Latest Interviews
Showing 46–60 of 1,563 transcripts.
Clear all filters- Milken Institute56 min
Asia-Pacific Overtures: Investment Returns Through Diversification | Global Conference 2026
Laura Deal Lacey, Michael DeSombre, David Elia, Jacqueline Poh, Pandu Sjahrir, Lu Yin
The event convened U.S. policymakers, Singaporean ecosystem builders, and major sovereign wealth managers from Australia and Indonesia to align trade, infrastructure, and artificial intelligence strategies across the Indo-Pacific. Participants detailed a coordinated shift toward removing non-tariff barriers, deploying over $2 billion in targeted foreign assistance, and establishing regional AI stacks to counter Chinese technological dominance. Discussions highlighted a broader trend where pension funds and state actors are bifurcating portfolios between traditional commodities and frontier technologies while accelerating cross-border energy and digital infrastructure projects to sustain long-term regional growth.
Dylan Field on the “Permanent Underclass of Zero Taste”
At Config 2024, Figma CEO Dylan Field addressed a global audience of 10,000 designers and engineers to refute narratives that AI renders design obsolete, asserting instead that human intent and cultural context remain essential for scalable systems. The event highlighted Figma's strategic pivot toward unifying design and code interfaces while introducing tools like Figma Weave to ensure AI outputs align with specific brand voices rather than generic averages. By emphasizing "agent swarms" and data liquidity, the conference outlined a roadmap where platforms empower users to build bespoke tools, shifting market focus from job displacement fears to enhanced offensive productivity capabilities.
- Milken Institute55 min
The European Opportunity | Global Conference 2026
Gillian Tett, Martin Blessing, Hendrik Brandis, Thomas Buberl, Pascal Cagni, Anne-Christine Champion, Michele Giddens
Key European financial and political leaders are driving a comprehensive reform agenda to bridge the US-Europe productivity gap by establishing a €500 billion German defense fund, transitioning Germany toward a funded pension model, and accelerating France's software entrepreneurship through a simplified "28th regime." To unlock trapped savings and scale unicorns, proponents like AXA CEO Thomas Buhl are advocating for a rapid Capital Markets Union and "military-style" project execution to redirect hundreds of billions into growth investments. Simultaneously, the region is pivoting its technological advantage from abstract AI models to physical industrial applications while leveraging sovereign defense initiatives to create new dual-use supply chains independent of US reliance.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Author Talk: Arthur C. Brooks, "The Meaning of Your Life" | Global Conference 2026
Arthur C. Brooks, Conrad Kiechel
Arthur Brooks, the author of a recent bestseller and former Harvard professor, addresses a psychogenic epidemic of mental distress by attributing rising loneliness and anxiety to a societal over-reliance on technology and "left-brain" complexity at the expense of human connection and "right-brain" meaning. Drawing on neurobiological research and logotherapy, Brooks advocates for a three-step digital detox and a shift toward vertical and lateral transcendence to reclaim fulfillment, arguing that lasting satisfaction stems from managing desire and cultivating relationships rather than chasing the elusive goal of happiness. His analysis further distinguishes between the damaging pursuit of "specialness" and the liberating reality that love is an unearned gift, offering a framework for individuals to navigate the AI-driven economy by prioritizing complex human problems over complicated technical solutions.
- Milken Institute57 min
Rewriting the Rules: Scaling Innovation for Rare Diseases | Global Conference 2026
Becky Quick, Nicola Blackwood, David Fajgenbaum, Michael Hund, Neil Kumar, William H. Lewis
Panelists including David, Will Osborn, and Michael discussed how AI-driven repurposing of generic drugs and patient-led "venture cure" models are accelerating the discovery of treatments for the over 300 million people globally affected by rare diseases. The dialogue highlighted transformative regulatory shifts, such as the UK's newborn sequencing trials and FDA-authorized umbrella CRISPR studies, which aim to bypass traditional trial inefficiencies while addressing barriers like pricing models that stifle global drug launches. Ultimately, the event concluded that converging data infrastructure with proactive patient advocacy is essential to de-risk development and deliver rapid therapeutic interventions for currently untreatable conditions.
