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Andreessen Horowitz investors (and identical twins) Justine and Olivia Moore have been in venture capital since their undergraduate days at Stanford University, where, in 2015, they cofounded an incubator called Cardinal Ventures to help students pursue business ideas while still in school. Founding it also gave the Moores an entry point into the broader VC industry. The thing about starting a startup incubator at Stanford is all the VCs want to meet you, even if you have no idea what youre doing, which we did not back then, Olivia says. At the time, the app economy was booming, and services around things like food delivery and dating proliferated, recalls Justine. But that energy pales in comparison to the excitement around AI the sisters now experience at Andreessen Horowitz. Theres so many more opportunities in terms of what people are able to build than what were able to invest in, she says. To identify the right opportunities, the Moores track business data such as paid conversion rates and closely examine founders backgroundswhether theyve worked at a cutting-edge AI lab or deeply studied the needs of a particular industry. They attend industry conferences, stay current on the latest AI research papers, and, perhaps most critically, spend significant time testing AI-powered products. That means going beyond staged demos to see what tools can actually do and spotting founders who quickly intuit user needs and add features accordingly. From using the products, you get a pretty quick, intuitive sense of how much of something is marketing hype, says Olivia, whose portfolio includes supply chain and logistics operations company HappyRobot and creative platform Krea.The sisters also value Andreessen Horowitzs scale, which allows the firm to stick to its convictions rather than chase trends, and its track record of supporting founders beyond simply investing. (Andreessen Horowitz is reportedly seeking to raise $20 billion to support its AI-focused investments.) Its most fun to do this job when you can work with the best founders and when you can actually really help them with the core stuff that theyre struggling with, theyre working on, or striving to do in their business, says Justine, a key early investor in voice-synthesis technology company ElevenLabs. Though the sisters live together and work at the same firm, where they frequently bounce ideas off each other, theyve carved out their own lanes. Olivia focuses more on AI applications, while Justine spends more time on AI infrastructure and foundational models. At this point, they say, its not unheard of for industry contacts to not even realize theyre related. If I see [her] on a pitch meeting in any given day, thats maybe more of the exception than the rule, Justine says. This profile is part of Fast Companys AI 20 for 2025, our roundup spotlighting 20 of AIs most innovative technologists, entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and creative thinkers.
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What if the chatbots we talk to every day actually felt something? What if the systems writing essays, solving problems, and planning tasks had preferences, or even something resembling suffering? And what will happen if we ignore these possibilities? Those are the questions Kyle Fish is wrestling with as Anthropics first in-house AI welfare researcher. His mandate is both audacious and straightforward: Determine whether models like Claude can have conscious experiences, and, if so, how the company should respond.Were not confident that there is anything concrete here to be worried about, especially at the moment, Fish says, but it does seem possible. Earlier this year, Anthropic ran its first predeployment welfare tests, which produced a bizarre result: Two Claude models, left to talk freely, drifted into Sanskrit and then meditative silence as if caught in what Fish later dubbed a spiritual bliss attractor.Trained in neuroscience, Fish spent years in biotech, cofounding companies that used machine learning to design drugs and vaccines for pandemic preparedness. But he found himself drawn to what he calls pre-paradigmatic areas of potentially great importancefields where the stakes are high but the boundaries are undefined. That curiosity led him to cofound a nonprofit focused on digital minds, before Anthropic recruited him last year.Fishs role didnt exist anywhere else in Silicon Valley when he started at Anthropic. To our knowledge, Im the first one really focused on it in an exclusive, full-time way, he says. But his job reflects a growing, if still tentative, industry trend: Earlier this year, Google went about hiring post-AGI scientists tasked partly with exploring machine consciousness.At Anthropic, Fishs work spans three fronts: running experiments to probe model welfare, designing practical safeguards, and helping shape company policy. One recent intervention gave Claude the ability to exit conversations it might find distressing, a small but symbolically significant step. Fish also spends time thinking about how to talk publicly about these issues, knowing that for many people the very premise sounds strange.Perhaps most provocative is Fishs willingness to quantify uncertainty. He estimates a 20% chance that todays large language models have some form of conscious experience, though he stresses that consciousness should be seen as a spectrum, not binary. Its a kind of fuzzy, multidimensional combination of factors, he says.For now, Fish insists the field is only scratching the surface.Hardly anybody is doing much at all, us included, he admits. His goal is less to settle the question of machine consciousness than to prove it can be studied responsibly and to sketch a road map others might follow. This profile is part of Fast Companys AI 20 for 2025, our roundup spotlighting 20 of AIs most innovative technologists, entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and creative thinkers.
