AI-Curious with Jeff Wilser

Jeff Wilser

A podcast that explores the good, the bad, and the creepy of artificial intelligence. Weekly longform conversations with key players in the space, ranging from CEOs to artists to philosophers. Exploring the role of AI in film, health care, business, law, therapy, politics, and everything from religion to war.  Featured by Inc. Magazine as one of "4 Ways to Get AI Savvy in 2024," as "Host Jeff Wilser [gives] you a more holistic understanding of AI--such as the moral implications of using it--and his conversations might even spark novel ideas for how you can best use AI in your business."

  1. 2小时前

    Space Robots Are Here *Now*, w/ Icarus Robotics cofounders Ethan Barajas and Jamie Palmer

    What happens when “space robots” stop being sci-fi set dressing and start punching a clock? We dig into a new breed of microgravity robots that do the unglamorous work—so astronauts can do more science. In this episode of AI-Curious, we talk with Ethan Barajas (CEO) and Jamie Palmer (CTO), co-founders of Icarus Robots, fresh out of stealth with a $6M raise. Their pitch is simple and radical: put agile, teleoperated robots insidespacecraft like the ISS to handle cargo, inspections, and maintenance—then use the resulting microgravity manipulation data to unlock partial (and eventually full) autonomy. We cover the tech, the economics (why astronaut time is so expensive), the AI roadmap, and a pragmatic path from today’s chores to tomorrow’s orbital factories and lunar bases. What we cover Why astronaut hours are precious—and how robots can “augment” rather than replace themThe form factor: free-flying, drone-like bodies with dual arms optimized for zero-G dexterityInside first, outside later: a deployment strategy that lowers safety hurdles and accelerates learningData advantage: building the first large microgravity manipulation dataset via continuous teleopAI’s role: from human-in-the-loop control to primitives to scalable dexterous manipulationCommunications and latency: S-band today, laser links tomorrow; what “real-time” actually meansThe “orbital factory” thesis: pharma, semiconductors, fiber optics—and servicing orbital data centersLong-horizon forecasts: humans living and working in space; physical labor increasingly done by robotsGuests Ethan Barajas — Co-founder & CEO, Icarus RobotsJamie Palmer — Co-founder & CTO, Icarus RobotsWhy this matters If half of Earth’s GDP is labor, the space economy scales only when on-orbit labor scales. Teleoperated robots that learn from expert demonstrations—then graduate to safe autonomy—are a credible bridge from today’s stations to tomorrow’s factories, data centers, and off-world bases. https://www.icarusrobotics.com/

    42 分钟
  2. 8月28日

    How AI Could Help Solve Climate Change, w/ Climate Tech Expert Josh Dorfman

    AI is often framed as a climate problem—energy-hungry data centers, ballooning carbon emissions, and talk of nuclear power just to keep the servers running. But could AI also become part of the solution? In this episode of AI-Curious, we sit down with Josh Dorfman—climate tech entrepreneur and host of Supercool—to explore how artificial intelligence might help tackle climate change. Josh doesn’t offer hand-wavy promises. Instead, we dive into concrete examples where AI is already making a difference. What we cover: [4:17] Josh’s background at the intersection of technology, climate, and business.[8:18] How AI data centers are impacting energy use—and why fossil fuels can’t scale to meet demand.[12:30] The role of nuclear, geothermal, and solar-plus-storage in powering AI sustainably.[23:25] AI-optimized school buses: how Oakland electrified its fleet with fewer vehicles.[27:44] BrainBox AI and smarter buildings: cutting emissions through predictive HVAC optimization.[31:42] AI in waste management: from pneumatic trash tubes to AI sorting recyclables.[41:17] Big-picture futures: AI efficiency, plummeting solar costs, and the possibility of “trivially cheap” energy.The conversation blends realism with optimism—grounded in the challenges of energy demand, yet hopeful about AI-driven solutions in transportation, buildings, waste, and renewable power. If you’ve ever wondered whether AI can be more than an energy drain—and instead help drive sustainability—this episode offers both perspective and inspiration. 🎧 Subscribe to AI-Curious: • Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-curious-with-jeff-wilser/id1703130308 • Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/70a9Xbhu5XQ47YOgVTE44Q?si=c31e2c02d8b64f1b • YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@jeffwilser

