The Local Maximum with Max Sklar
Episodes
Ep. 228 - All Things Bayesian
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today's Episode is an interview Max gave on Learn Bayesian Statistics by Alex Andorra in 2019, covers the trajectory of his career and interests, and ...
Ep. 227 - Deepmind's Gato and Dreams of Human Level Artificial Intelligence
24 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Max talks about Alphabet's DeepMind launch of Gato AI - a large scale transformer model. Some of the researchers believe that they are on the path to ...
Ep. 226 - Podcasting 2.0 with Adam Curry
17 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
One of the founders of podcasting itself, Adam Curry, joins The Local Maximum today to talk about podcasting 2.0, podcastindex.org, and how to keep po...
Ep. 225 - The Tsunami Arrives and Architecture Astronauts
10 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Max talks about the financial tsunami predicted last year starting to come to fruition, and then dives into a 2001 article by Joel Spolsky and takes a...
Ep. 224 - Living on Crypto with Joel Valenzuela
03 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Joel Valenzuela visits the Local Maximum studio to talk about how he lives off of cryptocurrencies, the value in coins like Dash over Bitcoin for this...
Ep. 223 - Elon's Twitter Takeover
26 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We learn about corporate governance and corporate politics in order to understand Elon Musk's bid to takeover Twitter. Get full access to The Local Ma...
Ep. 222 - Techno-Pessimism in the Stupid Ages
19 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Max talks about Professor Johnathan Haidt's article in the Atlantic "Why the Past 10 Years of American Life have been Uniquely Stupid". We compare the...
Ep. 221 - Emotion and AI with Alan Cowen
12 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guest is Dr. Alan Cowen, CEO of hume.ai, to discuss fascinating new research on human emotional states, and how machine learning and AI tech...
Ep. 220 - Twitter's Musk Factor, Chat Bot Intelligence, and Pizza
05 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Max responds to the news that Elon Musk has bought a considerable stake in Twitter. A recent blog post by Andrew Gelmans shows that while language mod...
Ep. 219 - Artificial Intelligence for Construction with René Morkos
29 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Max talks to René Morkos, CEO of ALICE Technologies about how AI is being used to make construction projects more efficient.localmaxradio.com/219 Get...
Ep. 218 - Sampling Bias Correction
22 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Max talks to Aaron about his newly published academic paper, "Sampling Bias Correction for Supervised Machine Learning".Paper: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2...
Ep. 217 - Voices from Ukraine
15 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Max talks to and accepts submissions from Ukrainians who are living in that country and around the world to tell their stories about the start of the ...
Ep. 216 - Corona-Fascism with Alu Axelman
08 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today's guest is Alu Axelman, author of Corona-Fascism that excoriates policies and attitudes imposed to fight the coronavirus.Max talks about his str...
Ep. 215 - Polina Shevchenko: Growing up in Donetsk
03 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today's conversation is with Polina Shevchenko, who is a data analyst at Bolt in Tallinn. She grew up in Donetsk, which is one of the breakaway region...
Ep. 214 - War in Ukraine, New York Times Bias
01 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In a late night discussion, Max and Aaron think about recent developments in Ukraine and Max's trip there a few years ago.Max finds headlines in the N...
Ep. 213 - Artificial Consciousness Controversy
22 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Max discusses the recent tweet by OpenAI scientist leaving open the possibility of their AI being a little bit conscious, and the ensuing ridicule and...
Ep. 212 - Bitcoin and the Lightning Network with Guy Swann
15 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Max talks to Bitcoin Audible host Guy Swann about the developing lightning network, including (recent) historical background and how to use it. Get fu...
Ep. 211 - Competition, Consolidation, and Shock
08 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The drop in Meta stock shows the effects of increased competition over users, ad dollars, and privacy controls. Max talks about this along with other ...
Ep. 210 - Metaverse Hype and Infinite Sets
01 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Max and Aaron discuss the hype around the metaverse with Microsoft's recently monster-sized acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Then, they move on the...
