Brief Summary
This podcast episode with Vaibhav Sisinty, founder of Tool School, discusses the impact of AI on various aspects of life and career. It covers potential scams, the future of education, job displacement, and strategies for upskilling and making money with AI. The conversation also touches on the role of AI in India and provides a roadmap for becoming an AI generalist.
- AI-driven scams and frauds are on the rise, necessitating awareness and caution.
- The future of education requires a shift towards critical thinking and problem-solving skills, with restricted access to easy answers for young children.
- AI is expected to displace many jobs, particularly in software engineering, but new opportunities will emerge for AI generalists and those who can leverage AI to enhance their skills.
- Upskilling and continuous learning are crucial for staying relevant in the AI-driven world.
- India has the potential to become a leader in AI innovation, but it needs to focus on research and development and retain top talent.
Introduction
The podcast introduces Vaibhav Sisinty, the founder of Tool School, to discuss the problems, advancements, and solutions related to artificial intelligence. The conversation aims to provide insights for both beginners and those with advanced knowledge of AI. Vaibhav emphasizes the importance of understanding the dark sides and unknown facts about AI, starting with recent conspiracies and controversies.
Scam of AI in the Future
The discussion covers potential AI scams, such as creating fake videos and voice clones to deceive family members. It highlights the need for caution and verification, suggesting a rule of thumb to wait at least one hour before taking action upon receiving alarming content. The importance of having a "hot word" or code with close contacts is emphasized to confirm the authenticity of communications.
Future Generation kids using AI
The conversation shifts to the impact of AI on future generations, expressing concern that easy access to AI tools may hinder the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills in children. It suggests restricting AI usage for children under 10-12 years old to encourage exploration and cognitive development. The use of AI tools like Khan MeeGo, which assists rather than provides direct answers, is recommended.
AI Tools
The speakers discuss the misconception that learning AI is just about learning prompting. They emphasize that while prompting is important, it's crucial to understand the foundational concepts and different levels of AI. For most people, AI is synonymous with tools like Chat GPT and Meta AI.
Software Engineers
The discussion addresses the future of software engineers in the age of AI. It suggests that while AI will automate many tasks, the demand for original thinking and problem-solving skills will increase. To survive, individuals need to be in the top 10% of their field and focus on becoming AI generalists.
Suggestion to the next generation for education
The speakers advise the next generation to avoid following templates and instead focus on original thinking. They use the example of a graphic designer who relies on existing templates versus one who creates original designs using AI tools. The key is to be part of the top 10% by solving problems and optimizing work with AI.
Fiverr
The conversation references an email from the CEO of Fiverr, emphasizing that AI will disrupt all jobs and the focus should be on using AI to improve work quality by tenfold. The speakers also mention Nikhil Kamat, CEO of Zerodha, who offered to do an internship to learn about AI, highlighting the fear among company founders of being left behind.
Level 0
Vaibhav introduces a five-level framework for becoming an AI generalist. Level zero involves identifying tasks that can be solved by AI and creating a toolkit of AI tools for everyday life. He recommends exploring resources like There's An AI For That and Product Hunt to find relevant tools.
Level 1
Level one focuses on learning prompt engineering to get the best results from AI. It involves understanding concepts like unsupervised learning, transformers, and tokens. Vaibhav suggests using the OpenAI Playground to experiment with different settings and values. He introduces the "magic prompt formula," which includes defining the role, task, instructions, and data.
Level 2
Level two involves understanding different AI models and when to use them. It covers text generation models, reasoning models, and the importance of knowing which model to use for specific tasks. Vaibhav recommends using Open Router to explore and rank different AI models.
Prompting technique
Vaibhav shares a prompting technique called the "magic prompt formula" that includes defining the role, objective, instructions, and data to improve the quality of AI output. He uses the example of writing a cold email to illustrate how to apply this formula.
AI Models
The speakers discuss the importance of understanding different AI models and their specific uses. They differentiate between text generation and reasoning models, providing examples of when to use each. Vaibhav recommends using Open Router to explore and rank various AI models.
Is data safe?
