"The Cognitive Revolution" | AI Builders, Researchers, and Live Player Analysis

• User-Owned AI: On-Chain Training, Inference, and Agents, with NEAR's Illia Polosukhin

  Today Illia Polosukhin, founder of Near Protocol joins The Cognitive Revolution to discuss the intersection of AI and blockchain technologies, exploring how decentralized infrastructure can enable "user-owned AI" through privacy-preserving model training, confidential computing, and autonomous agents that operate via smart contracts without centralized control. Check out our sponsors: Linear, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Shownotes below brought to you by Notion AI Meeting Notes - try one month for free at: ⁠https://notion.com/lp/nathan Evolution from AI to Blockchain: Near Protocol evolved from an AI project focused on teaching machines to code to a blockchain platform, and now combines both technologies. Significant User Base: Near Protocol has achieved 50 million monthly active users, demonstrating substantial adoption. Autonomous AI Agents: Near has developed autonomous AI agents that can operate independently once deployed, including an example of an agent given $10,000 to trade based on Twitter sentiment. AI-Blockchain Integration: The platform combines decentralized compute for running AI with smart contracts that execute actions, creating truly autonomous systems. AI in Governance: Near is experimenting with "AI senators" that people can vote for, which then make governance decisions, potentially solving the principal-agent problem in representation. Jurisdictional Framework: Near is creating infrastructure for jurisdictions and courts to enforce rules on AI agents, essentially putting governance into AI. Sponsors: Linear: Linear is the system for modern product development. Nearly every AI company you've heard of is using Linear to build products. Get 6 months of Linear Business for free at: https://linear.app/tcr Oracle Cloud Infrastructure: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is the next-generation cloud that delivers better performance, faster speeds, and significantly lower costs, including up to 50% less for compute, 70% for storage, and 80% for networking. Run any workload, from infrastructure to AI, in a high-availability environment and try OCI for free with zero commitment at https://oracle.com/cognitive PRODUCED BY: https://aipodcast.ing CHAPTERS: (00:00) About the Episode (03:58) From Transformers to Blockchain (Part 1) (17:01) Sponsor: Linear (18:30) From Transformers to Blockchain (Part 2) (21:23) Blockchain Security Fundamentals (Part 1) (33:36) Sponsor: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (35:00) Blockchain Security Fundamentals (Part 2) (39:01) Zero-Day Vulnerabilities Solution (51:11) Confidential Computing Infrastructure (58:07) User-Owned AI Models (01:14:47) Marketplace and Governance (01:18:57) AI-Crypto Synergy Vision (01:27:50) Autonomous Agents Future (01:31:22) Outro

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• Coaching the Creators: Inside the Minds Building Frontier AI with Executive Coach Joe Hudson

