Latest Interviews
Showing 1–15 of 35 transcripts.
Clear all filters- Milken Institute39 min
International Security: Innovation, Investment, and Partnerships | Global Conference 2026
David Trulio, Christopher Coons, Eric Schmidt, Adam Smith, Chris Coons
Panelists including Eric Schmidt, Senator Chris Coons, and Representative Adam Smith argue that the war in Ukraine has exposed the critical need for the U.S. to replace expensive, traditional military assets with autonomous drones and AI-driven systems to secure a cost-effective deterrence against adversaries. To overcome entrenched bureaucratic inertia and fiscal constraints, the group advocates for bipartisan legislation like the SPEED Act, expanded co-production with international allies, and a workforce shift toward technical innovation over four-year degrees. These strategic adjustments aim to leverage the agility of private sector competitors against legacy defense primes while ensuring American technological leadership in an era of algorithmic warfare.
- 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 Institute1h 3m
eSports: The Bumpy Ride to ROI
Ben White, Sam Englebardt, Peter Levin, Kristen Salvatore, Ari Segal, David Rockefeller Jr., Emily Fortuna, Amanda Han, Eric Schmidt, Ari Schwartzmann, Sam Nelsons, Chai, Peter Barron, Peter Barry Kaufmann, Kevin, Carlos, Paul
Industry leaders highlight that gaming now surpasses film and television in scale, with a user base of 2.6 billion driving a strategic shift for traditional media and sports organizations to secure the Gen Z demographic. Investment activity is surging as entities like Immortals Gaming Club adopt holding company structures to capture high valuations and leverage the mobile boom, while platforms like Twitch demonstrate superior engagement metrics that attract non-endemic advertising. Amidst these rapid expansions, the sector faces evolving structural debates regarding player welfare, the rise of influencer-driven brands over traditional franchises, and the impending need for standardized unionization and global regulatory frameworks.
- Milken Institute59 min
Big Tech Under the Spotlight: Privacy, Transparency, and Regulation
Julia Boorstin, Michael Beckerman, Fadi Tahati, Tristan Harris, Luke Nozick, Kathleen Sullivan, Eric Schmidt
Leading technologists, antitrust officials, and investors convened to address the misalignment between rapid digital innovation and outdated 20th-century governance frameworks, highlighting critical risks ranging from deepfake-driven violence and algorithmic radicalization to the potential erosion of U.S. competitive advantage against state-backed foreign rivals. The panelists identified structural flaws in the current attention economy and data practices, with experts like Michael Beckerman warning that unilateral U.S. regulation could disarm domestic firms while figures such as Fadi Tahati and Tristan Harris called for a new global social contract to treat human attention as a finite resource. Ultimately, the discussion emphasized the urgent need to decouple rule design from enforcement timelines and to establish transnational norms that prioritize long-term societal goals over short-term profit incentives.
- Milken Institute57 min
Big Data and Creating Customer Growth in the Age of A.I.
Sumant Mandal, David Eun, Michael Flaskey, John R. Shrewsberry, Michael Sutcliff, David Rockefeller Jr., Eric Schmidt, Danny Warshay, Amit Singhal, Amit Fulay, Anil Ananthaswamy, John McWhorter, Mike Hayes, David Kwong, Amir Jinairazi
David Rockefeller Jr., Mike Flaherty, John Shrewsbury, and Mike Zuckliff convened to discuss the immediate commercialization of narrow AI across sectors, highlighting how Samsung Next, Diamond Resorts, Wells Fargo, and Accenture are leveraging data integration to transform sales processes, customer experiences, and operational efficiency. The panelists detailed specific outcomes including a 45% sales capture at Diamond Resorts, a 30% revenue uplift for Toyota drivers, and a $12 billion annual R&D commitment from Samsung, while jointly emphasizing a strategic shift toward responsible AI frameworks that prioritize edge computing and human oversight over unregulated automation. Despite differing views on the pace of mobile adoption and the regulatory impacts of regions like China and the EU, all participants agreed that future market leadership will depend on silo-breaking data architectures and the ability to balance innovation with privacy concerns in an increasingly automated landscape.
