Elon Musk says humanoid robots represent the biggest business opportunity in the history of the world. But what problems do these robots actually solve? And why do they have to look like humans?

We pose those questions and more to Dr. Jonathan Hurst this week, one of the pioneers of modern robotics. He’s the co-founder and Chief Robot Officer at Agility, which makes a humanoid called “Digit," which is actually working in warehouses.

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Dr. Robert Wachter has been a physician for decades, and he thinks that in the future, you might prefer an AI doctor over him (at least sometimes). 

Dr. Wachter is the Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and a best-selling author. To report his most recent book, A Giant Leap: How AI Is Transforming Healthcare and What That Means for Our Future, he spoke to over 100 experts across medicine and technology. The result is a compelling argument for how AI can unburden both doctors and patients, and broaden access to quality healthcare worldwide. 

We discuss the future of "digital twin" doctors, how physicians are already using AI, the risks of de-skilling due to an over-reliance on AI, and how Dr. Wachter is using ChatGPT when it comes to his own health.

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The U.S. is falling behind in its economic competition with China. One potential solution? An expansion of executive power. That’s according to investor and contributing New York Times columnist Steven Rattner. Rattner served as counselor to the Treasury secretary in the Obama administration; he was known as President Obama’s “car czar,” for leading the team that saved the auto industry in the wake of the financial crisis. Today, we discuss why Rattner’s recent trip to China convinced him the U.S. is not winning, and his practical ideas for how we can turn things around — and fast. 

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When Elon Musk started Neuralink in 2016, he tapped leading neurosurgeon Ben Rapoport to join as a co-founder. But two years later, citing safety and scalability concerns, Rapoport left to co-found a rival company: Precision Neuroscience. Today, we speak with his co-founder, Michael Mager, about what sets Precision apart, the future of brain–computer interfaces (BCIs), and what Precision has already been able to achieve with over 70 implanted patients. 

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Jeff Selingo is not impressed with how colleges are responding to AI. Selingo has spent decades covering higher education and work, and recently spoke with dozens of professors, administrators, and students about what he calls “the campus AI crisis.” While some faculty are still trying to ban the new technology entirely, others struggle to build smart programs to teach students how to use AI. So what is the right way for colleges to embrace AI? How do we prepare students to enter the job market today? We ask Selingo how he’d redesign higher education for the moment. 

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Bill Gurley is a legendary venture capitalist known for backing Uber, Zillow, GrubHub, and many others. But when he started his career, he thought he was going to be a computer engineer. How did he make the pivot? That is just one story Gurley tells in his upcoming book, Runnin' Down a Dream: How to Thrive in a Career You Actually Love. In this episode, Gurley shares his words of wisdom, and, of course, we ask his thoughts on the colossal bubble-in-the-making that is AI.

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Venture capitalist, writer, and researcher Paul Kedrosky thinks it's likely that in the near future, an AI crash will cause widespread damage to the economy—but he's still optimistic about the technology anyway. Today, he tells us why, and shares his boldest predictions about AI, including why OpenAI won't last, and why he'd bet against any of the Mag 7, too.

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Economist Eswar Prasad believes the world’s economic order is stuck in a doom loop. While globalization has increased global prosperity, it’s also left many people behind. That has set off a global “politics of resentment,” enabling the rise of populist leaders who promise a return to economic independence and nationalism. So what do we do about it? Despite the title of Professor Prasad’s new book, The Doom Loop: Why the World Economic Order Is Spiraling into Disorder, he does have answers, and some optimism. 

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Your devices could soon be decoding your most intimate thoughts. It’s just a matter of time, according to neurotechnology expert Nita Farahany. There are already devices on the market that track our brain waves, from rings to smartwatches to new products like Meta’s neural band. How do we safeguard our cognitive liberty?

Nita Farahany is a Professor of Law and Philosophy at Duke University and the author of The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology. We discuss the benefits and risks of opening our brains to our tech in education, work, law, and life.  

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If we're truly in an AI bubble close to bursting, how do we avoid economic catastrophe? That's a question we bring to Andrew Ross Sorkin this week, whose new book, 1929: The Inside Story of The Greatest Crash in Wall Street History, has as much to say about the present as it does the past. We ask Andrew what warning signs he sees in the market, how the government should respond to a crash, and what lessons from the 1920s apply today.

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