The Swyx Mixtape

In this episode, I chatted with Shawn Wang about his upcoming AI engineering conference and what an AI engineer really is. It's been a year since he penned the viral essay "Rise of the AI Engineer' and we discuss if this new role will be enduring, the make up of the optimal AI team and trends in machine learning.

00:00 - Introduction and background on Shawn Wang (Swyx)
03:45 - Reflecting on the "Rise of the AI Engineer" essay
07:30 - Skills and characteristics of AI Engineers
12:15 - Team composition for AI products
16:30 - Vertical vs. horizontal AI startups
23:00 - Advice for AI product creators and leaders
28:15 - Tools and buying vs. building for AI products
33:30 - Key trends in AI research and development
41:00 - Closing thoughts and information on the AI Engineer World Fair Summit