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

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

--

Please support our sponsors: Beehiiv | Shopify | Mercury | Vanta

Head to Beehiiv, the newsletter platform built for growth, to power your own. Connect with premium brands, scale your audience, and deliver a beautiful UX that stands out in an inbox. 🐝to https://Beehiiv.com and use code "UPSTREAM" for 20% off your first three months.

Shopify: https://shopify.com/torenberg for a $1/month trial period

Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. Shopify powers 10% of all ecommerce in the US. And Shopify's the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy's, and Brooklinen, and 1,000,000s of other entrepreneurs across 175 countries. From their all-in-one ecommerce platform, to their in-person POS system – wherever and whatever you're selling, Shopify's got you covered. Sign up for $1/month trial period: https://shopify.com/torenberg.

--

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

--

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