No Priors: Artificial Intelligence | Technology | Startups
From Restoring Sight to Reimagining the Brain, with Max Hodak
At this moment of inflection in technology, co-hosts Elad Gil and Sarah Guo talk to the world's leading AI engineers, researchers and founders about the biggest questions: How far away is AGI? What markets are at risk for disruption? How will commerce, culture, and society change? What’s happening in state-of-the-art in research? “No Priors” is your guide to the AI revolution. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com.
Sarah Guo is a startup investor and the founder of Conviction, an investment firm purpose-built to serve intelligent software, or "Software 3.0" companies. She spent nearly a decade incubating and investing at venture firm Greylock Partners.
Elad Gil is a serial entrepreneur and a startup investor. He was co-founder of Color Health, Mixer Labs (which was acquired by Twitter). He has invested in over 40 companies now worth $1B or more each, and is also author of the High Growth Handbook.
Show Notes
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Max Hodak, co-founder and CEO of Science.xyz, joins Sarah Guo to discuss the future of vision, brain-computer interfaces, and the human experience. Max explains how Science’s PRIMA retinal implant could restore functional vision for people who have lost their sight, and why treating the brain as a computational system could unlock new approaches to medicine.
They explore the broader potential of neural devices, from restoring lost capabilities to expanding human potential, as well as deeper questions around identity, consciousness, and whether the human experience can persist as our biological hardware changes.
Max also shares Science’s long-term vision for reducing the fragility of the human condition by repairing, replacing, and ultimately upgrading parts of ourselves. Finally, he discusses the surprising parallels between AI models and biological brains, and why AI may offer a powerful new lens for understanding intelligence.
Chapters:
– Cold Open Trailer
– Max Hodak Introduction
– Science Company Overview and Origin
– A Revolutionary Solve for Blindness
– Scope of Timeline and Engineer Cost
– Clinic Trial Process
The Response from Clinicians
– Broader Biotech Landscape
– Max’s Interests in Biotech Discovery
– The Study of Consciousness
– Investments in Brain Computer Interface
– Fertile Ways to Study Neuroscience
– Biotech Expansion for Science Corporation
– What Success Looks Like in Neuroscience and Tech
Goals Within Human Preservation vs. Adaptation
– Conclusion
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