    45 分钟
  3. 8月14日

    Can AI Be Funny? With ComedyBytes’ Eric Doyle

    Can artificial intelligence actually be funny, or is humor still a human stronghold? We explore that question with Eric Doyle, co-founder of ComedyBytes, a Brooklyn-based multimedia comedy show where AI and humans face off in roast battles, dating games, and other interactive formats. Doyle combines the craft of stand-up with the tools of generative AI, building AI characters like “AI Kanye West” or “AI Sarah Silverman” that deliver pre-scripted jokes in real time. In this episode of AI-Curious, we dig into: [0:52] The story behind ComedyBytes and its AI-powered format[3:46] How AI roast battles work, from concept to stage mechanics[7:53] Using tools like ChatGPT, Claude Sonnet, and Gemini AI to write jokes[12:55] The art of prompting for humor and boosting the “funny hit rate”[16:36] Why specificity matters in generative AI comedy[23:43] Inside the “Data-ing Game,” an AI twist on the classic dating game[25:58] Can AI really be funny—or just imitate the structure of humor?[32:30] The triple, listing technique, and other joke-writing structures AI can learn[39:10] Advice for non-comedians using AI to add humor[41:24] The future of AI in entertainment and its impact on creatorsFrom the structure and anatomy of a joke to the ethics of deepfake comedy, this conversation blends technology, performance, and the evolving role of AI in creative work. Whether you’re an AI enthusiast, a comedy fan, or simply curious about where these worlds collide, this is a look at AI and humor you haven’t heard before.

    40 分钟
  4. 7月24日

    The New Jobs That AI Might Create, w/ Robert Capps (NYT Magazine Contributor)

    Is Kant the new code? If AI can write, code, and even plan, which human skills suddenly become scarce—and valuable? In this conversation with Robert Capps (former Editorial Director of Wired, contributor to The New York Times Magazine), we dive into his widely shared NYT Mag feature, “AI Might Take Your Job. Here Are 22 New Ones It Could Give You.” We unpack the three big buckets of new work he sees emerging—Trust, Integrators, and Taste—and explore why philosophy majors, auditors, and “AI translators” may be the surprise winners. We also get frank about hallucinations, over-extrapolation, inequality, lethal autonomous weapons, and why Rob still comes out more optimistic. In this episode of AI-Curious, we: Break down Rob’s three buckets of future AI jobs: Trust (auditors, ethicists, legal guarantors), Integrators (the translators who know both your business and the models), and Taste (the Rick Rubin-esque role of vision, judgment, and curation).Talk about why Ethan Mollick refuses to let AI write his first drafts—and why that matters for your own thinking.Examine how “the tools will be commodities, not the people,” and what that means for founders, creators, journalists, and scrappy upstarts.Get into the very real risk of inequality and policy paralysis—and why UBI isn’t a satisfying answer.Preview Rob’s documentary on AI weapons and the fight to keep humans in the loop.Takeaways Trust work explodes. Expect a cottage industry of auditors, ethicists, and “legal guarantors” to ensure AI output is accurate, defensible, and compliant.Integrators win inside companies. The most valuable people will be those who can translate between business reality and fast-moving model ecosystems.Taste is leverage. Vision, taste, and editorial judgment—knowing what good looks like—become the human moat.Beware first-draft capture. Letting AI write your first draft can quietly dominate your thinking (Mollick’s rule is worth adopting).Inequality is the real threat. Most experts Rob spoke with fear a rapid widening of inequality more than mass permanent joblessness.Tools, not people, become commodities. When everyone has Goldman-tier tools, expect disruption from the bottom, not reinforcement of the top.Rob’s NYT Magazine piece: “AI Might Take Your Job. Here Are 22 New Ones It Could Give You.” https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/17/magazine/ai-new-jobs.html

    52 分钟
  5. 7月18日

    AI and Education: Inside the AI Solution Partnering with Denver Public Schools, w/ Dr. Michael Everest

    Could AI actually improve public education? Not just automate it, but make it more personalized, more equitable — and even more human? We explore this possibility with Dr. Michael Everest, founder of edYOU, an AI tutoring platform being piloted in a Denver-area school district. While many worry that AI could become a shortcut for students to avoid real learning, Everest argues the opposite — that AI can reinforce understanding, boost confidence, and offer 24/7 support tailored to each student’s needs. In this episode of AI-Curious, we dig into the real-world mechanics of how this works — including partnerships with schools, how teachers interact with the platform, and what kind of results they’re seeing so far. We also ask the tough questions: What about data privacy? What about bias and hallucinations? Is there a risk we’re outsourcing critical thinking? And what does the future of education look like if every student has a lifelong AI companion? Topics include: The promise and pitfalls of AI in classroomsedYOU’s pilot program with Adams 14 School DistrictHow the AI tutoring platform personalizes learningThe role of teachers in an AI-enhanced education systemOversight, privacy, and academic integrityThe vision of a lifelong AI learning companionWhether you’re a parent, educator, technologist, or just curious about where education is headed, this conversation offers a grounded, hopeful — and at times provocative — look at the future of learning.