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Rachel Taylor began her career as a creative director in the advertising business, a job that gave her plenty of opportunity to micromanage the final product. I had control of the script, she remembers. I could think about the intonation, and I could give the actor notes. That was before she pivoted to helping AI companies shape the personality of their assistants. Rather than handing a digital helper a script, the best she can do is point it in the right direction: The technology sometimes feels like a toddler that you give a permanent marker to and see what it writes on the wall, she says. After joining DeepMind cofounder Mustafa Suleymans startup Inflection AI in 2023, Taylor was one of dozens of staffers who followed Suleyman to Microsoft, where they worked on the consumer version of Copilot. In October, she returned to startup life, departing Microsoft for Sesame, whose CEO, Brendan Iribe, also cofounded VR pioneer Oculus. Sesame has built two talking assistants, Maya and Miles, that are powered by its own AI models. Its also developing a voice-AI-enabled pair of smart glasses. Taylors arrival coincided with its announcement of a $250 million Series B funding round led by Sequoia. Though the company isnt yet saying much about its long-term plans, Taylors responsibilities once again involve keeping AI personas friendly and helpful. Shes also steering them away from traits that can be dangerous if users take them too seriously, such as sycophancy. Its weird how much the study of culture comes into play with thinking all that through, she says of her purview. Its not simply tech. Calling consumer AIs current incarnation both magical and primitive, Taylor muses about her grandchildren being impressed someday that she was there at the start. For now, she stresses, Were just scratching the surface of this new mode of communication. This profile is part of Fast Companys AI 20 for 2025, our roundup spotlighting 20 of AIs most innovative technologists, entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and creative thinkers.
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Most people say they want to live to a ripe old age. But that isnt really true. What people really want is to live to a ripe, old age in good mental and physical health. Some of us actually get to live this dream. These folks are known as super-agers and they make it well into their 80s not just in decent physical shape, but also with minds at least as sharp as people 30 years younger. How do they manage it? Thats the question Northwestern University researchers have been aiming to answer with a 25-year-long study. It examined the brains and lifestyles of almost 300 super-agers. As youd expect, a quarter century of data shows it really helps to be born with lucky biology. The neuroscientists found a number of physical differences between the brains of super-agers and the average person. There isnt much non-scientists can do with that information. We have to make the most of the brains bequeathed to us by our DNA. Luckily, the researchers also discovered one big difference in behavior that sets apart super-agers who are still going strong into their 80s and beyond. Its something any of us can adopt in our own lives. Super-agers brains are different When you scan or posthumously autopsy the brains of super-agers, they look different than average brains, according to Sandra Weintraub, a Northwestern psychology professor involved in the study. Normal brains generally show some accumulation of the plaques and protein tangles that are characteristic of Alzheimers disease. Super-agers brains are largely free of them. The study also revealed that while the outer layer of the brain, known as the cortex, tends to thin out as we age, it stays thick in super-agers. They also have a different mix of cell types in their brain. Our findings show that exceptional memory in old age is not only possible but is linked to a distinct neurobiological profile. This opens the door to new interventions aimed at preserving brain health well into the later decades of life, Weintraub commented to Northwestern Now. Thats of huge interest in scientists looking for treatments that can help us stay healthier longer. Weintraub calls the findings earth-shattering for us. But for those of us without medical degrees, theres little we can do with this information. You cant vacuum rogue proteins out of your brain or plump its cortex. (Though other studies do suggest sleep helps to wash proteins and other gunk out of your brain, so maybe dont skimp on shut-eye.) And so are their social lives Further complicating those looking for an easy takeaway from the research, the super-agers also didnt have a lot of lifestyle factors in common. Some were athletes. Others confirmed loafers. Some drank. Others smoked. They ate different things and kept different habits. But there was one big exception. Super-agers, it turns out, tend to be incredibly social. The group was particularly sociable and relished extracurricular activities. Compared to their cognitively average, same-aged peers, they rated their relationships with others more positively. Similarly, on a self-reported questionnaire of personality traits they tended to endorse high levels of extraversion, the researchers reported in recent paper published in Alzheimers & Dementia. Want to be a super-ager? Focus on your relationships This might come as a surprise to laypeople who think aging well is all about HIIT workouts and plentiful kale. But it likely isnt a huge shock to other scientists. The Harvard Study of Adult Development has been minutely tracking the lives of some 724 original participants (and now some of their descendants) since 1938. It discovered the biggest predictor of a long, healthy life isnt biological. Its