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Microbes, Robots, and Ambition - Robin Sloan on His Novel Sourdough

Microbes, Robots, and Ambition - Robin Sloan on His Novel Sourdough

16 segments available

Robin Sloan is a writer and media inventor based in Oakland - https://twitter.com/robinsloan He just released his second novel, Sourdough - https://www.amazon.com/Sourdough-Novel-Robin-Sloan/dp/0374203105?tag=robinsloancom-20&linkCode=as2 Kat Manalac is a Partner at YC - https://twitter.com/katmanalac The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon - https://twitter.com/craigcannon

Segments Timeline

1
0:00 - 4:03
4:03 duration774 words

Machine Learning and Audiobook Innovation

Exploring the intersection of machine learning and audiobook production.

"so this is a kind of a weird jumping-off point but I listen to you on I think it was a Mother Jones podcast and you very briefly mentioned a machine learning experiment for the audiobook yeah could yo..."

2
4:03 - 8:05
4:02 duration834 words

Creating Music with Machine Learning

Exploring the innovative process of generating fictional music through deep learning and personal inspiration.

"days and days and days at least on my deep learning rig I'm sure Google would be like got it for me it took a few days and then in the end spits out this this really to my you're at least weird and an..."

3
8:05 - 12:08
4:03 duration822 words

The Egg Problem in Robotics

Exploring the challenges of robotic arms in culinary tasks, particularly the complexities of cracking eggs.

"that there was someone there and Spike Jones explicitly said we don't want a technical adviser because I don't want to be bounded by reality yeah I just want to go for it that's awesome actually I mm-..."

4
12:08 - 16:14
4:06 duration770 words

Rebuttal to Old vs. New

Exploring the dynamic interplay between traditional crafts and modern technology.

"they're just because again truly everything everything you need to know and every task no matter how small is somewhere like documented on YouTube and and often it'll be like these disembodied hands j..."

5
16:14 - 18:15
2:01 duration355 words

Crafting Memorable Narrators

This segment explores the importance of creating relatable characters that readers miss after finishing a book.

"inflected literary fiction and all I mean by that is I try to take care with the sentences and just you know produce language and you know scenes that are like interesting somewhat interesting to read..."

6
18:15 - 20:16
2:01 duration405 words

Science Fiction's Role in Future Visions

Exploring how contemporary science fiction writers tackle the complexities of the future beyond utopian themes.

"Trek or Hitchhiker's Guide and these are all like pretty rosy visions of the future whereas you know right now we have black mirror and all there's like really dark stuff you know what is going to be ..."

7
20:16 - 24:18
4:02 duration842 words

The Microbial Characters

Exploring the creative inspiration behind incorporating microbes into storytelling.

"after writing this book I was like oh wait you know I think I think this has a lineage the the more direct influence for for that kind of stuff in sour dough that kind of like a food vibe was truly it..."

8
24:18 - 28:20
4:02 duration830 words

Preserving Digital Art's Legacy

Exploring the challenges of maintaining digital creations and ensuring their longevity in an ever-evolving tech landscape.

"just searched everything I checked my email I was like surely I must have emailed it to someone I can't find it anywhere so I think it's gone and that bums me out what's had it is sad so I fear as of ..."

9
28:20 - 30:20
2:00 duration370 words

The Future of Digital Memories

A discussion on the potential disappearance of social media content by 2050 and the impact of nostalgia on the present.

"line so they're actually having to get apps from like two years ago and then to do the screenshots and the simulations and they're like we can't even you can't find like Facebook from to your ego righ..."

10
30:20 - 34:21
4:01 duration832 words

The Demise of Blogging Culture

This segment explores the decline of blogs and the impact of social media on public discourse.

"congressional hearing you know to which we can always return and be like well actually catch four years ago you said this and that was [ __ ] but rather as like a huge weird interlinked conversation i..."

11
34:21 - 38:23
4:02 duration804 words

The Evolution of Character Limits

This segment explores the impact of expanding Twitter's character limit from 140 to 280 and its implications for user expression.

"oh whatever it's just a just a scientist feed I found somewhere it doesn't matter do it I'll blog the good stuff anyway just you'd find interesting things you'd write about it snark market was not top..."

12
38:23 - 42:24
4:01 duration798 words

Exploring Machine Learning in Art

This segment dives into the creative potential of machine learning for artists, exploring opportunities and challenges in integrating technology with artistic expression.

"will be taken out of context but it makes sense I do appreciate the little circle like progress thing rather than the countdown right now those really slick yeah yeah yeah is you get we've been and it..."

13
42:24 - 46:24
4:00 duration865 words

Curating the Machine's Creativity

This segment explores the balance between machine learning's output and human curation in creative processes.

"to use it is to kind of say run like do your thing tell me when you're done which is that's a good starting point I do think that the challenge or that kind of the next step that gets really interesti..."

14
46:24 - 50:26
4:02 duration829 words

Books as Social Objects

This segment explores how social media transforms the perception and sharing of literary works.

"so many pictures of that line and that page on Twitter on Instagram I could I could compile you a gallery of like hundreds of snapshots from around the country in the world of people and like and then..."

15
50:26 - 52:26
2:00 duration407 words

The Rise of Flash Animation

Exploring the innovative use of Flash during the early blogging boom to communicate media's future.

"you actually I did suspect that that was probably gonna be his path um even back then so we're down in the computer lab with wonderful I mean it wasn't quite a Mack SC with whatever system seven but t..."

16
52:26 - 57:06
4:40 duration949 words

Reflections on Tech's Changing Narrative

This segment explores the evolving tone of technology coverage and its impact on storytelling in fiction.

"early web even the flash video was kind of like a bit much because it became very popular so I got weird early viral web hit especially kind of among used people and it go so we were kind of feeling t..."