AI & I

In this discussion, Matt Cynamon, an innovative force at Union Square Ventures, reveals how they’re crafting an AI operating system to harness the firm's collective wisdom. He shares insights into AI tools like a chatbot trained on thousands of articles, portfolio trackers, and a unique meeting notes tool. They also explore a fascinating art project, The Dream Machine, that generates visuals from conversations. Matt's engaging anecdotes showcase how AI enhances creativity and collaboration in venture capital.

Yohei Nakajima⁠ leads a double life. By day, he’s a general partner of a small venture firm, ⁠Untapped Capital⁠. By night, he’s one of the most prolific internet tinkerers in AI. (He also sometimes works on ⁠automating his job as a venture capitalist.)He’s the creator of BabyAGI (@babyAGI_), the first open-source autonomous agent that went viral in March 2023. Yohei has since released seven iterations of BabyAGI, a coding agent called Ditto, a framework for building autonomous agents, and, most recently, BabyAGI 2o, a self-building autonomous agent.I sat down with Yohei to talk about:What feeds Yohei’s drive to create new toolsThe evolution of BabyAGI into a more powerful version of itself What Yohei learned about himself by tinkering on the internetYohei’s personal philosophy about how the tools we build our extensions of ourselvesWhy founders in AI should think about their products from a modular lens, by addressing immediate problems while enabling growth in the futureYohei’s insight into a future where models will train themselves as you use themWe experiment with Ditto live on the show, using the tool to build a game of Snake and a handy scheduling app. Yohei also screenshares a demo of BabyAGI 2o in action.If you found this episode interesting, please like, subscribe, comment, and share! Want even more?Sign up for Every to unlock our ultimate guide to prompting ChatGPT here: ⁠https://every.ck.page/ultimate-guide-to-prompting-chatgpt⁠. It’s usually only for paying subscribers, but you can get it here for free.To hear more from Dan Shipper:Subscribe to Every: ⁠https://every.to/subscribe⁠ Follow him on X: ⁠https://twitter.com/danshipper⁠ Timestamps:Introduction: 00:00:59BabyAGI and its evolution into a more powerful tool: 00:02:26How better models are changing the way Yohei builds: 00:05:00Using code building agent Ditto to build a game of Snake: 00:08:10The ins and outs of how Ditto works: 00:13:24How Yohei gets a lot done in little time: 00:19:21Yohei’s personal philosophy around building AI tools: 00:21:50How Yohei experiments with AI as a tech-forward parent: 00:33:13 Demo of Yohei’s latest release, BabyAGI 2o: 00:39:29 Yohei’s insights on the future of AI tooling: 00:51:24Links to resources mentioned in the episode: Yohei Nakajima: @yoheinakajima, ⁠http://yohei.me⁠ Untapped Capital: @UntappedVC, ⁠https://www.untapped.vc/⁠ My first interview with Yohei, around the time he released BabyAGI: ⁠https://every.to/chain-of-thought/this-vc-is-slowly-automating-their-job⁠ The other AI tools Yohei has created: ⁠Ditto⁠, BabyAGI 2, BabyAGI 2oThe tweet thread about AI bots being let loose on a Discord server: https://x.com/AISafetyMemes/status/1847312782049333701 

In this chat, Simon Eskildsen, Cofounder and CEO of TurboPuffer, shares his journey from intern at Shopify to a tech leader using AI for learning. He reveals how large language models enhance his vocabulary and technical writing. Simon discusses his Anki flashcard techniques and the value of rapid context acquisition for learning. Plus, he dives into using AI tools for health insights, translations, and even legal documents. His insights on integrating AI into daily life make this conversation a treasure trove for anyone looking to supercharge their learning!

Evan Armstrong, the lead writer at Every and creator of the 'How to Write with AI' course, dives into enhancing writing with AI tools. He explains taste as the art of articulation, sharing how it shapes writing styles. Evan discusses his unique idea-generation routine during sauna sessions and showcases how to use AI for refining thesis statements and crafting metaphors. Moreover, he introduces Spiral for automating content distribution and explores the ethical considerations around AI transformation in writing. A must-listen for aspiring writers!

