David Fajgenbaum on drug repurposing, AI, and saving his own life
How can AI really help advance medicine? Should patients and care teams be seeking second opinions from LLMs? This week, Reid and Aria sit down with physician-scientist Dr. David Fajgenbaum, who repurposes existing drugs to save lives—including his own. David shares his journey from receiving last rites as a young medical student to co-founding Every Cure, a nonprofit using AI to come up with ways existing drugs can be repurposed to treat every disease and every patient possible. On this special episode, filmed live in New York City, David, Reid, and Aria explore the circuit of hope, action, and impact that drives medical discovery; the technical and ethical challenges around accelerating AI in healthcare; “agent optimization” as the new “search engine optimization;” and what a future of faster diagnoses and treatment could look like. The result is a conversation about resilience, innovation, and unlocking cures that are already within our reach.
For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/
Topics:
3:00 - Hellos and intros
3:29 - A promise to his mother and the origin of AMF
6:23 - From grief support to medical school
9:18 - Near-death experiences and founding a research network
14:38 - What kept David going at death’s door
16:19 - Discovering a potential treatment and testing it on himself
19:42 - Why drug repurposing is a faster, cheaper complement to drug discovery
22:14 - Co-founding Every Cure and scaling discovery with AI
25:20 - Demo: Building MATRIX and how the algorithm makes predictions
28:41 - Breast cancer and Lidocaine as a case study
30:07 - Why human review is essential in AI for medicine
34:08 - Car exhaust fumes example and FDA pathways
37:31 - Reid’s surprise million-dollar donation for Every Cure compute
39:24 - What AI can unlock across healthcare
41:46 - Building an impact team to close the repurposing loop
47:32 - Improving systemic incentives for generics
54:58 - FDA approval pathways and label change challenges
57:21 - Three life-saving repurposing stories
1:02:20 - Rapid-fire questions
Select mentions:
Hidden Potential by Adam Grant
Chasing My Cure by Dr. David Fajgenbaum
Every Cure
David’s TED Talk: https://youtu.be/sb34MfJjurc?si=GcVleWHZuJ9MqLgS
Manas AI
Possible is an award-winning podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Tune in for grounded and speculative takes on how technology—and, in particular, AI—is inspiring change and transforming the future. Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with an ambitious builder or deep thinker on a topic, from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Each episode seeks to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.
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1:06:19
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1:06:19
Reid riffs on Trump’s $100K visa fee, 3-day work weeks, and AI trust issues
This week, Reid and Aria dive into the debate over new $100,000 fees on H-1B visas, and discuss how immigration powers U.S. innovation and how to ensure startups aren’t shut out. They also cover developers’ mixed feelings about using AI in coding, the leap from 60% to 85% accuracy in medical AI predictions, and what it will take to bring regulators and clinicians on board. Plus, Reid shares why he’s skeptical of a three-day work week and reflects on the Trust in American Institutions Challenge, highlighting some inspiring finalists.
For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/
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35:20
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35:20
Lisa Su on semiconductors, compute, and big bets
What’s the role of semiconductors—and the companies that make them—in powering human progress? What does it look like to innovate thoughtfully in a landscape where the demand for power may be higher than the supply? With AI evolving faster and faster, how can we keep up?
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) CEO Lisa Su joins the show to talk about hardware, global manufacturing, and risk-taking. She shares what she has learned leading AMD from near-bankruptcy a decade ago to its current standing as one of the world’s leading chipmakers. Lisa also weighs in on geopolitics, the AI arms race, startups, what makes her want to hire someone, and AI’s enormous potential to advance healthcare for humankind.
