Marc Andreessen has some tips for getting the most out of AI.<\/p>\n
The venture capitalist<\/a> said on an episode of the “a16z Podcast” published Tuesday that AI tools can act as the “world’s best coach, mentor, therapist, advisor, board member” for anyone who asks the right kind of questions.<\/p>\n AI is probably “the most democratic” technology of all time, said the cofounder of VC firm Andreessen Horowitz. “The very best AI in the world is fully available on the apps that anybody can download.”<\/p>\n Andreessen said the real power of AI is unlocked when the user starts treating it like a “thought partner.” “Part of the art of AI, right, is what questions to ask it,” he said.<\/p>\n He laid out several examples using a small business<\/a>. A bakery owner, for instance, could feed AI anything from staffing schedules to customer emails to ad copy, and let the model critique all of it.<\/p>\n Andreessen also said product development works the same way: Give AI your recipe and ask how to improve it.<\/p>\n “What’s the best cinnamon roll recipe in the world? Work backward from that,” he said.<\/p>\n “You could also say, ‘Look, I want to make the best one in the world, but I need to do it at 1\/10 of the price,'” he said. “What are the ways to cost-optimize?”<\/p>\n Andreessen said that meta prompts can help users determine the best questions to ask AI. They surface blind spots and reshape one’s approach.<\/p>\n “What questions should I be asking?” he said users should query the bot. “Teach me how to use you in the best way.”<\/p>\n Knowing how to prompt is key<\/p>\n Other tech leaders have echoed Andreessen’s point that knowing how to prompt AI<\/a> is critical to unlocking its full value.<\/p>\n