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The Generalist

The Generalist

By: Mario Gabriele
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 “The future is already here. It’s just not evenly distributed.” The Generalist Podcast brings you weekly conversations with the people who live in these pockets of the future – visionary founders, prescient investors, and original thinkers. Each episode is designed to introduce you to new ideas, technologies, and markets and help you prepare for the world of tomorrow.Mario Gabriele
Episodes
  • How to be Agentic in the Age of AI | Cate Hall (CEO of Astera)

    How to be Agentic in the Age of AI | Cate Hall (CEO of Astera)
    Sep 30 2025
    Cate Hall is the CEO of Astera, a private foundation focused on AI risk and frontier technology. Before leading Astera, Cate’s unconventional career path took her from practicing law (including work on Supreme Court briefs) to becoming the world’s top-ranked female poker player in 2016. After overcoming personal struggles with addiction, she co-founded Alvea, a biotech company developing shelf-stable vaccines for pandemic response, before joining Astera. In this conversation, Cate shares insights on human psychology, agency as a learnable skill, and why she believes AI’s biggest risk may be a “soft takeover” in which humans gradually lose independence and meaning.We explore:• How Cate’s approach to poker focused on reading people rather than pure game theory, and why this contrarian strategy worked• Why people who always try to “play” high status in conversations often have psychological issues• The critical difference between ambition and agency, and why they’re often confused• How LSD helped Cate break out of her career path and discover her own agency• Why Cate believes we need a slowdown in AI development to develop the social technologies to manage it• The challenge of maintaining meaning in human life as AI systems increasingly mediate our experiences• How Astera is using investment as a philanthropic tool to help steer frontier technology development—Thank you to the partners who make this possibleAuth0: Secure access for everyone. But not just anyone.Brex: The banking solution for startups.—Transcript: https://www.generalist.com/p/how-to-be-agentic-in-the-age-of-ai-cate-hall—Timestamps(00:00) Introduction to Cate Hall(03:56) Cate’s role as CEO of Astera(04:52) Cate’s poker career and focus on live reading(07:02) The intuitive ‘people radar’ Cate has in identifying exceptional talent(11:16) Status dynamics in conversations(16:13) The parallel between poker and startup evolution(19:18) The German wave in poker and game theory(24:22) Cate’s legal career and Supreme Court experience(27:05) The difference between ambition and agency(29:13) How LSD helped Cate discover her agency(31:26) Leaving poker and dealing with mental health issues(34:26) The founding story of Alvea(38:14) The founding story of Astera(43:15) Cate’s journey into AI risk(45:50) The concept of a “soft takeover” and how AI might hollow out human experience(49:46) The overwhelming challenge of addressing AI risk(51:20) Astera’s approach to steering technology development(53:15) Astera’s investment in Last Energy(54:20) How philanthropy and investing work together at Astera(57:22) Practical ways to increase personal agency(1:07:20) Final meditations—Follow Cate HallX: https://x.com/catehallLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cate-hall-9a81a35/Newsletter: https://usefulfictions.substack.com/—Resources and episode mentions—Books—• Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future: https://www.amazon.com/Zero-One-Notes-Startups-Future/dp/0804139296/• Impro: https://www.amazon.com/Impro-Improvisation-Theatre-Keith-Johnstone/dp/0878301178• Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies: https://www.amazon.com/Superintelligence-Dangers-Strategies-Nick-Bostrom/dp/0198739834/• The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion: https://www.amazon.com/Righteous-Mind-Divided-Politics-Religion/dp/0307455777/—People—• Jed McCaleb on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jed-mccaleb-4052a4/• Charlie Carrel on X: https://x.com/charlie_carrel• Seemay Chou on X: https://x.com/seemaychou• Ben Kuhn on X: https://x.com/benkuhnEpisode resources continued at: https://www.generalist.com/p/how-to-be-agentic-in-the-age-of-ai-cate-hall—Production and marketing by penname.co. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email jordan@penname.co.
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    1 hr and 11 mins
  • Maintaining Human Intelligence in the AI Era | David Krakauer (President of the Santa Fe Institute)

