Author: Joseph Raczynski
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Our Biggest Fight, Rebuilding Trust in the Internet
EmTechMIT, Cambridge, MA: Frank McCourt Jr., founder of Project Liberty and former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, delivered a deeply personal and impassioned talk about what he calls the broken design of the internet, and how to fix it. His central claim: the web’s evolution from an open, human-centered system into a centralized, extractive…
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The Speed of Trust: Jeff Feng and the Rise of Sei Labs
TOKEN2049, Singapore: It was fascinating to catch-up with Jeff Feng is the cofounder of Sei Labs. He is one of the most ambitious forces redefining the future of blockchain infrastructure. Before venturing into Web3, Feng built his career in high finance, first as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and later as a venture investor at…
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Protecting the Open Web Economy
EmTechMIT, Cambridge, MA: When Matthew Prince, Co-Founder and CEO of Cloudflare, took the EmTechMIT stage in Cambridge, he delivered what felt less like a keynote and more like a wake-up call for the digital economy. His talk, titled Protecting the Open Web Economy, was a sharp analysis of how artificial intelligence is quietly rewriting the…
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Building Worlds, Empowering Creators: Inside The Sandbox with Sebastien Borget
TOKEN2049, Singapore: I had the incredible opportunity to sit down with Sebastien Borget cofounder of The Sandbox, a pioneering Web3 gaming and metaverse platform transforming how users create, own, and monetize virtual experiences. With over 6.3 million user accounts connected to crypto wallets, The Sandbox blends user-generated content, NFTs, and play-to-earn mechanics to offer an immersive…
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Seamless Crypto in Your Chat: Wallet in Telegram with Irina Chuchkina
TOKEN2049 – Singapore: I had a very interesting conversation with Irina Chuchkina, Chief Growth Officer of Wallet in Telegram, who leads one of the most innovative projects in crypto integration within mainstream apps today. Wallet in Telegram is a built-in cryptocurrency wallet seamlessly embedded into the Telegram messaging app, empowering users to send, receive, and manage…
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Securing DeFi: The Immunefi Behind the Code with Mitchell Amador
TOKEN2049, Singapore: Recently I sat down with Mitchell Amador, the visionary CEO and cofounder of Immunefi, who continues to shape the future of blockchain security through his unwavering drive to make the Web3 ecosystem more resilient and transparent. Under his leadership, Immunefi has become the gold standard for smart contract protection, transforming how protocols defend themselves…
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What’s the Buzz at TOKEN2049 Singapore – Thoughts from Joseph Raczynski
Here is my take having participated and witnessed all that was Token2049 Singapore 2025. My take, it’s a vivid confirmation that crypto is no longer a frontier of speculation but a foundational pillar of the next decade’s financial infrastructure, known as DeFi. The spotlight on Real World Assets (RWAs) tokenization highlighted how traditional assets are…
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Harvard Business Review Article – AI Will Downsize Your Workforce. Upgrade Your Hiring Strategy Now
I had the distinct privilege to collaborate on an article for HBR (original article here: Harvard Business Review) with author Atta Tarki about the future of hiring and what you can do now. Professional services firms such as blue-chip law firms and management consultancies have long relied on a simple talent strategy: hire large amounts…
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Crypto at Checkout – Living on Crypto – Real World Payments with April Pollock
Today we’re diving into one of the most practical use cases for crypto, actually spending it. For years people have joked, “Sure, you can buy Bitcoin, but can you buy a coffee with it?” Well, Bitrefill has been answering that question with a resounding yes since 2014. Operating in over 180 countries and partnering with countless major…
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HR 4.0: Where Humans Meet AI with Oksana Day
If you’ve ever wondered how technology is reshaping the world of Human Resources, beyond outdated forms and awkward onboarding videos, we’re here to help. I’m thrilled to be joined by Oksana, a leading voice from Flex HR, an organization at the forefront of modern workforce transformation. We’ll start by exploring how digital tools and AI…
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Beyond Cash: Stablecoins and the Future of Finance
With the GENIUS Act now passed into law, and everyone from Deutsche Bank, Apple, and Airbnb already paying attention, it’s clear that stablecoins are fast becoming core infrastructure for next-gen financial markets. We will get into why stablecoins matter and what it may mean for banks, companies and you. Will Beeson, former head of tokenized asset infrastructure at Standard…
