1
00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:07,840
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. We are now so

2
00:00:07,920 --> 00:00:12,520
Speaker 1: pleased to welcome Ariana Huffington, CEO, founder of Thrive Global,

3
00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:16,720
Speaker 1: which is all about focusing on improving health, on improving productivity,

4
00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:21,479
Speaker 1: but through perhaps science backed behavioral changes. And I'm really

5
00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:24,080
Speaker 1: interested at the moment, Ariana, how you are adopting this

6
00:00:24,239 --> 00:00:27,560
Speaker 1: hype cycle of artificial intelligence to become your reality to

7
00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:30,960
Speaker 1: actually help with with health with productivity.

8
00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:35,240
Speaker 2: Thank you, Caroline. Yes, we are very excited at Thrive

9
00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:40,200
Speaker 2: about the way we can bring in generative AI into

10
00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:44,000
Speaker 2: daily behaviors because if we look at the data, we

11
00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:50,199
Speaker 2: see that these five daily behaviors of sleep, food, movement, stress,

12
00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:57,800
Speaker 2: and connection dramatically affect our health and our longevity. So

13
00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:01,959
Speaker 2: the problem is that change behaviors is not easy. But

14
00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:07,280
Speaker 2: with AI and creating what we are building a co

15
00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:13,840
Speaker 2: pilot wellness health co pilot, it's kind of incredible how

16
00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:20,040
Speaker 2: this personalization can make dramatic changes at how we adopt

17
00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:24,880
Speaker 2: healthier habits through microsteps. We are big believers and our

18
00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:29,920
Speaker 2: scientific advisory board led by bj Fog from Stanford is

19
00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:33,920
Speaker 2: showing all the data that to change behaviors you have

20
00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:37,880
Speaker 2: to start small. We call them microsteps too small to fail,

21
00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:42,919
Speaker 2: small daily changes that incrementally become healthier habits.

22
00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:48,000
Speaker 1: This hyper personalization as you reference it in artificial intelligence,

23
00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:52,600
Speaker 1: is it already a reality already being deployed. How comfortable

24
00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:56,080
Speaker 1: or uncomfortable are people with these sort of intimate cues.

25
00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:01,600
Speaker 2: Well, that's what is so interesting. People are comfortable giving

26
00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:09,320
Speaker 2: their own personal data biometrics labs calendar to show where

27
00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:14,919
Speaker 2: they need the stress breaks, provided they get help back,

28
00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:20,360
Speaker 2: provided they get value, and provided that they are given

29
00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:26,080
Speaker 2: to others like employers in an anonymized, aggregated way. And

30
00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:29,760
Speaker 2: once we guarantee that, then people are willing to share

31
00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:35,400
Speaker 2: personal data. And knowing personal preferences around sleep, around food,

32
00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:39,120
Speaker 2: around how you like to exercise is critical, so that

33
00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:43,600
Speaker 2: the nudgets and their recommendations are hyper personalized. The other

34
00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:47,360
Speaker 2: thing car Line that is really important to remind ourselves

35
00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:50,919
Speaker 2: of is that the healthcare system right now is broken.

36
00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:55,960
Speaker 2: It's unsustainable. We are now spending seventeen percent of GDP

37
00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:01,839
Speaker 2: in healthcare, up from five and in the nineteen sixties,

38
00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:05,600
Speaker 2: and the results are worse every year. Chronic this is

39
00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:11,240
Speaker 2: is skyrocketing. One stat that I can't get out of

40
00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:13,720
Speaker 2: my mind is that last year alone, who had one

41
00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:21,080
Speaker 2: hundred and fifty thousand leg amputations, people who diabetes and

42
00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:27,720
Speaker 2: the human costs, the healthcare cost are truly unsustainable. So

43
00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:32,000
Speaker 2: that's why looking at behavior change as the miracle drug

44
00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:35,280
Speaker 2: is something which you need, we need to take much

45
00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:36,200
Speaker 2: more seriously.

