Description
The DAS crew focused on Nvidia’s decision to open source its Nemotron model family, what that signals in the hardware and software arms race, and new research from Perplexity and Harvard analyzing how people actually use AI agents in the wild. The second half shifted into Google’s new Disco experiment, tab overload, agent driven interfaces, and a long discussion on the newly announced US Tech Force, including historical parallels, talent incentives, and skepticism about whether large government programs can truly attract top AI builders. Key Points Discussed Nvidia open sources the Nematron model family, spanning 30B to 500B parameters Nematron Nano outperforms similar sized open models with much faster inference Nvidia positions software plus hardware co design as its long term moat Chinese open models continue to dominate open source benchmarks Perplexity confirms use of Nematron models alongside proprietary systems New Harvard and Perplexity paper analyzes over 100,000 agentic browser sessions Productivity, learning, and research account for 57 percent of agent usage Shopping and course discovery make up a large share of remaining queries Users shift toward more cognitively complex tasks over time Google launches Disco, turning related browser tabs into interactive agent driven apps Disco aims to reduce tab overload and create task specific interfaces on the fly Debate over whether apps are built for humans or agents going forward Cursor moves parts of its CMS toward code first, agent friendly design US Tech Force announced as a two year federal AI talent recruitment program Program emphasizes portfolios over degrees and offers 150K to 200K compensation Historical programs often struggled due to bureaucracy and cultural resistance Panel debates whether elite AI talent will choose government over private sector roles Concerns raised about branding, inclusion, and long term effectiveness of Tech Force Timestamps and Topics 00:00:00 👋 Opening, host lineup, StreamYard layout issues 00:04:10 🧠 Nvidia Nematron open source announcement 00:09:30 ⚙️ Hardware software co design and TPU competition 00:15:40 📊 Perplexity and Harvard agent usage research 00:22:10 🛒 Shopping, productivity, and learning as top AI use cases 00:27:30 🌐 Open source model dominance from China 00:31:10 🧩 Google Disco overview and live walkthrough 00:37:20 📑 Tab overload, dynamic interfaces, and agent UX 00:43:50 🤖 Designing sites for agents instead of people 00:49:30 🏛️ US Tech Force program overview 00:56:10 📜 Degree free hiring, portfolios, and compensation 01:03:40 ⚠️ Historical failures of similar government tech programs 01:09:20 🧠 Inclusion, branding, and talent attraction concerns 01:16:30 🏁 Closing, community thanks, and newsletter reminders The Daily AI Show Co Hosts: Brian Maucere, Andy Halliday, Anne Townsend, and Karl Yeh