What podcasts say about Benedict Evans
Every statement, with the speaker, the exact quote and the moment it was said.
What Benedict Evans has said on podcasts
29 statements · 9 positive · 11 negative · 4 mixed · 5 neutral
AI will be as consequential as the Internet or mobile, but not larger.
“I think that AI is as big a deal as the Internet or mobile and only as big a deal as the Internet or mobile.”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 0:01
New technologies repeatedly automate existing jobs and unlock new ones.
“We've had that process over and over again.”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 0:15
It is not possible to predict exactly which work technology will automate.
“You can't predict which things are going to be exposed.”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 0:31
People should experiment with AI to understand its practical uses.
“What helps is you diving into this and coming out, understanding what you can do with.”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 1:07
AI is currently at an exciting early stage comparable to the Internet in 1997.
“Like, it's very exciting.”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 3:26
- on AI usage among 13- to 18-year-oldsNeutralMay 31, 2026· Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth
Among teenagers, roughly 15–20% use AI daily and another 20% weekly.
“It's still like kind of 15, 20% of people are daily active users and another 20% are weekly active users.”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 8:58
Redesigning enterprise workflows for AI requires a dedicated multi-person project.
“That's a project. That's a project that needs like five or 10 people to sit down and spend a month or two working it out”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 11:30
Claude Code can produce code and features but cannot decide which product to build.
“Claude, co can write you the code, but what code do you want? It can make you the features. Sure, but what features do you want?”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 15:19
After technological transitions, societies ultimately become wealthier despite disruption.
“But when you come through on the other side, we're all richer”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 19:49
Enterprise software and related jobs will change radically over several years.
“Yes, that whole estate will look radically different and all those jobs will have changed.”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 22:05
The world has approximately 5.5–6 billion mobile smartphones.
“there's about 5 and a half, 6 billion mobile smartphones in the world”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 31:06
Mobile telecommunications is a low-growth, low-margin commodity utility.
“because it's an ex growth, low margin commodity utility”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 34:15
AI model companies currently look like undifferentiated commodity infrastructure providers.
“they're undifferentiated commodity infrastructure providers.”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 40:20
- on U.S. data center water consumptionNeutralMay 31, 2026· Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth
U.S. data centers consume approximately 0.017% of national water use.
“it came out at about 0.017% of US water consumption.”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 49:21
U.S. data-center water consumption is about 0.017% of total U.S. water consumption.
“it came out at about 0.017% of US water consumption”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 49:21
U.S. data-center energy use may grow by one percentage point annually for five years.
“data centers are what, like 5% of U.S. energy and might grow 1% a year for the next, next five years, 1 percentage point a year”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 49:39
There is no clear consensus that AI is currently affecting employment.
“there's no clear consensus that we're seeing an impact on jobs”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 51:19
AI-related job-market conditions will settle substantially within about five years, unpredictably.
“staff will have settled down a lot by then in probably unpredictable ways”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 53:51
AI now enables teenagers to create and distribute deepfake pornography at large scale.
“And now they can.”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 56:32
AI will reconnect harmful people, bad instincts, and societal problems as social media did.
“And so that will happen again with AI.”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 57:03
AI will automate away some jobs that mainly consist of automatable tasks.
“some jobs where no, that is just a task and that job gets automated away”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 1:00:09
- on AI occupational-exposure estimatesNegativeMay 31, 2026· Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth
Current methods cannot reliably quantify what percentage of a profession AI can automate.
“You can't describe a profession like that. Well, at any rate, we can't.”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 1:03:31
AI can generate training routines and monitor whether users perform exercises correctly.
“I ask an AI to build me a training routine and watch me and tell me if I'm doing it right.”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 1:04:38
Workers should immerse themselves in AI to understand its practical capabilities and career implications.
“What helps is you diving into this, completely submerging yourself in it and coming out, understanding what you can do with it”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 1:07:47
AI currently performs precise information retrieval relatively poorly.
“the kind of stuff that I would want a machine to do for me is the stuff that AI kind of can't do for me very, very, very well at the moment”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 1:09:20
Generative AI can work very well for visualizing apartment redecorations.
“I used it redecorating my apartment. That worked fantastic.”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 1:09:30
High marginal costs make it difficult for consumer AI apps to combine free scale with a viable revenue model.
“because of marginal cost more than anything else, you can't make it free and get 50 million users and then have a revenue model”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 1:15:22
AI language models still produce hallucinations.
“They still hallucinate.”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 1:18:54
AI language models remain useful despite hallucinations.
“But that doesn't mean they're not useful.”
Open the episode · A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict EvansListen at 1:19:02
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.