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The Dark Dawn: How Agentic AI Will Unleash an Unprecedented Cyber Criminal Renaissance
In the coming years, we will witness the emergence of cyber criminals armed with autonomous AI agents capable of conducting sophisticated, scalable attacks that will fundamentally overwhelm our current defensive capabilities, transforming isolated hackers into coordinated digital armies operating at machine speed. I have been tracking cybersecurity trends as a white hat hacker for the…
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Bridging the Gap from Lab to Market: Insights from the AI+ Science Summit
At the AI+ Science Summit held at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C., a dynamic session entitled “Bridging the Gap from Lab to Market” convened leading voices from philanthropy, venture capital, and strategic science funding. Moderated by Nyah Stewart of SCSP, the panel, Vinny Beranek of Engine Ventures, Michelle Fang of Lux Capital, and Walter…
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Science is National Security: Lessons from the AI+ Science Summit
At the AI+ Science Summit in Washington, D.C., the panel “Science is National Security” brought together thought leaders from government, industry, and the innovation economy to address a quietly radical thesis: scientific leadership has become the essential pillar of twenty first century power, as crucial to a nation’s security as the traditional tools of statecraft.…
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Case Study: AI+ Life Sciences – Data, Discovery, and the Future of Health
Case Study: AI+ Life Sciences – Data, Discovery, and the Future of Health At the AI+ Science Summit, one panel stood out for its blend of bold vision and ground-level clarity: “Case Study – AI+ Life Sciences.” Moderated by SCSP’s Karina Barao, the discussion brought together top minds, Kathryn Wang (Sandbox AQ), Johnny Yu (Tahoe…
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Powering Innovation at the Intersection of AI & Science Highlights from the AI+ Science Summit
A Bold National Investment in AI and Science David McDonald framed the conversation by highlighting the scale and ambition of the NSF’s AI Institutes program over 500 million dollars invested in 40 plus centers nationwide, designed to accelerate scientific discovery through AI. These institutes span disciplines and blend academic, government, and industry partnerships to create…
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Fireside Chat: Frontiers & Foundations – A Conversation with Jack Clark, Co-founder of Anthropic
At the AI+ Science Summit in Washington, D.C., the Fireside Chat: Frontiers & Foundations brought together Jack Clark, co-founder and Head of Policy at Anthropic, and Ylli Bajraktari, CEO and President of the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP), for a wide-ranging discussion on the state and future of large language models (LLMs) and AI’s transformative potential. From…
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Beyond the Cloud: Who’s Really Winning the Tech Race and What’s the Impact on Humanity with Mehdi Paryavi
Mehdi Paryavi, Chairman and CEO of the International Data Center Authority (IDCA), is a pivotal figure in the world of digital transformation. Leading the world’s largest Digital Economy think tank, he advises governments, the United Nations, and tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. Paryavi’s influence extends beyond boardrooms—he’s the architect behind “application-centric” data center…
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Case Study – AI+ Materials Science: Exploring the AI Frontier in Material Innovation
At the AI+ Science Summit in Washington, D.C., the session titled “Case Study – AI+ Materials Science” brought together distinguished experts to discuss how artificial intelligence is reshaping materials science, from accelerating discovery to tackling long-standing industrial challenges. Moderated by Jake Yeston, Editor at Science magazine, this conversation featured James “Jim” Warren, Director of the Materials Genome Project at…
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Ethereum is Ten: The Blockchain That Changed Everything
A Decade of Revolutionary Blockchain Innovation Transforms Global Finance On July 30, 2015, a young programmer named Vitalik Buterin launched an ambitious project that would reshape the entire digital landscape. Today, exactly ten years later, Ethereum stands as the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency and the foundational infrastructure for an entirely new digital economy. What began as a…
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Hollywood Unchained: How Blockchain Is Rewriting the Script with Riaz Mehta
Are we all ready to discover how the future of entertainment is being rewritten—one blockchain at a time? Well, today we sit down with Riaz Mehta, the visionary CEO and founder of Ritestream, the production studio shaking up Hollywood’s old playbook! He’s creating a new breed of production studio that takes advantage of Web3 technology like…
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What Is China Doing in Science?