The discussion addresses concerns about data safety when using AI models. Vaibhav suggests using small AI models that can run on a computer without internet access, ensuring privacy. He recommends tools like O llama for installing and using open-source models on a personal computer.
Level 3
Level three involves learning diffusion models for images, videos, and audio. It covers the fundamentals of diffusion and models like Stable Diffusion. Vaibhav shares examples of how his company uses AI to create content, including images, videos, and audio.
Level 4
Level four focuses on building full-fledged products without coding. It involves understanding basic design thinking, databases, front-end, and back-end concepts. Vaibhav recommends using tools like Bolt, Lovable, and Replit to build products with text prompts.
Level 5
Level five involves automation and building AI agents. It covers setting up automations for tasks like email management and calendar scheduling. Vaibhav shares an example of how he built an AI agent to replace a 30-lakh rupees assistant, automating tasks and improving efficiency. He recommends tools like Make, Zapier, and Crew AI for building automations.
India is the back office of the world
The conversation shifts to the impact of AI on India, particularly on outsourcing jobs. It acknowledges that India is the back office of the world, with many software jobs being outsourced from the US and other countries. However, with the rise of AI tools like Cursor and Devin, these jobs are at risk of being displaced.
AI tools in employment
The speakers discuss the impact of AI on software engineering jobs, noting that AI tools are making coding faster and easier. They reference the company Devin, which has a small team of engineers and generates a significant amount of revenue using AI. The conversation also touches on the quality of code generated by AI models like O3 and O4.
Building an AI Tool
Vaibhav shares his experience of building a mini CRM in two days using AI tools, highlighting the potential for non-engineers to create software. He emphasizes that while AI cannot replace all software engineers, it will automate many tasks and change the nature of the job.
2 types of jobs and future programming language
The discussion identifies two types of software engineering jobs: scientists who build coding products and practitioners who use those products. It predicts that the future programming language for humans will be English, while AI will use languages that humans may not understand.
AI Language
The speakers discuss the language that AI thinks in, suggesting that it may be a language that humans do not understand. They reference research indicating that AI models trained in English tend to produce better outputs in English. The conversation also touches on the efficiency of AI-generated code and the importance of understanding the logic behind it.
How to make money with AI
The conversation explores opportunities to make money with AI, suggesting that new pockets of opportunities will open up with technological advancements. It recommends becoming a consultant who helps companies implement AI in their processes, offering solutions for customer success, sales, and marketing. The speakers also discuss the potential for creating a software-as-a-service (SaaS) business that automates tasks with AI.
3 AI Tools
Vaibhav shares his three favorite AI tools for learning: Emily (a Chrome extension for summarizing content), Notebook LM (a Google tool for converting content into podcasts), and Google AI Studio (for getting real-time help with coding). He emphasizes that all three tools are focused on upskilling and continuous learning.
Career transition
The discussion highlights the need for continuous upskilling in the AI-driven world, noting that career transitions are becoming more frequent. It references research from the World Economic Forum predicting that the number of career switches will increase significantly.
Education System
The speakers discuss the need for changes in the Indian education system, emphasizing that the curriculum is outdated and needs to be updated more frequently. They suggest that teachers should become AI-first and incorporate AI into their teaching methods. The conversation also encourages students to take responsibility for their learning and not rely solely on colleges and professors.
College Placement
The speakers discuss the importance of projects and startups in college, emphasizing that they are more relevant than traditional placements. They note that college placement rates are often misleading and that students need to take control of their destiny by developing skills and solving problems.
Abroad education
The conversation addresses the trend of Indians going abroad for education, particularly to the US. It distinguishes between those who have family money and those who are seeking jobs. The speakers caution against taking loans to study abroad for jobs, as the market is competitive and jobs are not guaranteed. They recommend considering blue-collar jobs and technical colleges, which are in demand and less susceptible to AI disruption.
AI jobs in the US
The speakers discuss the impact of AI on jobs in the US, noting that companies are reshoring jobs and automating tasks. They reference Trump's efforts to bring jobs back to the US and the rise of dark factories. The conversation also touches on the US's restrictions on exporting AI hardware to China. They recommend that only top-tier talent should go abroad for research and innovation, with the goal of eventually returning to contribute to India.
