No Priors Ep. 135 | With Humans& Founder Eric Zelikman

The AI industry is obsessed with making models smarter. But what if they’re building the wrong kind of intelligence? In launching his new venture, humans&, Eric Zelikman sees an opportunity to shift the focus from pure IQ to building models with EQ. Sarah Guo is joined by Eric Zelikman, formerly of Stanford and xAI, who shares his journey from AI researcher to founder. Eric talks about the challenges of building human-centric AI, integrating long-term memory in models, and the importance of creating AI systems that work collaboratively with humans to unlock their full potential. Plus, Eric shares his views on abundance and what he’s looking for in talent for humans&. Sign up for new podcasts every week. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @ericzelikman Chapters: 00:00 – Eric Zelikman Introduction 00:29 – Eric’s Early Interest in AI 01:29 – Challenges in AI and Automation 02:25 – Research Contributions 06:14 – Q-STaR and Scaling Up AI 08:14 – Current State of AI Models 15:23 – Human-Centric AI and Future Directions 22:08 – Eric’s New Venture: humans& 35:33 – Recruitment Goals for humans& 36:58 – Conclusion

Sarah GuohostEric ZelikmanguestElad Gilhost

Oct 9, 202536mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: October 9, 2025
Duration: 36m
Channel: No Priors
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

The AI industry is obsessed with making models smarter. But what if they’re building the wrong kind of intelligence? In launching his new venture, humans&, Eric Zelikman sees an opportunity to shift the focus from pure IQ to building models with EQ. Sarah Guo is joined by Eric Zelikman, formerly of Stanford and xAI, who shares his journey from AI researcher to founder. Eric talks about the challenges of building human-centric AI, integrating long-term memory in models, and the importance of creating AI systems that work collaboratively with humans to unlock their full potential. Plus, Eric shares his views on abundance and what he’s looking for in talent for humans&. Sign up for new podcasts every week. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @ericzelikman Chapters: 00:00 – Eric Zelikman Introduction 00:29 – Eric’s Early Interest in AI 01:29 – Challenges in AI and Automation 02:25 – Research Contributions 06:14 – Q-STaR and Scaling Up AI 08:14 – Current State of AI Models 15:23 – Human-Centric AI and Future Directions 22:08 – Eric’s New Venture: humans& 35:33 – Recruitment Goals for humans& 36:58 – Conclusion

SPEAKERS

Sarah Guo
host
Eric Zelikman
guest
Elad Gil
host

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of No Priors, featuring Sarah Guo and Eric Zelikman, No Priors Ep. 135 | With Humans& Founder Eric Zelikman explores from IQ to EQ: Building Human-Centric AI That Truly Collaborates Eric Zelikman, former Stanford researcher and xAI lead, discusses his work on advancing AI reasoning through methods like STAR and Q* and his shift toward building more human-centric systems.

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