Latest Interviews
Showing 1–6 of 6 interview transcripts.
Clear all filters- Milken Institute21 min
A Conversation with Eric Schmidt | Global Conference 2025
Eric Schmidt analyzes the evolving Ukraine conflict as a volatile stalemate driven by massive drone production, automated sensor-to-shooter loops, and the obsolescence of traditional armored platforms like tanks and aircraft carriers. He contrasts Ukraine's rapid, two-week innovation cycles against the Pentagon's sluggish 16-year procurement process, arguing that rigid bureaucratic structures prevent the U.S. from adopting necessary autonomous systems. Schmidt concludes that to counter modern hypersonic threats and future high-intensity warfare, the U.S. must pivot from expensive stationary assets to affordable, internet-prosecuted robotic forces integrated with its domestic startup ecosystem.
- Milken Institute30 min
MIc'd Up | Part 2: Pedro Domingos in Conversation with Eric Schmidt
Led by industry leaders like Bill Gates and Pedro Domingos, the event examines how converging advances in algorithms, data, and computing are shifting machine learning from rule-based programming to generalized intelligence. The presentation details critical hurdles in generalization and the urgent global talent shortage, while outlining transformative economic shifts where traditional hardware models face commoditization and new crowdsourced learning ecosystems emerge. Looking five to ten years ahead, the discussion predicts a workforce evolution where humans act as strategic captains alongside AI systems, enabling universal programming capabilities that could unlock a $5 trillion new world economy.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Governors Address Challenges Facing States
Eric Schmidt, John Hickenlooper, Terry McAuliffe, Rick Scott, Scott Walker
Governors Rick Scott, Scott Walker, John Hickenlooper, and Terry McAuliffe convened to discuss distinct state-level strategies for economic growth, ranging from Florida's tax-cut model and Wisconsin's fiscal stabilization to Colorado's workforce adaptability and Virginia's international trade focus. Despite operating in opposing partisan environments, these leaders emphasized a unified shift from job creation to filling vacancies by prioritizing apprenticeships, dismantling federal mandates on healthcare and infrastructure, and challenging anti-capitalist sentiment through high-wage employment. The panel concluded that states must serve as "laboratories of democracy" to craft granular solutions for environmental and social issues while advocating for federal devolution of authority to maximize efficiency in workforce development and public safety.
- Milken Institute1h 1m
Lighting the Globe: Manoj Bhargava in Conversation with Sheryl WuDunn
Manoj Bhargava, Sheryl WuDunn, Eric Schmidt, John McCutchan, Raymond Santos, Jennifer Doyle, Sharon Chandran
Forbes billionaire and 5-Hour Energy founder Manoj Parga has launched "Stage 2," a venture dedicated to deploying low-maintenance, scalable technologies in water, energy, and health for underserved populations. The initiative introduces hardware like the $250 Free Electric bicycle to generate power for livelihoods, the energy-efficient Rainmaker desalination unit, and a medical patch for early disease detection, all designed to replace unreliable solar and complex medical diagnostics in rural areas. Parga explicitly rejects proprietary hoarding by offering to train competitors and sell production lines, prioritizing rapid global adoption of simple, functional engineering over traditional philanthropic overhead.
- Milken Institute57 min
A Path Appears: A Conversation With Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
Nicholas Kristof, Sheryl WuDunn, Steve Grove, Nick Kristof, Ashley, Derek McKesson, Dan Galpin, Esther Duflo, Brian Mulaney, Dan Pallotta, Eric Schmidt, Sheryl McCarthy, Nick Orloveyski
Google News Lab director Steve Grove facilitated a discussion with Pulitzer Prize-winning authors Nick Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn regarding their book *A Path Appears* and its accompanying PBS documentary on transforming social vulnerability into opportunity. The speakers advocate for applying business principles and market incentives to poverty alleviation, citing evidence from randomized trials that effective interventions must measure outcomes rather than inputs and leverage corporate strategies to address systemic issues like missing girls and the "word gap." They further highlight the physiological benefits of philanthropy and argue that future social progress depends on a "double bottom line" model where for-profit enterprises and rigorous data measurement replace traditional charity to solve intractable challenges in education, health, and urban violence.
- Milken Institute1h 23m
The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside Story of the New Billionaire Wildcatters
Gregory Zuckerman, Joel Kurtzman, Conrad Kieschel, Greg Zuckerman, David J., Eric Schmidt, John McCutchan, David Freeman, David Sanger
At a Milken Institute forum, author Greg Zuckerman and moderator Joel Kurtzman analyzed how unconventional entrepreneurs like George Mitchell and Harold Hamm drove a U.S. energy revolution, slashing import dependence from 40% to 14.5% through hydraulic fracturing innovations. This technological surge, powered by horizontal drilling and "slick water" fracking, transformed the nation into the world's top energy producer while generating millions of jobs and reshaping global geopolitical dynamics. Despite ongoing debates regarding environmental safety and seismic activity, the discussion emphasizes that these breakthroughs have provided a critical economic bridge toward future renewable energy adoption.