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This is a thought-provoking post and I agree with the "avoid using AI as long as possible" point. AI is best used for things that can only be accomplished with

This is a thought-provoking post and I agree with the "avoid using AI as long as possible" point. AI is best used for things that can only be accomplished with AI--if there's any way to build the feature or solve the problem without it, then yeah, do that instead. Since everyone now has more or less equal access to the best models available, the best products will necessarily be defined by everything they do that's not AI--workflows, UIs, UX, performance, and all that other old-fashioned stuff. I'm not so sure about the "train your own model" advice. This sounds like a good way to set your product up for quick obsolescence. It might differentiate you for a short period of time, but within 6-12 months (if that), either OpenAI or one of its competitors with billions in funding is going to release a new model that blows yours out of the water, and your "differentiated model" is now a steaming pile of tech debt. Trying to compete on models as a small startup seems like a huge distraction. It's like building your own database rather than just using Postgres or MySQL. Yes, you need a moat and a product that is difficult to copy in some way, but it should be something you can realistically be the best at given your resources.

JamesBarney 3y ago
100%, worked with a founder who thought the AI hype was overblown 5 years ago so focused on "workflows, UIs, UX, performance, and all that other old-fashioned stuff" while all his competitors focused on building AI models. Then ChatGPT came out and all his competitors work was instantly obsolete, and he could achieve AI feature parity in weeks. He was right about what to build but for the wrong reasons and it's been a huge boon to his business.
- fest 3y ago
  Why are these reasons wrong? I have a similar attitude in my field (UAVs), where many desperately chase the next whizzbang technology, ignoring the boring, old fashioned stuff (workflows, UX, 3rd party addons).
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SomeoneFromCA 3y ago
Not doing so will produce same boring Chatgpt based bot, everyone have already seen and tired off. I mean, differention is quite important thing actually.
- danenania 3y ago
  That's why you should spend your time building a great product rather than an also-ran model. While you're working on your model, your competitors are working on their products. In a few months when your model is made obsolete by the latest OpenAI release, your competitors will have a better product and a better model than you.
  - SomeoneFromCA 3y ago
    This is a persistent, but in fact a poorly justified opinion. First of all, according to linked article, they were able to make something much better and cheaper than Chatgpt (for their task obv.) in quite a short period of time. What stops them from making the same feat again? What makes you think, that the same boring bland OpenAI wrappers are going to take off at all, let alone survive till next OpenAI iteration? People are not stupid, they can see that the product you are offering is essentially a low-effort wrapper, they have already seen, why would they choose you product at all?
    - danenania 3y ago
      You seem to be conflating a "boring" product with using OpenAI models, but the two have nothing to do with each other. 99% of users don't care what models you're using underneath. They only care how well the product works. "What stops them from making the same feat again?" Hopefully nothing, for their sake, because they're going to have to do it again and again to keep up. Look, I'm not saying this specific product was wrong to build their own models for certain tasks. If it works for their product and they're getting users, then bully for them. I just don't think it's great general advice. I also think it provides a lot less long-term differentiation and competitive edge than the author of the post seems to think.

JamesBarney 3y ago

100%, worked with a founder who thought the AI hype was overblown 5 years ago so focused on "workflows, UIs, UX, performance, and all that other old-fashioned stuff" while all his competitors focused on building AI models. Then ChatGPT came out and all his competitors work was instantly obsolete, and he could achieve AI feature parity in weeks. He was right about what to build but for the wrong reasons and it's been a huge boon to his business.

fest 3y ago
Why are these reasons wrong? I have a similar attitude in my field (UAVs), where many desperately chase the next whizzbang technology, ignoring the boring, old fashioned stuff (workflows, UX, 3rd party addons).

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SomeoneFromCA 3y ago

Not doing so will produce same boring Chatgpt based bot, everyone have already seen and tired off. I mean, differention is quite important thing actually.

danenania 3y ago
That's why you should spend your time building a great product rather than an also-ran model. While you're working on your model, your competitors are working on their products. In a few months when your model is made obsolete by the latest OpenAI release, your competitors will have a better product and a better model than you.
- SomeoneFromCA 3y ago
  This is a persistent, but in fact a poorly justified opinion. First of all, according to linked article, they were able to make something much better and cheaper than Chatgpt (for their task obv.) in quite a short period of time. What stops them from making the same feat again? What makes you think, that the same boring bland OpenAI wrappers are going to take off at all, let alone survive till next OpenAI iteration? People are not stupid, they can see that the product you are offering is essentially a low-effort wrapper, they have already seen, why would they choose you product at all?
  - danenania 3y ago
    You seem to be conflating a "boring" product with using OpenAI models, but the two have nothing to do with each other. 99% of users don't care what models you're using underneath. They only care how well the product works. "What stops them from making the same feat again?" Hopefully nothing, for their sake, because they're going to have to do it again and again to keep up. Look, I'm not saying this specific product was wrong to build their own models for certain tasks. If it works for their product and they're getting users, then bully for them. I just don't think it's great general advice. I also think it provides a lot less long-term differentiation and competitive edge than the author of the post seems to think.