  Today Joe Hudson, founder of Art of Accomplishment and coach to executives at major AI labs including OpenAI and Anthropic, joins The Cognitive Revolution to discuss the psychological patterns he observes among AI researchers and leaders, exploring what's missing beyond pure intelligence in current AI systems and arguing for supportive rather than punitive approaches toward those building frontier AI technology. Art of Accomplishment Resources Sign up for Joe's complimentary transformation guide: artofaccomplishment.com Follow Art of Accomplishment on YouTube for more tools and resources: https://www.youtube.com/@ArtofAccomplishment Check out our sponsors: Linear, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Shownotes below brought to you by Notion AI Meeting Notes - try one month for free at: https://notion.com/lp/nathan Three-Level Coaching Approach: Joe Hudson coaches AI leaders using a three-tier framework addressing the prefrontal cortex (head), emotional system (heart), and nervous system (gut). AI Leadership Demographics: Hudson works with senior management at major AI labs, including those in research, compute, and infrastructure at companies like OpenAI. AI as a Transformative Moment: Hudson views AI development as a transition period that can either lead to positive human transformation or deterioration, depending on our approach. Support vs. Criticism: Hudson believes supporting AI developers with encouragement rather than fear and criticism will lead to better outcomes. Psychological Projection: He notes that critics of AI often treat AI developers exactly how they fear AI will treat humanity—a fascinating psychological projection. Reward Over Punishment: Hudson suggests behavior is better shaped through reward than punishment, encouraging recognition of positive AI contributions. Read the full transcript: https://storage.aipodcast.ing/transcripts/episode/tcr/149adc6c-58d2-4e41-ae98-05473e5b994e/combined_transcript.html Sponsors: Linear: Linear is the system for modern product development. Nearly every AI company you've heard of is using Linear to build products. Get 6 months of Linear Business for free at: https://linear.app/tcr Oracle Cloud Infrastructure: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is the next-generation cloud that delivers better performance, faster speeds, and significantly lower costs, including up to 50% less for compute, 70% for storage, and 80% for networking. Run any workload, from infrastructure to AI, in a high-availability environment and try OCI for free with zero commitment at https://oracle.com/cognitive PRODUCED BY: https://aipodcast.ing CHAPTERS: (00:00) About the Episode (03:00) Joe's Coaching Background (12:40) AI Research Patterns (Part 1) (17:46) Sponsor: Linear (19:15) AI Research Patterns (Part 2) (Part 1) (28:10) Sponsor: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (29:34) AI Research Patterns (Part 2) (Part 2) (31:54) Racing and Regulation (50:20) Ethics and Support (01:04:07) AI Consciousness Questions (01:21:34) Positive Future Visions (01:39:12) Supporting AI Developers (01:43:09) Outro

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• Zvi Mowshowitz on Longer Timelines, RL-induced Doom, and Why China is Refusing H20s

  Today, Zvi Mowshowitz returns to The Cognitive Revolution to discuss how recent AI developments like GPT-5 and IMO gold medals have led to modestly extended timelines despite being on-trend, while policy missteps around chip exports to China and alignment challenges from reinforcement learning have increased risk assessments, covering everything from live players in the AI race to safety funding priorities and virtuous actions for navigating our current moment. Check out our sponsors: Linear, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Shopify. Shownotes below brought to you by Notion AI Meeting Notes - try one month for free at: https://notion.com/lp/nathan Timeline Adjustment: Zvi has lengthened his AGI timelines because there haven't been "very large jumps in capability" that would significantly shorten them. The chance of AGI arriving in 2025 has decreased dramatically. Recent AI Achievements Context: While achievements like the IMO Gold medal are impressive, they appear to be on-trend rather than revolutionary breakthroughs that would drastically change timelines. Evaluation Standards: There's a discussion about the challenges of trustworthy AI evaluations, with Zvi emphasizing that watchdogs must maintain standards of rigor and integrity "vastly above" what others are held to. Policy Priority: A short-term policy priority should be preventing advanced AI chips (B30As) from being sold to China, which requires raising awareness about the implications. Nvidia's Influence: Concern is expressed about Nvidia potentially having excessive influence over White House rhetoric and plans regarding AI. Career Impact: Working for Anthropic is considered a "net good idea" for those wanting to make a positive impact, though there may be other organizations that offer better opportunities for influence. Sponsors: Linear: Linear is the system for modern product development. Nearly every AI company you've heard of is using Linear to build products. Get 6 months of Linear Business for free at https://linear.app/partners/tcr Oracle Cloud Infrastructure: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is the next-generation cloud that delivers better performance, faster speeds, and significantly lower costs, including up to 50% less for compute, 70% for storage, and 80% for networking. Run any workload, from infrastructure to AI, in a high-availability environment and try OCI for free with zero commitment at https://oracle.com/cognitive Shopify: Shopify powers millions of businesses worldwide, handling 10% of U.S. e-commerce. With hundreds of templates, AI tools for product descriptions, and seamless marketing campaign creation, it's like having a design studio and marketing team in one. Start your $1/month trial today at https://shopify.com/cognitive PRODUCED BY: https://aipodcast.ing

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• In-AI Advertising: Better Answers for Users, Big Questions for Society, with ZeroClick's Ryan Hudson

