Can Big Tech ever truly put users first? In this solo episode, join Luke Mulks, VP of Business Operations at Brave Software, as he dissects the so-called Principal-Agent Problem: the ubiquitous issue where the priorities of tech giants overshadow the needs of users. He’ll also dive into the essence of user-first design in software development, especially in Web browsers and search engines.

Key Takeaways:

• How Brave’s opt-in advertising model both respects user privacy and empowers users to earn revenue

• The deceptive nature of dark patterns and the importance of transparent, user-friendly features

• They history of web monetization, from the early days of site-specific control to today’s all-encompassing tracking by ad tech giants like Google and Facebook

• Why you can’t have freedom without privacy

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Rahul Pagidipati, CEO of ZebPay, discusses how India’s regulatory environment and technological advancements are paving the way for blockchain’s integration into various sectors. From meme coins to top-tier cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, Rahul offers a nuanced perspective on trading and investing in digital assets. He also shares his thoughts on the growing interest in NFTs, and how platforms like Brave are expanding Web3 adoption.

Key Takeaways:

• How India's cultural affinity for gold is influencing its rapid adoption of Bitcoin

• How bots and AI agents could revolutionize financial engineering

• Ways that centralized and decentralized finance can work together

• Advice for early-stage entrepreneurs entering the crypto space

Guest Bio:

Rahul Pagidipati is the CEO of ZebPay, the largest Bitcoin exchange in India. He’s been investing in digital assets since 2011, and believes strongly that blockchain technology can transform the world. Rahul is a successful serial entrepreneur and investor. Prior to ZebPay, he co-founded Freedom Health, the largest private health insurance company in America (until it was acquired by Anthem in 2018).

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Josep M. Pujol (Chief of Search at Brave) and Rémi Berson (Principal Engineer at Brave) discuss Brave Search’s latest feature, Answer With AI, which is the first privacy-preserving answer engine available at scale. They explore what this new assistant’s capabilities mean for traditional search, and its potential to reshape our search habits.

Key Takeaways:

• How Answer with AI is different from chatbots

• The challenges of AI hallucinations and ensuring accurate responses

• Balancing personalized search experiences with user privacy and anonymity

• The plan for integrating Answer with AI with Brave’s browser-based Leo AI experience

Guest Bio: Rémi has been working with AI since 2014, beginning with a Paris-based start-up that offered custom NLP solutions to various media groups, and pioneered large-scale automatic text generation (before transformers made an appearance). Currently, Remi is a senior software engineer at Brave Search, where he has been involved in scaling the ML infrastructure to serve continuously growing traffic and increasingly advanced needs, as well as in the development of Brave Search’s latest feature, Answer with AI.

Josep is the Chief of Search at Brave, which he joined in 2021. Josep first started working on building an alternative search engine in 2014; prior to Brave, he served as chief scientist at Cliqz, and led the Tailcat project (which Brave later acquired). Before being involved with search, he was a research scientist at multiple institutions, working on AI, distributed systems, and complex networks. He has authored over 30 papers and holds 4 patents. He also holds a PhD in AI from the Technical University of Catalonia.

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte