No Priors: Artificial Intelligence | Technology | Startups
Conviction
At this moment of inflection in technology, co-hosts Elad Gil and Sarah Guo talk to the world's leading AI engineers, researchers and founders about the biggest questions: How far away is AGI? What markets are at risk for disruption? How will commerce, culture, and society change? What’s happening in state-of-the-art in research? “No Priors” is your guide to the AI revolution. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com.Sarah Guo is a startup investor and the founder of Conviction, an investment firm purpose-built to serve intelligent software, or "Software 3.0" companies. She spent nearly a decade incubating and investing at venture firm Greylock Partners.Elad Gil is a serial entrepreneur and a startup investor. He was co-founder of Color Health, Mixer Labs (which was acquired by Twitter). He has invested in over 40 companies now worth $1B or more each, and is also author of the High Growth Handbook.
Episodes
Mentioned books
59 snips
Mar 5, 2025 • 36min
National Security Strategy and AI Evals on the Eve of Superintelligence with Dan Hendrycks
Dan Hendrycks, the Director of the Center for AI Safety and an advisor to xAI and Scale AI, discusses crucial topics around AI's risks. He highlights the stark difference between alignment and safety in AI, underscoring its implications for national security. The potential weaponization of AI is explored, along with strategies like 'mutually assured AI malfunction.' Dan also advocates for policy measures to govern AI development and the need for international cooperation in mitigating risks. His insights reveal the urgency of managing AI’s dual-use nature.
113 snips
Feb 27, 2025 • 41min
Building the Platform for Scientific Breakthrough, with Noubar Afeyan of Moderna and Flagship Pioneering
Noubar Afeyan, Co-founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering and a key figure behind Moderna, shares his insights on fostering scientific breakthroughs. He discusses the challenges of navigating regulatory terrain and the urgency of innovation in healthcare. Noubar explores the vital role of AI in medicine and reflects on lessons learned from pandemic responses. He introduces his innovative concept of polyintelligence, emphasizing collaboration between human, nature, and machine intelligence for future discoveries.
69 snips
Feb 25, 2025 • 58min
Virtual Cell Models, Tahoe-100 and Data for AI-in-Bio with Vevo Therapeutics and the Arc Institute
In this engaging discussion, Nima Alidoust, CEO of Vevo Therapeutics, and Patrick Hsu, CEO of the Arc Institute, dive into the revolutionary Tahoe-100M dataset that is reshaping drug discovery. They explore the fascinating potential of virtual cell models and AI in understanding disease behaviors at a cellular level. The conversation highlights challenges in data collection and the critical need for high-quality datasets in biomedical research. They also discuss the importance of open-sourcing data to foster collaboration and innovation in the biotech field.
78 snips
Feb 20, 2025 • 38min
Building Hard Tech in Hard Markets: Kyle Vogt on Cruise, Twitch, and The Bot Company
Kyle Vogt, a serial entrepreneur known for co-founding Twitch and Cruise, now leads The Bot Company, focusing on AI-driven home robotics. In this conversation, he discusses the journey of building transformative tech and the challenges of scaling autonomous systems. Vogt believes home robots are the next frontier and draws parallels between autonomous vehicles and robotics. He also addresses consumer skepticism, the differences in U.S. and Chinese manufacturing practices, and the regulatory needs to bolster a competitive domestic robotics industry.
635 snips
Feb 14, 2025 • 50min
How Harvey AI is Changing the Legal Industry with Winston Weinberg
Winston Weinberg, Co-founder and CEO of Harvey, dives into how AI is revolutionizing the legal industry. He shares insights on building user-friendly AI platforms that improve legal workflows and address skepticism around automation. Winston discusses the vital role of collaboration with established firms and offers advice for aspiring founders navigating the AI landscape. He reflects on challenges, product evolution, and the transformative impact of AI on cost-efficiency in legal practices, while predicting future trends in this rapidly evolving sector.
206 snips
Feb 7, 2025 • 23min
DeepSeek, Deep Research, and 2025 Predictions with Sarah and Elad
The hosts delve into the launch of DeepSeek, an innovative open-source AI model, exploring its low costs and market dynamics. They discuss the commoditization of AI models and the implications of emerging synthetic data technologies. The conversation shifts to bold predictions for 2025, covering advancements in autonomous vehicles, self-driving technology, and new AI applications. They also highlight the evolving role of AI in content creation and the integration of reasoning models in tech solutions, hinting at exciting breakthroughs on the horizon.
41 snips
Jan 30, 2025 • 27min
Rick Caruso on LA’s Wildfires, Policy Failures, and the Path Forward
Rick Caruso, an LA real estate developer and former mayoral candidate, shares his insights on the systemic failures that led to devastating wildfires in January 2025. He discusses how he fortified his properties against disasters and emphasizes the need for resilient infrastructure. The conversation also touches on California's water management issues, rising crime, and the importance of effectively allocating state resources. Caruso advocates for innovative rebuilding strategies to better prepare for future emergencies and improve community safety.
31 snips
Jan 23, 2025 • 38min
What Can We Do About Wildfires? With Convective Capital’s Bill Clerico
In this engaging discussion, Bill Clerico, founder of Convective Capital and former CEO of WePay, shares his expertise on wildfire mitigation and climate resilience. He delves into the reasons behind the worsening wildfires, emphasizing outdated building codes and underfunded utilities. Bill highlights cutting-edge firefighting technologies, such as drones and advanced detection systems. The conversation also uncovers necessary policy reforms and presents actionable steps homeowners, insurance companies, and governments can take to combat this growing threat.
172 snips
Jan 16, 2025 • 30min
How AI Agents Are Transforming Customer Support, with Decagon’s Jesse Zhang
Jesse Zhang, co-founder and CEO of Decagon, discusses groundbreaking advancements in AI-powered customer support. He shares insights on the business impact of adopting AI agents, emphasizing improvements in efficiency and customer satisfaction. The conversation dives into the significance of voice-based interactions and the challenges of latency. Additionally, Jesse highlights the crossover between competitive math communities and AI startups, showcasing how this unique background fosters innovation in the tech landscape.
132 snips
Jan 9, 2025 • 24min
Erik Bernhardsson on Creating Tools That Make AI Feel Effortless
In a lively conversation, Erik Bernhardsson, founder and CEO of Modal Labs and former Spotify ML lead, unveils his journey into simplifying ML workflows. He discusses the shift to serverless AI infrastructures and the importance of flexible GPU resource management. Erik emphasizes the balance between training custom models and using off-the-shelf solutions. He also highlights AI's revolutionary influence across coding, physics, and music, underscoring the need for innovative data storage approaches in the AI era.
