The Data Stack Show 250: The Chat Interface Debate: Is Text Really the Future?
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Jun 25, 2025 
This week’s guest is Matt, known as the Cynical Data Guy, who dives deep into the world of data, AI, and tech trends. He critically explores the debate over chat interfaces versus dashboards, advocating for user engagement improvements. The discussion introduces 'vibe revenue' as a fresh growth metric and reflects on the unpredictable evolution of AI and hardware. Matt also shares insights on the enduring relevance of SQL and the skepticism around new social networks, emphasizing authentic connections over AI-driven ones.
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Chat vs. Dashboard Interfaces
- Chat interfaces are not always the future; deterministic dashboards can offer more consistent, efficient results.
- Users often want to compare multiple data points at once rather than asking sequential questions.
AI's Early Stage Uncertainty
- AI is in its early days akin to the early internet's dial-up era, making its future hard to predict.
- Like the internet, AI's impact will be cool, scary, and unexpected, not a straight-line progression.
AI Hardware Collaboration Challenges
- OpenAI is collaborating with a leading hardware designer to develop AI hardware, but details remain scarce.
- Hardware development is challenging, requiring expertise, capital, and time, which many software-first companies lack.