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Rohit Prasad is the vice president and head scientist of Amazon Alexa and one of its original creators.

This conversation is part of the Artificial Intelligence podcast. If you would like to get more information about this podcast go to https://lexfridman.com/ai or connect with @lexfridman on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Medium, or YouTube where you can watch the video versions of these conversations. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate it 5 stars on Apple Podcasts or support it on Patreon.

This episode is presented by Cash App. Download it (App Store, Google Play), use code “LexPodcast”. 

The episode is also supported by ZipRecruiter. Try it: http://ziprecruiter.com/lexpod

Here’s the outline of the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.

00:00 – Introduction
04:34 – Her
06:31 – Human-like aspects of smart assistants
08:39 – Test of intelligence
13:04 – Alexa prize
21:35 – What does it take to win the Alexa prize?
27:24 – Embodiment and the essence of Alexa
34:35 – Personality
36:23 – Personalization
38:49 – Alexa’s backstory from her perspective
40:35 – Trust in Human-AI relations
44:00 – Privacy
47:45 – Is Alexa listening?
53:51 – How Alexa started
54:51 – Solving far-field speech recognition and intent understanding
1:11:51 – Alexa main categories of skills
1:13:19 – Conversation intent modeling
1:17:47 – Alexa memory and long-term learning
1:22:50 – Making Alexa sound more natural
1:27:16 – Open problems for Alexa and conversational AI
1:29:26 – Emotion recognition from audio and video
1:30:53 – Deep learning and reasoning
1:36:26 – Future of Alexa
1:41:47 – The big picture of conversational AI

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Judea Pearl is a professor at UCLA and a winner of the Turing Award, that’s generally recognized as the Nobel Prize of computing. He is one of the seminal figures in the field of artificial intelligence, computer science, and statistics. He has developed and championed probabilistic approaches to AI, including Bayesian Networks and profound ideas in causality in general. These ideas are important not just for AI, but to our understanding and practice of science. But in the field of AI, the idea of causality, cause and effect, to many, lies at the core of what is currently missing and what must be developed in order to build truly intelligent systems. For this reason, and many others, his work is worth returning to often.

This conversation is part of the Artificial Intelligence podcast. If you would like to get more information about this podcast go to https://lexfridman.com/ai or connect with @lexfridman on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Medium, or YouTube where you can watch the video versions of these conversations. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate it 5 stars on Apple Podcasts or support it on Patreon.

This episode is presented by Cash App. Download it (App Store, Google Play), use code “LexPodcast”. 

Here’s the outline of the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.

00:00 – Introduction
03:18 – Descartes and analytic geometry
06:25 – Good way to teach math
07:10 – From math to engineering
09:14 – Does God play dice?
10:47 – Free will
11:59 – Probability
22:21 – Machine learning
23:13 – Causal Networks
27:48 – Intelligent systems that reason with causation
29:29 – Do(x) operator
36:57 – Counterfactuals
44:12 – Reasoning by Metaphor
51:15 – Machine learning and causal reasoning
53:28 – Temporal aspect of causation
56:21 – Machine learning (continued)
59:15 – Human-level artificial intelligence
1:04:08 – Consciousness
1:04:31 – Concerns about AGI
1:09:53 – Religion and robotics
1:12:07 – Daniel Pearl
1:19:09 – Advice for students
1:21:00 – Legacy

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Whitney Cummings is a stand-up comedian, actor, producer, writer, director, and the host of a new podcast called Good for You. Her most recent Netflix special called “Can I Touch It?” features in part a robot, she affectionately named Bearclaw, that is designed to be visually a replica of Whitney. It’s exciting for me to see one of my favorite comedians explore the social aspects of robotics and AI in our society. She also has some fascinating ideas about human behavior, psychology, and neurology, some of which she explores in her book called “I’m Fine…And Other Lies.”

This conversation is part of the Artificial Intelligence podcast. If you would like to get more information about this podcast go to https://lexfridman.com/ai or connect with @lexfridman on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Medium, or YouTube where you can watch the video versions of these conversations. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate it 5 stars on Apple Podcasts or support it on Patreon.

This episode is presented by Cash App. Download it (App Store, Google Play), use code “LexPodcast”. 

The episode is also supported by ZipRecruiter. Try it: http://ziprecruiter.com/lexpod

Here’s the outline of the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.

