Find shows
you love

AI agents are approaching a point where they can use computers faster than expert humans, turning the user interface itself into a universal way for AI to interact with software. OpenAI’s Ari Weinstein and James Sun argue that computer use is now entering its scaling moment, as better models, faster execution, and stronger safety controls make agents practical for more consumer and enterprise work. Ari and James join a16z’s Seema Amble and Fabrizio Serafini to explain how computer-using agents are already navigating legacy ERPs, reconciling financial data, handling procurement, and operating software without APIs or custom integrations. They also discuss why the harness around the model can matter as much as model intelligence, how enterprises can set deterministic guardrails around agent behavior, and why computer use could simultaneously extend the life of legacy software and accelerate the arrival of new AI-native applications. Looking ahead, they make the case for a more proactive and fluid relationship with computers, where agents work in the background, collaborate with users in real time, and increasingly adapt to us rather than requiring us to learn how to use them.

David Sinclair, AO, PhD, is a longevity scientist, Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, author of the book "Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don't Have To," and host of the "Lifespan" podcast.www.youtube.com/c/davidsinclairpodcast  www.simonandschuster.com/books/Lifespan/David-Sinclair/9781501191978  https://lifespan.com  https://davidasinclair.com Perplexity: Download the app or ask Perplexity anything at https://pplx.ai/rogan. Visit https://superpower.com/rogan for $20 off your membership. This video is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit https://BetterHelp.com/JRE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can a 10-person startup outperform a company with hundreds of employees? Box CEO Aaron Levie argues AI agents are giving small teams a level of leverage that simply wasn't economically possible before, creating a window for startups to outrun incumbents. In this episode of Speedrun Office Hours, Aaron explains why founders are shifting from doing the work themselves to orchestrating agents, and why that puts a new premium on strategy, taste, and knowing exactly what to build. He makes the case that nearly every industry and job function could support specialized AI agents, potentially creating hundreds of new billion-dollar companies. They also discuss why enterprise AI may capture much of the next wave of model improvements, how dramatically cheaper AI labor could unlock demand that doesn't exist today, and one thing Aaron thinks AI won't change: distribution. If you build it, they still won't necessarily come.

Steven Kotler is a bestselling author and the executive director of the Flow Research Collective, where he studies the science of peak performance. Most of us have felt it. Hours disappear, everything else fades away, and the work seems to do itself. But what’s actually happening in those moments, and can you make them happen on purpose? Kotler has spent decades studying flow, and he makes the case that it’s far more trainable than most people think. We talk about what brings it on, how hard a task should be before it pulls you in, and why the hobby you gave up as an adult might matter more than you realize. We also get into what frustration is really telling you when you’re learning, how play compares with practice, how to focus on work you’d rather not be doing, and how to think clearly when there’s more information than ever and fewer people checking it. ----- Chapters: (0:00) Intro (0:10) The Most Addictive State on Earth (0:38) Signs You're in Flow (Most People Miss These) (1:51) The Real Secret to Peak Performance (3:03) The Hidden Biology Behind Flow and Focus (4:09) How to Get Into a Flow State (5:31) Why You Need One "Flow Activity" (7:18) The Hidden Thing Blocking Your Flow (7:45) The Burnout Mistake High Performers Make (8:50) Unexpected Flow Triggers (12:02) Why Willpower Won't Stop Distractions (15:34) Why ADHD Can Be a Flow Advantage (23:20) The #1 Way to Increase Performance (25:48) The Motivation Myth Holding You Back (27:26) Why Spite Is a Dangerous Motivator (30:44) The Best Mental State for Learning (33:03) Why Frustration Helps You Learn (35:41) The Daily Habit That Boosts Flow Most (38:53) The Thinking Mistake Almost Everyone Makes (50:25) The Moment Your Brain Learns Best (57:31) The Surprising Way to Relieve Autoimmune Symptoms ----- Follow Steven Kotler: X: https://x.com/steven_kotlerhttps://x.com/steven_kotler ----- Newsletter: The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fs.blog/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ------ Follow Shane Parrish: X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/shaneparrish⁠⁠ Insta: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/farnamstreet/⁠⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-parrish-050a2183/⁠⁠ ----- Thank you to the sponsors for this episode: +Applovin: Launch your first AppLovin campaign and grow your business: ⁠https://applovin.com/shane⁠ +HeyGen is a message-first AI video platform that helps people and AI agents turn ideas into professional video in minutes. Try for free at ⁠https://www.heygen.com/tkp⁠ +Matic: the robot vacuum that does it all—grab yourself a year of free bags here. ⁠http://maticrobots.com/shaneparrish⁠ +LMNT: My go-to zero sugar electrolytes — get a free LMNT Sample Pack here: ⁠https://DrinkLMNT.com/TKP⁠ ----- + Members get the longer, extended version of this conversation, with additional content not included in the public release. Learn more: ⁠https://fs.blog/membership/⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if finding your next job, co-founder, or collaborator depended less on a resume and more on who is willing to vouch for you? Cosign is building a professional network around those signals, with the longer-term goal of giving AI agents access to the relationship and reputation data that traditional networks keep locked away. a16z New Media’s David Booth and Dhruv Gupta join MTS to introduce the Cosign Awards, which recognize standout operators, companies, and products based on nominations from the people who know their work. They also unpack the bigger idea behind Cosign: mapping the people and relationships that rarely show up in public data, then making that graph accessible to both humans and agents. Looking ahead, they imagine professional networking where your personal agent can talk directly to a company’s agent, determine whether there’s a potential fit, and only bring the opportunity to you when there’s a genuine “coincidence of intent.”

