AMA with Marc Andreessen
Let's try a new experiment -- a standing Ask Me Anything -- ask me anything!
- What motivates you?Revenge! 😈
- What book were you last reading?"Ibn Saud: The Desert Warrior Who Created the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" by Michael Darlow, about the founder of Saudi Arabia. Breathtaking story and really outstanding book. Highly recommend. https://www.amazon.com/Ibn-Saud-Warrior-Created-Kingdom-ebook/dp/B008AW5JU6/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
- what did you do for fun this weekend?I watched two outstanding movies: "The Night Comes For Us" https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6116856/ "Empire of Dust" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu1BO_iaVME
- Are you glad to be living in Northern California and not the midwest? And if so why here?Both have their plus's and minus's. But for tech, Northern California is still the #1 ground zero for the world.
- If you wrote a book, what would it be about?How to change the world. 😈
Best guess- three potential crypto ‘killer apps’Decentralized AI training/inference, decentralized data aggregation for training AI, and a decentralized registry of "real" (meaning "not deepfake") content such as political speeches and the like.
Do you think FED will lower or raise rates this year? How will this impact BTC and other digital assets?I have no idea, but I'd just observe that historically, lowering rates into a Presidential election would not be enormously surprising. 😆- @pmarca a tv show or a movie that you saw recently that you highly recommend?"The Young Pope" OMG
- Do you foresee apple’s stranglehold on app stores withering considerably in the next 5 years? If yes, what do you think will be the key vectors?Without in any way expressing any view on the status quo -- generally tech strangleholds get rendered irrelevant by platform shifts, more often than they are broken in situ.
- How would you define poetry?Words that touch the soul?
- you've discussed university reform recently. how do you see reform for local government?Personally I am skeptical of all reform efforts. Institutional lock-in is too strong.
How many hours do u usually sleepThe bogey is 7-7.5, with a wide distribution around that.- What's one historical event worth reading about deeply, excluding the wars.IMO the Second Industrial Revolution, from roughly the 1880's through the 1930's. That's the period that created our world. Start with: https://www.amazon.com/Great-Leap-Forward-Depression-Financial/dp/0300188161
Andor or Succession?Both brilliant, but poisoned by their hatred of hierarchy and order?- Where do you think motivation comes from?Weak motivation is extrinsic, strong motivation is intrinsic.
Will we have AGI, and if yes: - when? - are we going to like it?I'm not sure about this, but I kind of wonder if instead of AGI, we'll have many different kinds of AI that are weirder and more interesting than just "general intelligence".
what are your thoughts on frames (the new feature out of Farcaster this weekend)?Most exciting Internet platform since the original Facebook platform?
Was there ever a real commercial path for LISP machine adoption, or was it hopeless from the start?I personally loved coding in LISP, but it was simply too hard for most people, so the market never hit critical mass.
In the morning do you pee standing or do you seat?Are those the only choices?- What offbeat thought/idea have you been obsessed with lately?The idea that generative AI may be literally and forever uncontrollable. I'm so excited about that, I can barely stand it.
Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?Mr. President, is that you? 😆
Do you think blockchain be a solution for countering fake AI-generated content?In my view, a blockchain is both the obvious and the ideal solution to countering fake content, AI-generated and otherwise. Otherwise we're going to have to trust a government or a company to arbitrate, both of which seem unwise.
If the phrase "people, ideas, technology in that order" is correct then shouldn't e/acc prioritize acceleration of education over acceleration of tech?E/acc is a bottom-up movement, so there is no e/acc prioritization per se!- what’s your favorite thing to buy at costco?Amazon gift card.
If you were to rate the following statement from 0 to 10, where 0 is below bullshit and 10 is above an axiom, what would you rate it? "Markets prevent monopolies and cartels."Markets are the ONLY thing that prevents monopolies and cartels.
if there was only one thing you can bet on in the next 5 years, what would it be?New founders ages 20-25. The Zoomers will save us!- What’s a lesson that you learned the hard wayReference check. Reference check, reference check, reference check. Then reference check some more.
can you share a historical figure or event that unexpectedly inspires your approach to tech & innovation?There are many, but the work of Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace 100 years ahead of their time is particularly inspiring.
Email. Bullish or bearish?Email will outlive us all!- What are your top 3 science fiction books?Too many to name, but "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress", "Rainbows End", and "This Is Not A Game" are for sure high up on the list.
What's your favorite meme this week?https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/twink-death -- you see it once, then you see it everywhere. 😆
Underrated TV show from 2000-2010"The Shield" by a mile.
to what extent does geographical pop culture determine the types of companies that can be built in a particular location? e.g could Snap only have been built in a place like LA? OpenAI only in SF? Ramp in NYC?That is a great question. There's an easy answer that's about talent density, and that's a lot of it. But there's also something about specific cultures, that I don't think I fully understand.- How does a company know it found PMFIf the question needs to be asked, it hasn't! Seriously -- Product/Market Fit means the market is pulling product out of the company faster than the company can make it -- it's unmistakable when it happens.
- What was your go to bar at U of I?The NCSA coffeepot. ☕️
if you could have a discussion with anyone in history, who would it be and what would you discuss?I think it would be very fun to explain to Karl Marx what modern day Marxists are like, and see what he thinks. Or maybe Che.
In which categories/topics/skills do you worry most about losing your edgeIt's natural to become more closed-minded as one ages. I'm trying to do the opposite. It's a struggle!- Which name do you prefer for this app? 1. Farcaster 2. Warpcast 3. FarcThis is the only serious disagreement @dwr.eth and I have ever had.
