a16z Podcast
Betsey Stevenson is a labor economist at the University of Michigan, and she was an economic adviser to President Obama. Betsey’s problem is this: How can we create a world where the benefits of AI are broadly shared?
Betsey draws on history – including how the invention of household appliances created a crisis of meaning for American women – to understand how we should respond to the challenge of AI. And she suggests policies to help spread the wealth AI could bring.
In this episode, Betsey explains:
- How Engels’ Pause serves as a warning for workers
- How 20th century women adapted to automation
- How AI has changed life for college students
- The argument for taxing AI firms and distributing the proceeds to the public
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How We Podcast
“Hi everyone, welcome to the a16z Podcast…” … and welcome to our 500th episode, where, for the first time, we reveal behind-the-scenes details and the backstory of how we built this show, and the broader…
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Brand Building Ideas… and People
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AI in B2B
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16 Minutes on the News #10: Amazon Healthcare, Oculus VR/AR, Google Quantum Supremacy?
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16 Minutes on the News #9: All the Recent Phone Hacks
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