Transcriptly

How to Enhance Your Brain with AI | Dr. Fei-Fei Li & Dr. Andrew Huberman

Huberman Lab Clips07:23Added Aug 31, 2026

Dr. Fei-Fei Li and Dr. Andrew Huberman discuss how artificial intelligence and non-invasive brain-monitoring technologies can be used to augment human agency...

Watch on YouTube →
Contributed by 刘嘉琪

Transcript

Transcript format

  1. Decoding Brain Activity

  2. 00:00I feel like at some point in the not too
  3. 00:02distant future, uh, computers will have
  4. 00:05access to our brain activity in
  5. 00:07non-invasive ways.
  6. 00:09So, you know, like I might even imagine
  7. 00:11in 5 10 years I'm wearing something on
  8. 00:14my head right now. You can't see it.
  9. 00:15It's a very very fine hairnet. Hairet
  10. 00:18makes it sound like it whatever. Like
  11. 00:19some electrodes that are just there on
  12. 00:21the outside of my skull, not bothering
  13. 00:22me. sensing my activity inside the
  14. 00:25brain, maybe also sensing my heart rate,
  15. 00:27autonomic activity, how alert I am, and
  16. 00:30comparing that, yes, to what I'm saying
  17. 00:32and what I'm doing. This is all totally
  18. 00:34within reach and it's going to happen.
  19. 00:36You and I both know this and it's
  20. 00:37probably already starting to scare
  21. 00:38people, but let's let's let's keep it
  22. 00:40benevolent, right? There's this world
  23. 00:41where a computer that I own and I'm not
  24. 00:44worried about data getting out or
  25. 00:46anything like that. We've can manage
  26. 00:47that problem. is sensing all these
  27. 00:50aspects of me and is picking up on the
  28. 00:53fact that yes, what I say might be
  29. 00:55important, but there are aspects of my
  30. 00:57internal state and brain activity that
  31. 00:59I'm not even aware of.
  32. 01:00Yeah. and I can decide to collaborate
  33. 01:03with this aspect of me and say, "Let's
  34. 01:06let's come up with a really interesting
  35. 01:09uh picture that I've never seen before,
  36. 01:12but comes from some experience of mine
  37. 01:15that's important based on whatever like
  38. 01:17we and and it could reveal that to me
  39. 01:20because it has access to my to
  40. 01:22unconscious features of my brain
  41. 01:24activity." I think this is very likely
  42. 01:26to happen in in the not too distant
  43. 01:28future and perhaps if people thought
  44. 01:30about it within the bubble of their own
  45. 01:32experience like this isn't immediately
  46. 01:33going to the internet or it's not going
  47. 01:35to be used against them. you're actually
  48. 01:37learning about yourself
  49. 01:38of course
  50. 01:39and and I feel most people have an
  51. 01:41inherent interest in what's going on for
  52. 01:43them also with other people thank
  53. 01:44goodness but
  54. 01:45they're I think like amazing like I
  55. 01:48would love to know why
  56. 01:50I trip up in certain ways and don't have
  57. 01:52the best day or why some days I have the
  58. 01:54best day or where ideas come from in me
  59. 01:57what states I could you know kind of
  60. 01:59elaborate on but I'm not going to know
  61. 02:01how to do that except okay one cup of
  62. 02:03coffee good one and a half a little
  63. 02:05better two is too much if I like right
  64. 02:07now if you think about how primitively
  65. 02:09we go about this it's kind of crazy.
  66. 02:12It's crazy and everyone has a different
  67. 02:14method and we all try and get this right
  68. 02:15and then you've aged enough by the time
  69. 02:17you get it right that then you have to

  70. Enhancing Humanity With AI

  71. 02:18update it and like we're probably not
  72. 02:19getting the most out of our biology and
  73. 02:21our brains at all right now.
  74. 02:22No, we're not. And this is why I keep
  75. 02:25saying this is why it bothers me when
  76. 02:28people talk about AI. Some people make
  77. 02:31it sound like it's replacing humanity.
  78. 02:34But what we really what you describe is
  79. 02:37about enhancing and augmenting humanity.
  80. 02:40Right? This is where it doesn't even
  81. 02:43have to go as sci-fi as a smart hairet
  82. 02:46uh accessing your brain waves. Just AI
  83. 02:49learning your patterns of writing
  84. 02:53can already help you to be, you know, a
  85. 02:58better communicator, a more effective
  86. 03:01communicator, a more efficient
  87. 03:02communicator. And that is an empowering
  88. 03:05capability that we could unleash in
  89. 03:08today's AI. I think one of the most
  90. 03:11important thing Andrew that as a
  91. 03:13neuroscientist and also faculty we know
  92. 03:17is agency is so important for humanity.
  93. 03:21You know that boils down to motivation,
  94. 03:24agency and dignity at every individual
  95. 03:27level. And I think we need to recognize
  96. 03:30that we need to think about AI as a tool
  97. 03:34that helps us in our agency. It does it
  98. 03:37should not take away our agency. And
  99. 03:40people who lead in today's AI should not
  100. 03:44try to talk like that this work will
  101. 03:49take away agency from people.
  102. 03:52Yeah. Yeah, I think people who are very
  103. 03:54familiar with the technology whether
  104. 03:55it's computers or it's biology or any
  105. 03:59technology cars for that matter
  106. 04:02we they become such nerds of that thing
  107. 04:05that we forget that
  108. 04:07it can be scary to people

