The Beyond Tomorrow Podcast with Julian Issa

What happens when the machines we build begin to reshape the world faster than we can understand it?

In this thought-provoking conversation, Peter Norvig reflects on his decades-long journey through artificial intelligence, from experimenting with early AI systems in the 1980s to witnessing today’s explosion of large language models. He shares how even pioneers in the field were surprised by the path AI took, especially the rise of neural networks trained on massive data rather than carefully hand-coded rules. Together, the discussion explores how AI has evolved, what it means for everyday users, and why some of its biggest breakthroughs, like programming automation and protein folding, signal a profound shift in how knowledge and innovation happen. 

Beyond the technology itself, the conversation turns to the deeper societal questions: income inequality, job displacement, democratization of AI, and the risk of wealth concentrating among a few dominant players. Norvig offers a balanced perspective, neither utopian nor dystopian, emphasizing that while AI may eliminate certain jobs, it also creates new opportunities, particularly for adaptable thinkers and entrepreneurs. From universal basic income to guardrails, third-party safety certifications, and the ethics of AI regulation, this episode challenges us to think not only about what AI can do but about the kind of society we want to build alongside it.

Peter Norvig is a leading computer scientist and one of the world’s most influential voices in artificial intelligence. He is the Director of Research at Google and previously held leadership roles at NASA and Sun Microsystems. A pioneer in natural language processing and machine learning, Norvig co-authored the classic textbook Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, used in universities around the globe.

What You’ll Learn
From AI Hipster to AI Pioneer: How the Journey Began 

The Surprising Path That Led to Modern AI 

Income Inequality in the Age of Automation 

Will AI Be Democratized or Dominated? 

Why Programming Was Transformed First 

Guardrails, Regulation & Third-Party Safety

Adaptability: The Most Important Skill for the Future 

Purpose, Dignity & Redefining Work in an AI World 

⏱ Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:58 The Unforeseen Consequences of AI
04:49 The Race Between AI Giants
08:13 Will AI Widen Income Inequality?
13:13 Should We Be Nervous About the Future?
15:09 Universal Basic Income vs. High Income Future
18:29 How Fast Will Jobs Really Change?
21:55 Why AI Needs Better Funding in Health & Biology
24:00 Could AI Replace All Jobs?
25:19 Should AI Be Nationalized?
28:11 Realism Over Optimism or Pessimism
31:25 Is the American Dream Still Possible in AI?
34:22 Will Entrepreneurship Get Easier or Harder?
36:40 Why Adaptability Is the Ultimate Skill
37:58 What Real AI Guardrails Should Look Like
41:11 Did Early AI Pioneers Expect This Moment?
43:45 The Most Overhyped Claim About AI
45:42 The Next Big Breakthrough in AI
48:08 Will AI Ever Become Conscious?
50:48 The Most Undiscussed AI Risk
53:47 Which Jobs Will Surprisingly Thrive?
54:48 What Would Truly Worry Me
57:02 How Do We Redefine Purpose in an AI World?  

Follow Peter:
Website: https://www.norvig.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pnorvig 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/norvigpeter/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peter.norvig/ 
Books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B000AQ4JBU 

Connect with Julian
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebeyondtomorrowpodcast/ 
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliankissa/ 
LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/julian-issa
🌐 Website: www.beyondtomorrowpodcast.com
📩 Email: [email protected]
🎧 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube for more stories from the edge of what is possible.

What if your body was never designed to fall apart but to defend, repair, and even outsmart disease?

Dr. William Li joins Julian in a conversation to reframe how we think about cancer, aging, and longevity. Instead of focusing only on what goes wrong, he explores what goes right, how our bodies are constantly forming microscopic cancers, yet eliminating them daily through powerful built-in defense systems. From early-onset cancer and environmental toxins like microplastics to epigenetics and immune resilience, this episode challenges the fear-based narrative around disease and replaces it with informed optimism rooted in science.

The discussion expands into the future of medicine where immunotherapy is activating the body’s own immune system to wipe out advanced cancers, and personalized cancer vaccines are being developed using AI to target individual mutations. Alongside cutting-edge breakthroughs, Dr. Li brings the conversation back to everyday agency: sleep, movement, stress reduction, gut health, and food as medicine. This is not about extremes, it’s about understanding your biology, strengthening your defenses, and recognizing that the future of health may be far more hopeful than we’ve been led to believe.

Dr. William Li is a physician, scientist, and internationally recognized leader in the field of food as medicine. He is the President and Medical Director of the Angiogenesis Foundation and has led groundbreaking research in cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity, with a focus on harnessing the body’s natural defense systems. Dr. Li has been involved in the development of more than 30 new medical treatments and is a pioneer in the field of immuno-oncology.