Ep. 209 - Wiped Off the Face of the Internet
25 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Max talks about the ultimately futile attempts by tech companies to silence their critics and political enemies.- includes a tweet storm that was rece...
Ep. 208 - Bitcoin and the Fourth Turning with Brandon Quittem
18 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This interview with Brandon Quittem covers generational theory, the fourth turning, and Bitcoin. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum....
Ep. 207 - Max Returns with Priors
11 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Max returns for an in-person recording. Discussion of political comedy and the return of Jon Stewart. Then we ask: how do you form uninformed Bayesian...
Ep. 206 - Topics for the New Year
04 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Max brings up a bunch of new news topics and expands on some old ones that are likely to be important in the new year.- Is the New York Times being sn...
Ep. 205 - Developer Hegemony with Erik Dietrich
28 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max exchanges views with author Erik Deitrich on the drawbacks of software engineering organizations and what to do about it.localmaxradio.com/205 Get...
Ep. 204 - Free Speech, Moderation, and Censorship with Johnny Nelson
21 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max talking to Johnny Nelson (@generativist) about how platforms that use a top-down approach to content moderation can lead to the worst of all world...
Ep. 203 - Iraq and Social Choice Theory
14 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max and Aaron discussion the rule change that the Iraqi government has made in their elections and what this means from a social choice theory stand p...
MESSAGE for Local Maximum Listeners - 2021/12/12
12 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
December 12, 2021Max shares a personal update to long time Local Maximum listeners. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/...
Ep. 202 - Tech Giants at their Saturation Points
07 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max discusses recent developments in Twitter, Facebook, and Google, all tech giants who have reached their saturation points and how they are dealing ...
Ep. 201 - Andrew Gelman, Statistical Insights
30 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max interviews Professor Andrew Gelman of Columbia on Bayesian Inference, Research, Political Prognostication, Descriptive vs Causal work, and areas o...
Ep. 200 - Milestone Metachat
23 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max and Aaron pull out some interesting stats from the first 200 episodes of the Local Maximum Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.su...
Ep. 199 - Regenerating the Past with AI
16 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max looks at the recent availability of AI technologies including GANs and ML Techniques in open source software to take old photos and videos and res...
Ep. 198 - Passive Computing
09 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max breaks out his 2016 blog posts on passive computing, a possibility for the next wave of computer human interfaces and software platforms. We discu...
Ep. 197 - Industry Shifts with Meta, Rumble, and Locals
02 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max discusses Facebook's rebranding to Meta, the merger between Rumbles and Locals, and the upcoming mayoral election in NYC. Get full access to The L...
Ep. 196- Viking Tree Rings and the Prospects of a Trump Social
26 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max and Aaron get together late one night to give you the October New Update, covering - The dating of the Viking Settlement in Newfoundland- The Coin...
Ep. 195 - Why We Sample
19 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max talks about sampling, the reasons for it, and reviews what he's learned about it. Also following stories on the AI Bill of Rights, and Employee po...
Ep. 194 - Steve Jobs
12 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On the 10th anniversary of his death, Max and Aaron review the lessons and warnings from the life of Apple-founder Steve Jobs. Get full access to The ...
Ep. 193 - New Beginnings
05 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max is interviewed by Aaron about his recent departure from Foursquare (again), the upgrades to the podcast studio, and future plans. Get full access ...
Ep. 192 - What is Intelligence
28 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the context of artificial intelligence and machine learning, today's episode focused on the nature of intelligence, and how it related to concepts ...
Ep. 191 - Tracking Big Trends with Ed McCormack
21 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today's guest is DChained Founder EdMcCormack, and we talk about some of the long term trends on the internet - social media, big data, privacy, block...
Ep. 190 - Layers in Truth Seeking, Smart Toilets, and Set Theory Counting
14 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today's solo episode covers:- Peter Boghossian's Resignation Letter and the Evolution of the Academy away from Truth Seeking to Ideological Rigidity- ...
Ep. 189 - September 11th Recall Part II - Memories, Aftermath, Rebuilding
11 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Our discussion on 9/11 continues with memories of that day, the immediate aftermath, and the rebuilding of ground zero as the new world trade center a...
