{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Stewart Squared","title":"Episode #72: From Yahoo's Directory to Apple's Neural Chips: The Evolution of Structured Knowledge","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2802,"description":"In this episode of Stewart Squared, host Stewart Alsop explores the critical role of ontologies in computing with his father, guest Stewart Alsop II. The conversation covers how early internet pioneers like Yahoo and Amazon used ontologies to organize information, making it machine-readable, and examines whether companies like Apple might be leveraging ontological approaches for knowledge management. The discussion ranges from the historical Dewey Decimal System to modern applications in AI, the evolution of hardware-software integration, Apple's strategic positioning in the AI landscape, and the development of cloud computing infrastructure. Stewart Alsop II provides insights on technology readiness levels, the nature of LLMs as databases rather than active systems, and Apple's trust-focused strategy under Tim Cook's leadership. The hosts also touch on the geopolitical implications of cloud infrastructure, including China's data center investments in Brazil, and debate the future of personal computing devices in an AI-driven world.Timestamps00:00 Welcome and ontology introduction, discussing how Yahoo and Amazon created ontologies for search and product catalogs to make data machine-readable.05:00 Dewey Decimal System analogy for ontologies, explaining how Yahoo used subject matter organization before LLMs eliminated directory needs.10:00 AI limitations in structured domains like coding, law, and music versus inability to create genuinely new solutions independently.15:00 Regulated industries using ontologies for documentation, challenges of AI handling unpredictable regulatory changes like RFK Jr's vaccine positions.20:00 Hardware-software boundaries discussion, Apple's virtualization success across different processor architectures with minimal cathedral-like teams.25:00 Apple's neural accelerators in M5 chips for local AI workloads, Apple Intelligence missteps and team restructuring away from Google-thinking.30:00 LLMs as inert databases requiring tools for...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/QlC48R1fevmul8S_Y7L1P2WUMnEKqwNUR7TBsNqFHaE/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS84NDMx/NWQ0MWQ1Y2NkNjhk/ZDI1NWE0MTUyN2Q5/Zjg0NS53ZWJw.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}