The AI talent wars look like pro sports drafts. These podcasters are your sideline commentators.

The race for AI talent has taken an unprecedented turn, resembling the high-stakes environment of professional sports drafts. In what can only be described as the 'AI talent wars,' industry giants are now treating machine learning researchers like prized athletes, with offers soaring into the hundreds of millions. Reports indicate that Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has even extended offers surpassing $1 billion to attract top talent from competitors such as OpenAI and startups like Thinking Machine Labs. This unusual scenario has captured the attention of traditional media, leading to the emergence of the 'Technology Business Programming Network' (TBPN). This innovative platform features a series of 15-minute interviews with leading figures in tech, hosted by John Coogan and Jordi Hays, who have cleverly adopted sports commentary language to track talent movements akin to player trades in sports. Their social media presence has included baseball-card-style graphics showcasing AI researchers being 'traded' among top labs, blending humor with insightful commentary. Coogan and Hays are not sports enthusiasts, yet they have embraced an entertaining format that resonates with audiences. Their podcasts have reinvigorated the media landscape in tech, which has often been hesitant about mainstream coverage. Their engaging approach has not only attracted attention but has also sparked discussions on the evolving nature of technology and entertainment. Coogan, a seasoned entrepreneur with a history of successful ventures, including the popular beverage Soylent, and Hays, who has a background in fintech and angel investing, brought their vision for a founder-friendly talk show to life in late 2022. Their commitment quickly grew, leading to an impressive weekly output of episodes featuring guests from various sectors of AI. In July 2023, TBPN unveiled its Metis List, ranking the top 100 AI researchers based on their citation metrics, a testament to their impact on the field. Leading the list is Ilya Sutskever, co-founder of OpenAI, who has been pivotal in advancing transformer technology. The competitive landscape of AI is further illustrated by the recent moves of Sutskever's co-founder at Safe Superintelligence Inc., who left to join Meta’s Superintelligence Labs. Coogan and Hays have interviewed around 200 guests, including notable figures from OpenAI and other AI-focused startups. Their unique perspective on the AI landscape has helped redefine the concept of 'tech bros,' shifting it from a derogatory term to a badge of camaraderie, as they aim to engage audiences with a fresh narrative on technology. Though they do not identify as journalists, Coogan and Hays see themselves as 'digitally-native news anchors,' committed to producing engaging content in the tech arena for the long haul. Their focus remains on building a sustainable platform rather than seeking venture capital, emphasizing their desire to be a lasting presence in the tech commentary space.