LLMs

8 statements across 7 episodes · 0 bullish · 2 bearish · 1 people on the record · first statement Aug 17, 2023 by Benedict Evans · across every show →

Everything said about LLMs, oldest first

Aug 17, 2023 neutral
Insight
Evans: Science lacks a theoretical model for LLMs and AGI
“Whereas with AGI, we have no theoretical model for what AGI actually is, and we also actually don't have a theoretical model for how LLMs work. Other than at a very, very high, high level. So we don't actually know what will happen if we give it three X more d…”
Benedict Evans Aug 17, 2023 ▶ 9:36 Unbundling ChatGPT
Dec 17, 2023 neutral
Insight
Evans: AI field lacks theoretical mathematics to chart progress toward AGI
“We don't have any kind of equivalent mathematics or any kind of equivalent chart that we could draw that says, well, AI is there, and we're here, and LLMs are in this place, and this is how fast it's going, and if it grows at the current rate, it will hit huma…”
Benedict Evans Dec 17, 2023 ▶ 14:55 AI and Everything Else
Jan 29, 2024 neutral
Insight
Evans: AI efficiency gains will likely be competed away across industries
“There's a classic economics formulation that, you know, efficiency gains tend to be competed away. So everybody, if you and all your competitors deploy this, is the end result just that you'll have roughly the same margins, roughly the same business.”
Benedict Evans Jan 29, 2024 ▶ 25:31 What's your AI strategy?
Dec 8, 2024 neutral
Insight
Evans: LLMs generate probable answers, unlocking value only where exact correctness isn't required
“These models are very good at automating certain kinds of things, but not others. They get stuff wrong, or rather what they do is they say, what would an answer to this question probably look like? That's about the best way I can come up with formulating it ri…”
Benedict Evans Dec 8, 2024 ▶ 15:21 Ai eats the world
Apr 5, 2025 neutral
Opinion
Evans: Meta aims to turn LLMs into generic commodity infrastructure
“Meta is trying to make LLMs into generic commodity infrastructure that's sold at marginal cost. Because they want to differentiate on the features on top.”
Benedict Evans Apr 5, 2025 ▶ 6:36 Looking for AI strategies
Aug 21, 2025 neutral
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Evans: Chatbots are not the final AI product form
“The chatbot isn't the right product is what's going to happen is these are going to spiral off in different places where they actually do have different product strategies.”
Benedict Evans Aug 21, 2025 ▶ 12:50 A double episode: AI differentiation, and Apple does F1
Aug 21, 2025 bearish
Insight
Evans: Lack of network effects makes ChatGPT's early lead fragile
“Given that there's no network effects, or don't, or not yet any network effects in LLMs, that feels very fragile. Like, you know, if you remember, you know, I cannot, you know, remember, like, everyone used Yahoo, and then everyone switched to Google, because …”
Benedict Evans Aug 21, 2025 ▶ 3:48 A double episode: AI differentiation, and Apple does F1
Dec 20, 2025 bearish
Disclosure
Evans: I only use LLMs for proofreading; they fail intern tasks
“I use it for proofreading sometimes, and that's about it. I, you know, I can't use it for most of the stuff that I have that I would give to an intern, because it won't be able to do it, or it won't get it right.”
Benedict Evans Dec 20, 2025 ▶ 12:57 How does OpenAI compete?
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