Latest Interviews
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Extending Human Lifespan
Kristen Fortney, Tanya Cushman
This presentation argues that targeting aging as a root cause of chronic disease offers a superior strategy to treating individual conditions, with projections indicating such interventions could extend average human lifespans to 113 years. Citing breakthroughs in rapamycin, senolytics, and metformin trials alongside genomic insights from exceptional longevity cases, the discussion highlights a shift from skepticism to clinical application where three distinct therapeutic classes are currently advancing toward adding a decade or more of healthy life.
- Lex Fridman1h 20m
Juergen Schmidhuber: Godel Machines, Meta-Learning, and LSTMs | Lex Fridman Podcast #11
Juergen Schmidhuber, Lex Fridman
Jürgen Schmidhuber argues that artificial general intelligence should evolve as a "general solver" driven by intrinsic curiosity and data compression, fundamentally shifting from passive pattern recognition to active world modeling. He proposes architectures like the Gödel Machine and PowerPlay to enable systems that recursively optimize their own code while viewing consciousness as a side effect of efficient self-prediction. Looking toward the future, Schmidhuber predicts an "AI ecology" of trillions of agents expanding across the deterministic universe to solve unsolved problems, a trajectory he views as economically transformative yet existentially safe for humanity.
- a16z17 min
Programming Medicine
The medical field is undergoing a paradigm shift from chemical synthesis to programming living entities like cells, genes, and microbes as direct therapeutics. Four core imperatives—sensing disease, executing treatments, containing activity to specific sites, and self-terminating after success—are now driving the development of advanced therapies such as CAR-T, CRISPR gene editing, and engineered microbiome treatments. This evolution aims to overcome historical safety barriers and treat the thousands of genetic diseases and cancers affecting a significant portion of the global population.
- a16z41 min
What's Next for Marketplace Startups
Frank Chen, Li Jin, Andrew Chen, Lee Jin
A comprehensive analysis identifies the services sector as a massive under-digitized opportunity where only 7% of transactions currently occur online due to structural challenges in standardization and supply availability. The narrative traces the evolution of marketplace models from simple listings to today's managed platforms, arguing that the most significant investment potential lies in regulated industries like healthcare and legal services where licensing artificially constrains supply. By leveraging strategies such as full-stack management, AI-driven triage, and alternative credentialing, entrepreneurs can unlock latent demand to professionalize critical life services and capture a substantial share of the US GDP.
- a16z40 min
Company Building in Crypto: A Conversation between Brian Armstrong and Chris Dixon
Brian Armstrong, Chris Dixon, Sonal Chokshi
After recognizing the inefficiencies of the global payment system, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong founded the exchange in 2012 to bridge Bitcoin and traditional finance, scaling the firm through volatile market cycles by implementing structured communication and retaining a 10-year strategic horizon. Armstrong advocates for an "innovation maximalist" philosophy that supports diverse protocols like Ethereum to enable smart contracts and emerging use cases ranging from financial inclusion in developing nations to direct creator monetization. Looking toward a future where digital identity supersedes geography, the company aims to become the most secure and compliant platform to onboard billions of new users who rely on crypto for utility rather than speculation.
- Milken Institute52 min
European Values, Identity, and Politics in 2019
Robert Guest, Douglas Alexander, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Gemma Mortensen, Douglas Murray
Leading thinkers including Douglas Alexander, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and Douglas Murray converge on a consensus that Western societies have shifted from economic debates to a crisis of identity driven by rapid demographic change and eroded institutional trust. The panel identifies a deep chasm between cosmopolitan urban elites and a disenfranchised "exhausted majority" whose moral foundations of loyalty and authority are being exploited by populist movements. To resolve this polarization, the speakers argue that governments must abandon cultural taboos to engage in honest dialogues regarding integration limits, border security, and the distribution of globalization's burdens.
- Y Combinator1h 9m
Frank Lantz - Director of NYU's Game Center and Creator of Universal Paperclips
Frank Lantz, Craig Cannon, Benedict Fritz
The speaker argues that games derive their value from the "gap" between virtual and real worlds, creating a unique space for agency that transcends the often overhyped pursuit of immersion in Virtual Reality. Drawing on examples like *Universal Paperclips* and the organic rise of the Battle Royale genre, the discussion highlights how successful design blends technical rigor with artistic taste to explore profound themes while navigating a hit-driven indie market. Ultimately, the presentation advocates for an educational approach that fuses coding skills with cultural awareness, predicting that future sports and esports will evolve through institutional frameworks rather than mere invention.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
China's Belt and Road Initiative: Threat, Opportunity, or Both?
Amy Celico, Karim Al-Wadi, Evelyn Farkas, Guo Chentao, Ekaterina Miroshnik, Amy Sellecko
Launched in 2013 by President Xi Jinping, the Belt and Road Initiative has expanded to involve over 100 countries and 28 international organizations, generating an annual flow of 920,000 containers via 11,000 freight trains. While the project drives significant economic growth and job creation, it faces scrutiny from the EU and US regarding transparency, debt sustainability, and environmental standards. Despite these geopolitical tensions and demands for international compliance, major Western corporations continue active engagement, and the initiative remains a central driver for global infrastructure development and potential green finance collaboration.
