Tyler Cowen & Alex Tabarrok on AI, Jobs, and Economic Growth

In this episode, we speak with Buzz Solutions CTO Vikhyat Chaudhry about the quiet revolution happening across the power grid, where drones, sensors, and computer vision are becoming a real-time early-warning system. He walks us through the shift from manual patrols to automated, high-volume thermal inspections, how AI learns to recognise dangerous patterns, and why these tools could be critical as electrification surges and climate-driven extremes push infrastructure to its limits. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to IE+ for premium insights and exclusive content!

SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI are all racing to the public markets. We discuss what their I.P.O.s mean for the industry, charitable giving and anyone invested in an index fund. Then, more than 1,000 mathematicians signed a declaration this week raising concerns about the use of A.I. in their field. Author Kevin Hartnett joins to explain what the fuss is all about. And finally, we run through the biggest headlines of the week — including the new executive order on A.I. — in a round of HatGPT. Guest: Kevin Hartnett, author of The Proof In the Code: How a Truth Machine is Transforming Math and AI Additional Reading: Anthropic Files to Go Public, Setting Stage for Huge I.P.O. As A.I. Makes Strides in Mathematics, Mathematicians Urge Caution ​​An SF Startup Is Secretly Testing Robots in Airbnbs, and Trashing Them, Lawsuit Claims Trump Signs Executive Order Seeking Oversight of A.I. Models U.S. Is Said to Be Investigating George Santos Over Kalshi Betting Hackers Simply Asked Meta AI to Give

with Benedict Evans

Erik Torenberg speaks with tech analyst Benedict Evans about the current state of AI, what has changed over the past year, and which questions remain unanswered. The conversation covers coding agents, foundation models, AI infrastructure spending, software economics, and the tension between today's AI excitement and the long-term realities of technology adoption. Evans discusses why coding has emerged as AI's first breakout use case, how previous platform shifts can help frame the current moment, and why many of the most important questions about AI remain unresolved. Along the way, they explore the future of software, enterprise adoption, consumer behavior, and whether AI models ultimately capture value themselves or become infrastructure for the next generation of applications. Resources: Follow Benedict Evans on X: https://x.com/benedictevans Follow Erik Torenberg on X: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Liste

with Exa CEO Will Bryk

Sarah Wang speaks with Exa cofounder and CEO Will Bryk about building search infrastructure for the AI era. The conversation covers Exa’s origins, why traditional search engines were not designed for AI agents, and how search changes when the user is no longer a human but an autonomous system. They discuss retrieval, agent workflows, coding agents, data access, and why search may become a foundational layer for the emerging agent economy. Along the way, Bryk shares his views on AI-native products, the future of information discovery, and why some of the most important problems in technology can ultimately be framed as search problems. Resources: Find Will on X: https://x.com/WilliamBryk Find Sarah on X: https://x.com/sarahdingwang Check out everything a16z is doing with artificial intelligence here, including articles, projects, and more podcasts. Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or b