- Stanford Online49 min
Stanford MS&E435 Economics of the AI Supercycle | Spring 2026 | Applications, Coding AI
Guillermo Rauch, Apoorv Agrawal
Vercel, a $9.3 billion infrastructure firm founded by Guillermo Rauch, is pivoting its business model from standard web pages to "agentic infrastructure" to support the exponential growth of AI coding agents and token-based consumption. The company leverages a full-stack approach anchored in open source frameworks like Next.js, enabling enterprises such as Meta and Notion to deploy self-driving cloud capabilities that automate software configuration and security. This strategic shift, which has driven a threefold growth rate since October 2024, positions Vercel as the dominant platform for high-velocity, agent-generated code while redefining industry pricing and deployment standards.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
The New Macro Playbook | Global Conference 2026
Stephanie Ruhle, André Esteves, George Goncalves, Karen Karniol-Tambour, Seema Shah, Jeffrey Solomon
Global capital flows are shifting from a U.S.-centric model to diversified inflows in emerging markets and resource economies, driven by a transition from efficiency-based globalization to sovereign security-focused supply chains. This structural change, characterized by modern mercantilism and massive AI infrastructure spending, has created a bifurcated economy where fiscal deficits and geopolitical fragmentation fuel persistent inflation while prompting investors to seek physical assets over traditional equities. As nations fragment into isolated economic blocks and governments face rising risks of financial repression, investors must navigate these divergent currency zones to identify opportunities in captive markets protected by national industrial policies.
- Milken Institute1h 1m
India Ahead: Growth, Investment, and Global Ambition | Global Conference 2026
Karan Bilimoria, Haigreve Khaitan, Vivek Lall, Ajay Piramal, Suneeta Reddy
India's economy, now the world's fourth or sixth largest with a $4 trillion GDP, targets third-place status by 2031 through aggressive manufacturing incentives, digital infrastructure expansion, and a robust legal framework that recently restored its Triple-B+ credit rating. Driven by a youthful demographic, rapid financial inclusion via the Aadhaar system, and strategic shifts in defense and space sectors, the nation has lifted 300 to 400 million people out of poverty while attracting significant foreign investment despite challenges regarding energy security and workforce upskilling. With stable democratic institutions and ambitious reforms in taxation and bankruptcy codes, India is positioning itself as a global innovation hub capable of sustaining long-term growth even as it navigates currency fluctuations and climate resilience needs.
- Stanford Online50 min
Stanford MS&E435 Economics of the AI Supercycle | Spring 2026 | Building AI Factories
Chase Lochmiller, Apoorv Agrawal
Hyperscalers are pouring capital into AI infrastructure that rivals historic U.S. projects, driven by a shift in bottlenecks from chip availability to securing powered shells and skilled labor. In Abilene, Texas, Crusoe is deploying a 2.1-gigawatt campus hosting tenants like Oracle and OpenAI, where rapid construction faces significant wage inflation due to a scarcity of tradespeople and tripling costs for power equipment. While traditional hardware risks obsolescence, the economic model shows accelerated returns as managed services can halve the payback period to two years, even as the sector grapples with future challenges in labor supply and open-source competition.
- Milken Institute53 min
Catalyzing Capital, Innovation, and Impact to Advance Women's Health | Global Conference 2026
Esther Krofah, Jill Biden, Diana Ramos, Kalahn Taylor-Clark, Afton Vechery
The Women's Health Network, comprising 170 organizations, launched a $1 billion funding initiative led by Merck's Health Catalytic Fund to address century-old data gaps and the $2 billion annual productivity loss caused by menopause. Driven by strategic partnerships like California's PRIMA screening tool and private sector innovations such as Modern Fertility, the coalition is leveraging artificial intelligence and capital to de-risk early-stage commercialization while targeting a 50% reduction in maternal mortality. This convergence of philanthropic resources and consumer demand aims to shift medical research from male-centric models to comprehensive care for the 51% of the global population that women represent.
