Andrew Paul McAfee

Two MIT Sloan academics have been named to the shortlist for the Thinkers50 Awards. Professor Emilio Castilla has been nominated for the Talent Award and principal research scientist Andrew McAfee for the Future Readiness Award.

"The raw technological horsepower is terrific, but it's not going to determine how quickly A.I. transforms the economy," said principal research scientist Andrew McAfee. "It's not surprising that early A.I. efforts are falling short," he said. "Innovation is a process of failing fairly regularly."

"Going back over 100 years of data, we have never seen wealth created at this size and speed," said principal research scientist Andrew McAfee. "It's unprecedented."

Andrew McAfee joined CNBC for a wide-ranging conversation about the successful results that come from leaning on the "geeks."