Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith

Epizode

• AI's Mythos Moment: Rishi Sunak on preparing governments for AI 01.06.2026 59min

  Brad Smith sits down with former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to discuss what some are calling the “Mythos Moment” for AI. They explore how leaders can respond as technology moves faster than the systems designed to govern it.
• Special Edition: Tracking AI diffusion in Q1 2026 28.05.2026 32min

  Juan Lavista Ferres, Microsoft Chief Data Scientist and Director of the AI for Good Lab, breaks down the latest AI diffusion data, revealing where adoption is accelerating, where gaps remain, and what it means for the global economy.
• Ryan Roslansky: Turning AI Anxiety into Skills for the Future of Work 31.03.2026 41min

  LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky joins Brad Smith to discuss his new book, Open to Work, about how AI is reshaping work, which skills matter most, and how to turn career uncertainty into practical opportunity.
• Everybody Goes Home: How technology is helping prevent wildfires from spreading 12.03.2026 18min

  Deputy Fire Chief Zachary Wells and UC San Diego professor Neal Driscoll explain how ALERTCalifornia uses cameras, cloud computing, and AI to detect wildfires early and help firefighters respond faster.
• His Excellency Khaldoon Al Mubarak: Investing in an AI-Driven World 12.02.2026 27min

  His Excellency Khaldoon Al Mubarak, CEO of Mubadala, joins Brad to explore how sovereign capital is shaping the AI era and why the UAE is positioning itself at the center of the next technological transformation.
• Special Edition: Key findings from the Microsoft AI Diffusion Report 08.01.2026 19min

  Microsoft’s AI Diffusion Report reveals how generative AI is spreading globally and what that means for countries embracing it. Brad Smith and Juan Lavista Ferres unpack the report’s most striking insights.
• Ed Policy: How tech is changing the game in Green Bay 20.11.2025 20min

  Ed Policy, CEO of the Green Bay Packers, joins Brad to discuss how tech is reshaping the game of football, the NFL, and driving economic growth beyond Lambeau Field.
• Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling 23.10.2025 28min

  Ted Sarandos, Netflix co-CEO, joins Brad Smith to discuss how technology is shaping the future of storytelling, balancing data with creative instinct, and building global stories that stay with you.
• Satya Nadella: Leading through the AI Revolution 16.05.2025 23min

  I often sit down with Satya Nadella, my boss, and Microsoft’s third CEO—but rarely with microphones. In the final segment of our Microsoft CEO trilogy, we talk about his journey from his early days playing cricket to leading Microsoft, the link between poetry and programming, and how the company is leading the next wave of technological transformation—redefining how we build and interact with technology.
• Steve Ballmer: Scaling the digital revolution 03.04.2025 25min

  Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s CEO from 2000 to 2014, was instrumental in scaling the company from a small 30-person startup to one of the most valuable companies on the planet. Ahead of Microsoft’s 50th anniversary, I had the chance to catch up with my former boss. We talked about the early days of Microsoft and the pitch that convinced him to take a chance on a small company in a new industry. We also discussed how three traits—irrational confidence, realism, and persistence—have helped him succeed at Microsoft and today as the owner of the LA Clippers.
• Bill Gates: Starting the Digital Revolution 13.03.2025 26min

  As Microsoft celebrates its 50th birthday, I had the chance to sit down with my friend and the company’s cofounder, Bill Gates. We discuss his memoir, Source Code: My Beginnings, Microsoft’s impact over the past 50 years, and how the next phase of the digital revolution is the most exciting one yet.
• Jeffrey Ding: AI and the Rise of Great Powers 12.02.2025 33min

  What will it take for a great power today to remain one? Based on research from Jeffrey Ding, a professor at George Washington University, it’s probably not the flashy technology everyone is focused on. We discuss his recent book, Technology and the Rise of Great Powers, as he challenges conventional wisdom about how technology has shaped the rise of great powers like the United States.
• Fei-Fei Li: Staying curious at the forefront of AI 21.01.2025 34min

