Around the Prompt

In this conversation, Simon Willison discusses the intersection of AI, Open Source, and journalism, emphasizing the importance of tools like Dataset in enhancing data journalism. He reflects on his journey from developing Django to his current work with AI, highlighting the role of open source in software development. Willison shares insights on how AI can augment human capabilities rather than replace them, and he expresses concerns about the future of AI, particularly regarding AGI. The discussion also touches on the evolving landscape of programming and the need for better onboarding processes for new developers.

Join Logan Kilpatrick and Nolan Fortman for a discussion with Shreya Rajpal that covers the inception and evolution of Guardrails, a tool designed to enhance reliability in AI applications. She emphasizes the importance of AI validation, the challenges of moving from proof of concept to production, and the organizational buy-in required for implementing such tools. The discussion also touches on the role of open source in AI development, the competitive advantages it provides, and the parallels between self-driving technology and AI systems. Shreya shares insights on real-world use cases, the introduction of Guardrail Server, and the future of AI regulation, highlighting the need for benchmarks and the importance of understanding the risks associated with generative AI. A few of our favorite

Sound Bites: "Guardrails started as a form of building reliability." "AI development is very much like traditional software development." "The long tail is brutal in machine learning."

Join Logan and Nolan in a deep dive into the world of AI coding with Quinn Slack, the CEO of Sourcegraph. Sourcegraph was founded in 2013 with the goal of solving the problem of code search. The founders, who had experience working with massive code bases, wanted to create a code search tool similar to Google for code. They started by building code search as their first product and made mistakes along the way, but ultimately built a product that many developers love. Over time, Sourcegraph expanded to include intelligent automation and AI capabilities. They believe that the future of code search and AI in coding is a unified platform that combines search, chat, and AI capabilities. The conversation explores the potential impact of AI on coding and software development. Quinn Slack discusses how AI can empower non-technical individuals to code and create software solutions. He emphasizes the importance of making AI tools work manually before introducing automation. The conversation also touches on the challenges of building AI interfaces and the need for context integration from various tools. Quinn expresses his hope for the continued development of local models and competition in the AI space.

Highlights: "We wanted to have some kind of code search like Google for code." "Search and AI chat really blur together. From the user's perspective, what they want is a box that they can type shit into and it solves their problems." "GitHub has the world's code. Why would we want to compete against GitHub? And I think now they're actually seeing a bunch of sort of co-pilot level competitors." "I think you're going to see that increase... we could have everyone coding or at least conjuring up code." "You got to make it work manually first before you introduce any kind of magic." "It is very likely that we'll end up with like many... one person billion dollar companies."

Andrew Mayne shares his non-traditional journey into AI, from being a magician and illusionist to becoming a science communicator at OpenAI. He discusses his early experiences with AI as a child, his interest in robotics and AI, and his fascination with chatbots. Andrew also talks about his experience using AI to deceive great white sharks and how it led him to explore the capabilities of text models like GPT-2 and GPT-3. He emphasizes the importance of prompt engineering and the need to carefully craft prompts to get desired outputs from the models. Andrew Mayne emphasizes the importance of having a clear idea of the desired output and breaking down complex tasks into manageable steps. He shares his experience in teaching magic tricks and how it helped him in prompt engineering. Mayne discusses the evolution of prompt engineering and the challenges and hype surrounding it. He also talks about his personal tech stack and the tools he uses for writing, coding, and research. Mayne expresses his excitement about the accessibility of AI models and the potential impact of AI in education. He also discusses his concerns about deep fakes and the need for trust and authentication in communication.

In this episode, Logan and Nolan dive deep into building AI product's with Marily Nika, a lead product manager at Google. We explore how AI on its own is not a product. AI product managers act as a bridge between AI and user needs. The role of AI product managers is to solve the right problems for users by leveraging AI capabilities. The demand for AI product managers is increasing, with companies like Anthropic and OpenAI actively hiring for these roles. AI product managers need to be comfortable with technology and have a good understanding of AI concepts and options. They also need to collaborate with scientists and engineers to make informed decisions about technical approaches. And much more!

In this conversation, Ben discusses the intersection of low/no code tools and AI. He shares his experience in the low/no code space and how it relates to the current trends in large language models (LLMs) and AI. Ben highlights the democratization of software development and the ability for non-technical founders to build functional products using low/no code tools. He also explores the suitability of different industries for low/no code tools and the potential for AI integration. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the creation of MakerPad using low/no code tools and the benefits it offers to individuals without coding experience. Ben Tossell discusses his journey of building Makerpad, a tutorial platform for no-code tools, and its acquisition by Zapier. He shares his transition to a lifestyle business and the launch of Ben's Bites, an AI-focused newsletter. Ben also talks about his investments in AI startups and the challenges startups face when competing with large organizations. He highlights exciting companies in the AI space.