- Milken Institute59 min
Hacked and Back: Cybersecurity Lessons From the C-suite
Dmitri Alperovitch, Sanford (Sandy) Climan, Christopher Krebs, Thomas Pritzker, Tom Pritzker, Sandy Kleiman, David Batts, Jr., Jeffrey Brown, David Brooks, Eric Schmidt, Alan Seales, Tom Ginsburg, Chris Collins, John McWhorter
This event analyzes the evolution of cyber threats from state-sponsored espionage to disruptive attacks like the 2017 NotPetya incident, highlighting the strategic responses of Hyatt and the Department of Homeland Security. Hyatt integrated cybersecurity into its core governance by allocating six percent of its IT budget and empowering its CISO to share threat intelligence with federal agencies within minutes of detection. The presentation further outlines critical lessons for the entertainment industry, emphasizing the need for robust data protection, cross-sector collaboration, and a culture that treats security as a continuous strategic imperative rather than a temporary IT function.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
Paying for Cures
Colleen Rye, Christiana Bardon, Louis DeGennaro, Joe La Barge, Mark Trusheim, Cynthia Verst, Cindy Virst, Mark Trusseimer, Chris Barden, Joe Medina, Eric Schmidt, Lou, Louis Kombolaini, John McWhorter, Tanisha Carino, Martha Minowski
Discussions on the evolution of curative gene therapies analyze the projected surge of over 500 pipeline candidates and the necessary shift from chronic treatment models to one-time cures that disrupt traditional pricing structures. Industry experts highlight innovative financial mechanisms, including outcomes-based rebates and installment payments, designed to navigate complex regulatory hurdles like Medicaid best price rules and FASB accounting volatility while addressing manufacturing costs. Despite significant challenges in social equity and international reimbursement disparities, the consensus suggests that historical precedents and market-driven competition will ultimately sustain a system capable of integrating these high-cost, durable medical breakthroughs.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Entitlements: A Collision Course With Fiscal Reality
Josh Barro, Jared Bernstein, Andrew Biggs, Chris Hughes, Maya MacGuineas, Eric Schmidt, Andrew McAfee, Jonathan Zittrain, Jared King, Nancy Gertner, David Rockefeller, Anne Coughlin, Eric Schwartzman
A panel of experts including Andrew Biggs and Jared Bernstein addressed the actuarial insolvency of Social Security and Medicare, evaluating revenue increases and benefit adjustments to close the projected 75-year shortfall. The discussion extended to expanding income support through a modernized Earned Income Tax Credit while contrasting these proposals with healthcare reforms aimed at reducing drug costs and leveraging public options. Panelists concluded that political constraints and intergenerational inequities currently prevent necessary fiscal adjustments, creating a gap between public demand for services and willingness to fund them.
- Milken Institute59 min
Bridging the Gap Between the Military and Silicon Valley
David Sanger, Eric Schmidt, Norton Schwartz, Raj Shah
Led by Raj Shah, the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx) successfully integrated commercial startup technologies like MIT-developed LiDAR quadcopters into military operations to bypass traditional acquisition cycles. Despite facing cultural barriers regarding risk aversion and bureaucratic compliance, the initiative has attracted significant venture capital investment while prompting recommendations for embedding computer science as a core DoD competency. Current leadership continues to pursue these structural reforms through iterative procurement models and data-driven soft power applications to maintain a strategic edge over global adversaries.
- Milken Institute59 min
L.A. as Entertainment Capital: Chasing Global Markets or Global Talent?
Noah Wintroub, Beatriz Acevedo, Jeffrey Hirsch, Jon Jashni, Michael Kriak, Chris Silbermann, Eric Schmidt
Los Angeles remains the dominant entertainment hub by leveraging a specialized professional network to sustain a $36 billion industry despite national demographic shifts. Industry leaders are pivoting from traditional B2B models to Direct-to-Consumer strategies, utilizing data analytics to target underserved demographics while addressing critical skills gaps in digital marketing. Concurrently, organizations are reforming talent pipelines by monetizing apprenticeships and using digital platforms to prove the viability of diverse narratives before securing studio greenlights.
- 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 Institute55 min
Lunch Program | The Future of Humankind
Al Gore, Jennifer Doudna, Guru Banavar, Eric Schmidt
Four global leaders addressed the future of humanity at a "Future of Humankind" session, with Al Gore detailing climate crises and renewable breakthroughs, Jennifer Doudna explaining CRISPR gene-editing capabilities, Guru Banavar outlining cognitive computing collaborations, and Eric Schmidt advocating for ambitious innovation "moonshots." The panel emphasized that despite uncertainties, actionable solutions in sustainability, genetic medicine, and artificial intelligence require collaborative efforts between governments, industries, and individuals. By shifting focus from fear to proactive implementation, the speakers argued that these technologies can drive a sustainable future where human intelligence is augmented by machine capabilities to solve critical global challenges.
- Milken Institute52 min
The Future of Humankind feat. Al Gore, Jennifer Doudna, Guruduth Banavar, Eric Schmidt
Al Gore, Jennifer Doudna, Guruduth Banavar, Eric Schmidt
Al Gore, Jennifer Doudna, Guru Banavar, and Eric Schmidt presented a comprehensive overview of existential climate risks, the transformative potential of CRISPR genome editing, and the synergistic roles of cognitive computing and moonshot innovation. Gore detailed the immediate economic and geopolitical threats posed by fossil fuel dependence and heat accumulation, while Doudna explained how CRISPR-Cas9 functions as a programmable tool for precise genetic modification alongside emerging ethical imperatives. Banavar and Schmidt further argued that AI-driven cognitive platforms and radical technological shifts in energy, transportation, and medicine are essential to solving these global challenges and augmenting human intelligence.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
The Growing Drone Phenomenon: Creating Order Out of Chaos
Gary Shapiro, Russ Burns, Lisa Ellman, Dave Vos, David Windmueller, Eric Schmidt, Jure Vatsuri, Nick Smoot, Robert
Industry leaders and policymakers convened to discuss the rapid expansion of commercial drone technology, highlighted by early adopters like Clayco securing FAA exemptions to revolutionize construction efficiency and Google's vision for automated logistics. Participants outlined a roadmap for integrating unmanned traffic management systems that rely on automated data exchange rather than traditional air traffic control, while addressing regulatory challenges regarding privacy and property rights. The dialogue concluded with an emphasis on how these advancements will drive economic growth through cost savings, reduce carbon footprints via electric delivery models, and enable humanitarian applications in disaster response.
- 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.