Slate Daily Feed Slate Money | Money Talks: Battle of the AI Bots
Sep 16, 2025
Gary Rivlin, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of 'AI Valley', shares his insights on the intense competition in the AI landscape. He discusses how tech giants like Microsoft and Google are locked in a trillion-dollar race, and the challenge of acquiring top AI talent in a market rife with 'acquihires'. Rivlin also explores diverse perspectives on AI's impact, from its potential benefits in medicine to concerns around employment and surveillance, emphasizing the urgent need for responsible regulation.
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The Trillion-Dollar AI Race
- AI development is now a multi-trillion-dollar race dominated by major incumbents rather than new startups.
- Reid Hoffman and others saw early that the stakes would dwarf previous tech booms and solidify incumbent advantages.
Compute And Data Create High Entry Barriers
- Training and operating cutting-edge AI models costs hundreds of millions to billions, creating a high barrier to entry.
- Startups struggle to match incumbents because they lack vast data and compute resources like Google's search data.
Inflection AI’s People-First Bot
- Reid Hoffman co-founded Inflection AI to prioritize emotional intelligence and safer, more personable chatbots.
- The resulting bot, Pi, emphasized personality and empathy during conversations.
