Newcomer Podcast

Reid Hoffman and Vinod Khosla discuss AI governance, OpenAI-Microsoft partnership, AI investment priorities, and the risks of OpenAI. They explore immigration, China, and TikTok debates, as well as the importance of political contributions and AI regulation.

Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi and MosaicML Founder Naveen Rao discuss the $1.3 billion acquisition of MosaicML. They explore the importance of considering economics, the risks of highly intelligent AI models, trade-offs in AI company budgeting and IPOs, and insights on successful deal making.

The podcast hosts have a draft to amass five artificial intelligence startups with the biggest valuation in five years. They discuss the selection criteria and their picks, including AI 21 labs and Repplet. They explore the potential impact of AI on software engineering and choose Mistral AI as their final pick.

Chris Miller, author of Chip War, discusses the rise of Nvidia and their role in generative AI. The episode also explores how big tech companies are trying to fend off AI startups. They discuss the importance of developer relations, Facebook's role in democratizing AI, concerns about open source models, attitudes towards open source, and the significance of chips in AI and the concentration of chip production.

AI in daily life and its application in autonomous vehicles. Integrated development, chat GPT and its usage in parenting assistance. The journey of starting Do Not Pay and AI fighting for consumer rights. Exploring AI intelligence, legal compliance, and helping consumers. AI capabilities and limitations, concerns of creators and writers, and the potential of multimodal AI with GPT-4v.

Amy Wu and Keith Kawahata, experts in AI gaming investments, discuss how artificial intelligence could reshape the media we consume, focusing on gaming. They explore topics such as advancements in voice synthesis technology, licensed image generation tools, the commoditization of foundation models, the decline of the movie business, the intersection of AI and gaming, advancements in AI NPCs in video games, and the applications of AI language models.

Science fiction author Daniel H. Wilson joins the hosts to discuss the potential dangers of artificial intelligence. They explore how AI could turn dystopian and debate whether humans will remain in control. They also touch on the limitations of AI technology and the plausibility of dystopian storytelling. The chapter ends with a discussion on interacting with AI and the potential end of humanity.

The podcast explores the rise of generative artificial intelligence and its impact on Silicon Valley. It discusses the evolution and milestones of AI, advancements in language models, limitations of AI models, predicting life in 2028, the impact of AI on various aspects of life, and the creative capabilities of AI.

Top Silicon Valley entrepreneurs discuss life extension. James Peyer acquires majority stakes in drugs for broader use. Celine Halioua develops drugs to make dogs live longer. They explore pharmacological interventions, different categories of innovations, and the impact of influential individuals like Brian Johnson. The podcast also highlights personal health experimentation and evidence-based practices for maximizing health.

Chris Lehane was once the consummate Democratic spin man and campaign wonk. He introduced the world to the vast right-wing conspiracy against the Clintons. In 2015, Lehane dove into the high-growth startup world. He joined Airbnb to run policy and communications. He taught the home sharing company how to fight nicely with cities, dishing out data and tax cooperation in exchange for favorable local regulations. Unlike Uber’s confrontational approach that had it going to war with Bill de Blasio in New York City, Airbnb tried to foster a cozy relationship with urban policymakers.Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky and President Barack Obama built a tight relationship. A year ago, just as the crypto winter was starting, Lehane joined Katie Haun’s self-named venture fund, which had raised $1.5 billion. Haun Ventures positioned itself as a leader in regulation, policy, and communications. Haun is a former assistant U.S. attorney. Rachael Horwitz, the firm’s chief marketing officer, once ran communications for Coinbase. And Lehane brought the political experience, especially with Democrats. But there’s only so much one firm can do to change crypto’s reputation in Washington, especially with Democrats. Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, had become the crypto world’s standard bearer with Democrats, donating to their campaigns and speaking to their values. Then when Bankman-Fried’s empire unraveled and he headed to jail, many Democrats grew disillusioned with crypto. This year, two Republican-led House committees moved forward crypto-friendly legislation that would clarify the regulation of crypto currencies and give the Commodities Futures Trading Commission more power to regulate crypto (denying the SEC some of that power). Meanwhile, the Biden appointed SEC chair Gary Gensler has sued crypto exchange Coinbase and Binance for failing to register their exchanges with the SEC. I invited Lehane on the Newcomer podcast to take stock of crypto’s status in Washington. We talked about the bills working their way through Congress, the SEC lawsuits, and the crypto winter. Lehane and I also talked about how he believed that America needed to embrace a “common sector” that served as a hybrid between government regulation and corporate self-regulation. Think Airbnb data sharing with cities or Facebook’s oversight board. We also commiserated over co-existing with Silicon Valley Republicans in the MAGA era. Get full access to Newcomer at www.newcomer.co/subscribe