00:00 – Introduction
03:51 – Eye contact
04:42 – Robot gender
08:49 – Whitney’s robot (Bearclaw)
12:17 – Human reaction to robots
14:09 – Fear of robots
25:15 – Surveillance
29:35 – Animals
35:01 – Compassion from people who own robots
37:55 – Passion
44:57 – Neurology
56:38 – Social media
1:04:35 – Love
1:13:40 – Mortality

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Ray Dalio is the founder, Co-Chairman and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest and most successful investment firms that is famous for the principles of radical truth and transparency that underlie its culture. Ray is one of the wealthiest people in the world, with ideas that extend far beyond the specifics of how he made that wealth. His ideas, applicable to everyone, are brilliantly summarized in his book Principles.

This conversation is part of the Artificial Intelligence podcast. If you would like to get more information about this podcast go to https://lexfridman.com/ai or connect with @lexfridman on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Medium, or YouTube where you can watch the video versions of these conversations. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate it 5 stars on Apple Podcasts or support it on Patreon.

This episode is presented by Cash App. Download it (App Store, Google Play), use code “LexPodcast”. 

Here’s the outline of the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.

00:00 – Introduction
02:56 – Doing something that’s never been done before
08:39 – Shapers
13:28 – A Players
15:09 – Confidence and disagreement
17:10 – Don’t confuse dilusion with not knowing
24:38 – Idea meritocracy
27:39 – Is credit good for society?
32:59 – What is money?
37:13 – Bitcoin and digital currency
41:01 – The economic machine is amazing
46:24 – Principle for using AI
58:55 – Human irrationality
1:01:31 – Call for adventure at the edge of principles
1:03:26 – The line between madness and genius
1:04:30 – Automation
1:07:28 – American dream
1:14:02 – Can money buy happiness?
1:19:48 – Work-life balance and the arc of life
1:28:01 – Meaning of life

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Noam Chomsky is one of the greatest minds of our time and is one of the most cited scholars in history. He is a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. He has spent over 60 years at MIT and recently also joined the University of Arizona.

This conversation is part of the Artificial Intelligence podcast. If you would like to get more information about this podcast go to https://lexfridman.com/ai or connect with @lexfridman on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Medium, or YouTube where you can watch the video versions of these conversations. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate it 5 stars on Apple Podcasts or support it on Patreon.

This episode is presented by Cash App. Download it (App Store, Google Play), use code “LexPodcast”. 

Here’s the outline of the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.

00:00 – Introduction
03:59 – Common language with an alience species
05:46 – Structure of language
07:18 – Roots of language in our brain
08:51 – Language and thought
09:44 – The limit of human cognition
16:48 – Neuralink
19:32 – Deepest property of language
22:13 – Limits of deep learning
28:01 – Good and evil
29:52 – Memorable experiences
33:29 – Mortality
34:23 – Meaning of life

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Gilbert Strang is a professor of mathematics at MIT and perhaps one of the most famous and impactful teachers of math in the world. His MIT OpenCourseWare lectures on linear algebra have been viewed millions of times.

This conversation is part of the Artificial Intelligence podcast. If you would like to get more information about this podcast go to https://lexfridman.com/ai or connect with @lexfridman on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Medium, or YouTube where you can watch the video versions of these conversations. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate it 5 stars on Apple Podcasts or support it on Patreon.

This episode is presented by Cash App. Download it, use code LexPodcast. 

And it is supported by ZipRecruiter. Try it: http://ziprecruiter.com/lexpod

Here’s the outline of the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.

00:00 – Introduction
03:45 – Math rockstar
05:10 – MIT OpenCourseWare
07:29 – Four Fundamental Subspaces of Linear Algebra
13:11 – Linear Algebra vs Calculus
15:03 – Singular value decomposition
19:47 – Why people like math
23:38 – Teaching by example
25:04 – Andrew Yang
26:46 – Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
29:21 – Deep learning
37:28 – Theory vs application
38:54 – Open problems in mathematics
39:00 – Linear algebra as a subfield of mathematics
41:52 – Favorite matrix
46:19 – Advice for students on their journey through math
47:37 – Looking back

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Dava Newman is the Apollo Program professor of AeroAstro at MIT and the former Deputy Administrator of NASA and has been a principal investigator on four spaceflight missions. Her research interests are in aerospace biomedical engineering, investigating human performance in varying gravity environments. She has developed a space activity suit, namely the BioSuit, which would provide pressure through compression directly on the skin via the suit’s textile weave, patterning, and materials rather than with pressurized gas.

This conversation is part of the Artificial Intelligence podcast. If you would like to get more information about this podcast go to https://lexfridman.com/ai or connect with @lexfridman on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Medium, or YouTube where you can watch the video versions of these conversations. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate it 5 stars on Apple Podcasts or support it on Patreon.

This episode is presented by Cash App. Download it, use code LexPodcast. You get $10 and $10 is donated to FIRST, one of my favorite nonprofit organizations that inspires young minds through robotics and STEM education.