Join Logan Kilpatrick and Nolan Fortman as we dive deep into how having an AI-first mindset is one of the key enablers for the broad adoption of AI. Conor has trained hundreds of thousands of people to use AI and currently serves as the head of generative AI at NYU Stern. Takeaways - Stay out of the AI bubble and understand how people outside of the tech industry think. - Simplify technical terms and focus on real-life applications when explaining AI to non-technical individuals. - Grennan's AI productivity stack includes tools like perplexity and fine-tuned models. - He is excited about the personalization capabilities of AI and its potential to transform content creation. - Grennan expresses concern about the challenges posed by deepfakes and the need to educate vulnerable populations about AI. Demystifying AI is crucial for successful implementation, and leadership and culture play a significant role in this process. - Non-technical backgrounds can provide an advantage in understanding the potential of AI and breaking down preconceived notions. - Staying informed about AI requires reading newsletters, listening to podcasts, and following experts on platforms like Twitter. - AI implementation in academia faces challenges, but faculty can adapt their teaching methods to incorporate AI effectively. - Small teams and organizations with a strong learning and trust culture tend to see tangible returns from AI implementation. - Integrating AI in organizations requires reframing the mindset and setting new benchmarks for productivity and quality.

Jerry is the CEO of Gradual, a community platform, and is seeing the front line of how AI is effecting both online and in-person communities. We are in uncharted waters and in this conversation, we explore how AI might impact these communities, why AI could lead to more sustainable online spaces of gathering, and much more. Summary Gradual was born out of the ELC community, a community of engineer leaders. Gradual started as an internal tool for the community but eventually became its own product. The platform uses AI to provide personalized and timely experiences for community members. AI enables knowledge sharing and retrieval, making it easier for community members to find the information they need. Gradual is used by both established organizations and emerging companies to build and grow their communities. The platform empowers local moderators and volunteers, and helps companies organize and support external contributors. Gradual aims to create a unified experience for community members and is working on building a community of communities on its platform. The conversation explores the changing needs of communities over time and the impact of AI tools on community interactions. It also discusses the shift in community engagement during the pandemic and the importance of in-person connections. The conversation highlights the value of post-event engagement and the role of Gradual in facilitating ongoing community conversations. It touches on the future of community building, the potential of AI-powered virtual moderators, and the need for companies to invest in community. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the positive and negative impacts of AI in community building.

Join Logan Kilpatrick and Nolan Fortman as we dive deep into the future of AI Agents, how they will affect businesses, developers, and the world. Yohei is one of the deepest thinkers in the world of AI agents, as the creator of Baby AGI and the backer of many companies in the agent space. I hope you all enjoy this conversation as much as Nolan and I did.

Takeaways

- Building AI tools for venture capital can provide value to founders and investors.

- The future of AI in venture capital lies in the development of autonomous agents and the integration of AI into VC workflows.

- Verticalized AI solutions can capture value quickly by addressing specific tasks and industries. - The adoption of AI in organizations requires a mindset shift and a focus on empowering employees rather than replacing them.

- The AI landscape is constantly evolving, and there is still much to be explored and developed. Location can have an impact on attending events and the fear of missing out (FOMO). Being in a different location can provide a different perspective and prevent exhaustion from attending too many events.

- Vector databases play a crucial role in enabling AI applications, particularly in semantic search. There is a growing number of companies providing vector database solutions, but there is still room for improvement in fine-tuning embeddings for specific use cases.

- Knowledge graphs were gaining traction before the rise of large language models. However, there is potential for knowledge graphs to be integrated with AI and solve complex problems.

- The decision to go open source or closed source depends on various factors, including the team's unique strengths, target market, and business goals. It is a strategic decision that reflects the values and philosophy of the company.

- Building in public can be a strategic decision that aligns with a company's values and philosophy. It can help gain attention, work with other developers, and establish credibility.

- There is a mix of experienced founders and new founders in the AI space. Both have their advantages, with experienced founders bringing valuable expertise and new founders bringing fresh and innovative ideas.

- Yohei expresses optimism for the future of AI and technology, hoping to see advancements in autonomous agents, knowledge graphs, and passive AI. He looks forward to the progress and exciting ideas that will emerge in the coming years.

Join Logan Kilpatrick and Nolan Fortman as we dive into a conversation with Jeremy Howard on: - Why Jeremy created a new startup AswerAI - Why fine-tuning is still underrated - How attracting the world's best AI talent requires global and remote hiring - What the future for FastAI will look like - Building AI community And so much more. This was an immensely inspiring and thoughtful conversation that Nolan and I are excited to bring to the world. We will be sharing many more of these conversations under the "Around the Prompt" umbrella, stay tuned!