Ep. 188 - September 11th Recall Part I - The Before Time
07 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On the 20th Anniversary of 9/11, Max and Aaron have a 2 part discussion to combine personal recollections with some light historical research. This pa...
Ep. 187 - Coding from Natural Language, NYT Tech Walkout, Off Predictions
31 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today's news update covers OpenAI's Demo where they showed how a natural language interface could be used to write code. What does this mean, and wher...
Ep. 186 - Cubans embrace Bitcoin amidst Monetary Oppression, and the Last Jew in Afghanistan
24 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today's news update goes international to talk about the intersection between technology and global events. Cubans are using Bitcoin to go around thei...
Ep. 185 - Goldbacks in Your Pocket with Benjamin Shaffer
17 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max talks to Benjamin Shaffer about a new product called Goldbacks, which are bills that can fit in your wallet and are made of gold. This innovation ...
Ep. 184 - Academic Freedom, Crypto Regs, and Security Devices
10 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max talks about a video on anti-Semitism by professor Henry Abramson getting censored on YouTube, the meaning of academic freedom, and the fight over ...
Ep. 183 - The Metaverse and Digits
03 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max and Aaron discuss Facebook's plan to develop a metaverse, and Max shares his thoughts and theories on our number system Get full access to The Loc...
Ep. 182 - Focal Points and Written Constitutions
27 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max talks about a concept in game theory called a Focal Point. Also, looking at US history, talks about ways in which written constitutions can succee...
Ep. 181 - Redacting your Secrets
20 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Patricia Thaine, CEO of Private AI, talks to Max about using AI for redaction, and preserving privacy. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localma...
Ep. 180 - Branson, Bezos, and Musk dash to Space
13 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today's discussion centers around the space race among privately owner companies. This includes Richard Branson's first voyage to with virgin galactic...
Ep. 179 - New York attempts Ranked Choice Voting
06 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
New York City's democratic primary is in the midst of a vote-counting debacle that may go on for weeks. This is their first time using ranked choice v...
Ep. 178 - How Design Makes the World with Scott Berkun
29 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Author Scott Berkun joins the Local Maximum to talk about his new book How Design Makes the World. We cover the relationship between design and engine...
Ep. 177 - Lessons from Past Predictions on Autonomous Vehicles, Bitcoin, Covid, and Decentralization
22 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max goes deeper into some of the topics and predictions going back to 2015 brought up from the predictions panel earlier this month. He finds lessons ...
Ep. 176 - Gene Epstein on Economics, Capitalism and Innovation
15 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today's guest is Gene Epstein, former economics editor at Barron's Magazine and founder of the SoHo forum debate series. We talk about his debates wit...
Ep. 175 - Predictions Panel on Decentralization, Language Models, and Post-COVID
08 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This year's prediction panel features discussions on Decentralization, Language Models, Life After Covid, New York City, Social Media Embracing Fake N...
Ep. 174 - Jeremy Kauffman, CEO of Odysee and LBRY for Decentralized Video
01 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guest is Jeremy Kauffman, founder and CEO of Odysee and LBRY. LBRY is the underlying technology and blockchain that powers a decentralized v...
Ep. 173 - The Fourth Turning Part II - Emerging from the Crisis
27 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max and Aaron finish their discussion of the Fourth Turning, including evaluations of the theory, how it could be tested, what it predicts, and specul...
Ep. 172 - The Fourth Turning Part I - Cycles of History
25 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max and Aaron dive into the theory of the Fourth Turning and the cycles of history as put forth in the 1997 book of the same name by Strauss and Howe....
Ep. 171 - Ransomware, Security First, and Crypto-corporations
18 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max talks about the recent ransomware attack on the colonial pipeline that let to gas shortages in the southeastern US, how this could encourage secur...
Ep. 170 - Bayesian Inference Regulations and Network Algorithms
11 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s episode discusses the proposed regulations of AI from the European Union, including regulations on Bayesian Inference. This includes the dan...
Ep. 169 - Basecamp’s Boundary on Politics
04 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Basecamp asks employees not to discuss too much politics at work, and some of them (plus the media) freak out! The Local Maximum gets a new setup. Get...
