Nabla executive Alex LeBrun discusses ‘world model’ AI as an alternative to large language models

Brittany Trang of STAT’s AI Prognosis newsletter interviewed Alex LeBrun, the executive chairman of AI scribe company Nabla, to explore a concept called a “world model.”

LeBrun described a world model as a system that builds an internal representation of its environment, allowing it to predict outcomes without relying on the massive text datasets that power typical large language models.

The conversation also touched on growing concerns about privacy, noting that people are increasingly recording everyday interactions without consent, a trend highlighted by recent media coverage.

The interview is part of a subscriber‑only feature on STAT+, requiring a paid subscription to access the full content.