THE BEHIND THE SCENES TECHNO-WIZARDRY OF ARATI PRABHAKAR
WIRED|July - August 2024
She has the ear of the US president and a massive mission: help manage AI, revive the semiconductor industry, and pull off a cancer moonshot.
STEVEN LEVY
THE BEHIND THE SCENES TECHNO-WIZARDRY OF ARATI PRABHAKAR

ONE DAY IN MARCH 2023, Arati Prabhakar brought a laptop into the Oval Office and showed the future to Joe Biden. Six months later, the president issued a sweeping executive order that set a regulatory course for AI.

This all happened because ChatGPT had stunned the world. In an instant it became very, very obvious that the United States needed to speed up its efforts to regulate the AI industry-and adopt policies to take advantage of it.

While the potential benefits were unlimited (Social Security customer service that works!), so were the potential downsides, like floods of disinformation or even, in the view of some, human extinction. Someone had to demonstrate that to the president.

The job fell to Prabhakar, because she is the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and holds cabinet status as the president's chief science and technology adviser; she'd already been methodically educating top officials about the transformative power of AI. But she also has the experience and bureaucratic savvy to make an impact with the most powerful person in the world.

Born in India and raised in Texas, Prabhakar has a PhD in applied physics from Caltech and previously ran two US agencies: the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency. She also spent 15 years in Silicon Valley as a venture capitalist, including as president of Interval Research, Paul Allen's legendary tech incubator, and has served as vice president or chief technology officer at several companies.

Denne historien er fra July - August 2024-utgaven av WIRED.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra July - August 2024-utgaven av WIRED.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA WIREDSe alt
MOVE SLOWLY AND BUILD THINGS
WIRED

MOVE SLOWLY AND BUILD THINGS

EVERYTHING DEPENDS ON MICROCHIPS-WHICH MEANS TOO MUCH DEPENDS ON TAIWAN. TO REBUILD CHIP MANUFACTURING AT HOME, THE U.S. IS BETTING BIG ON AN AGING TECH GIANT. BUT AS MONEY AND COLOSSAL INFRASTRUCTURE FLOW INTO OHIO, DOES TOO MUCH DEPEND ON INTEL?

time-read
10+ mins  |
January - February 2025
FOLLOW THAT CAR
WIRED

FOLLOW THAT CAR

CHASING A ROBOTAXI FOR HOURS AND HOURS IS WEIRD AND REVELATORY, AND BORING, AND JEALOUSY-INDUCING. BUT THE DRIVERLESS WORLD IS COMING FOR ALL OF US. SO GET IN AND BUCKLE UP.

time-read
10+ mins  |
January - February 2025
REVENGE OF THE SOFTIES
WIRED

REVENGE OF THE SOFTIES

FOR YEARS, PEOPLE COUNTED MICROSOFT OUT. THEN SATYA NADELLA TOOK CONTROL. AS THE COMPANY TURNS 50, IT'S MORE RELEVANT-AND SCARIER-THAN EVER.

time-read
10+ mins  |
January - February 2025
THE NEW COLD WARRIOR
WIRED

THE NEW COLD WARRIOR

CHINA IS RACING TO UNSEAT THE UNITED STATES AS THE WORLD'S TECHNOLOGICAL SUPERPOWER

time-read
10+ mins  |
January - February 2025
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'
WIRED

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'

KINDRED MOTORWORKS VW BUS - Despite being German, the VW T1 Microbus is as Californian as the Grateful Dead.

time-read
5 mins  |
January - February 2025
THE INSIDE SCOOP ON DESSERT TECH
WIRED

THE INSIDE SCOOP ON DESSERT TECH

A lab in Denmark works to make the perfect ice cream. Bring on the fava beans?

time-read
3 mins  |
January - February 2025
CONFESSIONS OF A HINGE POWER DATER
WIRED

CONFESSIONS OF A HINGE POWER DATER

BY HIS OWN estimation, JB averages about three dates a week. \"It's gonna sound wild,\" he confesses, \"but I've probably been on close to 200 dates in the last year and a half.\"

time-read
4 mins  |
January - February 2025
THE WATCHFUL INTELLIGENCE OF TIM COOK
WIRED

THE WATCHFUL INTELLIGENCE OF TIM COOK

APPLE INTELLIGENCE IS NOT A PLAY ON \"AI,\" THE CEO INSISTS. BUT IT IS HIS PLAY FOR RELEVANCE IN ALL AREAS, FROM EMAIL AUTO-COMPLETES TO APPS THAT SAVE LIVES.

time-read
10+ mins  |
January - February 2025
COPYCATS (AND DOGS)
WIRED

COPYCATS (AND DOGS)

Nine years ago, a pair of freshly weaned British longhair kittens boarded a private plane in Virginia and flew to their new home in Europe.

time-read
4 mins  |
January - February 2025
STAR POWER
WIRED

STAR POWER

The spirit of Silicon Valley lives onat this nuclear fusion facility's insane, top-secret opening ceremony.

time-read
9 mins  |
January - February 2025