Scott Belsky: AI & Creativity
12/06/23 • 29 min
Today, we’re excited to chat with Scott Belsky - author, entrepreneur, investor and Chief Strategy Officer at Adobe. Matt + Scott discuss the impact of AI on creative work, how Adobe is incorporating AI across their products, and what the future creative tools landscape might look like.
This session was recorded live at a recent Data Driven NYC, our in-person, monthly event series. If you are ever in New York, you can find us on Eventbrite by searching for "FirstMark Capital". Events run monthly and are free and open to everyone. And as always, if you enjoy the MAD podcast, please subscribe and leave us a comment.
Data Driven NYC YouTube Channel
Show Notes:
[00:53] How Adobe uses AI to enhance user experience, streamline onboarding and automate tasks across their product suite;
[01:30] How AI impacts Adobe's business, making creative processes accessible with features like the context bar in Photoshop;
[02:13] Firefly's journey: internal decisions, training challenges, and a commitment to using licensed material for ethical AI;
[03:58] Moral considerations in Firefly's development: the decision to use licensed material, commercial viability, and addressing user comparisons;
[05:52] Adobe's homegrown approach to generative AI models: in-house development and partnerships for specific capabilities like LLM;
[06:08] Adobe Sensei's 10-year evolution: developing AI technologies, the non-profit Content Authenticity Initiative, and content credentials establishing asset provenance;
[09:17] Adobe's new AI advancements: Firefly Image Model 2, Generative Match, and the vector model for illustration;
[11:16] Firefly Editor's revolutionary image editing: dynamically generating pixels, real-time object manipulation, and Adobe's commitment to pushing technological boundaries;
[12:41] Rapid integration of AI features: Firefly models and playground, surfacing on a website for user testing, and collaboration within Adobe's design organization;
[14:32] How Adobe's AI and data teams are structured and leveraging in-house development for competitive advantage;
[15:47] Future of work and creativity: AI's impact on raising the bar for digital experiences, accelerating creative processes, and the evolving landscape of personalized social content;
[19:11] Leveraging technology to reduce friction, streamline processes, and unlock creative flow;
[20:09] Impact of AI on business models: questioning time-based pricing, anticipating a shift to value-based models, and reconsidering compensation for creative professionals;
[21:10] Parallels with historical Internet Service Providers, the rapid evolution of ideas, and reflections on sustainable business models;
[24:53] Scott’s criteria for evaluating AI investments: valuing skeptical entrepreneurs, acknowledging temporary uniqueness, and emphasizing empathy with customers;
[26:40] Navigating challenges in 2023: Tough decisions for entrepreneurs, evaluating conviction, and the importance of sticking together through the "messy middle”;
Today, we’re excited to chat with Scott Belsky - author, entrepreneur, investor and Chief Strategy Officer at Adobe. Matt + Scott discuss the impact of AI on creative work, how Adobe is incorporating AI across their products, and what the future creative tools landscape might look like.
This session was recorded live at a recent Data Driven NYC, our in-person, monthly event series. If you are ever in New York, you can find us on Eventbrite by searching for "FirstMark Capital". Events run monthly and are free and open to everyone. And as always, if you enjoy the MAD podcast, please subscribe and leave us a comment.
Data Driven NYC YouTube Channel
Show Notes:
[00:53] How Adobe uses AI to enhance user experience, streamline onboarding and automate tasks across their product suite;
[01:30] How AI impacts Adobe's business, making creative processes accessible with features like the context bar in Photoshop;
[02:13] Firefly's journey: internal decisions, training challenges, and a commitment to using licensed material for ethical AI;
[03:58] Moral considerations in Firefly's development: the decision to use licensed material, commercial viability, and addressing user comparisons;
[05:52] Adobe's homegrown approach to generative AI models: in-house development and partnerships for specific capabilities like LLM;
[06:08] Adobe Sensei's 10-year evolution: developing AI technologies, the non-profit Content Authenticity Initiative, and content credentials establishing asset provenance;
[09:17] Adobe's new AI advancements: Firefly Image Model 2, Generative Match, and the vector model for illustration;
[11:16] Firefly Editor's revolutionary image editing: dynamically generating pixels, real-time object manipulation, and Adobe's commitment to pushing technological boundaries;
[12:41] Rapid integration of AI features: Firefly models and playground, surfacing on a website for user testing, and collaboration within Adobe's design organization;
[14:32] How Adobe's AI and data teams are structured and leveraging in-house development for competitive advantage;
[15:47] Future of work and creativity: AI's impact on raising the bar for digital experiences, accelerating creative processes, and the evolving landscape of personalized social content;
[19:11] Leveraging technology to reduce friction, streamline processes, and unlock creative flow;
[20:09] Impact of AI on business models: questioning time-based pricing, anticipating a shift to value-based models, and reconsidering compensation for creative professionals;
[21:10] Parallels with historical Internet Service Providers, the rapid evolution of ideas, and reflections on sustainable business models;
[24:53] Scott’s criteria for evaluating AI investments: valuing skeptical entrepreneurs, acknowledging temporary uniqueness, and emphasizing empathy with customers;
[26:40] Navigating challenges in 2023: Tough decisions for entrepreneurs, evaluating conviction, and the importance of sticking together through the "messy middle”;
Previous Episode
Glean AI: The ML-Powered Accounting Solution with CEO Howard Katzenberg
Today, we’re joined by Howard Katzenberg, CEO of Glean AI, a machine learning powered accounts payable platform. Matt + Howard discuss Glean’s founding story, how Glean helps CFOs make insight driven choices, and more.
