Episode #46: AI Troubles for Taco Bell, Is Non-Consensus Dangerous, Are Software Economics Going Off a Cliff with AI

This week on The Learning Corner by Precursor, Mia and Charles dive into three major topics shaping the future of AI, startups, and software economics: Taco Bell’s Voice AI Troubles: A WSJ piece reveals just how glitchy the chain’s drive-thru AI rollout has been—and why they’re rethinking it entirely. Charles shares why these failures might actually be a good sign of progress and what’s at stake when AI misfires in higher-risk industries like healthcare and finance. The Myth of “Non-Consensus” Investing: A provocative thread from Martin Casado questions whether early-stage investors are placing too much faith in being contrarian. Is alpha really found in non-consensus bets—or does follow-on capital always chase what’s hot? The Software Margin Cliff: A brilliant Substack from Sam Schillace suggests that AI is driving software economics off a cliff. As inference costs grow and traditional SaaS margins shrink, the industry may look more like manufacturing than the creative playground it used to be.

Speakers

AI Chat

Charles Hudson

Host • 63%

Mia Farnham

Host • 38%

Chapters

0:18	Introduction to the Learning Corner podcast
0:48	Taco Bell's bumpy rollout of voice AI and its broader implications
3:19	AI in healthcare, fintech, and the future of engineering
6:09	The nuances of contrarian and nonconsensus investing
10:09	Consensus in later-stage investing
12:46	Sam Schillis on AI's impact on software economics and changing business models
18:36	Closing remarks and thank yous

Transcript

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