Ep. 168 - Urban Augment Reality with Iracema Trevisan
27 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Designer, artist and researcher Iracema Trevisan talks to Max about the future of Augmented Reality in cities. Get full access to The Local Maximum at...
Ep. 167 - Blockchain Rising: Wordproof and DeFi
20 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today's guest is Sebastiaan ven der Lans, founder of wordproof with a goal to fight fake news through blockchain technology. Max and Sebastiaan talk a...
Ep. 166 - Lockdown Memory Holes and Rates of Return
13 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today Max discusses the efforts by media and tech giants to censor all alternative viewpoints on the Covid Lockdowns, and efficacy of the lockdowns th...
Ep 165 - Peter McCormack of the What Bitcoin Did Podcast
06 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guest Peter McCormack is the host of the highly acclaimed What Bitcoin Did podcast. We cover the recent history of getting into Bitcoin with...
Ep. 164 - Anne Griffin on Attracting Employers and AI Product
30 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guest is Anne Griffin, a leader in product management, a startup advisor, and subject matter expert in AI, blockchain, tech ethics and produ...
Ep. 163 - Flying Cars, Causality, and Digital Art Storage Concerns
23 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today's March News Update includes:- NFTs, concerns about how they are being stored, Filecoin- Jetson's Act in New Hampshire to legalize flying cars- ...
Ep. 162 - Assaf Lev - Cofounder and CEO of Locals
16 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today we talk to Assaf Lev who is the cofounder and CEO of Locals.com. Assaf Founded locals in 2019 along with Dave Rubin as an alternative social spa...
Ep. 161 - Fighting for Free Speech with Sam Jacobs
09 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max talks to Sam Jacobs of the Resistance Library Podcast and Ammo.com about the war being wages on free speech by large tech corporations and platfor...
Ep160 - Digital Art, Tokens, and Rationalists
02 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today's Local Maximum dives into a recently popular idea of "non-fungible tokens" to represent art ownership, and also dive into a New York Times arti...
Ep. 159 - Gresham's Law, More Google Drama, Self Driving San Francisco
23 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In today's February News update, we go over Gresham's Law, more firings at the Google AI ethics lab, Waymo expanding driverless cars to San Francisco,...
Ep. 158 - Live Free or Die
16 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max brings Aaron on the show to make an announcement on moving to the state of New Hampshire. The Local Maximum gets a new home base, and reflections ...
Ep. 157 - Financial Tsunami on the Horizon
09 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max and Aaron talk about the vast changes our economy and government would undergo if Bitcoin wins. They also discuss Gamestop and Generational Theory...
Ep. 156 - Machine Vision with Iain Smith
02 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today's episode covers the explosion of applications of machine vision in industrial automation with guest Iain Smith. Get full access to The Local Ma...
Ep. 155 - Why Oppose Censorship
25 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max talks about his long-standing skepticism and opposition to censorship, dives into some history of Twitter, a 2007 supreme court dissent from John ...
Ep. 154 - Googlezon
19 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Local Maximum takes a look back at a video that circulated the internet in 2004 called "Epic 2014" that predicts a merger between Google and Amazo...
Ep. 153 - Decentralizing Before our Eyes
12 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The internet is about to go into a massive phase shift over the next few years, and the arms race was kicked off in 2021 with the deplatforming of Par...
Ep. 152 - Computational Breakthroughs: Advances in Ramsey Theory and Quantum Computing
05 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Max and Maryam discuss the theory of computation and the recent breakthroughs in Ramsey Theory by a team of young mathematicians and in Quantum Comput...
Ep. 151 - The Pivotal Year 2020
29 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Max and Aaron look at the episodes, topics, and stories that have been covered on the Local Maximum in the year 2020, some thoughts on the podcast its...
Ep. 150 - City Living, Waymo Driving, Protein Folding, and Bitcoin Popping
22 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Max takes on all of the tech stories that we want to cover on The Local Maximum by the end of the year. First an announcement about New York City, and...
