The Israel-Hamas War: Live Q&A with Ali Hashem, Joyce Karam, and Daoud Kuttab

On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman

On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman

1:14:43

Artificial intelligence is evolving at an unprecedented pace—what does that mean for the future of technology, venture capital, business, and even our understanding of ourselves? Award-winning journalist and writer Anil Ananthaswamy joins us for our latest episode to discuss his latest book Why Machines Learn: The Elegant Math Behind Modern AI . Anil helps us explore the journey and many breakthroughs that have propelled machine learning from simple perceptrons to the sophisticated algorithms shaping today’s AI revolution, powering GPT and other models. The discussion aims to demystify some of the underlying math that powers modern machine learning to help everyone grasp this technology impacting our lives, even if your last math class was in high school. Anil walks us through the power of scaling laws, the shift from training to inference optimization, and the debate among AI’s pioneers about the road to AGI—should we be concerned, or are we still missing key pieces of the puzzle? The conversation also delves into AI’s philosophical implications—could understanding how machines learn help us better understand ourselves? And what challenges remain before AI systems can truly operate with agency? If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform. Sign up for our newsletter at techsurgepodcast.com for exclusive insights and updates on upcoming TechSurge Live Summits. Links: Read Why Machines Learn, Anil’s latest book on the math behind AI https://www.amazon.com/Why-Machines-Learn-Elegant-Behind/dp/0593185749 Learn more about Anil Ananthaswamy’s work and writing https://anilananthaswamy.com/ Watch Anil Ananthaswamy’s TED Talk on AI and intelligence https://www.ted.com/speakers/anil_ananthaswamy Discover the MIT Knight Science Journalism Fellowship that shaped Anil’s AI research https://ksj.mit.edu/ Understand the Perceptron, the foundation of neural networks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perceptron Read about the Perceptron Convergence Theorem and its significance https://www.nature.com/articles/323533a0…

há cerca de um ano 39:39

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In another special edition of the podcast, we have the audio from the fourth edition of our live Q&A webinar series on the Israel-Hamas war, where Al-Monitor's Columnist Ali Hashem, Senior News Editor Joyce Karam, and Palestine Columnist Daoud Kuttab discussed the conflict's latest developments, including Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah's big speech and calls by US President Joe Biden for a humanitarian pause in the fighting, as well as answered guest questions.

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204 episódios

The Israel-Hamas War: Live Q&A with Ali Hashem, Joyce Karam, and Daoud Kuttab

published há cerca de um ano

MP3•Home de episódios

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

204 episódios

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1
Russian mercenaries remain in business even after death of Wagner's Prighozin 24:16

há 2 dias24:16

24:16

Private military contractors are changing the nature of warfare as national governments outsource fighting to mercenaries, especially in the Middle East and Africa. None has elicited as much interest as Russia's Wagner Group and its founder Yevgheny Prighozin with others following in his footsteps, as author John Lechner explains. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .…

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PKK leader Ocalan has the power to deliver peace, but is Turkey sincere? 27:06

há 13 dias27:06

27:06

Since April last year, the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been in talks with imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. The goal is to get his organization to end its 40 year-long armed campaign against the Turkish state. But one of Turkey's demands, that Ocalan’s concessions extend to northeast Syria where a PKK-linked group has been in control since 2012, is unrealistic, says Kurdish Peace Institute director Giran Ozcan. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .…

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For some in Iran, Turkey is a bigger threat than Israel as its regional influence rises 24:29

há 23 dias24:29

24:29

The surprise fall of Iran's close regional ally Bashar al-Assad has dealt a huge blow to Tehran's so called axis of resistance running through Iraq onto Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran's loss is Turkey's gain and Tehran is increasingly worried about rising Turkish influence, says Hamidreza Azizi. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .…

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What Trump means for Iran 24:31

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24:31

Iran is badly weakened by Israel's pummeling of its Shiite allies in the Levant. Yet, unlike during Trump's first presidential term, Gulf powerhouse Saudi Arabia has been mending relations with the Islamic Republic. Vali Nasr, a leading expert on Iran, says there is room for cautious optimism for nuclear talks to resume. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .…

