

The plastic shamans of OpenAI 🔥 Hot Course Offers:- 🤖 Master GenAI Engineering - Build Production AI Systems- 🦀 Learn Professional Rust - Industry-Grade Development- 📊 AWS AI & Analytics - Scale Your ML in Cloud- ⚡ Production GenAI on AWS - Deploy at Enterprise Scale- 🛠️ Rust DevOps Mastery - Automate Everything🚀 Level Up Your Career:- 💼 Production…

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The Toyota Way: Engineering Discipline in the Era of Dangerous Dilettantes 14:38

5M ago14:38

14:38

Dangerous Dilettantes vs. Toyota Way Engineering Core Thesis The influx of AI-powered automation tools creates dangerous dilettantes - practitioners who know just enough to be harmful. The Toyota Production System (TPS) principles provide a battle-tested framework for integrating automation while maintaining engineering discipline. Historical Conte…

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Designing for Circularity at Scale: A Conversation with Karen Pflug of Ingka Group 46:27

5M ago46:27

46:27

In the latest episode of Climate Rising from Harvard Business School, Karen Pflug, Chief Sustainability Officer of Ingka Group (IKEA), shares how IKEA is embedding circularity throughout its business model. She discusses how IKEA is redesigning iconic products like the Billy bookcase to make them easier to disassemble and repair, how secondhand ret…

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DevOps Narrow AI Debunking Flowchart 11:19

5M ago11:19

11:19

Extensive Notes: The Truth About AI and Your Coding Job Types of AI Narrow AI Not truly intelligent Pattern matching and full text search Examples: voice assistants, coding autocomplete Useful but contains bugs Multiple narrow AI solutions compound bugs Get in, use it, get out quickly AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) No evidence we're close to…

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No Dummy, AI Isn't Replacing Developer Jobs 14:41

5M ago14:41

14:41

Extensive Notes: "No Dummy: AI Will Not Replace Coders" Introduction: The Critical Thinking Problem America faces a critical thinking deficit, especially evident in narratives about AI automating developers' jobs Speaker advocates for examining the narrative with core critical thinking skills Suggests substituting the dominant narrative with altern…

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The Narrow Truth: Dismantling IntelligenceTheater in Agent Architecture 10:34

5M ago10:34

10:34

how Gen.AI companies combine narrow ML components behind conversational interfaces to simulate intelligence. Each agent component (text generation, context management, tool integration) has direct non-ML equivalents. API access bypasses the deceptive UI layer, providing better determinism and utility. Optimal usage requires abandoning open-ended in…

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The Pirate Bay Hypothesis: Reframing AI's True Nature 8:31

5M ago8:31

8:31

Episode Summary: A critical examination of generative AI through the lens of a null hypothesis, comparing it to a sophisticated search engine over all intellectual property ever created, challenging our assumptions about its transformative nature. Keywords: AI demystification, null hypothesis, intellectual property, search engines, large language m…

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Why compilers matter (w/ Lukas Schulte) 41:59

5M ago41:59

41:59

In this episode, Tristan Handy and Lukas Schulte, co-founder of SDF Labs and now part of dbt Labs, dive deep into the world of compilers—what they are, how they work, and what they mean for the data ecosystem. SDF, recently acquired by dbt Labs, builds a world-class SQL compiler aimed at abstracting away the complexity of warehouse-specific SQL. Jo…

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Advancing the Circular Economy: A Conversation with Lauren Rodriguez of Closed Loop Partners 41:45

6M ago41:45

41:45

Lauren Rodriguez, who leads partnerships at Circular Services, a Closed Loop Partners company, joins host Mike Toffel to discuss building the infrastructure and investment models needed to scale the circular economy. Lauren explains how Closed Loop Partners supports the transition from a linear to a circular economy through capital management, inno…

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Claude Code Review: Pattern Matching, Not Intelligence 10:31

6M ago10:31

10:31

Episode Notes: Claude Code Review: Pattern Matching, Not Intelligence Summary I share my hands-on experience with Anthropic's Claude Code tool, praising its utility while challenging the misleading "AI" framing. I argue these are powerful pattern matching tools, not intelligent systems, and explain how experienced developers can leverage them effec…

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Deno: The Modern TypeScript Runtime Alternative to Python 7:26

6M ago7:26

7:26

Deno: The Modern TypeScript Runtime Alternative to Python Episode Summary Deno stands tall. TypeScript runs fast in this Rust-based runtime. It builds standalone executables and offers type safety without the headaches of Python's packaging and performance problems. Keywords Deno, TypeScript, JavaScript, Python alternative, V8 engine, scripting lan…

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Reframing GenAI as Not AI - Generative Search, Auto-Complete and Pattern Matching 16:43

