Complex Systems with Patrick McKenzie (patio11) The AI infrastructure stack with Jennifer Li, a16z
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Jun 26, 2025 Jennifer Li, a general partner at a16z, dives into the evolving landscape of AI infrastructure, emphasizing the demands of AI workloads. She discusses the split between language models and diffusion models, and how this impacts the tech ecosystem. Jennifer highlights innovations in reinforcement learning environments and the evolving API economy, predicting a surge in demand as agents reshape software interactions. She also addresses the future of observability and the rise of self-healing systems, promising exciting advancements in IT resilience.
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AI Infrastructure Shifts Modalities
- AI workloads demand major infrastructure changes, especially between language and diffusion models.
- Diffusion models require optimized low latency and high throughput for creative multimedia delivery.
Balancing Cloud and Edge Compute
- Compute balancing between cloud and local devices is actively researched for optimal AI experiences.
- Cloud handles central planning; devices can run distilled models for faster user interactions.
Layer Models for Cost Efficiency
- Use layered AI models: smaller models for deterministic tasks, large models for reasoning.
- Pre-process documents with specialized ML before leveraging expensive large language models.