This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ali Ghodsi, CEO of cloud-based data and AI company Databricks. It has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Marc Andreessen wrote the article "Why Software Is Eating the World" in 2011. I think it's obvious now that software has eaten the world.
What he meant by that is that you'll find software everywhere. Electric cars today are just fancy computers, your Nest thermostat is a piece of software, your watch is a piece of software, and your phone is a piece of software. Everything we do has become digitized, running on software. Every company is now a software company.
In every industry, software is going to become extremely important. Industries that you traditionally might not have thought were software industries — healthcare, retail, finance — all of it is software. Andreessen was very prescient in 2011. He articulated well that software companies are — soon — going to run everything.
In 2013, we at Databricks started saying that AI will eat all software. Our point is that all software that was built to revolutionize the planet is unintelligent because it doesn't use AI, and it's all going to be eaten by AIs that are much, much smarter.
The reason AI works is the data. If we can process data and feed it into AI, we can make all the software on the planet intelligent. That's why we've always called Databricks a software and AI company. Generative AI is going to disrupt any software company that exists today. These models are going to change how humans interact with machines and how machines interact with humans. Every company needs to figure out how to introduce generative AI into their software so that it can become intelligent as it interacts with human beings. Our job at Databricks is to be the platform for that introduction, so these companies can easily build their AI protocols out and process all their company data.
Databricks' focus on AI is unique.
Only a few companies leveraged AI effectively a long time ago, but it was a handful of companies and in specific use cases, such as with Facebook and ad sales. But we believe that in every industry, the winners going forward are going to be data and AI companies.
Uber disrupted the cab industry using data and AI: Uber tells you the estimated time of arrival and estimated price of the trip in advance using AI. People may take this for granted now, but 15 years ago you probably couldn't know the price or the exact time of arrival of your ride before it got to you. You just sat there and waited — the car might not show up at all. The leading companies in the future are going to be data and AI companies — healthcare, retail, you name it.
I'll go so far as to say, in five or 10 years, to be the CEO in any of these industries, you'll need to have a data-and-AI background. If you're completely illiterate when it comes to data and AI, you probably won't have the credentials for that job.
Are you a business leader exploring the professional uses of AI and do you want to share your story? Email Ashley Davis at adavis@insider.com.
