Jeff Dean Leaves Google, Airtable Sells, and the Bag-Securing Era

Sam records from the beach while dealing with a broken bilge pump. Dave calls in after herding cattle. Fortunately, tech continues without them, which Sam takes as further proof that AGI is already running the industry. The crew unpacks Google's leadership shakeup and Jeff Dean's departure after 27 years, debates whether Airtable's sale to Bending Spoons is the blueprint for surviving the AI transition, and Sam argues that today's AI labs look increasingly like yesterday's overvalued SaaS companies. Along the way they explain why Sam's AI built his kid an iPhone game, why OpenAI's luxury creator retreat backfired, why Apple may have accidentally created its own lawsuit, and whether AI can ever overcome the growing public backlash against it. Chapters:0:00 Episode Trailer1:07 Episode Start2:08 Sam's Boston Whaler Beach Studio3:13 Dave Herds Cattle in Montana5:31 Google's AI Shakeup, Jeff Dean Leaves, Demis Steps Back8:57 Why Great Researchers Don't Always Make Great CEOs10:48 Recursive Self-Improvement and the AI Talent Wars19:41 Airtable Sells to Bending Spoons25:33 Not Every SaaS Company Is Dead27:50 The Constellation Software Playbook30:05 The Next Big Write Downs Are AI Labs31:59 Apple vs. OpenAI, Courtesy of iCloud35:20 OpenAI's Creator Summit Backlash40:53 Why People Still Hate AI43:39 AI Slop and the Content Problem45:11 SpaceX's Lockup and Number Big48:00 Nikita Bier Leaves X50:22 Jess's Posting Dilemma53:40 Next Week on More or LessWe’re also on ↓X: https://twitter.com/moreorlesspodInstagram: https://instagram.com/moreorlessSpotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/moreorlesspodConnect with us here:1) Sam Lessin: https://x.com/lessin2) Dave Morin: https://x.com/davemorin3) Jessica Lessin: https://x.com/Jessicalessin4) Brit Morin: https://x.com/brit