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Humans in the Loop

Seb Agertoft
Artificial Intelligence
Fuser
Restless Egg
Granola AI
Givedirectly
Shareholder Primacy
Qanon
Cash Transfers
Financial Gravity
United States
Interspecies Internet
Kevin Kelly
Protopian
Malawi
Novo Nordisk
Epstein
Microsoft
Meditation
Bubble
SAP

Humans in the Loop, hosted by Seb Agertoft, is a podcast for thoughtful technologists asking the hard questions at the intersection of technology and society. Guests include founders, investors, researchers, artists, policymakers and even a Zen Master, covering topics like the AI bubble debate, tech sovereignty, the Chinese tech industry, radicalisation and conspiracy theories, AGI, quantum comput... more

PublishesTwice monthlyEpisodes17Foundeda year ago
Number of ListenersCategory
Technology

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Artwork for Humans in the Loop

Latest Episodes

Few people understand language quite like today's guest. Emily M. Bender is a Professor of Computational Linguistics at the University of Washington.

She's also the person who coined the term 'Stochastic Parrots' in the now infamous paper that saw ... more

YouTube

I sat down with Paul Kedrosky - investor, researcher and one of the smartest voices out there on the economics of AI and the risks of a bubble.

Here are a few of the questions we talked about:

* What is a bubble?

* Is AI a bubble?

* How does i... more

YouTube

How do ideas, however crazy they might seem, spread?

Who's a true believer vs. a grifter following the money?

Can you talk about Epstein and QAnon without losing your rational mind?

How can investigative journalism move with the times?

These are ... more

YouTube

Many of us have a sense that even well-meaning companies and institutions lose their way, sometimes becoming downright evil.Eric Ries is a legend when it comes to building tech companies and his new book is written from the perspective of someone who... more

YouTube

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Recent Guests

Paul Kedrosky
Investor, writer and research fellow at MIT's Institute for the Digital Economy
MIT Institute for the Digital Economy
Episode: The AI Bubble | Paul Kedrosky - Investor, Researcher, MIT Fellow
James Ball
Award-winning journalist, broadcaster and author
The Guardian (and other outlets)
Episode: Epstein, Conspiracy and How Ideas Spread | Investigative Journalist James R Ball
Eric Ries
Founder and author known for The Lean Startup and Incorruptible
Long Term Stock Exchange (as a founder)
Episode: Eric Ries | Is it even possible to build an Incorruptible company?
Nick Allardice
CEO of GiveDirectly
GiveDirectly
Episode: Can you lift a country out of poverty? | Nick Allardice, CEO GiveDirectly
Selina Xu
Writer and researcher featured in major outlets
Episode: The Chinese Tech Economy | Selina Xu - AI & China Researcher
Henry Shukman
Zen master, meditation teacher, co-founder of The Way meditation app
The Way meditation app
Episode: Zen Master Henry Shukman on tech & what it means to be human
Dalena Tran
Co-founder of Fuser
Fuser
Episode: The Creative Process with Fuser Co-Founders Dalena Tran & Hirad Sab
Hirad Sab
Co-founder and CTO of Fuser
Fuser
Episode: The Creative Process with Fuser Co-Founders Dalena Tran & Hirad Sab
Mike Masnick
Founder of TechDirt; founder of Copia Institute; educator and writer on tech policy and innovation
TechDirt; Copia Institute
Episode: Mike Masnick on the decentralised internet

Host

Sebastian Agertoft
Host of Humans in the Loop, sometimes credited as Seb Agertoft in show materials.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#131
United Kingdom/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#57
Belgium/Technology

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Talking to animals with Kate Armstrong
Q: What ethical considerations are most pressing when deploying these technologies in the wild or in conservation contexts?
Ethical considerations include respecting animal rights and welfare, avoiding harmful surveillance or geolocation misuse, aligning with international guidelines, and considering rights of nature and potential legal representations for animals to protect habitats and welfare.
Talking to animals with Kate Armstrong
Q: How are AI and data shaping this field, and what checks are in place to avoid misinterpretation?
AI helps process enormous bioacoustic and behavioral datasets, enables pattern matching across modalities, and can generate language-model-like suggestions for signals, but there is an insistence on retaining human oversight and ground-truth validation by researchers to prevent over-interpretation.
Talking to animals with Kate Armstrong
Q: What exactly does Interspecies Internet do, and how did it come about?
Interspecies Internet started from a TED Talk in 2013 and grew into a cross-disciplinary effort that aims to plug animals into the Internet through shared technologies and networks, spanning design, biology, and computing to explore how species can communicate and share information.
Alex Komoroske on the hacker ethic and pro-social tech
Q: Can incumbents course-correct from within, or do we need new AI-native organizations to lead the way?
He argues that incumbents rarely go backward; cultural ossification is a one-way ratchet, but meaningful change can come from new models that are AI-native and designed with resonance and privacy at their core; some large companies have proven change is possible with the right conditions.
Alex Komoroske on the hacker ethic and pro-social tech
Q: What do you think people need to know about your story to understand your perspective on tech?
Alex connects hacker ethics with pragmatic, pro-social aims and explains that cynicism in tech undermines idealism; his background in Wikipedia discourse, Google, Stripe, and his work on The Resonant Computing Manifesto frame his lens on how technology should serve society rather than just juice engagement metrics.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About Humans in the Loop

What is Humans in the Loop about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A thoughtful tech-focused show that brings together leaders, researchers, and practitioners who probe humanity's relationship with technology. Episodes span cash transfer philanthropy, China's tech-economic dynamics, Zen and mindfulness in a digital age, AI's role in creativity, decentralized networks, hacker ethics, and democratic resilience in the face of rapid innovation. Guests tend to be senior practitioners, founders, policymakers, and researchers who offer practical experience, critical perspectives, and long-range thinking about technology's social impacts. The format often blends philosophical questions with real-world case studies, aiming to illuminate not only what tech can do, but what it should do. A standout trait across episo... more

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Which podcasts are similar to Humans in the Loop?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Humans in the Loop:

1. The Nick, Dick and Paul Show
2. The Noble Update Podcast
3. Know Your Risk Podcast
4. Excess Returns
5. The Tech Report

How many episodes of Humans in the Loop are there?

Humans in the Loop launched a year ago and published 17 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact Humans in the Loop?

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What guests have appeared on Humans in the Loop?

Recent guests on Humans in the Loop include:

1. Paul Kedrosky
2. James Ball
3. Eric Ries
4. Nick Allardice
5. Selina Xu
6. Henry Shukman
7. Dalena Tran
8. Hirad Sab

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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