This session was recorded live at a recent Data Driven NYC, our in-person, monthly event series. If you are ever in New York, you can find us on Eventbrite by searching for "FirstMark Capital". Events run monthly and are free and open to everyone. And as always, if you enjoy the MAD podcast, please subscribe and leave us a comment.
Data Driven NYC YouTube Channel
Shownotes:
[00:00:35] Howard's background;
[00:01:15] Challenges with manual FP&A;
[00:02:54] Approval Process gap realization and opportunity for Glean AI;
[00:04:40] How Glean AI is like “bill.com with a brain”;
[00:05:06] Enhanced functionalities beyond basic AP automation;
[00:06:32] Glean AI’s Inception and AI Models;
[00:07:54] Why Glean AI is unique;
[00:08:25] The evolution of Glean AI’s ML stack;
[00:10:44] Defensibility and how Glean AI offers vendor pricing insights to its network;
[00:12:23] Success stories and customer value;
[00:14:47] Future plans for Glean AI;
[00:16:39] Navigating industry and technical expertise;
[00:18:41] Audience Q&A
Next Episode
ASAPP: Generative AI for Contact Centers with CEO Gustavo Sapoznik
Today, we’re joined by Gustavo Sapoznik, Founder and CEO of ASAPP, the generative AI platform transforming contact centers. Matt + Gustavo discuss the magnitude of challenges to overcome in this market, how their AI tech is designed to help humans, the reason smart people should choose working at a startup over Big Tech, and more.
This session was recorded live at a recent Data Driven NYC, our in-person, monthly event series. If you are ever in New York, you can find us on Eventbrite by searching for "FirstMark Capital". Events run monthly and are free and open to everyone. And as always, if you enjoy the MAD podcast, please subscribe and feel free to leave us a comment or rating.
Data Driven NYC YouTube Channel
Show Notes:
[00:00:45] Introducing Gustavo Sapoznik, Founder & CEO of ASAPP, a unicorn AI startup based in New York;
[00:01:00] How ASAPP started with a mission to “end bad customer service” after a frustrating phone call Mr. Sapoznik had with his cable provider;
[00:02:44] ASAPP’s product philosophy and how the customer service is a three-legged stool with companies, customers, and agents;
[00:05:11] How ASAPP automates what they can and augments the rest to make agents more productive;
[00:07:12] The evolution of ASAPP’s offerings including how ASAPP technology makes agents more productive;
[00:9:16] How ASAPP’s technology reduces response times and improves quality for agents by including transcription, auto complete, and real-time scoring of interactions for quality assurance;
[00:13:49] How ASAPP has evolved since 2014; their research-first approach, building in-house AI capabilities, training their own models, and their recent exploration of using open-source checkpoints;
[00:15:05] How Mr. Sapoznik hired the guy who ran all NLP research at Google;
[00:16:04] How cost, latency, and accuracy in their AI models differentiate ASAPP from common AI APIs available today;
[00:18:49] Agent models v. Language models and how ASAPP AI is modularized for large teams with established tech stacks;
[00:20:09] Mr. Sapoznik shares insights on selling to large enterprises and why he believes building a sales machine is equally, if not more important, than the product itself;
[00:23:08] How to recruit and retain top AI talent;
[00:27:42] Lessons learned from working with notable board members, including the three key dimensions of support from a good board: being a sounding board, providing tactical advice and connections, and instilling a sense of accountability and motivation;
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