  109. Public Fear and AI Rhetoric

  110. 04:09and that the languaging around it is
  111. 04:11essential.
  112. 04:11It is.
  113. 04:12And I remember a time in the early 90s,
  114. 04:13I'm sure you remember this too, when
  115. 04:15genetic testing was viewed as this thing
  116. 04:17like would you want to have it? Would
  117. 04:19you want to do a blood test? because oh
  118. 04:21my goodness, you might see something
  119. 04:22that could really scare you. And that
  120. 04:24discussion is happening now around, you
  121. 04:26know, self-elected MRIs and things like
  122. 04:29that. None of which people have to do,
  123. 04:31but I come from the stance like more
  124. 04:32information is better. But I've come to
  125. 04:34understand that not everyone feels that
  126. 04:35way. Some people don't want to know.
  127. 04:37They don't want to know.
  128. 04:38Yeah. But they should have the choice.
  129. 04:40In the meantime, we should have enough
  130. 04:42public education and communication to
  131. 04:45let people know the pros and cons, but
  132. 04:47not to deny them the choice. and also
  133. 04:50not to take away you know um and and and
  134. 04:54say well since you don't understand this
  135. 04:56let me decide for you what's good that
  136. 04:59is not good you know and and the
  137. 05:02rhetoric around AI right now is getting
  138. 05:04really skewed because people who know
  139. 05:08what this is tend to talk down at the
  140. 05:12public it tend to talk whether the
  141. 05:14motivation is a positive one or negative
  142. 05:16one it there there is a rheto rhetoric
  143. 05:20of you guys don't know what this is and
  144. 05:24I will tell you allow will make you
  145. 05:26whether happy safe whatever it is and I
  146. 05:29would decide for you these are not
  147. 05:32healthy and not helpful. Yeah, I agree.
  148. 05:35And I think, you know, one of the
  149. 05:36reasons for starting this podcast was to
  150. 05:38showcase the scientists and physicians
  151. 05:41who really have a benevolence about them
  152. 05:43and they have no interest in dumbing
  153. 05:45things down, but they do have an
  154. 05:46interest in people understanding things
  155. 05:48and many people would feel that, you
  156. 05:50know, health information is among the
  157. 05:52more important things to understand.
  158. 05:53Absolutely.

  159. Empowerment Through AI Literacy

  160. 05:54Well, thankfully, you um you're breaking
  161. 05:56the mold of of the, you know, the
  162. 05:58phenotype you just described. um and and
  163. 06:01there are a few others but you've really
  164. 06:03uh you've been doing this at at the
  165. 06:05highest levels really encouraging people
  166. 06:07to think about the collaboration that is
  167. 06:09AI the the agency that exists and
  168. 06:11whether to use it or not to use it and
  169. 06:13so forth
  170. 06:14one of the agency I do think it's
  171. 06:16important for individual humans whether
  172. 06:18you're a student a teacher doctor policy
  173. 06:21maker is learn about this not
  174. 06:24necessarily learn about how to code I
  175. 06:26don't think that's it's necessary depend
  176. 06:28on your job right So for example, if
  177. 06:31you're artist or if you're a teacher or
  178. 06:33doctor, you don't necessarily need to
  179. 06:35code, but learn about what this l uh
  180. 06:37this technology is. Learn about how you
  181. 06:40can use it yourself to empower yourself,
  182. 06:44your learning or your work or your
  183. 06:47expression. By learning,
  184. 06:50one feels more in control. By learning,
  185. 06:53you're less scared of trying. And by
  186. 06:57learning, you retain that agency. and
  187. 07:00that dignity because at the end of the
  188. 07:02day, no matter how advanced technology
  189. 07:04is or medicine is, as humans, we want
  190. 07:08that benevolence that helps us to live
  191. 07:10better, keep our dignity, and and make
  192. 07:13our community better.
  193. 07:18[music]