Dr. Julia is one of the most accomplished technologists I'll ever be lucky enough to meet. He is well known as the creator of Siri, but he has driven innovation in some of the biggest companies on the planet, making contributions so significant that he was awarded the Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur (the highest French order of merit) by his country of origin.
We cover tech culture in France vs. Silicon Valley, the necessity of listening to the weird guys, using discomfort to spark innovation, and the fatal flaws of "big data". Plus: what does Siri have to teach you about flirting in nightclubs?
For more Dr. Julia, check out his book, There is No Such Thing as Artificial Intelligence, and follow him on LinkedIn.
1:45 - Luc is an inventor. Picture little Luc building his first robot in France at the age of nine, and dreaming of being a researcher when he grew up.
3:05 - Tech culture and education in France vs. tech culture in the United States. What's the difference in how these two cultures view failure? Silicon Valley as a Gold Rush.
7:10 - What are some of the ways good leaders foster innovation in large companies? Dr. Julia tells stories from Samsung, Apple, and other industry leaders, and explains the primary mechanism for innovation in those types of environments.
11:45 - Dr. Julia tells a story of failure and success: Live TV on smart phones (shoutout to Nokia) goes nowhere in 2002. 2007 brings the iPhone and user numbers go from a few thousand "weird guys" to 15 million in a couple of months.
14:30 - What advice would you give a CEO who wants to embrace innovation and fight the impulse to be conservative? Find the guys who seem weird, build multicultural, cross-functional teams, and push them out of their comfort zone.
17:20 - Life at SRI International (Stanford Research Institute), and why those teams were so special. Also, Siri's origin story! Dr. Julia takes Colleen back in time to meet a cricket... A CHIC one.
26:20 - Siri gets a personality! How did she become the "person" she is, and how does she use "artificial stupidity" to charm her users out of caring that she doesn't know the answer? Turns out she's got the same moves as you and me in a nightclub.
31:45 - There is no such thing as artificial intelligence. AI is just a tool in the hands of humans, and it's only as accurate as the data that fuels it. AI is neither going to take over the world or save the world on its own: we as people have to be the ones to build and apply it effectively.
39:20 - What are some of the things that keep Dr. Julia up at night? And why does he turn down selfies?
43:17 - Three domains Dr. Julia is most excited about for near-term technology gains.