From Neuroscience to Neuroworks | Tony Yousefnezhad

Dr. Tony Yousefnezhad has spent his career at the intersection of AI and the human brain — from decoding what people see using brain imaging to building models that predict disease to working as a senior data scientist at the ‪@nationalbankofcanada‬ and adjunct professor at ‪@ualberta‬. In this conversation, we get into how AI actually thinks, why correlation isn't causation, the real myths businesses believe about AI, and how machine learning could one day predict and prevent illness before it happens. We close on his core message: change is constant, and the people who adapt are the ones who thrive. A wide-ranging, genuinely fascinating talk with someone who knows this field from the ground up. Dr. Tony Yousefnezhad — PhD in Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence 00:00 Intro 01:59 Tony's Background: From Engineering to AI & Neuroscience 03:01 Decoding the Brain: Reconstructing What People See 06:11 Causality vs. Correlation 08:04 AI Myths in Business: What to Actually Focus On 12:14 Why Models "Crash": Overfitting Explained 14:14 When AI Gets It Wrong: Bias & Real-World Failures 17:00 Which AI Models Should You Actually Use? 18:35 A Short History of Deep Learning 21:10 Transformers, Hugging Face & the New Generation 23:28 Beyond Transformers: Mamba & Text Diffusion 26:33 AI in Healthcare: Predicting Parkinson's & Disease 28:32 Preventing Illness Before It Happens 29:57 Personalized Medicine & Tracking Your Own Data 33:17 What Tools to Start With (and Owning Your Data) 38:48 Who Controls Your Data? Privacy & Security 40:15 Turning Data Into Knowledge & Wisdom 43:31 Outsource Your Thinking, Not Your Understanding 45:00 The Future of Search & Personal AI Agents 49:25 How Tony Actually Uses AI (and Why He Avoids Vibe Coding) 53:49 Should an AI Be the CEO? 55:01 Keeping Humans in the Loop 57:01 Are You Optimistic About the Future? 59:20 Risk, Ethics & Learning From Failure 01:02:17 The AI Bubble vs. Real Achievements 01:04:05 Scare Tactics & Job Displacement 01:05:19 AI as a Tool: The Car vs. Horse Analogy 01:07:21 Don't Fear AI — Understand It 01:10:01 Final Takeaway: Adapt to Survive 01:11:23 Closing Subscribe for more conversations like this. Instagram: cesahmiguel 📍 Edmonton, AB