Dr. William Li's next Grand Rounds will be on Colon Cancer on March 3rd at 8 pm EST. Here is the link to sign up: https://drwilliamli.com/masterclass/

What You’ll Learn
Why We’re All Forming Cancer And How the Body Fights Back 

The Hidden Drivers Behind Early-Onset Cancer 

How Immunotherapy Is Changing the Future of Cancer Treatment 

The Gut Microbiome’s Role in Immunity and Healing 

Sleep, Stress & Optimism: The Science of Longevity

⏱ Timestamps
00:08 Conquering Diseases Once Thought Unbeatable
01:15 Why Cancer Rates Are Rising Worldwide
12:22 Why Are Younger People Getting Cancer?
17:36 The Power of Early Cancer Detection
22:06 Aging Doesn’t Have to Mean Decline
38:02 How Should We Measure Our Health?
41:22 Can You Ever Truly Know Yourself?
44:51 Carnivore vs. Vegan: What Does Science Say?
53:05 Why There’s No One-Size-Fits-All Diet
55:52 How to Eat in a Way That Supports Your Body
01:04:07 Eat What You Love In a Healthier Way
01:06:02 Why Humans Are Built for Resilience
01:16:16 Activating the Immune System to Fight Cancer
01:28:55 Why Curiosity Drives Medical Breakthroughs

Follow William:
Website: https://drwilliamli.com/ 
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/drwilliamli 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drwilliamli 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drwilliamli 
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drwilliamli 
X: https://x.com/drwilliamli 
Books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B07NVY5CSQ 

Connect with Julian📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebeyondtomorrowpodcast/ 
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliankissa/ 
LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/julian-issa
🌐 Website: www.beyondtomorrowpodcast.com
📩 Email: [email protected]
🎧 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube for more stories from the edge of what is possible.

What happens when AI agents stop waiting for instructions and start acting on their own?

Julian sits down with Ramesh Raskar and Maria Gorskikh for an urgent conversation about the rise of proactive AI and the emerging “agentic web”. This isn’t about chatbots answering questions anymore, it’s about autonomous agents that can send emails, execute tasks, coordinate schedules, and interact with other agents without constant prompting. 

As open-source tools like OpenClaw make it easier for developers to spin up agents, we may be witnessing a shift from centralized AI models to a world where anyone can run their own personal AI. But with that power comes serious risk, from malicious “skills” and prompt injections to identity spoofing, financial manipulation, and large-scale bot collusion. Without the right infrastructure, guardrails, and accountability, this new frontier could quickly become chaotic.

And yet, the upside is enormous. They explore a future where billions of people, from farmers to students to entrepreneurs, have access to affordable, personalized AI agents working on their behalf. A new creator economy could emerge, where agents handle coordination and repetitive work, freeing humans to focus on creativity and problem-solving. The big question isn’t whether this future is coming, it already is. The real question is whether we build it as an open, secure, decentralized ecosystem or allow it to concentrate in the hands of a few.

Ramesh Raskar is a renowned AI researcher, inventor, and professor at MIT, where he leads pioneering work at the intersection of artificial intelligence, decentralization, and global impact. He is the founder of Project Nanda, focused on building the foundational infrastructure for an open and secure agentic web.

Maria Gorskikh is an AI engineer and entrepreneur working at the forefront of autonomous agents and open AI ecosystems. She is building tools that make AI agents accessible to everyone, helping drive the shift toward a decentralized, agent-powered internet.

What You’ll Learn
What Proactive AI really is

Why decentralizing AI is a turning point

The biggest security risks right now

Why infrastructure and guardrails matter

How AI agents could power a new creator economy

Why the next six months are critical

Whether we should be excited or cautious

⏱ Timestamps
00:00 The Agentic AI Moment Begins
01:40 Why OpenClaw Is a Turning Point
03:00 The App Store Era of AI Agents
07:18 The Two Levels of AI Risk
08:40 What a Personal AI Agent Really Means
15:42 From Mainframes to Decentralized AI
18:20 Defining Proactive AI
18:38 Inside the Moltbook Phenomenon
22:04 AI Agents and High-Speed Trading Risks
24:06 Can Agentic AI Be Contained?
25:53 Who’s Liable When AI Goes Wrong?
28:27 Building the Infrastructure: Project NANDA
32:43 Centralization vs. Open Ecosystems
37:58 The Innovation Explosion Happening Now
41:31 Create Your Own AI Agent in Minutes
43:19 The Rise of Personal AI Agents
44:53 What Everyone Will Be Talking About Next
46:04 AI, Hardware, and the Future of Robots
47:27 The New Creator Economy
48:10 Why Guardrails Matter More Than Ever
50:25 Why We Should Stay Curious, Not Fearful
51:17 Should We Be Excited or Afraid?
53:18 The 1-in-10 Future: Choosing the Right Path

Connect with Julian
📸 Instagram: @thebeyondtomorrowpodcast
🌐 Website: www.beyondtomorrowpodcast.com
📩 Email: [email protected]
🎧 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube for more stories from the edge of what is possible.

