Designing compute for the edge: Out of the cloud and down on the ground,

Designing compute for the edge: Out of the cloud and down on the ground,

Author: BKBT Productions July 27, 2026 Duration: 41:59
Cloud computing solved for scale by centralizing everything into a handful of massive buildings. Edge computing is the argument that scale was never the only thing worth optimizing for. On this episode, Jeff MacMillan of Green Edge Computing Corp makes the case that sovereignty was never really about geography. It was about how many entities you'd have to strong-arm before someone gave in. The conversation moves from mining sites with unreliable wireless to a Cloud Act clause most people have never read. It lands on an uncomfortable question: when decentralizing compute means decentralizing oversight too, who ends up accountable for what happens in the box nobody's watching. The same hardware standard the U.S. military spent fifteen years refining now sits in clinics and 7-Elevens, and has implication and applications for bringing cutting edge software to the most remote areas. What does it mean when you can bring your own compute literally anywhere? Mentioned: * Jevon's paradox [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jevons_paradox]

There’s a lot of noise in the world of technology talk, but Bare Knuckles and Brass Tacks cuts through it with a focus on the people behind the products and the societal currents shaping our digital landscape. Hosts George K and George A steer conversations that are less about specs and hype, and more about real-world consequences. You’ll hear them dig into topics like the messy rollout of new AI tools, the often-invisible backbone of digital infrastructure, and why communities adopt or reject certain technologies. This podcast regularly features guests from various fields who offer unvarnished opinions on what’s genuinely functional and what’s fundamentally flawed in our tech-saturated lives. The discussions move beyond simple commentary to challenge the standard narratives promoted by the tech industry, examining the cultural and social ripples of every new development. It’s a show for anyone who feels that technology coverage often misses the human element-the frustrations, the adaptations, and the ethical dilemmas. Tune in for a grounded, critical, and consistently engaging dialogue that connects the dots between code and culture. This production from BKBT Productions lives up to its name, getting down to the brass tacks of how technology is built and used, with a bare-knuckle honesty that’s increasingly rare.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Bare Knuckles and Brass Tacks
Podcast Episodes
Who is served & who gets protected when leaders only look up? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:05
When an institution says it's changing, how do you tell the difference between real reform and a vocabulary update? Charlotte Duval-Lantoine has spent years studying organizations that adopt the language of culture chang…
If US politics is rigged, can we build a new civic internet? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:53
What if the problem with American democracy isn't that the system is broken, but that it's working exactly as intended, just not for you? Travis Misurell, founder of FiNC (Future is Now Coalition), has spent years watchi…
Leveling Up is about fixing your own broken code (REPLAY) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:03
The travel schedules and time zone tango is real. This week, revisit one of the most downloaded episodes this season, with Rachelle Tanguay. What if your biggest career obstacle isn't external—it's the "broken code" runn…
Why your network is shallower than you think, and how to change it [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:18
What if the reason most people struggle to build meaningful professional relationships isn't effort — it's that they've mistaken a transaction for a foundation? David Homan [https://orchestratedconnecting.com/about/] has…
What the AI datacenter build out looks like from the ground up [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:19
What happens when a community votes no…but the #AI datacenter construction starts anyway? That is not a hypothetical. It's what happened in Saline Township, Michigan, when a $16 billion OpenAI-Oracle data center was reje…
The Everything Machine and the Trillion-Dollar Bet [Replay] [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:02
What if the story we're being told about AI's inevitability is hiding something underneath? That's the question Jessica Parker and Kimberly Becker put to George K. on their podcast, Women Talking 'Bout AI [https://www.wo…
AI is doing real good and real harm, but the hype is hiding both [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:16
The AI hype machine is taking up all the oxygen we need to actually stop the harm happening today. This month we heard from three guests who didn't compare notes. Didn't coordinate. And all three circled the same thing:…