A Dispatch from the AI+ Science Summit Last week, in the luminous halls of the Waldorf Astoria, Washington’s AI+ Science Summit convened a panel raising precisely the question that keeps policymakers, academics, and industry leaders awake: What is China actually doing in science, and what does it mean for the global order? Guiding us through…
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The Privacy Revolution – What is Zero Knowledge and How Will it Change Everything with Jens Groth
Step into the cryptic, captivating world of privacy tech with Jens Groth, the Chief Scientist at Nexus and the very architect behind the Groth16 protocol, one of the most important breakthroughs in cryptography. In this episode, we decode the “magic words” of digital privacy, Zero Knowledge Proofs, ZKPs, ZK SNARKS—and reveal how they’re quietly transforming the internet,…
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Building the Future of AI – Inside AXL’s Ambitious Mission with Dr. Daniel Wigdor
Step into the heart of Canada’s AI revolution with Dr. Daniel Wigdor—professor, inventor, and co-founder & CEO of AXL, one of the country’s most ambitious venture studios. In this episode, we uncover how AXL is transforming world-class research into high-growth companies and why its mission to launch 50 AI-powered ventures in five years could reshape Canada’s…
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Meet Your Digital Twin: How Perspective-Aware Computing is Changing Collaboration
Cambridge, MA – MIT EmTechAI: Hossein Rahnama, Visiting Associate Professor at MIT Media Lab, Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, and Founder/CEO of Flybits, presented a vision for the future of AI centered on Perspective-Aware Computing (PAC), also known as Perspective-Aware AI. His work explores how AI can move beyond personalization to foster deeper, more empathetic human-to-human and…
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Guest Post: Experts release their most ambitious forecast: Bitcoin could reach $275,000 by 2025
By Jennifer Maldonado June 25th, 2025 Originally posted on Bit2Me Crypto News https://news.bit2me.com/en/expertos-lanzan-pronostico-ambicioso-bitcoin-a-275-mil-en-2025 Learn about the bold prediction that puts Bitcoin at $275,000 by the end of 2025 and what factors could drive this historic surge. Joseph Raczynski, analyst and futurist at JT Consulting & Media, has presented a bold projection that is generating a lot…
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AI: The New Intern, Coach, and CEO-All in One?
Cambridge, MA – MIT EmTechAI: Jim Rowan, Head of AI at Deloitte, and Gabriele Ricci, Chief Data & Technology Officer at Takeda, shared a candid, practical look at how AI is reshaping organizations-from global consulting giants to leading pharmaceutical companies. Their discussion focused on building digital dexterity, managing change, and maximizing value while balancing innovation…
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Unmasking Google’s Advertising Empire with Ari Paparo
Step into the world behind the web’s curtain, where a single company’s quest for dominance has shaped the digital age. In this episode, we sit down with Ari Paparo, founder of Marketecture.tv, former Google executive, and author of the forthcoming exposé, Yield: How Google Bought, Built, and Bullied Its Way to Advertising Dominance (Amplify, August 5, 2025). Why…
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Lights, Camera, AI: Pinar Demirgad and the Next Act in Filmmaking
Cambridge, MA – MIT EmTechAI: Pinar Demirgad, Co-founder & CEO of Cuebric, delivered a compelling talk on how AI is transforming the landscape of visual storytelling. Drawing from her unique experience as both an artist and entrepreneur, she explored the current capabilities, limitations, and future directions of generative AI in film and content creation. From…
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Vulcan Unleashed: How Amazon’s Next Wave of Intelligent Robotics Is Changing the Game
Cambridge, MA – MIT EmTechAI: When Scott Dresser, Vice President of Amazon Robotics, took the stage at EmTechAI, the room buzzed with anticipation. After all, this is the man who’s helped shepherd Amazon’s robotics revolution since the company’s acquisition of Kiva Systems in 2012 – a move that marked a watershed moment for both Amazon…
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AI on the Blockchain: Building a Safer Digital Future with DecideAI
