Sign up to get updates from us
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.
In this episode of Upstream, Emad Mostaque, founder of Stability AI, and Sam Lessin, GP of Slow Ventures and former VP Product at Facebook, discuss how paradigm shifting AI will be for different sectors of the global economy, whether startups or incumbents have the edge, and whether AI is actually a good investment for Venture Capital. Topics covered in this debate span: the attention and information economy, SaaS markets, how AI-created entertainment will impact society and our relationships, porn, and AI disruption of highly-regulated industries. Erik Torenberg and The Cognitive Revolution AI podcast host Nathan Labenz serve as moderators, asking questions towards the end. We're proudly sponsored by Vanta. Get $1000 off Vanta with https://www.vanta.com/zen
--
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:
--
SPONSORS: MERCURY | VANTA | 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.
--
Compliance doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, with Vanta it can be super simple. Vanta automates the pricey, time-consuming process of prepping for SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and more. With Vanta, you can save up to 400 hours and 85% of costs. Vanta scales with your business, helping you successfully enter new markets, land bigger deals, and earn customer loyalty. Bonus? Upstream listeners get $1000 off Vanta. Just go to https://www.vanta.com/zen
--
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.
--
X / Twitter
@EMostaque (Emad)
@Lessin (Sam)
@CogRev_Podcast
@labenz (Nathan)
@eriktorenberg (Erik)
--
TOPICS DISCUSSED:
(01:00) Episode Preview
(03:20) AI as an extender rather than a deck shuffler
(07:45) Is AI a disruptive or sustaining innovation?
(09:13) What is intelligence?
(11:47) The attention and information economy
(16:43) Storytelling, the stock market, and the economy
(18:13) Sponsors: Mercury, Vanta, NetSuite
(25:30) Startups vs incumbents
(27:40) Disrupting highly-regulated industries
(28:47) AI in education: an AI tutor for every child
(31:40) AI as StackOverflow 2.0 for engineers
(33:45) Regulatory Arbitrage
(36:20) The oracle problem
(38:00) Apple as the weakest live player in AI
(42:15) AI in communities and the future of social media
(43:00) Replika on Valentine’s Day and AI-generated porn
(50:10) How does the market for inference shape up? Inference vs. cloud
(52:30) What are the most likely incumbents to be disrupted?
(53:25) Will big tech continue to opensource?
(55:30) Birth rate in US in the future given AI
(57:00) Can any AI leader sustain high gross margins in the future?
(58:00) Stability’s business model
