ACM ByteCast

• Torsten Hoefler - Episode 74

  In this episode of ACM ByteCast, Bruke Kifle hosts 2024 ACM Prize in Computing recipient Torsten Hoefler, a Professor of Computer Science at ETH Zurich (the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), where he serves as Director of the Scalable Parallel Computing Laboratory. He is also the Chief Architect for AI and Machine Learning at the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS). His honors include the Max Planck-Humboldt Medal, an award for outstanding mid-career scientists; the IEEE CS Sidney Fernbach Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions in the application of high-performance computers; and the ACM Gordon Bell Prize, which recognizes outstanding achievement in high-performance computing. He is a member of the European Academy of Sciences (Academia Europaea), a Fellow of IEEE, and a Fellow of ACM. In the interview, Torsten reminisces on early interest with multiple computers to solve problems faster and on building large cluster systems in graduate school that were later turned into supercomputers. He also delves into high-performance computing (HPC) and its central role in simulation and modeling across all modern sciences. Bruke and Torsten cover the various requirements that power HPC, the intersection of HPC and recent innovations in AI, and his key contributions in popularizing 3D parallelism for training AI models. Torsten highlights challenges, such as AI’s propensity to cheat, as well as the promise of turning reasoning models into scientific collaborators. He also offers advice to young researchers on balancing academic learning with industry exposure. We want to hear from you!

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• Maja Matarić - Episode 73

  In this episode of ACM ByteCast, Bruke Kifle hosts 2024 ACM Athena Lecturer and ACM Eugene L. Lawler Award recipient Maja Matarić, the Chan Soon-Shiong Chaired and Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, Neuroscience, and Pediatrics at the University of Southern California (USC), and a Principal Scientist at Google DeepMind. Maja is a roboticist and AI researcher known for her work in human-robot interaction for socially assistive robotics, a field she pioneered. She is the founding director of the USC Robotics and Autonomous Systems Center and co-director of the USC Robotics Research Lab. Maja is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AMACAD), Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), IEEE, AAAI, and ACM. She received the US Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) from President Obama in 2011. She also received the Okawa Foundation, NSF Career, the MIT TR35 Innovation, the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Early Career, and the Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision Innovation Awards, among others, and is an ACM Distinguished Lecturer. She is featured in the documentary movie Me & Isaac Newton. In the interview, Maja talks about moving to the U.S. from Belgrade, Serbia and how her early interest in both computer and behavioral sciences led her to socially assistive robotics, a field she saw as measurably helpful. She discusses the challenges of social assistance as compared to physical assistance and why progress in the field is slow. Maja explains why Generative AI is conducive to creating socially engaging robots, and touches on the issues of privacy, bias, ethics, and personalization in the context of assistive robotics. She also shares some concerns about the future, such as the dehumanization of AI interactions, and also what she’s looking forward to in the field. We want to hear from you!

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• Alfred Spector - Episode 72

  In this episode of ACM ByteCast, Rashmi Mohan hosts ACM Fellow and 2016 ACM Software System Award recipient Alfred Spector, Professor of Practice in the MIT EECS Department. He was previously CTO of Two Sigma Investments, and before that Vice President of Research and Special Initiatives at Google. Alfred played a key role in developing the Andrew File System (AFS), a breakthrough in distributed computing that later became a commercial venture. He is also known for coining the term “CS + X.” He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Hertz Foundation, and National Academy of Engineering, and recipient of the IEEE Kanai Award for Distributed Computing. Alfred recounts how he initially pursued programming out of personal enjoyment in college. He talks about developing AFS at Carnegie Mellon University, the challenges of turning academic research into commercial products, and the transition from academia to entrepreneurship, sharing some of the lessons learned along the way. Alfred touches on his time at IBM, which acquired his startup Transarc, and the differences between startups and large corporations. He also talks about some of his most notable work as a technical leader at Google, such as Google Translate. Finally, he offers a unique perspective on the rapid evolution of AI and advocates for a more multidisciplinary approach for developing responsible technology. “Google’s hybrid approach to research” paper “More Than Just Algorithms” (ACM Queue article)

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• Henrique Malvar - Episode 71

  In this episode of ACM ByteCast, Rashmi Mohan hosts Henrique Malvar, a signal processing researcher at Microsoft Research (Emeritus). He spent more than 25 years at Microsoft as a distinguished engineer and chief scientist, leading the Redmond, Washington lab (managing more than 350 researchers). At Microsoft, he contributed to the development of audio coding and digital rights management for the Windows Media Audio, Windows Media Video, and to image compression technologies, such as HD Photo/JPEG XR formats and the RemoteFX bitmap compression, as well as to a variety of tools for signal analysis and synthesis. Henrique is also an Affiliate Professor at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Washington and a member of the National Academy of Engineers. He has published over 180 articles, has been issued over 120 patents, and has been the recipient for countless awards for his service. Henrique explains his early love of electrical engineering, building circuits from an early age growing up in Brazil, and later fulfilling his dream of researching digital signal processing at MIT. He describes his work as Vice President for Research and Advanced Technology at PictureTel, one of the first commercial videoconferencing product companies (later acquired by Polycom) and stresses the importance of working with customers to solve a variety of technical challenges. Henrique also shares his journey at Microsoft, including working on videoconferencing, accessibility, and machine learning products. He also offers advice to aspiring researchers and emphasizes the importance of diversity to research and product teams.

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• Kate Kallot - Episode 70

  In this episode of ACM ByteCast, our special guest host Scott Hanselman (of The Hanselminutes Podcast) welcomes Kate Kallot, founder and CEO of Amini, an impact-driven AI company based in Nairobi, which focuses on the critical issue of data scarcity in Africa and its implications for AI development. Before Amini, her career spanned leadership positions at global tech companies, including NVIDIA, where she led global developer relations and expansion into emerging markets, and Arm, where she was a pivotal figure in the Tiny Machine Learning (TinyML) movement. At Intel, she led the development of the world’s first AI development kit in a USB form factor, the Neural Compute Stick, bringing computer vision and Al to IoT and edge devices to millions for the first time. Kate is a recognized expert and influencer in the AI field, advising international organizations and governments on the potential and challenges of AI for good. Her work has been recognized by TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in AI, the World Economic Forum as a Tech Pioneer, and One Young World as Entrepreneur of the Year 2024. A trusted voice in global AI policy and digital equity, Kate serves as Vice Chair of the ICC Global Environmental and Energy Commission and is a member of EY’s Global AI Advisory Council. In the interview, Kate explains the barriers to AI adoption in Africa, stemming from challenges with digital and environmental data infrastructure. She shares her work collecting and validating data in key areas such as climate and agriculture through state-of-the-art technologies and partnerships with private companies, using a bottom-up approach. Kate and Scott also talk about Amini’s commitment to open source and community collaboration in areas such as geospatial data science, and the global applications of Amini’s work in Africa to other geographies with similar characteristics. We want to hear from you!

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