    Maintaining Human Intelligence in the AI Era | David Krakauer (President of the Santa Fe Institute)
    Sep 23 2025
    David Krakauer is a leading complex systems researcher and the president of the Santa Fe Institute, a unique institution dedicated to studying complex systems across disciplines. In this episode, David challenges conventional wisdom about AI, arguing that large language models pose a more immediate threat to humanity than commonly discussed existential risks—not by destroying us directly, but by eroding our cognitive capabilities through addictive, low-quality information.We explore:• Why David believes LLMs aren't intelligent at all and how the AI community misunderstands emergence• The three dimensions of intelligence: inference, representation, and strategy—and which one LLMs lack• How AI acts as a "competitive" rather than "complementary" cognitive technology, atrophying our thinking abilities• What makes great minds unique, from analogical reasoning to the cultivation of unconscious creativity• How Cormac McCarthy's approach to knowledge and creativity offers lessons for the AI age• Why David believes the greatest threat from AI isn't existential risk but cognitive atrophy• How to protect your mind against AI's addictive pull and maintain cognitive autonomy—Thank you to the partners who make this possibleBrex: The banking solution for startups.Enterpret: Transform feedback chaos into actionable customer intelligencePersona: Trusted identity verification for any use case—Transcript: https://www.generalist.com/p/maintaining-human-intelligence-in-the-ai-era-david-krakauer—Timestamps(00:00) Intro(04:39) The Santa Fe Institute’s approach to complex systems(06:45) Murray Gell-Mann’s ‘Odysseus vs. Apollonian’(10:35) How SFI was shaped by the legacy of Los Alamos(12:45) Traits David looks for in great minds(14:43) Cormac McCarthy on naivety and how thoughtful people treat knowledge(19:24) A simple explanation of complexity science(22:50) Why vantage point doesn’t matter when studying systems(24:36) Aesthetic preferences among complexity scientists(26:07) Films and directors with complexity science themes(29:57) Why David argues LLMs are not intelligent(32:10) What’s missing in the study of LLMs(36:40) The three qualities of intelligence and how LLMs measure up(42:19) Lessons from "The Glass Bead Game"(44:00) David’s perspective on reinforcement learning(45:38) The greatest threat of LLMs: overreliance and the decline of thinking(47:40) Competitive vs. complementary cognitive artifacts(51:55) Why exposing yourself to quality ideas matters(54:00) How to derisk LLM use(58:32) Cormac McCarthy’s legacy at SFI and beyond(1:02:40) The Kekulé Problem: cultivating the unconscious(1:05:01) Why David and McCarthy were inspired by Wittgenstein(1:09:00) What Cormac McCarthy liked to talk about(1:12:20) David’s questions to a higher being(1:14:46) Final meditations—Follow David KrakauerWebsite: https://davidckrakauer.com/—Resources and episode mentions—Books—• “The Hedgehog and the Fox”: https://www.amazon.com/Hedgehog-Fox-Tolstoys-History-Second/dp/069115600X• The Birds and The Frogs: https://www.amazon.com/Aristophanes-Frogs-Birds/dp/B000QBPUTY• The Glass Bead Game: https://www.amazon.com/Glass-Bead-Game-Magister-Novel/dp/0312278497• Frankenstein: https://www.amazon.com/Frankenstein-Mary-Shelley/dp/0486282112• Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West: https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Meridian-Evening-Redness-West/dp/0679728759• Stella Maris: https://www.amazon.com/Stella-Maris-Cormac-McCarthy/dp/0307269000• The Passenger: https://www.amazon.com/Passenger-Cormac-McCarthy/dp/0307268993/• Pale Fire: https://www.amazon.com/Pale-Fire-Vladimir-Nabokov/dp/0679723420...Episode resources continued at: https://www.generalist.com/p/maintaining-human-intelligence-in-the-ai-era-david-krakauer—Production and marketing by penname.co. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email jordan@penname.co.
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    1 hr and 21 mins
  • Building Beautiful Homes with Robots: The Future of Construction | Salar al Khafaji (CEO and Founder of Monumental)

    Building Beautiful Homes with Robots: The Future of Construction | Salar al Khafaji (CEO and Founder of Monumental)
    Sep 16 2025
    Salar al Khafaji is the CEO and founder of Monumental, a company building autonomous robots that assemble buildings, starting with its bricklaying system. After selling his previous software company to Palantir, Salar took time to explore big industries ripe for disruption before landing on construction—a sector that represents a significant portion of GDP yet has seen decades of productivity stagnation.We explore:• Why construction represents a massive opportunity for technological innovation• How Monumental's system of three robots works together to lay bricks autonomously• Why Europe's severe bricklayer shortage has created wages as high as €80/hour• The post-WWII shift away from beautiful architecture and how to bring it back• Why operating as a subcontractor rather than selling robots makes business sense• The challenges of building a hardware startup in Europe's tech ecosystem• How Palantir's "cult-like" culture influenced Monumental's approach to company building• The balance between structure and productive chaos in scaling a startup• Why the best robotics companies solve specific problems rather than building general-purpose machines• How to foster ambition in Europe's startup ecosystem—Thank you to the partners who make this possibleEnterpret: Transform feedback chaos into actionable customer intelligence.Brex: The banking solution for startups.Persona: Trusted identity verification for any use case.—Transcript: https://www.generalist.com/p/building-beautiful-homes-with-robots-salar-al-khafaji—Timestamps(00:00) Introduction to Salar(04:44) Overview of Monumental’s work and mission(06:25) Salar’s journey after selling his company to Palantir(11:46) Stagnation in the construction industry(14:21) The mental shift from software to hardware entrepreneurship(16:10) Salar’s funding framework(18:21) The post-WWII decline in constructing beautiful buildings(20:23) Choosing bricklaying as the first construction trade to tackle(25:20) Why Monumental operates as a subcontractor(28:38) The limitations of 3D printing and prefab construction(33:15) The technology and pricing bets Salar made(33:45) Lessons from Palantir's culture(39:35) Monumental's company culture(42:31) An overview of a construction job from start to finish(45:50) Precision and tolerances(47:50) Surprising challenges in the construction industry(49:10) The current state of Monumental and what’s next(54:00) Why humanoid robots don’t make sense for Monumental(56:16) Building an ambitious company in Europe(01:00:56) Monumental’s approach to hiring(01:03:10) The state of European tech and what needs to change(01:06:00) Salar’s optimistic take on the current state of tech in Europe(01:10:46) Final meditations—Follow Salar al KhafajiLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/salark/X: https://x.com/salarWebsite: https://sal.ar/—Resources and episode mentions—Books—• Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre: https://www.amazon.com/Impro-Improvisation-Theatre-Keith-Johnstone/dp/0878301178• Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX: https://www.amazon.com/Liftoff-Desperate-Early-Launched-SpaceX/dp/0062979973• Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed: https://www.amazon.com/Seeing-like-State-Certain-Condition/dp/0300078153• The Little Big Number: How GDP Came to Rule the World and What to Do about It: https://www.amazon.com/Little-Big-Number-World-about/dp/0691166528—Episode resources continued at: https://www.generalist.com/p/building-beautiful-homes-with-robots-salar-al-khafaji—Production and marketing by penname.co. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email jordan@penname.co.
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    1 hr and 20 mins
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