Jesse Glass, Lead AI Researcher at DecideAI, steps into the spotlight at a moment when the stakes for AI and data privacy have never been higher. As AI systems race ahead, so do the risks, exposing sensitive data in ways most current tech simply isn’t built to defend. Enter the “zero trust” philosophy: a world…
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Beyond SaaS: How AI Agents Are Rewriting the App Playbook
Is the SaaS model on its last legs, or just evolving into something smarter? Today, most of us live in a world run by Software as a Service, but with the rise of AI, the rules of the game are changing fast. Enter Anton Marchanka, CEO of Zing Coach, a leader whose portfolio spans $100 million,…
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Code Unleashed: How Poolside Is Making Waves in Generative AI
Cambridge, MA – MIT EmTechAI: Margarida Garcia, VP of Operations at Poolside, recently shared her perspective on the evolving landscape of generative coding and the unique innovations her company is bringing to the field. Poolside is building its own foundation model for code generation, with a focus on secure, enterprise-ready deployments. Here are the key…
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Proof Without Peeking: Human Passport and the Future of Blockchain Identity
Imagine if verifying you’re human online didn’t mean giving up your privacy, or your entire transaction history. Today, blockchain’s biggest paradox is that while it promises trustless systems, it often leaves identities and wallets wide open, exposing users to everything from Sybil attacks to airdrop hunters. On platforms like Base, the Coinbase-backed Ethereum Layer 2…
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Meet Your New Digital Sidekick: AI Agents Take the Wheel
Cambridge, MA – MIT EmTechAI: Yash Kumar and Reiichiro Nakano from OpenAI discussed the evolution and impact of AI agents-particularly OpenAI’s Operator-on digital interaction. Their conversation highlighted the technological progress, challenges, and future directions of AI agents as they move from simple chatbots to sophisticated digital assistants capable of performing complex, real-world tasks on behalf…
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No-Code, No Lines: How Halliday Is Serving Up Instant Blockchain Innovation
What if building on the blockchain was as effortless as ordering your daily coffee, no cryptic instructions, no endless queues, just tap, pay, and play? Thanks to a wave of agentic AI and smart contract innovation, that future is now. Today, Fintechs and banks can launch digital asset products in hours, not months, all while…
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Tailor-Made Intelligence: From Off-the-Rack to Runway-Ready AI
Cambridge, MA – MIT EmTechAI: Waseem AlShikh, CTO and co-founder of Writer, took the EmTech AI 2025 stage to share the remarkable story behind one of enterprise AI’s fastest-growing platforms. Writer’s journey began with a simple but powerful idea: AI should be practical, efficient, and tailored to the specific needs of each business. Founded in 2020,…
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Control, Context, and Code: Windsurf’s Quiet Revolution in Developer Tools
Anshul Ramachandran, founding team member at Windsurf Ever wonder what happens when the future of software meets the sharpest minds in AI—right as acquisition rumors swirl? At the AI+ Expo in Washington, DC, I sat down with Anshul Ramachandran, founding team member at Windsurf (formerly Codeium), just as whispers of an OpenAI buyout electrified the halls. Ramachandran’s resume reads…
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AI on the Edge: From Cat Videos to Cancer Cures
Cambridge, MA – MIT EmTechAI: Scott Penberthy, Senior Director of Applied AI in the Office of the CTO at Google Cloud, is no stranger to big ideas. In his talk, “New Frontiers in AI Models,” Penberthy offered a sweeping view of how the latest advances in artificial intelligence are reshaping industries, accelerating scientific discovery, and…
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Senator Ruben Gallego: Crypto’s Champion for the Underdog—and for American Innovation
When Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) took the stage, the energy in the room shifted. He wasn’t just there to talk policy, he was there to tell a story about why crypto matters, not just to Wall Street, but to the neighborhoods and families that have long been left out of the American financial system. This…
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Code Red: Eric Schmidt’s (ex-CEO Google) AI Alarm and the New World Disorder