6M ago16:43

16:43

Episode Notes: The Wizard of AI: Unmasking the Smoke and Mirrors Summary I expose the reality behind today's "AI" hype. What we call AI is actually generative search and pattern matching - useful but not intelligent. Like the Wizard of Oz, tech companies use smoke and mirrors to market what are essentially statistical models as sentient beings. Key…

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Academic Style Lecture on Concepts Surrounding RAG in Generative AI 45:17

6M ago45:17

45:17

Episode Notes: Search, Not Superintelligence: RAG's Role in Grounding Generative AI Summary I demystify RAG technology and challenge the AI hype cycle. I argue current AI is merely advanced search, not true intelligence, and explain how RAG grounds models in verified data to reduce hallucinations while highlighting its practical implementation chal…

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Season 7 Greatest Hits: AI, Kindness & the Power of Storytelling 49:19

6M ago49:19

49:19

We’ve reached 51 episodes and wrapped Season 7 of Data Malarkey! In this greatest hits episode, host Sam Knowles shares the most powerful moments from a season packed with insights—from AI ethics to data puppets, from psychology and kindness to practical business transformation. Revisit brilliant guests like Sylvie Delacroix, Julie Holmes, Cecilia …

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The evolution of databases (w/ Wolfram Schulte) 54:17

6M ago54:17

54:17

In the first episode of our new season on developer experience, the cofounder and CTO of SDF Labs, now a part of dbt Labs, discusses databases, compilers, and dev tools. Wolfram spent close to two decades in Microsoft Research and several years at Meta building their data platform. For full show notes and to read 6+ years of back issues of the podc…

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Scaling Reuse with Vytal: A Circular Economy Conversation with CEO Fabian Barthel 44:49

6M ago44:49

44:49

Fabian Barthel, Co-Founder of Vytal, a circular economy packaging-as-a-service startup, joins host Mike Toffel to explore the innovation, behavioral science, and regulations shaping the market for reusable containers for take-out food and beverages. Fabian shares how Vytal is tackling packaging waste by building a reusable container system for rest…

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AI as an Intern, Not a Genius: Julie Holmes on Automation, Ethics & Human Impact 49:00

6M ago49:00

49:00

In this energising episode of the Data Malarkey Podcast, Master Data Storyteller Sam Knowles speaks with Julie Holmes, entrepreneur, inventor, and AI advisor. Julie shares her insights into how businesses can make AI work with their people – not instead of them. She dives into creative automation, ethical AI, and the dangers of dabbling without dir…

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Carbon Credit Ratings and Market Integrity: A Conversation on the Calyx Global Case 41:21

7M ago41:21

41:21

In this bonus episode of Climate Rising, we share an episode from Harvard Business School’s Cold Call podcast, featuring HBS professor Mike Toffel and Duncan van Bergen, Co-Founder of Calyx Global. The discussion focuses on Mike’s recent HBS case study, Calyx Global: Rating Carbon Credits, which explores how the company is helping improve transpare…

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Truth Before Meaning: Scott Taylor on Data Storytelling & Business Impact 51:54

7M ago51:54

51:54

In this episode of the Data Malarkey Podcast, host Sam Knowles welcomes Scott Taylor, The Data Whisperer, to break down why data storytelling is the missing business skill in the world of AI, analytics, and business intelligence. Scott shares why he believes in Truth Before Meaning, the idea that businesses need clean, structured data before they c…

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Investing in Carbon Markets: A Conversation with Luke Leslie of Key Carbon 41:26

7M ago41:26

41:26

Luke Leslie, Co-Founder and CEO of Key Carbon, joins Climate Rising as part of our series on voluntary carbon markets. Luke has spent over 20 years in carbon markets and finance, working in investment banking, private equity, and structured finance. Luke explains how Key Carbon is financing high-integrity carbon projects and how new overlaps betwee…

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Pragmatic AI Labs Interactive Labs Next Generation 2:57

7M ago2:57

2:57

Pragmatica Labs Podcast: Interactive Labs Update Episode Notes Announcement: Updated Interactive Labs New version of interactive labs now available on the Pragmatica Labs platform Focus on improved Rust teaching capabilities Rust Learning Environment Features Browser-based development environment with: Ability to create projects with Cargo Code com…

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Meta and OpenAI LibGen Book Piracy Controversy 9:51

7M ago9:51

9:51

Meta and OpenAI Book Piracy Controversy: Podcast Summary The Unauthorized Data Acquisition Meta (Facebook's parent company) and OpenAI downloaded millions of pirated books from Library Genesis (LibGen) to train artificial intelligence models The pirated collection contained approximately 7.5 million books and 81 million research papers Mark Zuckerb…