Get Kim Stachenfeld (neurokim.bsky.social) on Dwarkesh Podcast
Next goal: 5
The Case for This Conversation
Research scientist at DeepMind. Prof at Columbia Neuro. Likes hippocampi and learning and other things brains have and do, too. she/her.
Dive into the cutting-edge worlds of technology and science with Dwarkesh Patel's meticulously researched interviews that bring together brilliant minds to unpack revolutionary ideas in AI, biotech, and beyond. Each episode delivers profound, thought-provoking conversations that challenge conventional wisdom and illuminate the paths shaping humanity's future.
Kim Stachenfeld is a DeepMind senior research scientist whose team recently unveiled CogFunSearch, an LLM powered method that automatically discovers interpretable cognitive programs that outperform classic models of animal reward learning. In 2025 she was already presenting this work to top neuroscience audiences, signaling a concrete bridge between symbolic cognitive theory and modern AI that the field is scrambling to build right now.
Fresh findings on January 14, 2026 about predictive coding of reward in the hippocampus are igniting debate on how brains anticipate outcomes, and Stachenfeld’s predictive map perspective makes her the ideal explainer of what these results mean for next gen AI agents today. Dwarkesh’s show is where the most consequential AI and neuroscience conversations are happening, with recent episodes probing how the brain learns and what AI still lacks, so having the scientist behind CogFunSearch on to connect these dots would be timely and high impact.
I can find no record that she has appeared on the Dwarkesh Podcast before, which makes this a rare chance to get her first long form breakdown of these advances to a broad audience. If you want practical clarity on how brains inspire better AI right now, please support this nomination.
What People Are Saying
No voices yet — submit a tweet, video, or post to be the first.
Key Catalysts
Rally support from known voices who can help accelerate this nomination
Updates
No updates yet — check back as the nomination gathers momentum.
Shape What Gets Discussed
Supporters
Voted
Voted
Featured Videos
Be the first to add your voice to this conversation
Record a short video telling everyone why this dialogue should happen. Your clip gets featured right here.
More voices on Dwarkesh Podcast
Where else should Kim Stachenfeld (neurokim.bsky.social) appear?
Nomination created on December 4, 2025