Podcast: Uber + Expedia? Ballmer on 60 Minutes; 1980s Silicon Valley revisited; What’s next for AI

This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we imagine the possibility of Uber buying Expedia Group, based on a report by the Financial Times this week that the ride-hailing company has considered a bid for the online travel giant.

It would be notable in part because Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was Expedia Group’s CEO from 2005 to 2017, and remains on the board. Khosrowshahi, who oversaw numerous acquisitions during his tenure at Expedia Group, reportedly recused himself from talks about a possible deal between Uber and Expedia.

[Skift: Uber-Expedia Super Deal? Our Answers to 10 Big Questions]

In the second segment, we enjoy a highlight from the “60 Minutes” profile of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, and a separate appearance by University of Washington historian and author Margaret O’Mara on an episode of the podcast “60 Minutes: A Second Look” about the rise of Silicon Valley in the early 1980s.  

And finally, we discuss the GeekWire project, Microsoft @ 50, and get a window into what’s next in AI from Peter Lee, the Microsoft Research president. He shares the top three technical challenges on his mind when it comes to the future of artificial intelligence. This is bonus content from an interview for the first story in the series, published this week, tracing the evolution of AI inside Microsoft. 

Subscribe to GeekWire in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook.