Risto Miikkulainen is a professor of neural and evolutionary computation at the University of Texas, Austin. As a researcher of artificial intelligence, his life’s work has ushered in findings and technologies that are aiding in the goal to make machines autonomous. What does this have to do with resilience? Risto gives a few illuminating examples where AI thrives under adverse conditions. In fact, he argues that high-pressure environments are an essential element to the development of AI.