social. The better the quality of your relationships, the more likely you are to age well. And while you have only indirect influence on things like your cholesterol level and brain health, you are directly in control of your social life. Its something we can and should prioritize, according to study director Robert Waldinger. We think of physical fitness as a practice, as something we do to maintain our bodies. Our social life is a living system, and it needs maintenance too, he told the Harvard Gazette. The effects of keeping up your social ties arent minor. Neuroscientist Bryan James, author of another study on aging and social contact, summed up his findings this way: Social activity is associated with a decreased risk of developing dementia and mild cognitive impairment [] the least socially active older adults developed dementia an average of five years before the most socially active. Keeping up with friends helps with healthy aging. But so does keeping up with learning. Research has shown a strong link between keeping your brain active and maintaining cognitive performance deep into your later years. One study found that just joining a class to learn a new skill or hobby improved brain performance as if subjects were 30 years younger. Another one, done at Stanford, found no cognitive decline at all until retirement and beyond if you stay mentally active. Are you getting your 5-3-1? All of which suggests that staying social and mentally engaged is one of the most impactful moves you can make if you dream of becoming a super-ager yourself. The basic takeaway when it comes to mental function and aging is, use it or lose it. But experts have offered more detailed guidance too. Harvard-trained ocial scientist and author Kasley Killam, for instance, has suggested the 531 rule: Spend time with five different people a week. This could be anyone from your gym buddy or book club bestie to the person the next pew over at church. Nurture three close relationships. Equally important is maintaining tighter bonds with three of the people closest to you, usually family and dear friends. Aim for one hour of social interaction a day. That doesnt have to be all at once. It could be 10 minutes here, 10 minutes there, Killam explained to Business Insider. You can also combine social time with other activities, walking the dog with a neighbor, say. Even just chatting on the phone can have more of an impact than many people suspect. According to a recent study in the U.S., talking on the phone for 10 minutes two to five times a week significantly lowered peoples levels of loneliness, depression, and anxiety, Killam reports in Psychology Today. Change what you can influence The bad news from science is that super-agers really are different physically. Their brains have biological quirks that help them stay sharp longer. Theres no way, unfortunately, to borrow that magic. But there is something else that sets super-agers apart that you can steal. Its not a diet or exercise plan. Its a love for getting out and seeing other people and learning new things. It turns out the more you maintain your social connections and mental stimuli, the more likely you are to get not just more years, but more healthy, active, and sharp years. Jessica Stillman This article originally appeared on Fast Companys sister publication, Inc. Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy.
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As gaming platforms Roblox and Fortnite have exploded in popularity with Gen Alpha, its no surprise that more than half of children in the U.S. are putting video games high on their holiday wish lists. Entertainment Software Association (ESA) surveyed 700 children between the ages of 5 and 17 and found three in five kids are asking for video games this holiday season. However, the most highly requested gift isnt a console or even a specific game: Its in-game currency. The survey didnt dig into which currency is proving most popular, but the category as a whole tops the list with a 43% request rate, followed by 39% for a console, 37% for accessories, and 37% for physical games. A study published by Circana this year revealed only 4% of video game players in the U.S. buy a new game more often than once per month, with a third of players not buying any games at all. Behind this shift is the immense popularity of live service games such as Fortnite and those offered on the Roblox platform. Both are free to play, which means the app has to generate money in other ways. Much of Robloxs $3.6 billion revenue in 2024 was made via in-game microtransactions, particularly through purchases of its virtual currency Robux. Here, $5 will get you 400 Robux to spend in the game on emotes, character models, and skins, among other items. Players can also earn currency just by playing, but as with any free-to-play game, the process of earning in-game points will be slow and tedious compared to purchasing them outright. Its worth noting that while these games often seem innocent enough, about half of parents surveyed by Ygam, an independent U.K. charity dedicated to preventing gaming and gambling harms among young people, noted there are gambling-like mechanisms in the games their child plays, including mystery boxes and loot boxes, which may be harmful to children. Still, the average parent intends to spend $737 on game-related gifts, ESA reported. Parents who arent ableor willingto drop hundreds on Robux and V-bucks this holiday may be pleased to learn that more than half of the kids surveyed said they would like to spend more time playing games with their parents, with 73% of those ages 5 through 7. Turns out, the best gift you can give your child is quality time.
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E-Commerce
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