Lex Fridman Podcast cover art

Lex Fridman Podcast

Lex Fridman Podcast

Written by: Lex Fridman
Listen for free

About this listen

Conversations about science, technology, history, philosophy and the nature of intelligence, consciousness, love, and power. Lex is an AI researcher at MIT and beyond. Philosophy Science Social Sciences
Episodes
  • #491 – OpenClaw: The Viral AI Agent that Broke the Internet – Peter Steinberger
    Feb 12 2026

    Peter Steinberger is the creator of OpenClaw, an open-source AI agent framework that’s the fastest-growing project in GitHub history.
    Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep491-sc
    See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.

    Transcript:
    https://lexfridman.com/peter-steinberger-transcript

    CONTACT LEX:
    Feedback – give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey
    AMA – submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama
    Hiring – join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring
    Other – other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact

    EPISODE LINKS:
    Peter’s X: https://x.com/steipete
    Peter’s GitHub: https://github.com/steipete
    Peter’s Website: https://steipete.com
    Peter’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steipete
    OpenClaw Website: https://openclaw.ai
    OpenClaw GitHub: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw
    OpenClaw Discord: https://discord.gg/openclaw

    SPONSORS:
    To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts:
    Perplexity: AI-powered answer engine.
    Go to https://perplexity.ai/
    Quo: Phone system (calls, texts, contacts) for businesses.
    Go to https://quo.com/lex
    CodeRabbit: AI-powered code reviews.
    Go to https://coderabbit.ai/lex
    Fin: AI agent for customer service.
    Go to https://fin.ai/lex
    Blitzy: AI agent for large enterprise codebases.
    Go to https://blitzy.com/lex
    Shopify: Sell stuff online.
    Go to https://shopify.com/lex
    LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix.
    Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex

    OUTLINE:
    (00:00) – Introduction
    (03:51) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections
    (15:29) – OpenClaw origin story
    (18:48) – Mind-blowing moment
    (28:15) – Why OpenClaw went viral
    (32:12) – Self-modifying AI agent
    (36:57) – Name-change drama
    (54:07) – Moltbook saga
    (1:02:26) – OpenClaw security concerns
    (1:11:07) – How to code with AI agents
    (1:42:02) – Programming setup
    (1:48:45) – GPT Codex 5.3 vs Claude Opus 4.6
    (1:57:52) – Best AI agent for programming
    (2:19:52) – Life story and career advice
    (2:23:49) – Money and happiness
    (2:27:41) – Acquisition offers from OpenAI and Meta
    (2:44:51) – How OpenClaw works
    (2:56:09) – AI slop
    (3:02:13) – AI agents will replace 80% of apps
    (3:10:50) – Will AI replace programmers?
    (3:22:50) – Future of OpenClaw community

    Show More Show Less
    Less than 1 minute
  • #490 – State of AI in 2026: LLMs, Coding, Scaling Laws, China, Agents, GPUs, AGI
    Feb 1 2026

    Nathan Lambert and Sebastian Raschka are machine learning researchers, engineers, and educators. Nathan is the post-training lead at the Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) and the author of The RLHF Book. Sebastian Raschka is the author of Build a Large Language Model (From Scratch) and Build a Reasoning Model (From Scratch).
    Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep490-sc
    See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.

    Transcript:
    https://lexfridman.com/ai-sota-2026-transcript

    CONTACT LEX:
    Feedback – give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey
    AMA – submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama
    Hiring – join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring
    Other – other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact

    SPONSORS:
    To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts:
    Box: Intelligent content management platform.
    Go to https://box.com/ai
    Quo: Phone system (calls, texts, contacts) for businesses.
    Go to https://quo.com/lex
    UPLIFT Desk: Standing desks and office ergonomics.
    Go to https://upliftdesk.com/lex
    Fin: AI agent for customer service.
    Go to https://fin.ai/lex
    Shopify: Sell stuff online.
    Go to https://shopify.com/lex
    CodeRabbit: AI-powered code reviews.
    Go to https://coderabbit.ai/lex
    LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix.
    Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex
    Perplexity: AI-powered answer engine.
    Go to https://perplexity.ai/