For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/
Topics:
2:46 - Hellos and intros
2:54 - The origins of Lisa's interest in hardware
4:19 - Deciding to bet on chips
6:06 - MIT and early engineering days
6:28 - Google Gemini defines "bunny suits"
8:25 - Differences between AMD and NVIDIA
10:25 - AI’s potential to improve healthcare
16:27 - Driving AMDs comeback
19:40 - Making patience and long-term vision a company-wide virtue
22:06 - Vision for the next 10 years
24:59 - Midroll
25:16 - The impact of geopolitics on AMD
28:38 - Environmental implications of chip production
30:41 - Major hardware innovations in the start-up space
32:14 - AI driving coding acceleration
33:47 - How AMD encourages employees to leverage AI
35:22 - Identifying and empowering talent
39:08 - Rapid-fire questions
Select mentions:
Liquid.ai
The Worlds I See by Dr. Fei-Fei Li
Possible is an award-winning podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Tune in for grounded and speculative takes on how technology—and, in particular, AI—is inspiring change and transforming the future. Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with an ambitious builder or deep thinker on a topic, from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Each episode seeks to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.
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43:55
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43:55
Reid Riffs on AI translations, Apple Intelligence, and OpenAI’s Critterz
This week, Reid and Aria discuss Apple’s new AirPods Pro 3 and live translation capabilities, AI-generated movies (specifically Critterz from OpenAI), and what really could be lost — or gained — as AI technology becomes more widespread. Plus, Reid reflects on his speech at the Bologna Business School two years ago, and how far AI has come since then in amplifying creativity and humanity.
Select mentions:
Superagency
Bro-Botz (https://www.youtube.com/@Bro-BotzDTI)
Reid’s Bologna Business School commencement speech
For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/
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20:39
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20:39
Stephen Colbert on connection, discovery and human nature
What could we gain—and what might we lose—when technology begins to approximate the contours of human connection and presence? In this episode, Reid and Aria chat with comedian, actor, and political commentator Stephen Colbert. Best known for hosting The Colbert Report and The Late Show, Stephen combines a razor sharp satire with a sincere curiosity about the world. Together, Reid, Aria, and Stephen discuss the art of live performance, the many lessons one can learn from J.R.R. Tolkien, and the nature of creativity, humor, and imagination in the age of AI. The result is a meditation on discovery, empathy, and the bonds that make connection more than performance — but a shared act of being human.
For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/
Topics:
2:35 – Hellos and intros
2:53 – Stephen Riffs on humanity and Dungeons & Dragons
6:08 – Tolkien characters and desert island companions
7:02 – Creativity, empathy, and imagination in comedy
11:37 – Performing for a live audience
13:02 – Comedy as a third space
16:22 – Early ideas about interactive technology and improvisation
19:14 – Can AI art escape the uncanny valley
22:27 – The human “micronutrients” that AI cannot replace
24:05 – Parasocial relationships and the future of entertainment
26:50:– Midroll
26:58 – Responsibility and fact-checking
29:56 – Personalization versus discovery in AI storytelling
33:47 – Lessons from Tolkien
41:22 – AI as part of human evolution
44:51 – How AI can already be employed in health fields
48:46 – AI in video games and creative amplification
49:58 – Balancing skepticism and excitement about AI
50:06 – Rapid-fire Questions
Select mentions:
A Man Jumps Out of an Airplane by Barry Yourgrau
Exploring The Lord of the Rings with Dr. Corey Olsen
Letter 144 by J.R.R. Tolkien
Robert Heinlein
Possible is an award-winning podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Tune in for grounded and speculative takes on how technology—and, in particular, AI—is inspiring change and transforming the future. Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with an ambitious builder or deep thinker on a topic, from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Each episode seeks to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.
What if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Possible is an award-winning, weekly podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Hosts Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger explore what’s possible with forward-thinking leaders, deep thinkers, and ambitious builders across many fields, such as technology, art, education and healthcare. These conversations center on the ways technology—and, in particular, AI—is shaping the future. In episodes, AI tools such as OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Inflection’s Pi are at work, offering informational asides, prompting guests, or demoing what they can do. Lastly, between guest episodes, Aria interviews her co-host Reid on his latest takes on what’s possible if we use technology—and our collective effort—effectively.
Australia