O3 and the Next Leap in Reasoning with OpenAI’s Eric Mitchell and Brandon McKinzie
This week on No Priors, Elad and Sarah sit down with Eric Mitchell and Brandon McKinzie, two of the minds behind OpenAI’s O3 model. They discuss what makes O3 unique, including its focus on reasoning, the role of reinforcement learning, and how tool use enables more powerful interactions. The conversation explores the unification of model capabilities, what the next generation of human-AI interfaces could look like, and how models will continue to advance in the years ahead.
Sign up for new podcasts every week. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com
Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @mckbrando | @ericmitchellai
Show Notes:
0:00 What is o3?
3:21 Reinforcement learning in o3
4:44 Unification of models
8:56 Why tool use helps test time scaling
11:10 Deep research
16:00 Future ways to interact with models
22:03 General purpose vs specialized models
25:30 Simulating AI interacting with the world
29:36 How will models advance?
--------
39:13
Inside Deep Research with Isa Fulford: Building the Future of AI Agents
On this episode of No Priors, Sarah sits down with Isa Fulford, one of the masterminds behind deep research. They unpack how the initiative began, the role of human expert data, and what it takes to build agents with real-world capability and even taste. Isa shares the differences between deep research and OpenAI’s o3 model, the challenges around latency, and how she sees agent capabilities evolving. Plus, OpenAI has announced that deep research is free for all US users starting today.
Sign up for new podcasts every week. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com
Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @IsaFulf
Show Notes:
0:00 Deep research’s inception & evolution
6:12 Data creation
7:20 Reinforcement fine-tuning
9:05 Why human expert data matters
11:23 Failure modes of agents
13:55 The roadmap ahead for Deep Research
18:32 How do agents develop taste?
19:29 Experience and path to building a broadly capable agent
22:03 Deep research vs. o3
25:55 Latency
27:56 Predictions for agent capabilities
--------
30:45
Predicting the Earth with Josh Goldman: How KoBold Uses AI to Find Critical Minerals
This week on No Priors, Sarah and Elad are joined by Josh Goldman, cofounder and president of KoBold Metals. KoBold is using AI to transform how we discover critical minerals like lithium and cobalt, making the exploration process faster, more precise, and more scalable than traditional methods. In this episode, Josh explains how KoBold is rethinking the fundamentals of mineral exploration by combining unique datasets, scientific modeling, and predictive algorithms. They dive into the company’s driving philosophy and technical approach, how they validate underground hypotheses, and why regulatory knowledge and a localized approach are crucial. Josh also discusses what success looks like in exploration today and the scarcity of world-class deposits.
Sign up for new podcasts every week. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com
Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @KoBold_Metals
Show Notes:
0:00 Introduction
0:29 KoBold Metals
3:14 Using unique datasets
6:20 Traditional methods of lithium exploration
8:38 Regulatory vs. rarity constraints
13:40 Technical approach
16:25 Validating hypotheses
23:56 Redefining success in mineral exploration
25:44 Scarcity of good projects and deposits
32:44 Philosophy behind prediction
36:46 KoBold’s origin story
--------
40:53
From Job Displacement to AI Trainers, Brendan Foody on Work in the AI Age
On this episode of No Priors, Sarah and Elad sit down with Brendan Foody, CEO and cofounder of Mercor, to discuss the company’s rapid growth and their vision for the future of the labor market. They dive into how AI is reshaping the workforce in real, tangible ways and what skills are worth investing in today. Brendan shares insights on evaluating talent in an AI-driven world, including how models might identify outlier or 10x candidates and even assess “taste.” The conversation also touches on the evolving role of human data, the future of hiring in fast-scaling startups, and whether AI will act as an individual contributor or a data-centric manager.
Show Notes:
0:00 Introduction
0:16 Building Mercor
3:00 Identifying outlier talent with AI
9:07 How AI is reshaping the workforce: job displacement & evolution
11:18 What skills should we invest in now?
12:18 Verifiability
13:36 Evaluating models
16:07 What should kids learn today?
17:05 Evaluating taste in talent assessments
18:45 Future of data collection
26:07 Humans’ role in the AI economy
28:53 AI as a contributor vs. a manager
33:03 Mercor’s goals
34:50 Evolution of labor markets
36:00 Hiring advice
--------
41:52
Public Markets, Image Gen, and Specialized Models, with Sarah and Elad
In this episode of No Priors, Sarah and Elad examine the current state of AI. They break down the recent dip in public markets, how tariffs could impact the tech industry, and where opportunities remain in large language models. They highlight the opportunities in more specialized models, new approaches to model development, and how the market is beginning to standardize with integrations like the Model Context Protocol (MCP). The episode ends with a look at early consumer AI applications and what types of expertise will matter most in the coming years.
Show Notes:
0:00 Improvements in image gen
4:42 Public markets
8:08 Effects of tariffs on tech
9:42 Today’s large model market
11:34 Opportunities in specialized models
16:30 Research advances in model approaches
21:10 What expertise will matter?
24:30 Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol
26:30 Consumer applications
Su No Priors: Artificial Intelligence | Technology | Startups
At this moment of inflection in technology, co-hosts Elad Gil and Sarah Guo talk to the world's leading AI engineers, researchers and founders about the biggest questions: How far away is AGI? What markets are at risk for disruption? How will commerce, culture, and society change? What’s happening in state-of-the-art in research? “No Priors” is your guide to the AI revolution. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com.
Sarah Guo is a startup investor and the founder of Conviction, an investment firm purpose-built to serve intelligent software, or "Software 3.0" companies. She spent nearly a decade incubating and investing at venture firm Greylock Partners.
Elad Gil is a serial entrepreneur and a startup investor. He was co-founder of Color Health, Mixer Labs (which was acquired by Twitter). He has invested in over 40 companies now worth $1B or more each, and is also author of the High Growth Handbook.
Ascolta No Priors: Artificial Intelligence | Technology | Startups, SaggioPodcast by SaggiaMente e molti altri podcast da tutto il mondo con l’applicazione di radio.it