Nashilu Mouen-Makoua, head of storytelling and strategic advisor at The Browser Company, shapes human-first brand and product narratives. She discusses centering people over polish, using creative rituals and quirky launches to make tech relatable. She explains writers' room techniques, tangible metaphors for AI, and how she leverages LLMs for research, tone checks, and persona simulations.

We’re building a mini-AI media and software empire at Every. Today on AI & I, Brandon Gell joins the show to turn the tables on me and act as podcast host to explore what we’re doing as a company, how we got here, and where we’re going.Brandon is Every’s first entrepreneur in residence, and he was the perfect person to host, because he’s one of the key reasons for our recent acceleration.Before joining Every, Brandon was the cofounder and CEO of Clyde, a startup that helped brands launch their own insurance and warranty programs, where he raised $50 million and led a team of 100 before selling it to global insurance tech company Cover Genius in early 2023.In this episode, he interviews me about how I learned to code in middle school, how I built and sold my first startup coming out of college, and how it all led to Every.We also talk about Brandon’s story. He joined Every just four months ago—and it feels like we’ve done the work of years since. We’ve launched two new AI products, an incredible amount of great writing, a new course, and more.We get into my candid thoughts on entrepreneurship in the AI age—including why you should ship fast, and how not to be misled by metrics like TAM; how AI startups can find valuable niches—and live demos of our apps Spiral and Sparkle; Brandon’s hard-earned lessons from running a insuretech business for seven years; the confusing realities of being an exited founder, and how we navigated through those times; what brought Brandon to Every—including the email he sent me before joining; and Every’s master plan and what we hope to build over the next few months and yearsThis is a must-watch for anyone interested in building a calm, profitable business empire in the age of AI. If you found this episode interesting, please like, subscribe, comment, and share! Want even more?Sign up for Every to unlock our ultimate guide to prompting ChatGPT. It’s usually only for paying subscribers, but you can get it here for free.To hear more from Dan Shipper:Subscribe to Every: https://every.to/subscribe Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/danshipper Links to resources mentioned in the episode:Brandon Gell: https://twitter.com/bran_don_gellThe piece Dan recently published about Every’s Master Plan: https://every.to/chain-of-thought/every-s-master-plan Dan’s piece about the unbundling of Excel, and why it serves as an important story in the age of AI: https://every.to/chain-of-thought/the-great-ai-unbundling Tomasz Tunguz, the VC who has also written about Excel: https://tomtunguz.com/ Every cofounder Nathan’s word processor, Lex: https://lex.page/ Spiral, the app that automates 80 percent of repetitive creative work: https://spiral.computer/ Sparkle, the app that automatically organizes your files: https://makeitsparkle.co/ 

Join Alex Wieckowski, a passionate advocate for reading and creator behind Alex & Books, as he explores how AI can enhance our reading experiences. He discusses cultivating a reading habit sparked by self-help classics and the pros and cons of physical versus digital books. Alex demonstrates using AI for book recommendations and quick summaries while deepening comprehension of complex texts like Siddhartha. He predicts a tech-driven future for reading, with innovations like Neuralink possibly transforming how we engage with books forever.

Packy McCormick, writer and investor behind Not Boring and Not Boring Capital, unpacks how AI shapes his thinking and dealmaking. He discusses techno-industrial companies, using Claude and LLMs to research and edit, building interactive graphics and graders, and where crypto and AI might intersect. Short, sharp conversations on tools, workflows, and spotting the next big idea.

Nathaniel Whittemore, founder of Superintelligent and host of The AI Daily Brief, dives into the intricate dance of creating daily AI content. He shares his workflow secrets for producing two podcasts each day, highlighting the power of small efficiencies. Nathaniel discusses curating AI news, the practical wins for non-experts, and how AI tools can democratize creativity. He also provides insights on using LLMs for scripting and the challenges they pose in emulating personal voice. A must-listen for anyone wanting to harness AI effectively!

Dwarkesh Patel, a dynamic podcaster famous for interviewing influential figures in AI and geopolitics, shares his quest for knowledge. He dives into how he uses language models like Claude for enhanced learning and interview preparation. The conversation covers his innovative reading techniques, the importance of structured knowledge retention, and the role of AI in grasping complex topics. Dwarkesh also discusses the implications of AGI and the existential risks tied to technological advancements, making for a thought-provoking and insightful dialogue.