Sam Schillace, Microsoft deputy CTO and creator of Google Docs, compares the rapid pace of generative AI adoption to the historical lack of utility in cryptocurrency.
Opinion
Schillace: Crypto lacks meaningful user value even in the best case
“For crypto, I was always like, well, what if it works? Like, then I have to run OPSEC on my personal finances. That sounds dystopian. I don't want that. Like, I can't think of anything as a user that I think actually, like, is valuable here. Even in the best c…”
Opinion
Schillace: Most Good Product Ideas Originate from Engineering
“I think a lot of the good product ideas, most of the good product ideas actually come up from engineering.”
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Schillace: In five years, software you cannot converse with will feel broken
“I think we're gonna feel the same way about intention and interactivity in our products very soon. Like, if I can't tell something what my intent is and have it configure itself in an intelligent way, have it converse with me, whether that's a device or a piec…”
Insight
Schillace: AI will make pixels free like the internet freed distribution
“I think the way that the internet made distribution of information free, I think AI is going to make pixels free.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Schillace: Giving multi-agent AI systems shared whiteboard memory makes them smarter
“We were trying to get multiple versions of them working together, like multi-agents working together, and we gave them whiteboard Working memory, like as a shared working memory thing to fix this problem, and that turns out to make them much smarter.”
Assertion Supported
Schillace: Google Docs won market share, but Microsoft kept the money
“In retrospect, they did fine. Like, we took a bunch of market share, but they kept all the money, basically. So, you know, we being Google, like, you know, so, like, they survived it. Like, you know, they survived. They did a good job surviving the challenge. …”