Follow Ramesh:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raskar   
MIT Media Lab: https://www.media.mit.edu/people/raskar/overview/   

Follow Maria:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariagorskikh 
X: https://x.com/mariagorskikh/ 

Check out:
https://join39.org/ 
https://projectnanda.org/

What if living longer isn’t about chasing immortality but about quietly staying one step ahead of aging?

Julian sits down with George Church for a wide-ranging conversation that challenges how we think about longevity, aging, and medical progress. Rather than promising overnight breakthroughs, they explore why extending human life is a complex, multi-layered challenge and why meaningful progress may already be happening so gradually that it’s easy to miss. From the concept of “longevity escape velocity” to the difficulty of measuring aging itself, the discussion reframes what it truly means to live longer and healthier. 

Together, Julian and George unpack how advances in gene therapy, multiplex genome editing, and AI-driven protein design are reshaping medicine. The focus moves away from sci-fi fantasies toward real-world applications: reversing age-related diseases, improving targeted drug delivery, shortening clinical trials, and reducing risk. They also explore the ethical, societal, and economic implications of longer lives and why revolutions in science often feel invisible right up until they become impossible to ignore. 

George Church is a pioneering geneticist and one of the founding figures of synthetic biology. A professor at Harvard Medical School and MIT, he is known for his groundbreaking work in genome sequencing, gene therapy, CRISPR technologies, and aging research. Over decades, his work has helped shape modern biotechnology, with a focus on reversing age-related diseases, improving human health, and responsibly advancing powerful scientific tools.

What You’ll Learn:
Why longevity is one of the hardest medical outcomes to measure

What “longevity escape velocity” actually means—and why it may already be underway

How gene therapy and multiplex genome editing could reverse age-related diseases

Why AI’s most meaningful breakthroughs may be happening in biology, not chatbots

The overlooked importance of drug delivery in safe, effective treatments

Why scientific progress often feels slow before it suddenly accelerates

How extending healthspan could reshape society, economics, and human potential

⏱ Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:21 Can Aging Really Be Reversed?
02:21 Why Gene Therapy Is Central to Longevity
06:28 The Real Limits of Gene Therapy
12:09 Why Clinical Trials Are Moving Faster Than Ever
13:56 What Longevity “Escape Velocity” Actually Means
14:55 How Gene Editing Could Shape the Future of Health
17:47 How Scientific AI Is Transforming Biotech
19:44 What Longer Lives Mean for Insurance and Society
22:15 Why Exponential Progress Feels Invisible Until It Doesn’t
24:07 How COVID RNA Vaccines Changed Medicine
29:09 Using AI to Target Treatments More Precisely
33:04 Why AGI May Be the Wrong Focus for Humanity
36:28 Do We Need Guardrails for Powerful Technologies?
38:35 Why Education and Wisdom Matter More Than Intelligence
40:33 Are We Near a Medical Tipping Point?
42:15 Are You Ready to Die or Live Much Longer?
44:47 Why Aging, Health, and Purpose Are Deeply Connected
46:30 How Organ Failure and Dialysis Are Being Rethought
49:12 The Future of Organ Replacement and Regeneration
52:06 Why Survival and Hope Still Matter

Connect with Julian
📸 Instagram: @thebeyondtomorrowpodcast
🌐 Website: www.beyondtomorrowpodcast.com
📩 Email: [email protected]
🎧 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube for more stories from the edge of what is possible.

Follow George:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-church-2b86301

Are billionaires building the future or breaking it?

Julian steps out of the studio and into the real world, putting a single uncomfortable question in front of everyday people: should billionaires exist at all? From candid street interviews to the polished halls of the World Economic Forum in Davos, and finally to the stark realities of Cape Town, South Africa, the responses reveal a world deeply divided on wealth, power, and fairness.

As opinions collide, innovation versus inequality, ambition versus responsibility, this episode doesn’t offer easy answers. Instead, it challenges us to rethink how wealth should work in a rapidly changing, AI-driven world and who the system is really designed to serve. 

⏱ Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:38 Should Billionaires Get Abolished?
02:34 How Do We Close the Wealth Gap?
05:35 Billionaires are Also Hardworking People

Connect with Julian
📸 Instagram: @thebeyondtomorrowpodcast
🌐 Website: www.beyondtomorrowpodcast.com
📩 Email: [email protected]
🎧 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube for more stories from the edge of what is possible.