- Milken Institute50 min
Opportunities from an Aging Population: Longevity Strategies for 21st Century Business
James Ashton, Paul Irving, Stuart Kirk, Amanda Mackenzie, Andrew Scott
Experts analyze how the projected rise of the UK's 65+ population to 20 million by 2066 necessitates a shift from the traditional three-stage life model to multi-career pathways. This demographic transformation challenges businesses to redesign workforce strategies, as data shows older employees drive higher customer satisfaction and retention while AI and robotics displace routine junior roles. Consequently, policymakers and organizations are urged to leverage apprenticeship levies and flexible education to close savings gaps and prevent a two-tier society where only the wealthy benefit from extended longevity.
- Goldman Sachs18 min
José Neves: Moving Fashion Forward with Technology
Founded by Jose Neves in 2008, Farfetch established itself as a zero-inventory e-commerce enabler by integrating 25 boutiques and 500 brands into a platform that allows third-party API development and logistics data sharing. The company differentiates its growth strategy through a leadership team split evenly between fashion and technology veterans, allocating capital to optimize the core marketplace, expand into new categories like fine jewelry, and fund moonshot projects such as the Dream Assembly incubator. Neves anchors the organization's culture on an "enabler" philosophy and intense personal passion, explicitly rejecting the term "disruption" in favor of sustaining long-term brand value and relationships with traditional retailers.
- The Economist6 min
The best place to be a woman?
For nearly a decade, Iceland has led global gender equality rankings through targeted interventions such as single-sex schooling in Reykjavik that encourages non-traditional traits and a 2000 "daddy quota" mandating paid paternity leave used by over 70% of fathers. The nation recently became the first to criminalize pay gaps by requiring companies with more than 25 employees to prove equal pay for work of equal value, a measure Reykjavik Energy has already applied to correct disparities between male and female unskilled roles. Although a 6% residual wage gap remains and critics cite compliance costs, proponents maintain these structural changes are essential to treating equal wages as a fundamental human right.
- Milken Institute56 min
Global Trade Outlook for 2019
Tony Fratto, Janice Charette, Ben Digby, Gilbert Kaplan, Ron Kirk
Former USTR Ron Kirk and international trade officials convened to address the disconnect between abstract trade benefits and the immediate economic pain driving political backlash over Brexit, USMCA, and tensions with China. The panelists examined how communication failures and genuine legitimacy concerns regarding Chinese practices have shifted global commerce toward bilateral agreements, creating a complex web of regulations that challenges the effectiveness of the WTO. Outcomes from the discussion highlighted a strategic pivot where nations must modernize dispute mechanisms and navigate strict new rules while balancing domestic security needs with the demands of a rapidly shifting Asian economic center.
- Milken Institute56 min
De-Risking Opportunities in Emerging Markets
Jonathan Wheatley, Ghadir Cooper, Michał Krupiński, Andrew Newington, Charles Robertson, Andrew Fairbairn, Walter Lamberson, Richard Evans, Aubrey Ruby, Dietrich Heitmann, Funda Ehan, Gina Sanchez, Spiros Poulios
Actis, Bearings, and Renaissance Capital strategists Andrew Newington, Gadir Cooper, and Charlie Robertson convened to analyze emerging market dynamics, contrasting Newington's bottom-up sector focus and Cooper's equity selection with Robertson's quantitative models for FX and political risk. The panel identified renewable energy, fintech, and a growing millennial workforce as key 2019 growth drivers while arguing that emerging markets are less susceptible to systemic collapse despite heightened volatility and liquidity constraints in frontier economies. Despite diverging views on the predictability of political regimes, the group collectively advised against exiting emerging markets during downturns, viewing distressed valuations as strategic entry points for acquiring high-quality assets.
- Goldman Sachs14 min
"Catch-Up With David": with Chief Economist Jan Hatzius
Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jan Hatzius projects a global economic slowdown to approximately 3.5% through 2020 driven by US full employment and Federal Reserve rate hikes, though he maintains that recession risk remains low under this gentle deceleration trajectory. Drawing on 2018 forecasting errors regarding emerging markets and the historical lesson of the Berlin Wall's sudden fall, Hatzius advocates for a professional philosophy that balances rigorous modeling with the artistic judgment required to challenge conventional consensus. He concludes that effective forecasting fundamentally depends on acknowledging the inherent limits of predictive knowledge, a principle he applies by abstaining from speculating on unpredictable events ranging from geopolitical shifts to major sporting outcomes.
- Goldman Sachs33 min
General Stanley McChrystal (US Army, Ret.) - "Leaders: Myth and Reality"
Stanley McChrystal, George Washington, Walt Disney, General Stanley McChrystal, David
General Stanley McChrystal challenges the mythological view of infallible leaders in his book *Leaders: Myth and Reality*, profiling historical figures like Robert E. Lee, Walt Disney, and Coco Chanel to demonstrate that human flaws are intrinsic to effective governance. McChrystal further argues that significant societal reforms often rely on resilient systems rather than singular heroic agency, as evidenced by his analysis of Martin Luther King Jr.'s organizational legacy. Looking toward the future, he advocates for a shift from military victory to geopolitical management in Afghanistan, demands a layered defense against AI-driven disinformation, and proposes a paid national service program to revitalize active American citizenship.