This Week in Startups
AI itineraries, newsletters, doodles, and more with Sunny Madra! | E1778
Tue Jul 18 2023Description
This episode covers various topics including progress towards AGI, AI features for project management, fine-tuning models, proprietary data sets, monetization in the travel industry, growth phases, API reliance, AI in news summarization, voice interaction, multimodal input, shifting interface towards voice commands, business phone solutions, virtual environments, journalism, unions, and an AI-driven website builder.
Insights
Progress towards AGI and AI Features for Project Management
The episode starts by discussing the uncertain speed of progress towards AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) and the launch of Notion Projects with AI features for project management.
Unified App for Business Communication and Cloning Autonomous Data Science Agents
OpenPhone offers a unified app for business calls, texts, and contacts. The episode also features a discussion on cloning autonomous data science agents.
Fine-tuning Models, Proprietary Data Sets, and Monetization in Travel Industry
OpenAI is creating a fine-tuning model for their API, addressing concerns about proprietary data. The episode highlights the monetization potential in the travel industry and the importance of building sticky services with proprietary data sets.
Growth Phases, API Reliance, and Google's Focus on Consumers and Advertisers
Startups should follow growth phases and avoid heavy reliance on APIs. The episode discusses Google's focus on consumers and advertisers, making travel advertising a valuable opportunity.
AI in News Summarization, Voice Interaction, and Multimodal Input
The episode explores AI-driven tools like Hoppy Copy for newsletter creation and Stable Doodle for generating images based on doodles. It also discusses the potential of voice interaction with AI models and the use of language models like chat GPT for better voice interactions.
Shifting Interface towards Voice Commands, Business Phone Solutions, and Virtual Environments
The episode covers the shift towards voice commands in interfaces, the importance of business phone solutions like Open Phone, and the role of personalization and multiplayer mode in virtual environments. It also mentions Google's Bard supporting multimodal input.
Journalism, Unions, and AI-driven Website Builder
The episode touches on topics like journalism, unions, and the impact of AI on news summarization. It also discusses an AI-driven website builder called 10Web for quick website creation.
Chapters
- Progress towards AGI and AI Features for Project Management
- Unified App for Business Communication and Cloning Autonomous Data Science Agents
- Fine-tuning Models, Proprietary Data Sets, and Monetization in Travel Industry
- Growth Phases, API Reliance, and Google's Focus on Consumers and Advertisers
- AI in News Summarization, Voice Interaction, and Multimodal Input
- Shifting Interface towards Voice Commands, Business Phone Solutions, and Virtual Environments
- Journalism, Unions, and AI-driven Website Builder
Progress towards AGI and AI Features for Project Management
00:00 - 06:54
- We're on an elevator going up to AGI (Artificial General Intelligence)
- The speed of progress towards AGI is uncertain
- Notion has launched Notion Projects with AI features for project management
Unified App for Business Communication and Cloning Autonomous Data Science Agents
06:26 - 13:18
- OpenPhone offers a unified app for business calls, texts, and contacts
- Sunny Madra, co-founder of Definitive Intelligence, joins the podcast
- They discuss cloning autonomous data science agents
Fine-tuning Models, Proprietary Data Sets, and Monetization in Travel Industry
12:54 - 19:15
- OpenAI is creating a fine-tuning model for their API, allowing programmers to customize and fine-tune the results.
- The fine-tuning is proprietary and becomes a collaboration between the user and OpenAI.
- There are concerns that providing reinforcement data to OpenAI could lead to them using it to train their own models and potentially replace the user.
- OpenAI has implemented a 'do not train' policy in enterprise agreements to address these concerns.
- When building on another platform, what is considered proprietary may change over time, as seen with Apple Notes vs Evernote.
- Building additional curation and proprietary data sets around OpenAI can help avoid being consumed by competitors.
- Travel is highly monetizable, making it an attractive area for businesses like Google Barred.
- Travel is a highly monetizable area of the internet.
- Entrepreneurs should build a sticky service and constantly add new features.
- Consider creating proprietary data sets to have more control over your business.
Growth Phases, API Reliance, and Google's Focus on Consumers and Advertisers
18:54 - 25:12
- Startups should crawl, walk, and then run in terms of growth phases.
- Be cautious about relying too heavily on APIs from companies like Facebook or Google.
- Google's cloud business and Amazon Prime Video both offer services that compete with other companies running on their infrastructure.
- $20-30 per month is not an easy consumer number for a mass market product.
- Google's main focus is on consumers and advertisers, making travel advertising a valuable opportunity for them.
AI in News Summarization, Voice Interaction, and Multimodal Input
31:18 - 38:22
- Startups need to provide more value than Google in order to compete.
- Hoppy Copy is a newsletter creator that uses generative AI.
- The AI can generate summaries and details for newsletters.
- The accuracy of the generated information is questionable.
- The tool provides prompts and suggestions for newsletter content.
- Inside.com employs analysts who summarize news stories.
- Journalism can be augmented, but original work is still valuable
- AI can do summarizations well, forcing journalists to create original content
- Aggregation may not be worth paying for unless it has personalized recommendations
- Bias in AI could be an interesting vector to explore
- Stable Doodle by Stability AI generates images based on doodles and prompts
- Voice interaction with AI models would enhance the user experience
- Talking to a computer in certain contexts doesn't make one feel stupid
- Language models like chat GPT could enable better voice interactions with computers
Shifting Interface towards Voice Commands, Business Phone Solutions, and Virtual Environments
38:02 - 44:27
- The interface for interacting with Amazon is shifting towards voice commands.
- Amazon already uses AI to anticipate and suggest products based on past purchases.
- Voice interfaces should not only anticipate user needs but also engage in conversation and ask questions.
- Using personal phone numbers for business can lead to issues like privacy breaches and data loss.
- Open Phone offers a business phone solution that is affordable and prevents these problems.
- Personalization and history tracking are important for improving user experiences in virtual environments.
- Multiplayer mode in virtual environments will allow teams to collaborate more effectively.
- Google's Bard now supports multimodal input, allowing users to provide images for explanations.
Journalism, Unions, and AI-driven Website Builder
43:58 - 50:36
- A tweet about an empty cubicle in the office highlights the expectation of a vibrant culture despite the lack of resources.
- The podcast host expresses their opinion on unions and emphasizes the importance of individuals negotiating for themselves.
- The writers' strike is discussed, with one perspective suggesting that they are underestimating their value and not realizing the potential impact of their work.
- An image comparing Twitter and Threads daily downloads shows a surge in Threads initially but a decline afterward, indicating that Threads failed to compete with Twitter.
- The podcast host reflects on the rapid progress made in AI capabilities since November, highlighting its ongoing development and future potential.
- The use of GPT technology in the podcast host's company is mentioned, including incorporating it into team communication and remote work practices.
- Plans for automating tasks such as sponsorship research and CRM comparison are discussed, with expectations for functionality to be available within three months.
- AI-driven website builder called 10Web can create a template version of a website based on a company's description
- 10Web is a quick way to get off the ground when building a new corporate site
- The website creation process involves selecting business type, entering company name and description, and choosing desired features
- Adding AI magic to website builders like Squarespace makes the process even faster and more customizable
- Entrepreneurs can learn valuable lessons about leveraging AI for tasks that don't require custom development
- Definitive Intelligence is too busy with customers but always open to talking with potential clients