  Today Ryan Hudson, Founder and CEO of ZeroClick, joins The Cognitive Revolution to discuss creating advertising infrastructure for AI applications through paid inference-time consideration of advertiser content, examining how to build sustainable monetization for free-tier AI services while learning from the successes and failures of social media's attention economy. Read the full transcript: ⁠https://storage.aipodcast.ing/transcripts/episode/tcr/00919313-9054-4afb-b08e-2ca84dbdbdda/combined_transcript.html Check out our sponsors: Google Gemini, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Shopify. Shownotes below brought to you by Notion AI Meeting Notes - try one month for free at: https://notion.com/lp/nathan ZeroClick's Evolution: Originally creators of Pi Ad Block, they've pivoted from ad blocking to building a native advertising system for AI platforms. AI Ad Platform Mechanics: Their system matches user queries with relevant advertising information in a contextual way, enabling paid inference time consideration of advertiser content. Developer Monetization: The platform helps AI developers monetize their free tiers while creating value for both users and advertisers. Shifting Intent Patterns: User queries in AI systems tend to be more exploratory and "upstream" in the funnel compared to direct search queries on Google. Multi-modal Potential: While ZeroClick is starting with text, there's future potential for visual advertising that could enhance AI experiences by showing real purchasable products. Market Void: There's currently a significant gap in the market for AI advertising solutions that ZeroClick is attempting to fill. Sponsors: Google Gemini 2.5. Model Family: The Google Gemini 2.5 family of models is now generally available, offering advanced reasoning for complex tasks and optimized performance for any scale. Start building in Google AI Studio at https://ai.dev Oracle Cloud Infrastructure: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is the next-generation cloud that delivers better performance, faster speeds, and significantly lower costs, including up to 50% less for compute, 70% for storage, and 80% for networking. Run any workload, from infrastructure to AI, in a high-availability environment and try OCI for free with zero commitment at https://oracle.com/cognitive Shopify: Shopify powers millions of businesses worldwide, handling 10% of U.S. e-commerce. With hundreds of templates, AI tools for product descriptions, and seamless marketing campaign creation, it's like having a design studio and marketing team in one. Start your $1/month trial today at https://shopify.com/cognitive PRODUCED BY: https://aipodcast.ing

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• Material Abundance: Radical AI’s Closed-Loop Lab Automates Scientific Discovery

  Today Joseph Krause and Jorge Colindres of Radical AI join The Cognitive Revolution to discuss their ambitious mission to revolutionize materials science by combining AI-powered discovery engines with fully autonomous robotic laboratories, exploring how they're accelerating the development of breakthrough materials like high-entropy alloys and room temperature superconductors that could unlock hypersonic flight, interplanetary travel, and other transformative technologies. Check out our sponsors: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Shopify. Shownotes below brought to you by Notion AI Meeting Notes - try one month for free at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://⁠⁠notion.com/lp/nathan Material Development Challenges: Current material development faces three major obstacles: costs exceeding $100 million, 10-25 year commercialization timelines, and fragmentation between academic research and corporate R&D. Business Model Approach: Radical AI determined that selling software or licensing materials would be insufficient business models. Instead, they focus on selling materials at scale for high-impact industries. Focus on Processing IP: The real IP value in material science isn't just in composition patents but in the trade secrets of scaling production efficiently and cost-effectively. Public-Private Partnership: Radical AI advocates for government involvement in material science through public-private partnerships, particularly for critical applications in defense, energy, and advanced computing. China's Material Science Approach: China establishes entire manufacturing hubs around new material discoveries to scale production, demonstrating their prioritization of materials as foundational to innovation. Culture of Productive Failure: The company embraces daily failure as a necessary part of innovation, building on these failures to achieve breakthroughs. Sponsors: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is the next-generation cloud that delivers better performance, faster speeds, and significantly lower costs, including up to 50% less for compute, 70% for storage, and 80% for networking. Run any workload, from infrastructure to AI, in a high-availability environment and try OCI for free with zero commitment at https://oracle.com/cognitive Shopify: Shopify powers millions of businesses worldwide, handling 10% of U.S. e-commerce. With hundreds of templates, AI tools for product descriptions, and seamless marketing campaign creation, it's like having a design studio and marketing team in one. Start your $1/month trial today at https://shopify.com/cognitive

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