    OUTLINE:
    (00:00) – Introduction
    (01:39) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections
    (16:29) – China vs US: Who wins the AI race?
    (25:11) – ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini vs Grok: Who is winning?
    (36:11) – Best AI for coding
    (43:02) – Open Source vs Closed Source LLMs
    (54:41) – Transformers: Evolution of LLMs since 2019
    (1:02:38) – AI Scaling Laws: Are they dead or still holding?
    (1:18:45) – How AI is trained: Pre-training, Mid-training, and Post-training
    (1:51:51) – Post-training explained: Exciting new research directions in LLMs
    (2:12:43) – Advice for beginners on how to get into AI development & research
    (2:35:36) – Work culture in AI (72+ hour weeks)
    (2:39:22) – Silicon Valley bubble
    (2:43:19) – Text diffusion models and other new research directions
    (2:49:01) – Tool use
    (2:53:17) – Continual learning
    (2:58:39) – Long context
    (3:04:54) – Robotics
    (3:14:04) – Timeline to AGI
    (3:21:20) – Will AI replace programmers?
    (3:39:51) – Is the dream of AGI dying?
    (3:46:40) – How AI will make money?
    (3:51:02) – Big acquisitions in 2026
    (3:55:34) – Future of OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, xAI, Meta
    (4:08:08) – Manhattan Project for AI
    (4:14:42) – Future of NVIDIA, GPUs, and AI compute clusters
    (4:22:48) – Future of human civilization

    Show More Show Less
    Less than 1 minute
  • #489 – Paul Rosolie: Uncontacted Tribes in the Amazon Jungle
    Jan 13 2026

    Paul Rosolie is a naturalist, explorer, author of a new book titled Junglekeeper, and is someone who has dedicated his life to protecting the Amazon rainforest.
    Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep489-sc
    See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.

    Transcript:
    https://lexfridman.com/paul-rosolie-3-transcript

    CONTACT LEX:
    Feedback – give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey
    AMA – submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama
    Hiring – join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring
    Other – other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact

    EPISODE LINKS:
    Junglekeeper (new book): https://amzn.to/4q7vpAp
    Paul’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/paulrosolie
    Junglekeepers Website: https://junglekeepers.org
    Paul’s Website: https://paulrosolie.com
    Mother of God (book): https://amzn.to/3ww2ob1

    SPONSORS:
    To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts:
    Perplexity: AI-powered answer engine.
    Go to https://perplexity.ai/
    BetterHelp: Online therapy and counseling.
    Go to https://betterhelp.com/lex
    LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix.
    Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex
    Shopify: Sell stuff online.
    Go to https://shopify.com/lex
    Fin: AI agent for customer service.
    Go to https://fin.ai/lex
    Miro: Online collaborative whiteboard platform.
    Go to https://miro.com/
    MasterClass: Online classes from world-class experts.
    Go to https://masterclass.com/lexpod

    OUTLINE:
    (00:00) – Introduction
    (02:34) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections
    (12:00) – Uncontacted tribes in the Amazon Jungle
    (19:46) – Intense new encounter
    (42:52) – Never-before-seen footage of tribe warriors
    (56:08) – The mysteries of the jungle
    (1:10:43) – Tribe’s diet: Monkeys, turtles, and turtle eggs
    (1:20:19) – Jane Goodall
    (1:26:31) – Advice for young people
    (1:35:45) – Cartel, Narco-traffickers & assassination attempts
    (1:57:45) – Climbing the giant tree
    (2:08:43) – Giant anaconda
    (2:26:01) – Rescuing a spider monkey
    (2:32:05) – Dangerous animal encounters
    (2:42:13) – Writing, journaling, and great writer inspirations

    PODCAST LINKS:
    – Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast
    – Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr
    – Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8
    – RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/
    – Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4
    – Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexclips

    Show More Show Less
    3 hrs and 14 mins
No reviews yet