    48 分钟
  6. 7月11日

    AI's Impact on History Writing and Journalism, w/ The New York Times Magazine's Editorial Director Bill Wasik

    What happens when AI becomes a co-pilot for writers, researchers, and journalists — not in theory, but in practice? In this episode of AI-Curious, we speak with Bill Wasik, Editorial Director of The New York Times Magazine, who recently oversaw their special issue, “Learning to Live with AI.” We explore how AI is already transforming journalism, nonfiction writing, and historical research — and why the most interesting impacts may come not from content creation, but from how we discover, organize, and interpret information. We dig into the creative tension between AI and human storytelling, including how historians are using tools like NotebookLM to tackle research projects previously deemed impossible. Bill shares how AI can augment writing workflows without compromising editorial judgment — and why trust and authorship still matter in a world of fast content. We also cover: The risks of over-relying on AI for research (19:45)How AI might transform local journalism and accountability (41:30)The evolving AI policies at The New York Times (29:40)Whether AI could ever win the Booker Prize — and what that would mean (7:30)Use cases from historians and academics using ChatGPT (26:00)Bill's (excellent) piece: "AI is Poised to Rewrite History. Literally." https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/magazine/ai-history-historians-scholarship.html The NYT Magazine's Special Issue:  https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/magazine/using-ai-hard-fork.html

    49 分钟
  7. 6月27日

    The (Data-Driven) Top AI Trends, w/ the CEOs of HumanX and Read.AI

    What are the top minds in AI actually talking about behind closed doors? At the HumanX conference—arguably the flagship event in the AI ecosystem—hundreds of speakers (from CEOs to policymakers to Kamala Harris) shared their unfiltered thoughts on the state and future of artificial intelligence. But with so much happening at once, even attendees couldn’t absorb it all. So HumanX did something novel: they partnered with Read.AI to record and synthesize every single session. The result? A real-time AI copilot for the conference and a post-event report that reveals the key themes, trends, and tensions shaping the industry. In this episode, we speak with HumanX CEO Stefan Weitz and Read.AI CEO David Shim to unpack the insights from that report—what they signal for 2025, what business leaders should pay attention to, and what’s probably just noise. We talk about the rise of agentic AI, the shift from AGI ambition to ROI expectations, and the practical realities of implementing AI inside large organizations. We also dig into issues of trust, open source, industry-specific adoption, and how AI is starting to reshape roles from customer service to legal to healthcare. Whether you’re in strategy, ops, tech, or just trying to keep up, this conversation offers a data-driven pulse check on where enterprise AI is headed. Highlights & Timestamps: [1:00] – How Read AI became the official AI copilot of the HumanX conference[3:10] – “You can’t be everywhere at once”—the problem this tech solves at events[6:15] – The most talked-about concept at HumanX: agentic AI[7:45] – Why AGI hype is shifting toward practical use cases with agents[8:58] – The fast hype-decay cycle of AI and the emerging focus on outcomes[12:26] – Open source, cost savings, and why business leaders care about transparency[14:19] – Trust as the “anchoring tenet” of enterprise AI adoption[16:45] – Real ROI: how Read AI identified $10M in sales pipeline in 30 days[20:03] – Why companies are hiding their AI wins from competitors[22:43] – Cross-industry learnings: how healthcare patterns may apply to other sectors[25:47] – The “put up or shut up” moment: 2025 as the year AI must deliver[29:06] – What business leaders should do before launching AI agent initiatives[35:03] – The #1 mistake orgs make with AI: failing to assign ownership[37:09] – Predictions: personalization, interoperability, and privacy friction ahead[42:28] – How Stefan and David personally use AI—for work, fun, and creative hackingLinks & Mentions: HumanX – Flagship AI conference co-founded by Stefan WeitzRead AI – Productivity-focused AI platform by David ShimSuno – AI music generation tool mentioned by StefanReplit – AI coding sandbox used by Stefan for strategy visualizationVeo by Google DeepMind – AI video generation tool referenced by David🎧 Subscribe to AI-Curious: • Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-curious-with-jeff-wilser/id1703130308 • Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/70a9Xbhu5XQ47YOgVTE44Q?si=c31e2c02d8b64f1b • YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@jeffwilser

    44 分钟
5
共 5 分
23 个评分

关于

A podcast that explores the good, the bad, and the creepy of artificial intelligence. Weekly longform conversations with key players in the space, ranging from CEOs to artists to philosophers. Exploring the role of AI in film, health care, business, law, therapy, politics, and everything from religion to war.  Featured by Inc. Magazine as one of "4 Ways to Get AI Savvy in 2024," as "Host Jeff Wilser [gives] you a more holistic understanding of AI--such as the moral implications of using it--and his conversations might even spark novel ideas for how you can best use AI in your business."

你可能还喜欢