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Why Syria's new Islamist leaders deserve Western support 27:51

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27:51

Nikolaos van Dam, the Netherland's former Syria envoy and an acclaimed Arabist who has authored several books on the country, says Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria's new ruler and the leader of the al-Qaeda offshoot Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, ought to be supported by Western governments. The ambassador notes that the risk of renewed conflict remains high in Syria and that Sharaa must be taken at his word when he says he plans to establish inclusive, democratic rule in the country, because there is no alternative. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .…

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Will Turkey and Israel go to war over Syria? 22:04

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22:04

Turkey expert Gallia Lindenstrauss, who is a senior fellow at Israel's National Institute of Security Studies, says Israel is concerned about Turkey's expanding influence in Syria with the rise to power of the Al-Qaeda offshoot Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. With thousands of Turkish troops deployed in Syria, Lindenstrauss says an accidental confrontation with Israeli forces there could trigger a broader conflagration amid worsening ties between the former allies. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .…

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Turkish lawmaker Cengiz Candar: 'Turkey's endgame is to destroy Kurdish autonomy in Syria' 38:22

há cerca de um ano38:22

38:22

Cengiz Candar is a lawmaker for the pro-Kurdish DEM party in Turkey who has spent long years in the Middle East. Candar outlines how Israel has hugely benefited from the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, while Turkey — another big winner — is seeking to thwart Kurdish aspirations. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .…

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How Turkey is playing with fire in Syria with its backing of new anti-Assad offensive 26:24

há cerca de um ano26:24

26:24

French academic Fabrice Balanche, who has written extensively on Syria and just returned from a ten-day -long trip there, believes Turkey is paying a high stakes poker game in Syria through its backing of a Salafist group that has made stunning advances against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .…

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What will Middle East policy look like under the new Trump administration? 41:47

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41:47

Jim Jeffrey, the director of the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center and former Syria Envoy under the first Trump administration, says in his new term Trump could pull US forces out of Syria. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .…

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What is Turkey’s human rights outlook with new spy law, ousting of Kurdish mayors? 19:58

há cerca de um ano19:58

19:58

Human Rights Watch’s Turkey director, Emma Sinclair Webb, analyzes new legislation targeting journalists and civil society and the ouster of Kurdish mayors. The new wave of repression is being greeted with silence by Turkey's western allies. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .…

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What does the PKK want from Turkey? 24:44

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24:44

The government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is holding exploratory talks with Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK, to end the 40-year-old Kurdish conflict. Turkey has made clear its expectation that the PKK lay down its arms and end the conflict. What would it take for the PKK to comply? Giran Ozcan, executive director of the Kurdish Peace Institute in Washington, believes Turkey needs to grant its estimated 16 million Kurds basic rights such as being able to teach and learn their long banned mother tongue if the effort is to succeed. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .…

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What does the death of Fethullah Gulen mean for Turkey? 31:02

há cerca de um ano31:02

31:02

Fethullah Gulen, the Sunni Muslim Cleric who was accused of engineering the failed coup to overthrow Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has died in self imposed exile in the United States. Once feted as a moderate who steered generations of young Muslims away from radicalism, Gulen did untold harm to Turkey's fragile democracy, says Turkish analyst Selim Koru. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .…

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What are Hezbollah's choices after Israel killed its leader, and which way will Iran point? 22:35

há cerca de um ano22:35

22:35

The risk of a region-wide war is growing as Israel carries out ground and air operations against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and beyond. Hezbollah and Iran have been irreversibly weakened in this latest cycle of violence, argues scholar Lina Khatib of Chatham House. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .…

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Israel's war on Hezbollah: Why it's existential and what comes next 27:07

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27:07

Jim Muir, one of the most seasoned Western journalists in the Middle East, has been covering the Arab-Israeli conflict for almost 50 years. Muir tells Al-Monitor that the latest round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is unlike any other in the past, with unforeseeable consequences for both sides, as well for Lebanon and Iran. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .…

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Why growing US-Cyprus defense cooperation spooks Turkey 20:51

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