Ep. 149 - Chaos at Google, Woke AI, and Ultimatums
15 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today we talk about the controversial departure of AI Ethics researcher Timnit Gebru from Google, by first going over the facts and why it's a big dea...
Ep. 148 - Lisa Palmer on Real Time Decision Making and Augmented Intelligence
08 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guest is Lisa Palmer, Chief Technology Advisor at Splunk, to talk about the latest trending in technology and AI. Topics include real time d...
Ep. 147 - Joining Locals, Media Decline, and Internet Detox
01 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
ANNOUNCING maximum.locals.com, a community for Local Maximum listeners and supporters. They also discuss the decline in quality of the dominant social...
Ep. 146 - Math, Language, and Intelligence with Tai-Danae Bradley
24 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mathematician Tai-Danae Bradley joins The Local Maximum to discuss authoring a graduate level book on Topology, the mathematics of language, and the a...
Ep. 145 - What is probability: A Philosophical Question with Practical Implications
17 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s episode features Max’s talk at pymcon 2020 on the interpretation of probability. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.subs...
Ep. 144 - Brian Mac Mahon of Expert Dojo on Startups
10 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guest is Brian Mac Mahon, CEO of Expert DOJO Startup Accelerator to talk about some of his startups that are succeeding internationally righ...
Ep. 143 - The Last Election Episode
03 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Max and Aaron discuss the 2020 election one last time until election day. They give listeners reasons not to panic. Get full access to The Local Maxim...
Ep. 142 - Marsbot for Airpods Launched!
27 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week Max and the Foursquare Labs team launched Marsbot for Airpods, a personal assistant that plays contextual audio through your headphones abou...
Ep. 141 - Social Media Giants and the Election, 2016 vs 2020 vs 2024
20 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Max talks about the recent blackout of a New York Post article on Twitter and Facebook in the larger context of the evolving approach that these compa...
Ep. 140 - Why Polls are Tricky with Alex Andorra
13 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Max talks to Alex Andorra of pollsposition.com to discuss why election polling is so difficult, and what could go wrong with the polls in the US presi...
Ep. 139 - Coinbase Goes Apolitical, Libra Languishes, and Deepfakes Rise
06 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Max and Aaron do a tech update about Coinbase's controversial new policy of going apolitical, Facebook's Libra currency behind schedule, and what Deep...
Ep. 138 - Life on Venus, Viking DNA
29 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On this science update on the Local Maximum, we discuss the possibility of life in the atmosphere of Venus, as well as a surprising finding about Viki...
Ep. 137 - Bayesian Covid Tests, Topological Computation, and Electoral Systems
22 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s show features callers and emails from the Local Maximum Audience. One listenered learned about Bayesian inference and published a manuscript...
Ep. 136 - Election Martingales and Microsoft’s Milestone
15 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, Max talks about why election predictions that veer too far off from 50% and have high variance over time carry little weight. We...
Ep. 135 - Meaning, Memory, or Just More Semantics
08 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s Local Maximum continues the discussion of the difference statistical models, and the knowledge needed to understand something like language....
Ep. 134 - AI Breakthrough and understanding "understanding"
01 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Max talks about current tech news, including openAI's GPT-3, and wrapping our heads around natural language understanding. Get full access to The Loca...
Ep. 133 - Pointless Topology
25 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What is topology, and could there be an application in AI?Max and Aaron use common language to talk about a field of mathematics known as topology, an...
Ep. 132 - Rob Bernstein on Podcasting, Politics, and Porch Tours
18 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Rob Bernstein (@robbiethefire) - standup comedian and host of the Run Your Mouth podcast - joins the Local Maximum. The conversation with Max covers p...
Ep. 131 - Structure, Creativity, and Remote Work with Jeff Meyerson
11 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guest is Jeff Meyerson, host of the Software Engineering Daily Podcast. Max and Jeff talk about his talk last year “You are not a commodit...
Ep. 130 - Science on the Tightrope
04 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today's discussion centers around the difficulty in pursuing truth, knowledge, and engineering feats in an age of hyper-politics. Max and Aaron start ...