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This episode features a founder discussing a new direction for AI development, focusing on emotional intelligence and human collaboration.
Humans&: Bridging IQ and EQ in Machine Learning with Eric Zelikman
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From Subvolts
Summary and analysis by Subvolts editorial, AI-assisted.
No Priors hosts Sarah Guo and Elad Gil interview Eric Zelikman, founder of humans&. Zelikman, formerly of Stanford and xAI, discusses shifting AI focus from pure IQ to building models with emotional intelligence (EQ). He shares insights on human-centric AI, long-term memory, collaborative systems, and his recruitment goals for humans&.
This episode discusses creating AI that understands and works with human emotions, not just logic. It's about making AI a better partner for people by focusing on emotional intelligence. This matters because it could lead to AI that helps us more effectively in our daily lives.
This episode explores building AI with emotional intelligence, a departure from the industry's current focus on raw intelligence. It's for AI researchers, founders, and anyone interested in the future of human-AI collaboration. Zelikman's venture, humans&, aims to create AI that works alongside people, a concept relevant to how frontier labs like Google Gemini and Anthropic are exploring more nuanced AI interactions beyond pure task completion.
- HostSarah Guo
- HostElad Gil
- GuestEric Zelikmanfounder, humans&
- Guest: Eric Zelikman
- Show: No Priors
- Length: 37 minutes
- Guest's Previous Affiliations: Stanford and xAI
- Guest's New Venture: humans&
The AI industry is obsessed with making models smarter. But what if they’re building the wrong kind of intelligence? In launching his new venture, humans&, Eric Zelikman sees an opportunity to shift the focus from pure IQ to building models with EQ. Sarah Guo is joined by Eric Zelikman, formerly of Stanford and xAI, who shares his journey from AI researcher to founder. Eric talks about the challenges of building human-centric AI, integrating long-term memory in models, and the importance of creating AI systems that work collaboratively with humans to unlock their full potential. Plus, Eric shares his views on abunance and what he’s looking for in talent for humans&.
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Chapters:
00:00 – Eric Zelikman Introduction
00:29 – Eric’s Early Interest in AI
01:29 – Challenges in AI and Automation
02:25 – Research Contributions
06:14 – Q-STaR and Scaling Up AI
08:14 – Current State of AI Models
15:23 – Human-Centric AI and Future Directions
22:08 – Eric’s New Venture: humans&
35:33 – Recruitment Goals for humans&
36:57 – Conclusion
39 min1 h 1136 min
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Questions people ask
- What is the main goal of Eric Zelikman's new venture, humans&?
- humans& aims to shift the focus in AI development from pure IQ to building models with emotional intelligence (EQ) and creating AI systems that work collaboratively with humans.
- What are Eric Zelikman's views on the current state of AI?
- Zelikman sees an opportunity to move beyond building only smarter AI and focus on human-centric AI that integrates long-term memory and collaborates with people.
Page generated Oct 19, 2026. Summaries are Subvolts' own; the audio, artwork and notes belong to Conviction.