46
00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:40,600
Speaker 1: And those CEOs that you are ultimately selling Thrive into,

47
00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:43,440
Speaker 1: you're having to make partnerships really with the leadership of

48
00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:46,600
Speaker 1: business have their buy in? Do they understand that you

49
00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:49,400
Speaker 1: need to be acting earlier. We need to take the

50
00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:53,360
Speaker 1: strain off the healthcare system through these micro changes to

51
00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:57,279
Speaker 1: behavior that it can ultimately prevent diabetes in the long term.

52
00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:01,440
Speaker 2: Absolutely. I mean, let me give you one example. We

53
00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:04,880
Speaker 2: are working with Walmart. We're in our fifth year working together,

54
00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:13,520
Speaker 2: and Walmart has done incredible innovations around healthcare benefits, including Thrive,

55
00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:18,760
Speaker 2: including fertility benefits, and we're seeing amazing results. We are

56
00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:23,120
Speaker 2: even giving financial awards to people who meet their goals.

57
00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:28,880
Speaker 2: And again and again we see people who lose weight,

58
00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:33,440
Speaker 2: even reverse diabetes or hypertension doing it by beginning to

59
00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:39,320
Speaker 2: cook at home rather than eating two meals or more

60
00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:42,599
Speaker 2: a day in fast food restaurants. And we also see

61
00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:49,760
Speaker 2: the impact in productivity, so we see that whatever employers

62
00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:54,239
Speaker 2: do for their employees is actually important for the health

63
00:04:54,279 --> 00:04:55,680
Speaker 2: of the bottom line.

64
00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:58,720
Speaker 1: When you're talking to these other business leaders, or when

65
00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:01,880
Speaker 1: you're just thinking about this, you've written and thought and

66
00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:05,520
Speaker 1: documented your perspective on artificial intelligence, there is a lot

67
00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:08,600
Speaker 1: of hand ringing, is a lot of concern that well,

68
00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:11,400
Speaker 1: technology ends up eating up even more of the way

69
00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:14,480
Speaker 1: in which we interact with life. Ultimately, you've been someone

70
00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:16,240
Speaker 1: who time and time again has tried to teach us

71
00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:19,560
Speaker 1: ways in which to put our devices down. How do

72
00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:22,880
Speaker 1: you feel about generative AI ending up becoming sort of

73
00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:24,800
Speaker 1: our agent, our personalized agent.

74
00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:29,440
Speaker 2: Well, actually, Caroline, that's what is so interesting right now.

75
00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:35,520
Speaker 2: The more primitive form of AI that is giving us

76
00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:40,919
Speaker 2: the algorithmic interventions that we see that get us hooked

77
00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:44,360
Speaker 2: on Instagram or TikTok or doom scrawling in the middle

78
00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:47,080
Speaker 2: of the night and are terrible for our health, including

79
00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:52,840
Speaker 2: our mental health, that can be changed through generative AI

80
00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:57,880
Speaker 2: that's used for good. The much more sophisticated AI that

81
00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:01,000
Speaker 2: we have now, and it's going to be even sophisticated

82
00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:05,160
Speaker 2: in the next few years, can actually help us connect

83
00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:10,080
Speaker 2: with what's best in us, instead of hooking us to

84
00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:15,480
Speaker 2: what's worst in us. Even if you take when you're exhausted,

85
00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:18,520
Speaker 2: you are much more likely to waste your time on

86
00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:24,760
Speaker 2: Instagram or doom scrawling. The more rested and recharged you are,

87
00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:28,000
Speaker 2: the more able you are to make good decisions.

88
00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:33,200
Speaker 1: The optimistic side of the AI perspective. We always love it,

89
00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:35,360
Speaker 1: Ariana Huffington. Thank you so much for spending some time

90
00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:37,480
Speaker 1: with us and how it's already being introduced within your

91
00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:40,479
Speaker 1: business at Thrive. Stay well, have a good rescue your day.

92
00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:42,200
Speaker 2: Thank you, Caroline,