What's Your Problem?

Before 1450, books were written out by hand. It was slow and expensive. But Johannes Gutenberg borrowed a ton of money to create a printing press that could crank out Bibles and pamphlets and documents in huge numbers. Science, politics and philosophy were all up-ended.
For example, the Catholic Church seized on the invention to sell special certificates absolving people of their sins – a move that made money, but caused a permanent schism in Christianity.
And Gutenberg too found himself in trouble – when a financier sued the inventor to reclaim his loan, plus interest.
Enjoy this episode from Business History, another Pushkin podcast.
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Everybody’s worried about the risks of AI. So we called up one of the most insightful writers we know on the subject: Zvi Mowshowitz. Zvi writes about AI and AI risks at his substack, Don’t Worry About the Vase. Zvi’s problem is this: How do we prevent artificial intelligence from killing everyone?
In this episode, Zvi explains:
Why it’s often useful to anthropomorphize AI
What this summer’s Hugging Face attack tells us about the nature of AI
 What increasing AI capability means for cybersecurity risk
 Whether and when we should pause AI development
Why powerful pen-weight models may remove the last reliable points of control
Connect with us:
Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram
Email us at problem@pushkin.fm
Follow Pushkin on Instagram, LinkedIn or X
Listen to Jacob’s other show, Business History
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On this bonus episode of What’s Your Problem, Jacob talks to Christine Chase, a Vice President, Financial Consultant at Fidelity Investments. Christine’s problem is this: How do you help clients build a plan to achieve their financial goals? Today’s show is sponsored by Fidelity Investments.
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The fish we eat usually die slowly, suffocating after they’re pulled out of the water. Saif Khawaja is the co-founder and CEO of a company called Shinkei. Saif's problem is this: Can he build a machine to efficiently kill fish in a way that is more humane?
In this episode, Saif explains:
How he came to believe that our current fishing practices are inhumane
How he adapted the Japanese technique of  ikijime for use at scale
Why Shinkei’s process results in better texture and longer shelf life than commodity fish.
Why Shinkei is doing its own technology development, fish processing, and consumer branding.
Connect with us:
Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram
Email us at problem@pushkin.fm
Follow Pushkin on Instagram, LinkedIn or X
Listen to Jacob’s other show, Business History
To listen to the show early and ad free, sign up for Pushkin+
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Catherine Nakalembe is an assistant professor at the University of Maryland and the head of the Africa program at NASA Harvest, which uses satellite images to track agriculture around the world. Catherine’s problem is this: How do you predict when a famine is coming – and how do you convince leaders to act in time?
In this episode, Catherine explains:
How satellite data can predict crop failure months in advance
Why phots can convince decision-makers faster than maps or statistics
Why imaging systems developed for US farmland often don’t work in Africa
Why a half-page memo moves food trucks faster than a scientific paper
Connect with us:
Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram
Email us at problem@pushkin.fm
Follow Pushkin on Instagram, LinkedIn or X
Listen to Jacob’s other show, Business History
To listen to the show early and ad free, sign up for Pushkin+
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.