Intro

This chapter examines the foundational aspects of AI systems and the evolution of reasoning within the technology. It also discusses the reliability challenges of AI outputs in enterprise environments and highlights AI21 Labs' innovative approaches to developing large language models.

Transcript

chevron_right

Play full episode

chevron_right

Transcript

Episode notes

In this episode of AI Basics, Jason sits down with Yoav Shoham — Stanford professor emeritus and co-founder of AI21 Labs, creators of Jurassic-2, Wordtune, and the new orchestration system Maestro.

They unpack:

Why enterprise AI struggles with reliability
What orchestration really means (and why LLMs alone aren't enough)
The pitfalls of “agent-washing”
Small vs large models, agent-to-agent protocols, and where real opportunities lie

This one is for founders building with AI — if you're navigating hallucinations, chasing automation, or exploring multi-agent workflows, this episode is a must.

Timestamps:

(0:00) Yoav Shoham joins Jason to discuss AI Basics.

(1:05) What AI21 Labs is building — from Jurassic-2 to Maestro

(5:49) The overuse and confusion of the seductive term “agent”

(8:22) Small models vs large models: what's best for enterprise?

(10:53) The verticalization of AI: legal, accounting, and beyond

(12:17) The challenge of agent-to-agent communication and shared semantics

(17:08) What’s overhyped vs underhyped in AI — Yoav’s advice for founders

Uncover more valuable insights from AI leaders in Google Cloud's 'Future of AI: Perspectives for Startups' report.

https://goo.gle/futureofai

Explore Further

Google Cloud’s Report: The Future of AI