How Foundation Models Evolved: A PhD Journey Through AI's Breakthrough Era
AI + a16z18 Marras 2025

How Foundation Models Evolved: A PhD Journey Through AI's Breakthrough Era

The Stanford PhD who built DSPy thought he was just creating better prompts—until he realized he'd accidentally invented a new paradigm that makes LLMs actually programmable.

While everyone obsesses over whether LLMs will get us to AGI, Omar Khattab is solving a more urgent problem: the gap between what you want AI to do and your ability to tell it, the absence of a real programming language for intent. He argues the entire field has been approaching this backwards, treating natural language prompts as the interface when we actually need something between imperative code and pure English, and the implications could determine whether AI systems remain unpredictable black boxes or become the reliable infrastructure layer everyone's betting on.

Follow Omar Khattab on X: https://x.com/lateinteraction

Follow Martin Casado on X: https://x.com/martin_casado

Check out everything a16z is doing with artificial intelligence here, including articles, projects, and more podcasts.

Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jaksot(94)

Why We Need Continual Learning

Why We Need Continual Learning

Elena Burger speaks with Malika Aubakirova, partner on the AI infrastructure team at a16z, about why today’s AI systems struggle to learn over time. They discuss the limits of in-context learning, the...

28 Huhti 18min

The Agent Era: Building Software Beyond Chat with Box CEO Aaron Levie

The Agent Era: Building Software Beyond Chat with Box CEO Aaron Levie

Erik Torenberg, Steve Sinofsky, and Martin Casado speak to Aaron Levie, CEO at Box, about what happens to enterprise software when agents become the primary users. They discuss why coding agents succe...

21 Huhti 59min

Rethinking Git for the Age of Coding Agents with GitHub Cofounder Scott Chacon

Rethinking Git for the Age of Coding Agents with GitHub Cofounder Scott Chacon

Matt Bornstein speaks with Scott Chacon, cofounder of GitHub and CEO of GitButler, about why Git's user interface has barely changed since 2005, how GitButler is rethinking version control for both hu...

8 Huhti 47min

How AI Is Reshaping IT Services from the Inside

How AI Is Reshaping IT Services from the Inside

Joe Schmidt speaks with Peter Doyle, CEO of Treeline, about why the $100B managed service provider market is a decade behind modern technology and how Treeline is building a new model that combines hu...

1 Huhti 34min

Patrick Collison on Stripe’s Early Choices, Smalltalk, and What Comes After Coding

Patrick Collison on Stripe’s Early Choices, Smalltalk, and What Comes After Coding

Michael Truell, CEO of Cursor, sits down with Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe and an investor in Anysphere, to talk about Collison's history with Smalltalk and Lisp, the MongoDB and Ruby decisions Str...

24 Maalis 52min

OpenClaw: Why the Internet Isn't Built for AI Agents

OpenClaw: Why the Internet Isn't Built for AI Agents

Yoko Li, Guido Appenzeller, and Joel de la Garza discuss OpenClaw, the open source personal AI assistant that's forcing a rethink of how identity, permissions, and security work on the internet. They ...

19 Maalis 47min

What's Missing Between LLMs and AGI - Vishal Misra & Martin Casado

What's Missing Between LLMs and AGI - Vishal Misra & Martin Casado

Vishal Misra returns to explain his latest research on how LLMs actually work under the hood. He walks through experiments showing that transformers update their predictions in a precise, mathematical...

17 Maalis 47min

Replit's CEO on Vibe Coding, Wealth Building, and What Most People Get Wrong About AI

Replit's CEO on Vibe Coding, Wealth Building, and What Most People Get Wrong About AI

Jack Neel speaks with Amjad Masad, CEO at Replit, about how AI is making it easier than ever to build and ship software without a technical background. They discuss Replit's rise from a browser-based ...

10 Maalis 1h 39min

Suosittua kategoriassa Liike-elämä ja talous

sijotuskasti
mimmit-sijoittaa
rss-rahapodi
psykopodiaa-podcast
rss-rahamania
hyva-paha-johtaminen
inderespodi
ostan-asuntoja-podcast
rss-lahtijat
rss-oivalluksia-rahasta-elamasta
rahapuhetta
rss-bisnesta-bebeja
rss-sisalto-kuntoon
leadcast
oppimisen-psykologia
mihin-sita-saastais
rss-startup-ministerio
rss-rikasta-elamaa
rss-kohti-unelmia
rss-40-ajatusta-aanesta