AI Eats the World? A Reality Check with Benedict Evans

About this episode

Erik Torenberg interviews tech analyst Benedict Evans about the current state of AI and its implications for technology adoption.

Erik Torenberg speaks with tech analyst Benedict Evans about the current state of AI, what has changed over the past year, and which questions remain unanswered. The conversation covers coding agents, foundation models, AI infrastructure spending, software economics, and the tension between today's AI excitement and the long-term realities of technology adoption. Evans discusses why coding has emerged as AI's first breakout use case, how previous platform shifts can help frame the current moment, and why many of the most important questions about AI remain unresolved. Along the way, they explore the future of software, enterprise adoption, consumer behavior, and whether AI models ultimately capture value themselves or become infrastructure for the next generation of applications.

People in this episode

Host: Erik Torenberg

Guest: Benedict Evans

Topics covered

• AI
• technology adoption
• software economics
• coding agents
• enterprise adoption
• consumer behavior

Keywords

• AI
• Benedict Evans
• coding agents
• foundation models
• software economics
• technology adoption
• enterprise adoption

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Andreessen Horowitz

More episodes of The a16z Show

• Samo Burja on Growth, Energy, and AI · June 12, 2026 · 28 min
• Designing the Physical World with AI · June 11, 2026 · 50 min
• Tyler Cowen & Alex Tabarrok on AI, Jobs, and Economic Growth · June 9, 2026 · 59 min
• Building Search for AI Agents with Exa CEO Will Bryk · June 6, 2026 · 50 min
• AI Agents and the Fight for Customer Data · June 5, 2026 · 51 min
• Balaji and Steven Glinert on Network States, Supply Chains, and Allied Coalition Strategy · June 3, 2026 · 55 min