The AI energy and compute arms race is completely unsustainable. Companies are burning billions of dollars on hardware to run artificial intelligence, and they are all using the exact same foundational building block from 1943: the artificial neuron.

Today, Dr. Rorry Brenner, neuroscientist and CEO of Perforated AI, reveals why AI desperately needs a "brain upgrade." Rorry breaks down how introducing biological dendritic technology—essentially the "brain of the neuron"—can make AI models run twice as fast while making them 70% cheaper to operate.

In this episode, we cover:

-- Why the 80-year-old artificial neuron is driving compute costs through the roof.

-- The "Brain Upgrade": What dendritic technology actually is and how it works.

-- How to cut your AI compute and hardware costs by 70% without losing accuracy.

-- The difference between "raising the ceiling" (better accuracy) and "lowering the floor" (cheaper compute).

-- How making AI cheaper will democratize the industry and enable offline edge computing.

-- The massive environmental benefits of moving away from electricity-guzzling server farms.

00:00 Introduction: Why AI Compute is So Expensive

01:47 Welcome Dr. Rorry Brenner & The AI Hardware Arms Race

07:06 The "Brain Upgrade": What is a Dendrite?

08:46 The Metaphor: An Army of Toddlers vs. A Team of Adults

11:14 Lowering the Floor: Making Compute Cheaper

15:30 How Perforated AI is Bringing Dendrites to Market

22:00 Real-World Impact: Cutting AI Costs by 70%

27:11 Will This Solve the AI Hype Cycle Decline?

31:23 Democratizing AI and The Future of Edge Computing

34:07 Lightning Round

38:31 The Green AI Future & Last CallWHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS?Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes.The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA.The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that.If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.

Imagine buying a car without test-driving it. If you hate it, you can't return it. That is the unthinkable reality for many of the 2.5 million people in the US living with limb loss.

In this episode of Thought Liters, we sit down with Josh Caputo, CEO of Humotech. Josh explains how his company is revolutionizing the industry by using a robotic system that lets patients test-drive different prosthetic feet before they commit. Instead of being stuck with the wrong fit for 3 to 5 years due to insurance rules, Humotech allows patients to find their perfect fit in minutes.

We dive deep into Josh's journey from a technically curious engineer at Carnegie Mellon University to pioneering a brand-new clinical business model. We also explore the future of wearable robotics, orthotics, and exoskeletons.

Plus, stick around for our brand-new lightning round where Josh shares what keeps him up at night and the hard truths about the marathon of entrepreneurship.

00:00 The Unthinkable Problem in Prosthetics

01:48 Finding the Spark at Carnegie Mellon University

05:29 The Entrepreneur's Dilemma & Finding First Customers

08:18 Creating a "Shoe Store" for Prosthetic Feet

11:10 Moving from R&D into Real-World Clinics

13:38 How the Robotic Emulator Actually Works

15:21 Beating the 3-to-5 Year Insurance Trap

17:39 The $15B Market and the Future of Exoskeletons

21:30 Lightning Round: The Marathon of Entrepreneurship

#businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters

WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS?

Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes.

The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA.

The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that.

If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.

Ryan Shazier went from NFL stardom to a career-ending injury in a heartbeat. But his transition to the business world was just as painful. In the first ever live recording of Thought Liters, Ryan reveals post-career losses, the bad mentors he trusted, and the brutal reality of his forced pivots.

Prepare for a raw, unfiltered look at the failures that built the man you see today.

You'll hear more about:

-- The Identity Crisis: How Ryan went from "provider to provided for" overnight.

-- The $0 Mistake: The trucking business failure that drained his bank account.

-- Bad Mentors: How to spot the middlemen who will ruin your business, and properly vet mentors instead.

-- The Turnaround: How he applied the lessons of failure to build the Ryan Shazier Fund.

-- Coach Tomlin's Advice: The one principle Ryan uses to lead his team today.

0:00 Intro: From All-Pro to Forced Pivot

2:15 I Felt Adopted by Pittsburgh

6:14 The Reality Check: Money vs. Skill

14:15 Mourning Your Career vs. Mourning Your Business24:22 The Trucking Business Disaster (Full Story)

33:22 How to Build a Foundation the Right Way

45:04 Leadership: The Difference Between the Field & The Office

51:01 Final Advice: Get Uncomfortable

#businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters

Special thanks to Komos for being the beverage partner on this event. Thanks too to Babb, Inc. and VPO for their support.

WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS?

Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes.

The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA.

The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that.

If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.

Join the flight.