Robotics and the Quest for Smarter Machines

In this episode of The Interconnect, Stanford mechanical engineering professor Allison Okamura and OpenAI’s Kevin Weil discuss how artificial intelligence will transform modern robotics, where more capable robots will have a significant impact on the economy, and why the United States still lags behind China, Germany, and other countries in deploying robots in manufacturing.   Guest: Allison Okamura, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University and a Senior Fellow and Science Fellow at the Hoover Institution   Guest: Kevin Weil, Chief Product Officer of OpenAI and member at the Council on Foreign Relations   Host: Martin Giles, Managing Editor of the Stanford Emerging Technology Review   Read the 2025 Stanford Emerging Technology Review at https://setr.stanford.edu/

Om Podcasten

Emerging technologies are transforming international relations and our country’s economy. So how do we connect science and engineering labs with Washington and the world of business? This is The Interconnect, a new limited podcast series from the Council on Foreign Relations and the Stanford Emerging Technology Review. Each episode brings together leading minds in cutting-edge technology and foreign policy to explore recent ground-breaking developments, what’s coming over the horizon, and the implications for U.S. innovation leadership.