- How do you see crypto intersecting with AI over the next 5 years?Crypto can be a network/incentive structure for AI training, inference, and data!
If you were to rebuild Netscape today, how would you envision its modern version?We built on the then-new platforms of PC, Internet, and cryptography. Today I think we would build on AI, AR/VR, and crypto/blockchain.
if they made a movie about your life, what would it be called?"Where'd He Come From?"- tell your 23 year old self something he should have knownIf you just don't say anything, people don't realize when you're mad at them. 😆
what makes you feel hopefulMeeting newly minted 20 year olds.- What kind of system of supranational states do you see in the future?I suspect the opposite trend will dominate. Number of nation-states will rise, not fall.
How do we break the cycle of octogenarians dictating America's future? Isn't the current crop of Boomer politicians an argument against longevity?Actually yes, the status quo is the best argument against longevity. The hope is that people will act differently as they age if they know they are going to live much longer. I'm not sure whether that's true.- What's your personal machine stack? Computer, phone, accessories, etc.?I'm sufficiently paranoid about security that my personal equipment is as vanilla as possible, I figure the highest volume systems from top vendors get the most security focus.
Pizza or hot dog ?Pizza is just a flattened hot dog.- Just started a company. A few competitors raised before me but didn’t drum up excitement. I’ve seen a lot of excitement around our company. I suspect it’s because our story is much better. Wondering if you’ve seen this sort of thing happen before.Yes! There is an art to starting companies, grounded in the science. Storytelling really matters. Some things, and people, catch the imagination more. And timing is really important, hard to get right, but can be magical.
- favorite way to relax?When by myself: great book, great music, hot green tea. ☕️🫖
- Advice for a young founder trying to figure it all out?Be so good they can't ignore you!
Which type of coffee do you like best? (e.g. latte, espresso)I stopped drinking coffee when I realized I was drinking so much caffeine, I was literally skipping heartbeats. So now I'm all/only green tea. 😡😆
why is there relatively little interest/patronage of art/art movements from the tech ecosystem (or do you disagree)?I think there's quite a lot, but that doesn't get covered very much. Of course there could always be more.
Assuming that there are phenomena which are gradual, but harmful (certain kinds of pollution being one example), how can we align markets which are usually much more short-term focused? Put another way, doesn’t the gestalt system we have overly encourage reactionary solutions after the fact instead of proactive ones?I disagree with the premise of your question! My experience is that the closer you get to politics -- and away from the market -- the shorter term the mindset becomes.
What are you core principles that keep you centered and aligned with yourself?"First class business in a first class way." -- J Pierpont Morgan -- applies to everything.- How do you think AI will change the non higher education system in the coming years, specifically from the side of the educators not the students (they’re already clearly embracing it)?I don't think anything is going to change K-12 education in the US, the system is too entrenched. Barring extraordinary startups doing full reinvention!
what hot technical debate from the early internet ended up being largely irrelevant?Net neutrality suddenly vanished as an issue when Internet censorship became trendy...
as a rule of thumb, when it's a good time for a government to push some form of regulation in a new, untested, emerging technology/area?When there is an imminent risk of mass death? Otherwise it's so hard to get such regulation right, it usually collapses into regulatory capture by incumbents.- In “The Techno-Optimist Manifesto,” the weakest part of the essay was the “Enemies” section. The message was out-of-place and likely alienated potential allies who, otherwise, may have been on-board with your overall vision. In retrospect, what would you have changed in that section, possibly even nixing it?"In lieu of a question, I have a statement..."
- Bullish, bearish, or other on blockchain-based, decentralized AI?Bullish for sure.
What does early stage venture financing look like in 5 years? 10 years?I suspect early stage venture probably looks a lot the same in 5 and 10 years? It's a pretty stable model, goes back hundreds of years...
What do you think Curtis Yarvin gets wrong or right in his Techno Pessimism piece? https://graymirror.substack.com/p/a-techno-pessimist-manifestoCurtis is one of the smartest intellectual opponents one can be lucky enough to have!
How would you describe a16z’s interest in biotech?Intense and enduring!- Is it better to be feared or loved?Respected?
Are we living in a simulation?[Rapping knuckles on table in front of me --] No. 😆
What’s a tech trend that you are most excited about in 2024?Quite honestly, it's hard to choose between AI, crypto, VR, AR, robots, rockets, new AI-powered consumer hardware, AI-powered drug design, and a dozen others. There's a LOT going on.
what's a big question about the next 10 years where you're 50/50 on the answerWill the Gallup public trust rating for any major American institution be greater than zero?- How do you find internal clarity in this age of exponential information?Something I learned from a friend: "Always read the most important thing next."
What’s your best hypothesis for the Fermi Paradox?The Great Filter theory, specifically what is called the Upper Income Trap -- once a civilization reaches a certain standard of living, approximately that of present day upper-middle-class Westerners, it stops reproducing and then dies out.
@pmarca how does the intersection of AI and increasing focus on profitability vs. top line growth impact the way B2B focused startups (Seed - Series A) should think about building sales teams?The best guide I've seen for planning sales efforts for B2B companies is the Sales Learning Curve by Mark Leslie: https://petawawablog.typepad.com/files/hbr-sales-learning-curve-2.pdf
What are some public news/feed you consume+recommend for your daily dose of crypto ?Honestly, Farcaster + X.