  Fei-Fei Li is a pioneering AI scientist breaking new ground in computer vision, a Stanford professor, and currently leading the innovative start-up World Labs. While her career is deeply rooted in technical expertise, Dr. Li's journey is driven by an insatiable curiosity. In this episode, Brad and Dr. Li reflect on poignant moments from her memoir, "The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI," highlighting the crucial role of keeping humanity at the center of AI development. They also explore how government-funded academic research, driven by curiosity rather than profits, can lead to unexpected and profound discoveries that propel innovation and economic opportunities.
• Norma Kamali: From canvas to code, redefining creativity with AI 09.12.2024 33min

  You may not know Norma Kamali by name, but you certainly know the designer’s fashions – from the iconic Sleeping Bag Coat, to dresses worn by celebrities like Jessica Biel. 57 years into her career, she’s added AI to her design toolbox and has never been more excited about what’s coming out of her studio. In this episode, Norma makes the case for AI as a valuable tool to enhance creativity for artists of all types, and walks Brad through her process for crafting a great AI prompt.
• Maria Ressa: Turning crisis into opportunity 08.10.2024 36min

  Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Maria Ressa, and her co-founders created Rappler to harness social media’s connecting power to bring journalists directly to audiences. But those same social networks were then used by others against her – as a weapon – to spread disinformation and to seek to silence her. Brad and Maria also discuss turning crisis to opportunities and how the golden rule she learned as a child influences her decisions today.
• From What Now? with Trevor Noah: Why AI Won't Destroy Us with Microsoft's Brad Smith 29.08.2024 40min

  Brad was recently a guest on What Now? with Trevor Noah, and we're excited to share their conversation with our listeners. Here's what the podcast had to say about this episode: Trevor puts on a suit (no, he’s not returning to The Daily Show) and heads to Microsoft. This week Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft talks AI, explains why he doesn’t believe it will be the end of humankind, and what we all have to do to keep it that way.
• Dr. Sultan Al Jaber: The connection between AI and energy 20.06.2024 35min

  Dr. Sultan Al Jaber is the President of COP28, the UN Climate Change Conference hosted by the UAE last year. He's also the CEO and Managing Director of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), where he leads efforts to produce cleaner energy today and invests in sustainable energy solutions for the future. In this episode, Dr. Sultan shares how his leadership united diverse stakeholders to adopt the UAE Consensus. He also discusses the deep interconnectedness between AI and green energy, and how each can propel the other forward.
• Bill Anderson: Using AI to combat hunger 04.04.2024 32min

  Bayer CEO Bill Anderson considers himself a scientist at heart, a chemical engineer by training, and a lifelong student of biotechnology. Now at the helm of a 160-year-old German pharmaceutical and agriculture company, he's employing science and technology with a bold mission — Health for All, Hunger for none. In this episode, Bill discusses AI’s role in accelerating agricultural breakthroughs that are needed to feed a a growing population, including helping smallholder farmers become more resilient to climate change. And he discusses how this intersection of science and technology is empowering employees to unblock innovation within the company.
• The New AI Economy 06.03.2024 23min

  Gutenberg's invention of the printing press led to a new economy, which created a new sector of businesses, industries, and jobs. Generative AI is providing a similar opportunity today. In this episode, Brad Smith draws on the lessons from the printing press and supporting industries to illustrate how different technologies are coming together to create a new AI economy. He explains the critical partnerships between countries, government regulators, and tech companies - building the necessary infrastructure required to run generative AI to developing the skills people need to use it. Brad also discusses how Microsoft’s AI Access Principles foster both innovation and a path for new businesses by ensuring access, fairness, and responsibility.
• Yves Ubelmann: Saving our heritage, one digital twin at a time 08.02.2024 19min

  Yves Ubelmann is a technologist, artist, and architect who is on a mission to digitally preserve the world’s cultural and natural heritage. He is the founder and CEO of Iconem, a company that creates stunning 3D models of endangered sites and environments. In this episode, Brad and Yves take a boat trip through Venice, touring the subject of his most ambitious project: an AI-generated digital twin of one of the world’s most magnificent cities. Inspired by his grandfather’s work to restore war-damaged heritage sites in France, Yves shares how he is using AI to memorialize the world’s heritage in 3D and raising awareness of the effects of climate change on our planet.