Watch: Former Microsoft Executive Explains Where We Are in the AI Cycle w/ Anish Acharya & Steven Sinofsky
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In this episode of ‘This Week in Consumer’, a16z General Partners Anish Acharya and Erik Torenberg are joined by Steven Sinofsky - Board Partner at a16z and former President of Microsoft’s Windows division - for a deep dive on how today’s AI moment mirrors (and diverges from) past computing transitions.
They explore whether we’re at the “Windows 3.1” stage of AI or still in the earliest innings, why consumer adoption is outpacing developer readiness, and how frameworks like partial autonomy, jagged intelligence, and “vibe coding” are shaping what gets built next. They also dig into where the real bottlenecks lie, not in the tech, but in how companies, products, and people work.
Timecodes:
00:00 Introduction
00:35 Discussing the Andrej Karpathy Talk
02:17 The Early Stages of AI and Tools
03:23 Vibe Writing and Vibe Coding
07:33 Automation and Human Judgment
15:13 The Future of Product Management
15:55 Platform Transitions and Vibe Coding
17:54 The Evolution of Programming Languages
23:07 AI in Creative Writing
28:06 Google's Position in the Tech Industry
Resources:
Find Anish on X: https://x.com/illscience
Find Steven on X: https://x.com/stevesi
Stay Updated:
Let us know what you think: https://ratethispodcast.com/a16z
Find a16z on Twitter:
/ a16z
Find a16z on LinkedIn:
/ a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg
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.
They explore whether we’re at the “Windows 3.1” stage of AI or still in the earliest innings, why consumer adoption is outpacing developer readiness, and how frameworks like partial autonomy, jagged intelligence, and “vibe coding” are shaping what gets built next. They also dig into where the real bottlenecks lie, not in the tech, but in how companies, products, and people work.
Timecodes:
00:00 Introduction
00:35 Discussing the Andrej Karpathy Talk
02:17 The Early Stages of AI and Tools
03:23 Vibe Writing and Vibe Coding
07:33 Automation and Human Judgment
15:13 The Future of Product Management
15:55 Platform Transitions and Vibe Coding
17:54 The Evolution of Programming Languages
23:07 AI in Creative Writing
28:06 Google's Position in the Tech Industry
Resources:
Find Anish on X: https://x.com/illscience
Find Steven on X: https://x.com/stevesi
Stay Updated:
Let us know what you think: https://ratethispodcast.com/a16z
Find a16z on Twitter:
/ a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn:
/ a16z Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg
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.