The Robert Caro interview.

Watch on YouTube; read the transcript.

Sponsors

* Antithesis lets you run thorough simulation tests on every PR your coding agents ship. That’s because Antithesis is FAST. On a recent project, it packed fifteen hours of simulation into each fifteen-minute run: every change could be tested in thousands of hostile worlds before being merged. Every minute your software spends in Antithesis is one of the unluckiest hours it will ever experience. Learn more at antithesis.com/dwarkesh

* WorkOS’s Airlock is a judgment layer that sits between your agents and your most important tools. When an agent makes a request, Airlock evaluates it against your company’s policies and decides whether to allow it, block it, or escalate it to a human. If it allows it, Airlock takes action on behalf of the agent, which means your agents never see your API keys or other credentials. Airlock is in early access. If you’re interested, go to workos.com/airlock

* Jane Street’s mystery ASIC puzzle is over, and they’ve published a blog post that reveals the chip’s purpose. You can read it here: blog.janestreet.com/asic-puzzle-results/. More importantly, there’s another challenge live now! For this one, you have to design a protocol-emulator ASIC that can be used to test chips outside of a live system. Jane Street will pay to fabricate their favorite submissions. The competition is open until January 18th. Get started at janestreet.com/dwarkesh

Timestamps

(00:00:00) – How Caro gets people to talk

(00:05:03) – Does America need a little more Moses today?

(00:12:42) – Moses the young idealist

(00:17:57) – Watching Moses lose power

(00:24:01) – Did Moses realize he was changing?

(00:27:53) – Building during the Great Depression

(00:32:51) – The threats and promises of Lyndon Johnson

(00:36:08) – Could Kennedy have passed Johnson’s laws?

(00:41:00) – Getting a book down to one sentence

(00:46:21) – All the material that never made it into the books

(00:52:59) – Loneliness

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dwarkesh.com

What happens when AI makes legal work cheap enough to take cases lawyers couldn't afford to touch before? Eve CEO Jay Madheswaran argues that AI won't just cut costs for law firms. It could expand access to legal representation by making an entirely new class of cases economically viable. Jay joins a16z General Partner Alex Rampell to explain how Eve is automating plaintiff law from the first client call through settlement, and why some firms are already using it to increase the number of clients each attorney can manage from roughly 100 to 500. They also discuss how AI could shift lawyers toward higher-value advocacy, why agents may eventually negotiate with other agents, and what happens to the legal system when bringing a case becomes dramatically cheaper.

I recently got to interview Robert Caro, who is my favorite author of all time. 

This gave me the excuse to reread his biographies of Lyndon Johnson and Robert Moses, and to compile my prep notes into this video essay.

These guys pulled off some truly incredible schemes.

Thanks to Max Farrens, who paired with me in writing the script for this video essay.

If you just want to read the essay: https://www.dwarkesh.com/p/lessons-in-power

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dwarkesh.com