Reining in Complexity: Data Science & Future of AI/ML Businesses
a16z Podcast21 Aug 2020

Reining in Complexity: Data Science & Future of AI/ML Businesses

There is no spoon. Or rather, “There is no such thing as ‘data’, there’s just frozen models”, argues Peter Wang, the co-founder and CEO of Anaconda — who also created the PyData conferences and grew the early data science community there, while on the frontlines of trying to make Python useful for business analytics. He views both models and data as fluid, more like metaphysics than typical data management… Or perhaps it’s that when it comes to data, those with a physics background just better appreciate the mind-bending complexity and challenges of reining in the natural world, and therefore get the unique challenges of AI/ML development, observes a16z general partner Martin Casado — whose first job after college involved computational physics simulation and high-performance computing in Python at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. (Wang, meanwhile, graduated in physics.)

But this not just a philosophical question — the answer has real implications for the margins, organizational structures, and building of AI/ML businesses. Especially as we’re in a tricky time of transition, where customers don’t even know what they’re asking for, yet are looking for AI/ML help or know it’s the future. So what does this all mean for the software value chain; for open source collaboration and commodification; and for the future of software businesses? After all, it’s not written in stone that “All information systems must be deconstructed into hardware, and software, and data” and that “software must have these margins”… Will there be a new type of company?

image: Pawel Loj / Wikimedia Commons

Episoder(904)

a16z Podcast: Engineering a Revolution at Work

a16z Podcast: Engineering a Revolution at Work

From file cabinets to typewriters, spreadsheets and word processing the tools we use for work change not only what we do, but the culture of our workplace. Steven Sinofsky, a veteran of building software tools for productivity, discusses the latest revolution in technology-enabled tools with Benedict Evans. Why today’s cloud-based tools change the role of managers, and why the perfect tool will never exist (nor would you want it to).

10 Apr 201423min

a16z Podcast: China and Tech

a16z Podcast: China and Tech

China has been a tough market to crack for U.S. internet companies. One of the key reasons is China has its own crop of hugely successful and highly innovative companies. Andreessen Horowitz’s Chris Dixon, Connie Chan and Benedict Evans highlight the key players in China, and what non-Chinese companies can learn from them. Where Chinese companies and money are headed next.

30 Mar 201417min

a16z Podcast: Oculus and the (Mind-Blowing) Reality of Virtual Reality

a16z Podcast: Oculus and the (Mind-Blowing) Reality of Virtual Reality

Up until now virtual reality has been a disappointment for all those people pining for their own personal holodeck. But advances in the components required to create a truly immersive digital 3D experience have finally broken through much of what has been holding virtual reality back. As a consequence, Oculus VR is building something that is nothing short of a new medium. Andreessen Horowitz’s Chris Dixon, Balaji Srinivasan and Gil Shafir discuss the present and future potential of virtual reality. Take heart, the holodeck can’t be far away now.

28 Mar 201412min

a16z Podcast: The Rise of Full Stack Startups

a16z Podcast: The Rise of Full Stack Startups

Suppose you develop a new technology that is valuable to some industry. The old approach was to sell or license your technology to the existing companies in that industry. The new approach is to build a complete, end-to-end product or service that bypasses existing companies. Andreessen Horowitz’s Chris Dixon, Balaji Srinivasan and Benedict Evans discuss the reasons behind, and advantages of, going “full stack.”

27 Mar 201418min

a16z Podcast: Searching for Mobile’s Own PageRank

a16z Podcast: Searching for Mobile’s Own PageRank

The mobile experience is still in its 1995 Yahoo phase, a sea of apps and websites without an easy way to find what you want and need on your smartphone. What will be mobile’s version of PageRank, the algorithm that made the web manageable? What is the interaction model and the form - app, card, URL – that will help us find, explore and engage with people, products and services from our mobile devices? Andreessen Horowitz’s Chris Dixon, Benedict Evans and Balaji Srinivasan delve into the options.

24 Mar 201412min

a16z Podcast: Where is the Technology That "Matters?" Right Here

a16z Podcast: Where is the Technology That "Matters?" Right Here

There is a recurring theme that the tech industry is busy cranking out fluffy social apps rather than hardcore technology. Not the case, say Chris Dixon, Benedict Evans and Balaji Srinivasan. Not only are tech entrepreneurs going after the deficiencies in healthcare, transportation, finance, energy - you name it - with new approaches riding on top of sophisticated technologies, what looks like fluff today often wields some serious influence tomorrow.

21 Mar 201414min

a16z Podcast: The State of the Bitcoin Ecosystem, and a Theory on Satoshi

a16z Podcast: The State of the Bitcoin Ecosystem, and a Theory on Satoshi

Andreessen Horowitz's Chris Dixon and Balaji Srinivasan discuss the state of the Bitcoin ecosystem now that the Mt. Gox dust has settled. What's next in crypto-currency, and a theory on Bitcoin creator Satoshi (not Dorian) Nakamoto.

20 Mar 201415min

a16z Podcast: Apple and Google Won the Mobile OS War, But a New War Has Already Begun

a16z Podcast: Apple and Google Won the Mobile OS War, But a New War Has Already Begun

Apple and Google won the mobile OS war, but the next war – to build big businesses on top of Android and iOS – is just beginning. Andreessen Horowitz Partner Benedict Evans untangles what the next phase of mobile means for entrepreneurs, Apple and Google's competitors, and consumers eager for the next great gadget.

13 Mar 201427min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

stopp-verden
dine-penger-pengeradet
e24-podden
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
finansredaksjonen
utbytte
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
pengepodden-2
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
pengesnakk
aksjesladder
rss-sunn-okonomi
lederpodden
nordnet-norge
okonomiamatorene
stormkast-med-valebrokk-stordalen
shifter
rss-impressions-2