The Freethink Interview

We’re interviewing a new generation of builders, leaders and thinkers. People with bold and provocative ideas about the future of humanity. Join us for thought-provoking conversations with some of the world’s most interesting and ambitious technologists.

Subscribe to our Substack

Get more episodes in your inbox.

The Freethink Interview" title on an orange gradient background with "Freethink Originals" text at the top.

Watch on YouTube

Share The Freethink Interview on Twitter (X)
Share The Freethink Interview on Facebook

Superintelligence is coming. Here’s how humanity survives

Emmett Shear: If we want AI to be on our side, it needs to see its part of the greater whole.

Go to Episode

All Episodes (14)

Now Playing

If aging is a disease, how close are we to curing it?

We've already doubled human life expectancy over the last 200 years. Could we do it again?

A close-up of a hand divided down the center, with one side appearing wrinkled and spotted, and the other side smooth and youthful.

Now Playing

Inside the lab training AI to cure diseases

“The most important thing that we could be doing today is going and trying to build an AI scientist to build something that is better than we are at understanding complex science.”

Now Playing

Why the current moment is bigger than the invention of electricity

"This is a monumental world historic shift that we're going through, and most people do not understand how big it is and also how fast it's coming very, very soon."

A hand reaches toward the sun against a blue sky, with faint digital circuit patterns overlaid in the background.

Now Playing

The writer’s guide to leveraging AI correctly

"There are things that Notebook does that are genuinely 10 to 100 times faster."

Handwritten pages are scattered on a yellow surface with the words "SOLVING SYNTHESIS" in bold black text at the center.

Now Playing

Superintelligence is coming. Here’s how humanity survives

Emmett Shear: If we want AI to be on our side, it needs to see its part of the greater whole.

Text “The ‘Alignment’ Problem” in bold white font on a black background, overlaid with four colorful, wavy lines passing through the text.

Now Playing

The next 10 years won’t be about AI knowing, they will be about AI doing

"AI today is like the Internet, say 1995. We're at the HTML when it was just the blink tag."

Abstract illustration of a human brain composed of overlapping translucent shapes in vibrant rainbow colors with glowing points.

Now Playing

The conservationist using genetic technology to rewild the planet

"What if we could find coral that were more resistant to warming waters and transplant them to another place, like selective breeding is done?"

A white egg is centered on a colorful, abstract background resembling a digital DNA sequence with red and blue vertical patterns.

Now Playing

We stopped believing in progress. Now, we’re stagnating.

A heavily rusted and damaged sign reading "PROGRESS" with an arrow stands tilted in a barren desert landscape under blue sky.

Now Playing

Can we have infinite energy without ruining the planet?

"The idea that nuclear energy is inherently dangerous has become a kind of cultural reflex.”

Bold white text reads "WHY NUCLEAR WINS" on a black background, with the letter "I" in "WINS" depicted as a glowing green cylinder.

Now Playing

Why the future of pharma is off-planet | A live conversation with Varda founder Will Bruey

"We’ve reached a point where Earth-bound manufacturing limits what biology can do—space unlocks an entirely new frontier."

A syringe filled with liquid is suspended in front of a view of Earth from space, with the planet’s surface and atmosphere visible below.

Now Playing

Alec Stapp: The red-tape holding renewable energy back

Wind turbine against a clear blue sky with bold white text reading "Clean Energy Crisis" in the background.

Now Playing

40 generations of historians waited to read these scrolls. Now, we can.

Now Playing

The war over microchips is coming, says Chris Miller | The Freethink Interview

“When we think about technology, we think of social media, search engines, apps on our phone; but undergirding all of this are chips.”

A microchip with arrows pointing to it. Text below reads, "This Controls Everything" on a yellow background.

Now Playing

The solar revolution turning sunlight into synthetic fuel

“10 years ago, my colleagues and I looked at the prognosis for Climate Change, and it looked pretty hopeless. There really was no way out.” But something happened - something good.