- Milken Institute53 min
The Legacy Play: How Global Sport Shapes Cities, Economies, and Culture | Global Conference 2026
Willow Bay, Jack Alexy, Chris Brearton, Breezy Johnson, Lindsay Taylor, Trisha Worthington
The "Legacy Play" panel convened media leaders, philanthropists, and Olympic gold medalists to analyze the commercial disparities and technological advancements reshaping global sports. Discussion highlighted the United States' unique reliance on private funding compared to state-backed peer nations, while detailing how AI integration and evolving media strategies are democratizing access and enhancing athlete branding. Participants further emphasized the critical role of mental health support and sustainable venue legacies in ensuring long-term career viability and equitable growth for women's sports.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Why Africa, Why Now: Investing in the World's Next Growth Engine | Global Conference 2026
British Robinson, Runa Alam, Qahir Dhanani, Courtney Powell, Ethiopis Tafara, Meg Whitman, Samaila Zubairu
A diverse panel of experts from the World Bank, IFC, and leading private equity firms outlines Africa's shift from a resource-dependent economy to a consumer and technology-driven powerhouse with a projected workforce of 2.5 billion by 2050. Participants highlight that superior recovery rates, decoupled sovereign risk, and undervalued assets make the continent a high-return destination, prompting a strategic pivot toward private equity, green energy supply chains, and fintech. Consequently, institutional investors are urged to bridge local capital gaps through Public-Private Partnerships and to align pension fund mandates with infrastructure projects that address the urgent need to employ the continent's massive youth population.
SpaceX Launches Largest Ever IPO | OpenAI Files to Go Public | Uber Cuts 23% of HR
Jason Lemkin, Rory O'Driscoll, Harry Stebbings
SpaceX initiated a $75 billion IPO with a fixed $135 share price to value the company at nearly $1.8 trillion, a move that bypassed traditional book-building and led analysts to predict a potential first-day decline despite high institutional interest. Concurrently, OpenAI has filed for its own public offering to fund massive foundation model development as its strategy diverges from competitors like Anthropic, while Apple pragmatically integrated Google's Gemini into Siri to prioritize immediate consumer utility. The broader market context features record efficiency in AI-native startups like Lovable and Cursor challenging traditional SaaS models, though valuation risks remain high as major tech firms ramp up capital expenditures for the AI arms race and traditional tech stocks face correction.
- Milken Institute58 min
Reinventing Play: The New Frontier of Gaming Technology and Creation | Global Conference 2026
Geoff Keighley, Johanna Faries, Laura Miele, Gregory Milken, Donald Mustard, DAN GALPIN, MANO MARKS, LAURA MURPHY
Industry leaders Johanna Levinson, Gregory Melkin, Donald Mustard, and Laura Miele convened to outline the gaming sector's transition from episodic releases to continuous live-service models driven by AI adoption and transmedia expansion. The panelists agreed that while mobile platforms retain the largest user base, the market is shifting toward flexible pricing strategies and global partnerships that allow small teams to compete with AAA studios through democratized development tools. Furthermore, the consensus emphasizes a strategic pivot where creative integrity and long-term cultural relevance now outweigh short-term monetization, as publishers integrate mobile, cloud, and social features to sustain player engagement across diverse hardware ecosystems.
- Dwarkesh Patel1h 2m
Sarah Paine - Why Putin and Xi can't escape geography
The event analyzes the fundamental geopolitical divergence between continental "elephant" powers reliant on land armies and maritime "whale" powers driven by trade and naval defense, arguing that the current global instability stems from China and Russia attempting to impose a 19th-century sphere-of-influence system. Drawing on the theories of Mackinder and Spykman, the discussion highlights how maritime democracies must leverage sanctions and economic insulation rather than direct territorial conquest to counter continental aggression that seeks to hollow out post-WWII institutions. Ultimately, the presentation warns that failing to maintain this rules-based order risks a catastrophic third world war, emphasizing that maritime strategies offer the only path toward sustained positive-sum growth.