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E23: Emad Mostaque and Sam Lessin Debate Whether AI is a Good Investment for VC

E23: Emad Mostaque and Sam Lessin Debate Whether AI is a Good Investment for VC

From"Upstream" with Erik Torenberg


E23: Emad Mostaque and Sam Lessin Debate Whether AI is a Good Investment for VC

From"Upstream" with Erik Torenberg

ratings:
Length:
60 minutes
Released:
Sep 1, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

Erik Torenberg sits down with Emad Mostaque, founder of Stability AI, and Sam Lessin, GP of Slow Ventures and former VP Product at Facebook to debate how paradigm shifting AI will be for the different sectors of the global economy, and whether AI is actually a good investment for Venture Capital. These influential technology thinkers tackle the attention and information economy, SaaS markets, how AI-created entertainment will impact society and our relationships, and AI disruption of highly-regulated industries in a fast paced debate, moderated by Erik and The Cognitive Revolution AI podcast host Nathan Labenz. If you are interested to hear more of Sam Lessin’s unorthodox views on venture bets, head over to Turpentine VC and listen to a longer, even spicier conversation with him released this week:
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/sam-lessin-on-why-seed-and-the-factory-system-era/id1701006772?i=1000626099392
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7dSK4t8S9IwYqUWSvURMGa?si=FHErS037SVSUGLS1UfhzTg

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TOPICS DISCUSSED:
AI as an extender rather than a deck shuffler
 Is AI a disruptive or sustaining innovation? 
What is intelligence?
The attention and information economy
Storytelling, the stock market, and the economy
Sponsors: Mercury, NetSuite
AI in the media industry, Hollywood, and distribution
Startups vs incumbents
Disrupting highly-regulated industries
AI in education: an AI tutor for every child
AI as StackOverflow 2.0 for engineers
Regulatory Arbitrage
The oracle problem in AI
Apple as the weakest BigTech player in AI
AI in communities and the future of social media
Replika on Valentine’s Day and AI-generated porn
How does the market for inference shape up? Inference vs. cloud
Price of primary care in US in the next decade
What are the most likely incumbents to be disrupted?
Will BigTech continue to opensource? 
Marriage rate in US in the future given AI
Can any AI leader sustain high gross margins in the future?
Stability’s business model

X / Twitter
@EMostaque (Emad)
@Lessin (Sam)
@CogRev_Podcast
@labenz (Nathan)
@eriktorenberg (Erik)

SPONSORS: Mercury | NetSuite
Looking to give your startup a competitive edge? Meet Mercury: https://mercury.com/
Mercury is banking for ambitious companies—a modern partner that can provide you with the tools and resources you need to turn your startup into the best version of itself. It’s software built to help you scale, with safety and stability, when you need to — whether you're a team of two, or a team of 1,000. Join more than 100,000 startups on Mercury, the powerful and intuitive way for ambitious companies to bank. Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by Choice Financial Group and involve bank and trust members FDIC.

NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform head to NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/upstream and download your own customized KPI checklist.
Released:
Sep 1, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (60)

Upstream is where host Erik Torenberg goes deeper with the world's most interesting thinkers to map the constellation of ideas that matter across tech, culture, and politics. Ask yourself, what’s upstream of what you believe? On this season of Upstream, you'll hear from Marc Andreessen, David Sacks, Balaji Srinivasan, Ezra Klein, Joe Lonsdale, Katherine Boyle, and more.