Chain of Thought | AI Agents, Infrastructure & Engineering

Is the agentic AI bubble about to burst? Kelly Vaughn, Director of Engineering at Spot AI, questions whether the agent craze is overpromising potential and leading startups down a path of unsustainable expectations.Never one to shy away from a hot take, Kelly joins host Conor Bronsdon for a pragmatic look at AI, discussing the differences between building AI-enabled and traditional software, why replacing humans with AI teams will backfire (looking at you customer service), and the proliferation of AI tools.Kelly also shares insights on constructing AI teams, navigating data governance, and building user trust while avoiding common startup pitfalls. Chapters:00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome01:13 Is Agentic AI a Bubble?02:40 Startup Challenges and Market Noise11:02 Building AI Products vs. Traditional Software17:31 Ethical Implications and Governance19:48 Constructing AI-Enabled Teams22:07 AI Tooling and Productivity26:00 Questioning Productivity Claims32:28 Conclusion and Final ThoughtsFollow the hostsFollow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Atin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Conor⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Vikram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Yash⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Today's Guest(s)Kelly’s Newsletter The Modern LeaderLinkedIn Kelly VaughnCheck out Galileo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Try Galileo⁠⁠

Show Notes

Is the agentic AI bubble about to burst? Kelly Vaughn, Director of Engineering at Spot AI, questions whether the agent craze is overpromising potential and leading startups down a path of unsustainable expectations.

Never one to shy away from a hot take, Kelly joins host Conor Bronsdon for a pragmatic look at AI, discussing the differences between building AI-enabled and traditional software, why replacing humans with AI teams will backfire (looking at you customer service), and the proliferation of AI tools.

Kelly also shares insights on constructing AI teams, navigating data governance, and building user trust while avoiding common startup pitfalls.


Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome

01:13 Is Agentic AI a Bubble?

02:40 Startup Challenges and Market Noise

11:02 Building AI Products vs. Traditional Software

17:31 Ethical Implications and Governance

19:48 Constructing AI-Enabled Teams

22:07 AI Tooling and Productivity

26:00 Questioning Productivity Claims

32:28 Conclusion and Final Thoughts


Follow the hosts

Follow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Atin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Conor⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Vikram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Yash⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


Follow Today's Guest(s)

Kelly’s Newsletter The Modern Leader

LinkedIn Kelly Vaughn

Check out Galileo

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Try Galileo⁠⁠


What is Chain of Thought | AI Agents, Infrastructure & Engineering?

AI is reshaping infrastructure, strategy, and entire industries. Host Conor Bronsdon talks to the engineers, founders, and researchers building breakthrough AI systems about what it actually takes to ship AI in production, where the opportunities lie, and how leaders should think about the strategic bets ahead.

Chain of Thought translates technical depth into actionable insights for builders and decision-makers. New episodes bi-weekly.

Conor Bronsdon is an angel investor in AI and dev tools, Head of Technical Ecosystem at Modular, and previously led growth at AI startups Galileo and LinearB.