Aaron Levie and Steven Sinofsky on the A...

What exactly is an AI agent, and how will agents change the way we work?

In this episode, a16z general partners Erik Torenberg and Martin Casado sit down with Aaron Levie (CEO, Box) and Steven Sinofsky (a16z board partner; former Microsoft exec) to unpack one of the hottest debates in AI right now.

They cover:

• Competing definitions of an “agent,” from background tasks to autonomous interns
• Why today’s agents look less like a single AGI and more like networks of specialized sub-agents
• The technical challenges of long-running, self-improving systems
• How agent-driven workflows could reshape coding, productivity, and enterprise software
• What history — from the early PC era to the rise of the internet — tells us about platform shifts like this one

The conversation moves from deep technical questions to big-picture implications for founders, enterprises, and the future of work.

Timecodes: 

0:00 Introduction: The Evolution of AI Agents

0:36 Defining Agency and Autonomy

1:54 Long-Running Agents and Feedback Loops

4:49 Specialization and Task Division in AI

6:20 Human-AI Collaboration and Productivity

6:59 Anthropomorphizing AI and Economic Impact

9:10 Predictions, Progress, and Platform Shifts

11:31 Recursive Self-Improvement and Technical Challenges

13:20 Hallucinations, Verification, and Expert Productivity

16:20 The Role of Experts and Tool Adoption

22:14 Changing Workflows: Agents Reshaping Work Patterns

45:55 Division of Labor, Specialization, and New Roles

48:47 Verticalization, Applied AI, and the Future of Agents

54:44 Platform Competition and the Application Layer

55:29 Closing Thoughts and Takeaways 

Resources: 

Find Aaron on X: https://x.com/levie

Find Martin on X: https://x.com/martin_casado

Find Steven on X: https://x.com/stevesi

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