At the AI+ Expo in Washington, Dr. Eric Schmidt didn’t mince words about the crossroads humanity faces. With the air of a seasoned technologist, and the urgency of someone who’s seen too many sci-fi movies turn into documentaries, he mapped out a future where artificial intelligence is both the world’s greatest opportunity and its most…
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Deadlines, Dad Jokes, and Digital Dollars: Johnson & Steil’s Congressional Crypto Showdown
At the 2025 Crypto Summit, Representatives Dusty Johnson of South Dakota (R) and Bryan Steil of Wisconsin (R) delivered a session that was as insightful as it was entertaining. The two Congressmen, both leading voices on digital asset policy, brought a refreshing blend of urgency, bipartisan spirit, and good-natured ribbing to a topic often bogged…
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Data Without Borders: Why Your AI Needs a Passport (and a Home)
Cambridge, MA – MIT EmTechAI: When Kevin Dallas, CEO of EDB, takes the stage, you know you’re in for more than just a technical deep-dive-you’re about to get a masterclass in the future of data and AI, delivered with the precision of a Formula One engineer and the vision of a seasoned industry leader. Dallas,…
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Beyond the Singularity: Anders Indset’s Guide to Staying Human
Anders Indset is a philosopher for the digital age, a renowned author, business thinker, and trusted advisor to leaders navigating the complexities of tomorrow. With his latest book, “The Singularity Paradox: Bridging the Gap Between Humanity and AI,” Anders delivers a timely and thought-provoking exploration of one of the most pressing questions of our era:…
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No More Secrets: Why Radical Transparency Is AI’s Secret Weapon
Cambridge, MA – MIT EmTechAI: Ali Farhadi, CEO of the Allen Institute for AI (AI2), is a leading voice for transparency and openness in artificial intelligence. In a field increasingly dominated by closed models and proprietary data, Farhadi argues that only radical transparency-full disclosure of model architecture, training data, and evaluation methods-can build the public…
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Charting the Course for Crypto Clarity: Key Takeaways from Congressman French Hill
At the Blockchain Association’s Summit Series in Washington, DC, Congressman French Hill (R-AR), a pivotal figure in financial services and digital asset regulation, outlined his vision for U.S. leadership in blockchain innovation. Below are the key themes from his discussion. Regulatory Vision and Stablecoin Legislation Congressman Hill emphasized the urgent need for regulatory clarity to foster trust…
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Sky’s the Limit: Bill Lakeland and the Drone Mapping Revolution
Toronto, Canada – Consensus 2025: Bill Lakeland is a trailblazer at the intersection of aerial technology and next-generation mapping. As the CEO and co-founder of Spexi, Bill has built his reputation on a passion for democratizing access to high resolution, real-time geospatial data—empowering drone enthusiasts and professionals alike to help map the world in unprecedented…
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No More Traffic Jams: Grigore Roșu on Fixing Blockchain’s Congestion
Imagine a world where every street in a city speaks a different language, uses a different currency, and has its own quirky set of toll booths. Welcome to the current state of blockchain, a sprawling metropolis of over 1,000 networks and 16 million cryptocurrencies, most of them abandoned vehicles rusting by the curb. Navigating this…
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Copyright, Creators, and Code: Who Wins the AI Gold Rush?
Cambridge, MA – MIT EmTechAI: Artificial intelligence is rewriting the rules of intellectual property, thrusting creators, tech companies, and legal experts into uncharted territory. In a lively session at EmTechAI 2025, Tyler Chou (“The Creators’ Attorney” and founder of Tyler Chou Law for Creators) and Amir Ghavi (Co-chair, Technology Transactions, Paul Hastings) tackled the thorniest…
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From Freakouts to Forecasts: How AI Is Changing the Game in Finance
Cambridge, MA – MIT EmTechAI: Andrew Lo, Director of the Laboratory for Financial Engineering at MIT Sloan School of Management, offers a pragmatic and nuanced perspective on how AI-particularly large language models (LLMs)-is already transforming the financial sector and where its greatest business value lies today. AI as a Financial Advisor: From Skepticism to Surprising…