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Contrary Research Radio

As part of Contrary Research, I host a podcast digging into the stories of the most interesting private tech companies and industries.

Podcast Appearances

Kyle Harrison, GP at Contrary on Techno-Optimism, Talent Vortexes, & Writing “Investing 101”

In this episode, Molly O'Shea interviews Kyle Harrison, General Partner at Contrary and writer of the popular Investing 101 substack, discusses his career in venture capital and the focus of Contrary. Contrary is a VC fund that backs companies from seed to scale with an emphasis on talent and research. They aim to identify the smartest people early on and support them throughout their careers. Contrary has a very impressive research arm that produces reports, memos, and conversations to provide insights into private tech companies. Kyle shares his approach to writing and the importance of putting his thoughts into words. The conversation explores the themes of hard work, ambition, and the divide between different work philosophies. It also touches on the power of storytelling and the influence of narratives on shaping reality. The discussion highlights the importance of nuance and individual beliefs, as well as the cycles of hype and deflation in the tech industry. Overall, the conversation provides insights into the dynamics of the startup ecosystem and the evolving perspectives on work and success. Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/MollySOShea https://twitter.com/kwharrison13 -- Resources * https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-harrison-9274b278/ * Investing 101: https://investing1012dot0.substack.com/ Popular Investing 101 Pieces * The Blackstone of Innovation: https://investing1012dot0.substack.com/p/the-blackstone-of-innovation * Institutionalized Belief in The Greater Fool: https://investing1012dot0.substack.com/p/institutionalized-belief-in-the-greater * Puritans of Venture Capital: https://investing1012dot0.substack.com/p/the-puritans-of-venture-capital * Historical Futurism: https://investing1012dot0.substack.com/p/historical-futurism * Renaissance of Rise & Grind: https://investing1012dot0.substack.com/p/the-renaissance-of-rise-and-grind Check out * Contrary: https://www.contrary.com/ * Contrary Research: https://research.contrary.com/ Trending Reports: * SpaceX: https://research.contrary.com/company/spacex * Notion: https://research.contrary.com/reports/notion * SHEIN: https://research.contrary.com/company/shein * Midjourney: https://research.contrary.com/company/midjourney * Ramp: https://research.contrary.com/company/ramp * Anduril: https://research.contrary.com/company/anduril Deep Dive: * The Openness of AI: https://research.contrary.com/reports/the-openness-of-AI * The Great Bank Unbundling: https://research.contrary.com/reports/great-bank-unbundling Foundations & Frontiers by Anna-Sofia Lesiv (https://twitter.com/annasofialesiv): https://www.contrary.com/foundations-and-frontiers * The Decentralized Future of Nuclear Power: https://www.contrary.com/foundations-and-frontiers/nuclear-power * The Rise of Robots: https://www.contrary.com/foundations-and-frontiers/robotics * The Evolution of Chips: https://www.contrary.com/foundations-and-frontiers/evolution-of-chips * The Mars Colonization Tech Stack: https://www.contrary.com/foundations-and-frontiers/mars-colonization * The Future of Aviation: https://www.contrary.com/foundations-and-frontiers/aviation * Building Brain-Computer Interfaces: https://www.contrary.com/foundations-and-frontiers/brain-computer-interfaces * Subscribe to Sourcery: https://www.sourcery.vc/ Companies Mentioned * Lyft: https://www.lyft.com/ * TVC: https://www.tcv.com/ - TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Preview and Intro (00:56) Kyle Harrison: A Journey from Filmmaker to Venture Capitalist (06:16) The Evolution and Strategy of Contrary VC (09:35) Open Source Research in Venture Capital (15:37) Finding And Helping The Greatest People On The Planet (17:47) Investing 101: The Art of Writing and Reflection (21:00) Reflecting on Personal Writing: Hits and Misses (23:17) Exploring the Impact of Social Media and Work Culture (23:57) The Philosophical Divide in Work Ethic and Ambition (27:30) Techno Optimism and the Power of Positive Narratives (28:52) Reflections on Storytelling and Reality (34:20) The Influence of Location on Perspective and Innovation (39:07) Looking Forward: The Age of Acquisition and Hype Cycles (45:56) Wrap

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Kyle Harrison, GP at Contrary on Techno-Optimism, Talent Vortexes, & Writing “Investing 101”
The Centralization of Power in AI // Kyle Harrison // MLOps Podcast # 181

MLOps podcast #180 with Kyle Harrison, General Partner at Contrary, The Centralization of Power in AI. // Abstract Kyle Harrison delves into the limitations imposed by language, underscoring how it can impede our grasp and manipulation of reality while stressing the critical need for improved language model performance for real-time applications. He further explores the perils of centralizing power in AI, with a specific focus on the "Openness of AI", where concerns about privacy are brought to the forefront, prompting his call for businesses to reconsider their reliance on it. The discussion also traverses the evolving landscape of AI, drawing comparisons between prominent machine learning frameworks such as TensorFlow and PyTorch. Notably, the episode underscores the vital role of open-source initiatives within the AI community and highlights the unexpected involvement of Meta in driving open-source development. // Bio Kyle Harrison is a General Partner at Contrary, where he leads Series A and growth-stage investing. He joined Contrary from Index where he was a Partner, and before that he was a growth investor at Coatue. His portfolio includes iconic startups and public companies including Ramp, Replit, Cohere, Snowflake, and Databricks. He also regularly shares his analysis on the venture capital landscape via his Substack Investing 101. // MLOps Jobs board https://mlops.pallet.xyz/jobs // MLOps Swag/Merch https://mlops-community.myshopify.com/ // Related Links Website: https://investing1012dot0.substack.com/ The Openness of AI report: https://research.contrary.com/reports/the-openness-of-ai ⁠ --------------- ✌️Connect With Us ✌️ ------------- Join our slack community: https://go.mlops.community/slack Follow us on Twitter: @mlopscommunity Sign up for the next meetup: https://go.mlops.community/register Catch all episodes, blogs, newsletters, and more: https://mlops.community/ Connect with Demetrios on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dpbrinkm/ Connect with Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-harrison-9274b278/ Timestamps: [00:00] Kyle's preferred beverage [00:20] Takeaways [03:52] Hype in technology space [09:20] Application Layer Revenue [14:44] Stability AI Lawsuit [18:08] Concern over concentration of power in AI [20:20] Transparency concerns [23:35] Open Source AI [25:57] To use or not to use Open AI [30:51] Lack of technical expertise and business-building capabilities [35:09] AI Transparency and Accountability [37:50] Traditional ML [41:47] Finding a unique approach [45:41] AGI limitations [47:43] Using Agents [49:46] Agents getting past demos [54:39] Tech Challenges & Hoverboard Dreams [58:04] Both AI hype and skepticism are foolish [01:27] Wrap up

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The Centralization of Power in AI // Kyle Harrison // MLOps Podcast # 181
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