"The Cognitive Revolution" | AI Builders, Researchers, and Live Player Analysis

Zvi Mowshowitz, the insightful writer behind the blog Don't Worry About the Vase, dives deep into the current AI landscape. He examines whether AI has reached the level of a college graduate and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of AI versus human intelligence. Zvi also explores the competitive dynamics between major players like OpenAI and Anthropic, the importance of independent red teaming organizations, and the implications of AI alignment. The conversation is rich with analysis, touching on the evolving strategies and ethical considerations in the ever-expanding world of artificial intelligence.

Arthur Conmy, an AI researcher specializing in mechanistic interpretability, joins to unravel the complexities of AI models. They delve into how researchers isolate sub-circuits in transformers and the challenges of understanding genuine reasoning versus statistical patterns. Arthur introduces the ACDC algorithm, aimed at automating interpretability workflows, enhancing the efficiency of identifying critical model components. The conversation highlights the implications of mechanistic interpretability for AI safety and the ongoing need for research in this vital field.

Dr. Ronen Dar, CTO and co-founder of Run:ai, discusses the critical role of GPU optimization for AI in enterprises. He dives into innovations in GPU scheduling and the geopolitical landscape shaping AI chip technology, particularly the competition between major players like NVIDIA and AMD. The conversation also highlights strategies for securing GPU resources amid shortages and the price implications of cloud versus on-premise solutions. Dar's insights reflect the complexities of AI infrastructure and the challenges posed by ongoing geopolitical tensions.

Dive into the world of AI as Nathan Labenz analyzes practical applications of large language models like GPT-4. Explore the transformer architecture and its generalization capabilities while unpacking ongoing debates about the understanding of these models. This insightful discussion aims to equip listeners with advanced concepts in an accessible way, akin to a high school AP course. Don't miss the chance to grasp the latest trends and practical uses of AI!

In this engaging discussion, Div Garg, founder of MULTI·ON and a former PhD student at Stanford, shares insights on creating the world's first personal AI agent. He delves into the innovative browser extension designed to streamline everyday tasks like booking flights and ordering food. Garg explains the architecture behind their AI system and explores the balance between enhancing AI capabilities and ensuring user safety. With exciting visions for memory systems, MULTI·ON seeks to revolutionize how we manage tasks, all while emphasizing user adaptability and feedback.

Nathan Labenz sits down with Zvi Mowshowitz, the writer behind Don't Worry About the Vase.Zvi is an information hyperprocessor who synthesizes vast amounts of new and ever-evolving information into extremely clear summaries that help educated people keep up with the latest news. In this episode, we cover his AI safety worldview, an overview of the AI discourse, and who really matters in the AI debates.We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of JDs, check out: eriktorenberg.com.RECOMMENDED PODCAST:The HR industry is at a crossroads. What will it take to construct the next generation of incredible businesses – and where can people leaders have the most business impact? Hosts Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich have been through it all, the highs and the lows – IPOs, layoffs, executive turnover, board meetings, culture changes, and more. With a lineup of industry vets and experts, Nolan and Kelli break down the nitty-gritty details, trade offs, and dynamics of constructing high performing companies. Through unfiltered conversations that can only happen between seasoned practitioners, Kelli and Nolan dive deep into the kind of leadership-level strategy that often happens behind closed doors. Check out the first episode with the architect of Netflix’s culture deck Patty McCord.https://link.chtbl.com/hrhereticsDo you have questions you want us to answer, topic requests, or guest suggestions for upcoming episodes? Email us at TCR@turpentine.coAlso, be sure to check out our recent release on YouTube: The AI Scouting Report Part 1: The FundamentalsTIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Episode Preview(05:00) Zvi’s Introduction to AI(07:04) Weekly 10,000+ words / Weekly newsletter(12:34) Language models(18:25) AI Worldview(27:30) Probably of Due(33:10) Inspirations for Content(39:00) Audience for Writings(45:25) Impactful figures’ impact(48:55) Path of the river(55:39) Different camps in AI discourse(01:13:55) Acceleration Front Argument(01:20:08) Large Language Models Today(01:27:00) Spendings in AI(01:36:03) Principles / Virtue Ethicism(01:43:30) Human vs Non-human Universe(01:47:32) AI Safety & “Doomers”(02:02:10) Expectations of Human/AI Relationship(02:10:30) Future of Online Laws and Ethics(02:19:10) What do we do next?(02:34:50) Sources for learning(02:42:08) ConclusionLINKS:Don't Worry About the Vase: https://thezvi.substack.com/TWITTER:@labenz (Nathan)@theZvi (Zvi)@eriktorenberg (Erik)@cogrev_podcastSPONSORS:Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. Shopify powers 10% of ALL eCommerce in the US. And Shopify's the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy's, and Brooklinen, and 1,000,000s of other entrepreneurs across 175 countries.From their all-in-one e-commerce platform, to their in-person POS system – wherever and whatever you're selling, Shopify's got you covered. With free Shopify Magic, sell more with less effort by whipping up captivating content that converts – from blog posts to product descriptions using AI. Sign up for $1/month trial period: https://shopify.com/cognitiveThank you Omneky (www.omneky.com) for sponsoring The Cognitive Revolution. Omneky is an omnichannel creative generation platform that lets you launch hundreds of thousands of ad iterations that actually work, customized across all platforms, with a click of a button. Omneky combines generative AI and real-time advertising data. Mention "Cog Rev" for 10% off.MUSIC CREDIT:MusicLM

Dive into the basics of AI with a clear and engaging presentation that breaks down complex concepts for everyone. The speaker shares valuable insights from their experience with Athena, making AI accessible and relatable. Listeners are invited to explore further services while gaining a high school-level understanding of AI fundamentals. It's an eye-opening journey into the core of artificial intelligence!

Hayk Martiros, VP of Autonomy at Skydio, dives into the cutting-edge world of autonomous drones. He discusses Skydio's commitment to non-weaponized technology while emphasizing the advanced AI systems driving their remarkable capabilities. Hayk explores the challenges of integrating drones into industries, painting a picture of their potential in critical inspections and beyond. Additionally, he sheds light on SimForce, an open-source library facilitating robotics advancements, and the important balance between automation and traditional jobs.

Linus Lee, a prolific developer at Notion AI, sits down with Alessio Fanelli and Swyx, co-hosts of Latent Space. They dive into the world of AI and UX design, discussing Linus's role in building an AI/UX community and the challenges of prompt engineering. The conversation shines a light on innovative text augmentation techniques and how Notion integrates AI to enhance user collaboration. They also explore future advancements in writing tools, advocating for a more intuitive human interaction with technology. Tune in for insights that blend creativity with cutting-edge AI!

In a fascinating discussion, Lili Yu, a research scientist at Meta AI, delves into her groundbreaking work on the MEGABYTE architecture, which reimagines data processing by predicting raw bytes and eliminating tokenization. She explains how this innovation enhances efficiency in generative AI and addresses the challenges of processing multimodal data. The conversation also touches on the ethical considerations in AI development and the importance of international collaboration between the U.S. and China in advancing AI research. A truly enlightening exchange!