The AI Drop #7: From Pixels to Physics – How Robots Learn (and Why It's So Hard) with Roozbeh Mottaghi

The AI Drop #7: From Pixels to Physics – How Robots Learn (and Why It's So Hard) with Roozbeh Mottaghi

Between scripted demos, the simulation-to-reality gap, and the absence of any shared benchmark, the robotics field is full of progress that's easy to overstate and hard to measure. "I hate to say this, but most of them are fake," says Roozbeh Mottaghi [https://roozbehm.info/], a leading robotics and embodied AI researcher, of the viral humanoid robot videos. He joins host Anna Gressel [https://www.freshfields.com/en/find-a-lawyer/g/gressel-r-anna] to discuss how robots learn and what that means for the future of the field. Roozbeh and Anna unpack a core hurdle in robotics — building general-purpose robots that generalize across environments and objects — plus the gap between simulation and reality, and why safety becomes the top concern once robots work alongside people.  Connect and Learn More ☑️ Roozbeh Mottaghi [https://roozbehm.info/] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/roozbeh-mottaghi-63397aa0]   ☑️ Anna Gressel [https://www.freshfields.com/en/find-a-lawyer/g/gressel-r-anna] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/annagressel]   ☑️ Freshfields [https://www.freshfields.com/en] ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ai-drop/id1893061401] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3FvU2cVUtIqH5uWEE0Nlix] | Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f77a8d88-e487-483d-9388-54bb8a72a68d/the-ai-drop]

The AI Drop #6: Training Day – AI and EU Copyright Trends with Lutz Riede

The EU is front and center in the discussion about copyright issues and technology, so host Anna Gressel [https://www.freshfields.com/en/find-a-lawyer/g/gressel-r-anna] invites colleague Dr. Lutz Riede [https://www.freshfields.com/en/find-a-lawyer/r/riede-lutz] to unpack the state of play for businesses operating that space. A Vienna-based partner who specializes in intellectual property and technology law, Lutz describes the biggest misconceptions that companies have about EU copyright law, high-impact litigation pending in Germany, and the key difference in legal philosophy between the EU and US. The conversation closes out with Lutz’ practical pointers for companies out of the AI space that are tuning models or using third-party models. Connect and Learn More ☑️ Dr. Lutz Riede [https://www.freshfields.com/en/find-a-lawyer/r/riede-lutz] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lutz-riede-7960a390/]   ☑️ Anna Gressel [https://www.freshfields.com/en/find-a-lawyer/g/gressel-r-anna] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/annagressel]   ☑️ Freshfields [https://www.freshfields.com/en]   ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ai-drop/id1893061401] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3FvU2cVUtIqH5uWEE0Nlix] | Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f77a8d88-e487-483d-9388-54bb8a72a68d/the-ai-drop]

The AI Drop #5: Looking East – How Asia Is Writing Its Own AI Rules with Rohit Bhat

When it comes to technology, Asian regulators have seemed to follow the lead of their EU and US counterparts. No longer. “With AI, it is transformational, and jurisdictions in Asia are taking note and wanting to ensure that this technology is used for the greater good of their respective society,” says Rohit Bhat [https://www.freshfields.com/en/find-a-lawyer/b/bhat-rohit]. In this globe-trotting conversation with host Anna Gressel [https://www.freshfields.com/en/find-a-lawyer/g/gressel-r-anna], he touches down in India, Singapore, and South Korea. Tune in for his insights about India, with its Information Technology Act that regulates synthetically generated information; Singapore, with its recent influential conference on agentic AI; and South Korea, with its risk-based AI Basic Act that regulates high-impact AI. At the end of the day, Rohit observes, AI is transforming the industry wherever you are on the global stage.   Connect and Learn More   ☑️ Rohit Bhat [https://www.freshfields.com/en/find-a-lawyer/b/bhat-rohit] | LinkedIn [https://sg.linkedin.com/in/rohitbhat]   ☑️ Anna Gressel [https://www.freshfields.com/en/find-a-lawyer/g/gressel-r-anna] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/annagressel]   ☑️ Freshfields [https://www.freshfields.com/en]   ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ai-drop/id1893061401] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3FvU2cVUtIqH5uWEE0Nlix] | Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f77a8d88-e487-483d-9388-54bb8a72a68d/the-ai-drop]

The AI Drop #4: Pulling Back the Curtain on Agentic AI, with Geoff Schaefer

Geoff Schaefer, vice president of AI Strategy and Governance at Leidos [https://www.leidos.com/], returns to “The AI Drop” to unpack agentic AI strategy, the subject of his newest book. Host Anna Gressel [https://www.freshfields.com/en/find-a-lawyer/g/gressel-r-anna] leads off the conversation with a lightning round of questions such as the biggest surprises he’s seen, the number one skill that employees in an agentic workplace must have, and the value that AI agents are actually providing in the workplace. Tune in as he explains why Leidos’ hybrid org chart places human FTEs alongside agent FAEs (full-time agent equivalents), why it’s no longer wrong to anthropomorphize AI, and why a colleague at Leidos is building a “zero trust” architecture for AI – similar to zero trust principles in cybersecurity and organizational security. Connect and Learn More: ☑️ Geoff Schaefer | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffschaefer] ☑️ Leidos [https://www.leidos.com/] ☑️ Anna Gressel [https://www.freshfields.com/en/find-a-lawyer/g/gressel-r-anna] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/annagressel] ☑️ Freshfields [https://www.freshfields.com/en] ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ai-drop/id1893061401] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3FvU2cVUtIqH5uWEE0Nlix] | Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f77a8d88-e487-483d-9388-54bb8a72a68d/the-ai-drop]

The AI Drop #3: Check Engine Light – What Every Board Needs to Know About AI Oversight with Doru Gavril

Freshfields [https://www.freshfields.com/en] partner Doru Gavril [https://www.freshfields.com/en/find-a-lawyer/g/gavril-doru] remembers listening to the iconic radio show “Car Talk,” where the host would diagnose callers’ car problems. Host Anna Gressel [https://www.freshfields.com/en/find-a-lawyer/g/gressel-r-anna] takes the calls, and Doru diagnoses the caller’s AI ailment. Doru peeks under the hood to talk the callers through fixing their issues. Tune in to hear why – just like in “Car Talk” – the answer is often the "carburetor." And why companies and boards should think about diagnosing key AI considerations now. “You have time, but you also cannot wait,” he says. “You need to start thinking about it now, both strategically and operationally.” Connect and Learn More ☑️ Doru Gavril [https://www.freshfields.com/en/find-a-lawyer/g/gavril-doru] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/doru-gavril-874351133] ☑️ Anna Gressel [https://www.freshfields.com/en/find-a-lawyer/g/gressel-r-anna] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/annagressel] ☑️ Freshfields [https://www.freshfields.com/en]