Here’s the outline of the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.

00:00 – Introduction
03:11 – Circumnavigating the globe by boat
05:11 – Exploration
07:17 – Life on Mars
11:07 – Intelligent life in the universe
12:25 – Advanced propulsion technology
13:32 – The Moon and NASA’s Artemis program
19:17 – SpaceX
21:45 – Science on a CubeSat
23:45 – Reusable rockets
25:23 – Spacesuit of the future
32:01 – AI in Space
35:31 – Interplanetary species
36:57 – Future of space exploration

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Michael Kearns is a professor at University of Pennsylvania and a co-author of the new book Ethical Algorithm that is the focus of much of our conversation, including algorithmic fairness, bias, privacy, and ethics in general. But, that is just one of many fields that Michael is a world-class researcher in, some of which we touch on quickly including learning theory or theoretical foundations of machine learning, game theory, algorithmic trading, quantitative finance, computational social science, and more.

This conversation is part of the Artificial Intelligence podcast. If you would like to get more information about this podcast go to https://lexfridman.com/ai or connect with @lexfridman on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Medium, or YouTube where you can watch the video versions of these conversations. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate it 5 stars on Apple Podcasts or support it on Patreon. This episode is sponsored by Pessimists Archive podcast. Here’s the outline with timestamps for this episode (on some players you can click on the timestamp to jump to that point in the episode):

00:00 – Introduction
02:45 – Influence from literature and journalism
07:39 – Are most people good?
13:05 – Ethical algorithm
24:28 – Algorithmic fairness of groups vs individuals
33:36 – Fairness tradeoffs
46:29 – Facebook, social networks, and algorithmic ethics
58:04 – Machine learning
58:05 – Machine learning
59:19 – Algorithm that determines what is fair
1:01:25 – Computer scientists should think about ethics
1:05:59 – Algorithmic privacy
1:11:50 – Differential privacy
1:19:10 – Privacy by misinformation
1:22:31 – Privacy of data in society
1:27:49 – Game theory
1:29:40 – Nash equilibrium
1:30:35 – Machine learning and game theory
1:34:52 – Mutual assured destruction
1:36:56 – Algorithmic trading
1:44:09 – Pivotal moment in graduate school

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Elon Musk is the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and a co-founder of several other companies. This is the second time Elon has been on the podcast. You can watch the first time on YouTube or listen to the first time on its episode page. You can read the transcript (PDF) here. This conversation is part of the Artificial Intelligence podcast. If you would like to get more information about this podcast go to https://lexfridman.com/ai or connect with @lexfridman on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Medium, or YouTube where you can watch the video versions of these conversations. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate it 5 stars on Apple Podcasts or support it on Patreon. Here’s the outline with timestamps for this episode (on some players you can click on the timestamp to jump to that point in the episode):

00:00 – Introduction
01:57 – Consciousness
05:58 – Regulation of AI Safety
09:39 – Neuralink – understanding the human brain
11:53 – Neuralink – expanding the capacity of the human mind
17:51 – Neuralink – future challenges, solutions, and impact
24:59 – Smart Summon
27:18 – Tesla Autopilot and Full Self-Driving
31:16 – Carl Sagan and the Pale Blue Dot

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Bjarne Stroustrup is the creator of C++, a programming language that after 40 years is still one of the most popular and powerful languages in the world. Its focus on fast, stable, robust code underlies many of the biggest systems in the world that we have come to rely on as a society. If you’re watching this on YouTube, many of the critical back-end component of YouTube are written in C++. Same goes for Google, Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, most Microsoft applications, Adobe applications, most database systems, and most physical systems that operate in the real-world like cars, robots, rockets that launch us into space and one day will land us on Mars.

This conversation is part of the Artificial Intelligence podcast. If you would like to get more information about this podcast go to https://lexfridman.com/ai or connect with @lexfridman on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Medium, or YouTube where you can watch the video versions of these conversations. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate it 5 stars on Apple Podcasts or support it on Patreon. Here’s the outline with timestamps for this episode (on some players you can click on the timestamp to jump to that point in the episode):

00:00 – Introduction
01:40 – First program
02:18 – Journey to C++
16:45 – Learning multiple languages
23:20 – Javascript
25:08 – Efficiency and reliability in C++
31:53 – What does good code look like?
36:45 – Static checkers
41:16 – Zero-overhead principle in C++
50:00 – Different implementation of C++
54:46 – Key features of C++
1:08:02 – C++ Concepts
1:18:06 – C++ Standards Process
1:28:05 – Constructors and destructors
1:31:52 – Unified theory of programming
1:44:20 – Proudest moment