In this conversation, Dr. Yu Su discusses the evolution and future of language agents, emphasizing the importance of understanding their historical context and the challenges they face. He highlights the spectrum of autonomy in agents, the need for continual learning, and the integration of biological intelligence principles into AI development. Safety, security, and ethical considerations are also addressed, along with the necessity for improved evaluation methods to ensure agent performance. Dr. Yu Su shares his aspirations for creating reliable AI agents that can augment human cognition and drive innovation in the field.

In this episode, Vijay interviews Tengyu Ma, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University and Chief Scientist at MongoDB. Tengyu shares insights into his journey from academia to industry, discussing his role following MongoDB's acquisition of Voyage AI and the importance of embedding models and ReRankers in AI-powered search systems. He delves into the differences and applications of fine-tuning, retrieval augmented generation (RAG), and long context windows, providing analogies to human problem-solving. Tengyu also sheds light on the significance of focusing on mathematical reasoning to develop AI models and offers advice for researchers and PhD students looking to commercialize their research. His unique perspective on the rapid progression and impact of AI on various sectors, coupled with his extensive experience in both academic and corporate settings, provides a thorough overview of the current and future landscape of AI technology.

In this episode of AI Pathfinders, Karthik Narasimhan shares his journey into the world of AI, discussing pivotal moments that shaped his career, including his work on the GPT paper at OpenAI. He emphasizes the importance of connecting language and decision-making in AI research and the evolution of AI agents. Karthik offers advice for aspiring researchers and discusses the need for big dreams in AI. He navigates the current hype cycle, the challenges of building reliable AI agents, and the future of human-agent collaboration. The conversation concludes with insights on communication protocols and identifying open spaces in AI applications.

In this inaugural episode of AI Pathfinders, Vijay Reddy, partner at Mayfield, sits down with Zico Kolter, Head of Machine Learning at Carnegie Mellon University and OpenAI board member. Zico shares his journey from teaching autonomous cars to power slide to pioneering AI safety research. Drawing on his experience across academia, startups, and enterprise AI, Zico offers a rare insider perspective on enterprise AI adoption challenges, the balance between open and closed-source models, and why he's changed his mind about AGI—now believing it might arrive much sooner than expected. Whether you're interested in the technical challenges of AI robustness, practical deployment concerns, or philosophical questions about artificial general intelligence, this conversation delivers valuable insights from someone working at the cutting edge of AI innovation.

From wild idea to world-changing product—how do today's groundbreaking AI innovations actually happen? Join Mayfield's Vijay Reddy on AI Pathfinders for intimate conversations with the brilliant minds commercializing AI. Each episode takes you behind the scenes with founders, developers, and researchers who've successfully navigated the journey from concept to market, revealing their unexpected challenges, pivotal decisions, and breakthrough moments. Whether you're building your own AI startup or fascinated by emerging technology, these candid discussions offer insider access to the pioneers building the future of AI.