Join Allen Firstenberg and Noble Ackerson, hosts of the Two Voice Devs podcast, for a lively and insightful Q&A session recorded live at Voice & AI 2024! We dive into the burning questions surrounding AI's impact on software development, exploring the potential threats and exciting opportunities presented by tools like GitHub Copilot and Cursor. From the future of junior developers to the ethics of non-deterministic systems, we tackle it all with our signature blend of technical expertis...
Nov 21, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 216
Tired of wrestling with platform-specific machine learning model formats? Join Allen Firstenberg and Mark Tucker on Two Voice Devs as they explore ONNX (Open Neural Network Exchange), a game-changing open format built to streamline your ML model deployment workflow. Discover how ONNX empowers you to train models in your preferred framework (PyTorch, TensorFlow, scikit-learn, etc.) and seamlessly execute them across diverse platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Web) using the efficient ON...
Nov 15, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 215
Dive into the world of AI-powered learning with Allen and Mark as they explore Google's innovative NotebookLM. This cutting-edge tool offers a fascinating glimpse into the potential of Google's Gemini AI model. NotebookLM allows you to centralize your notes, documents, and even audio/video transcripts, transforming them into an interactive knowledge base. Discover how its conversational interface lets you ask questions, generate summaries with citations, and even create podcasts from your source...
Nov 07, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 214
Boo! Join Two Voice Devs for a special Halloween episode filled with chilling tales from the software development crypt. Mark and Allen recount true stories of coding nightmares, from dropped databases to runaway pings, and offer words of wisdom for surviving your own development horrors. Listen with the lights on (if you dare) as they explore the spooky side of coding, complete with a chilling Halloween soundtrack. Don't forget to share your own scary developer stories in the comments! Timestam...
Oct 31, 2024•22 min•Season 1Ep. 213
Join Mark and Allen, your Two Voice Devs, as they delve into the crucial world of data labeling for machine learning model training. Whether you're a seasoned data scientist or a developer just starting to explore AI, understanding data labeling is essential for building effective models. In this episode, they explore various data labeling techniques, from manual labeling for simple voice apps to automated approaches using open-source libraries like Snorkel. Discover how labeled data powers ever...
Oct 25, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 212
Join us for a fascinating conversation with John G, a seasoned voice developer, as he shares his insights into Apple's approach to AI and the future of Siri. John discusses his journey from helping content creators to the Alexa ecosystem and then into the Apple world, driven by the potential of App Intents and the evolving landscape of Apple Intelligence. We delve into the technical details, exploring how App Intents, the semantic index, and on-device LLMs are shaping the future of app developme...
Oct 18, 2024•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 211
Join Mark and Xavier on Two Voice Devs as they dive into the world of generative AI development with Firebase GenKit and GitHub Models. Xavier, a Google Developer Expert in AI, Microsoft MVP in AI, and GitHub Star, shares his insights on these emerging technologies and his open-source project that bridges the gap between them. Discover how Firebase GenKit offers a simpler, more modular approach to building GenAI applications compared to frameworks like LangChain. Learn about GitHub Models and ho...
Oct 11, 2024•22 min•Season 1Ep. 210
This episode of Two Voice Devs, recorded before the exciting announcement of OpenAI's GPT-4o Realtime and Audio previews, tackles a classic developer challenge: taming unruly text-to-speech (TTS) engines. Triggered by a listener question, Allen and Mark dive into the frustrating inconsistencies of TTS pronunciation, particularly when dealing with dynamically generated text from LLMs. They explore the limitations of SSML, experiment with phoneme alphabets like X-SAMPA, and even ponder the possibi...
Oct 04, 2024•19 min•Season 1Ep. 209
Join us as we dive deep into OpenAI's latest model, O1, with special guest host Michal Stanislavik, founder of utter.one and one of the voice community builder behind VoiceLunch. We explore the model's "reasoning" capabilities, its potential impact on conversational AI, and how developers can leverage its strengths. Michal shares his insights from hands-on experience, highlighting both the exciting possibilities and the current limitations of O1. Is it ready for prime-time in conversational appl...
Sep 26, 2024•47 min•Season 1Ep. 208
Join Mark and Allen on this episode of Two Voice Devs as they dive into the often overlooked but crucial topic of mentorship in software development. They explore what mentorship is (and isn't), the benefits for both mentor and mentee, and share personal anecdotes and practical advice. Whether you're a seasoned developer or just starting out, this episode offers valuable insights into fostering a culture of learning and growth within development teams. Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:00:45 ...
Sep 20, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 207
Dive into the world of agentic AI development with Allen and Mark as they explore LangGraph, a powerful state management system for building dynamic and complex AI agents with LangChain. Discover how LangGraph simplifies agent design, handles state transitions, integrates tools, and enables robust error handling – all while keeping the LLM at the heart of your application. Further Info: * https://github.com/langchain-ai/langgraphjs * https://github.com/langchain-ai/langgraphjs-studio-starter/ * ...
Sep 13, 2024•38 min•Season 1Ep. 206
Join us as we explore Vodo Drive, an innovative project that leverages Google's Gemini AI to revolutionize how we interact with spreadsheets. Creator Allen Firstenberg takes us behind the scenes, revealing the architecture, challenges, and breakthroughs of building an agentic system that understands and manipulates data like never before. Discover how Vodo Drive: * Empowers natural language interaction: Say goodbye to rigid formulas and hello to conversational commands. * Integrates image recogn...
Sep 05, 2024•51 min•Season 1Ep. 205
In this episode of Two Voice Devs, Allen and Mark discuss the considerations and strategies for shutting down an Alexa skill. They explore various reasons why developers might choose to sunset their skills, including declining usage, deprecated features, and the evolving Alexa landscape. They also delve into the technical aspects of skill removal, highlighting the options of hiding or removing a skill and the implications of each choice, especially when dealing with in-skill purchases and subscr...
Aug 29, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 204
Join Allen and Linda as they dive into Google's Imagen 3 and Imagen 3 Fast, a powerful new set of image generation models. We explore its capabilities, pricing, features, and limitations, including a deep dive into the API and how to use it with Python code. This episode features an in-depth look at Imagen 3's photorealism and comparison with its predecessor, Imagen 2. We examine the ethical implications of AI image generation, discussing copyright issues, plagiarism concerns, and the impact on ...
Aug 23, 2024•41 min•Season 1Ep. 203
Join Allen Firstenberg and Mark Tucker on Two Voice Devs as they discuss the challenges and solutions of hosting large language models (LLMs). They explore various hosting environments, including Firebase, AWS Amplify, Vertex AI, and Docker/Kubernetes, comparing their strengths and weaknesses. Allen shares his experience with Firebase Cloud Functions and the seamless integration with Google Cloud services, while Mark tackles the complexities of Docker, Kubernetes, and enterprise-level deployment...
Aug 15, 2024•27 min•Season 1Ep. 202
Join Allen and Mark in this episode of Two Voice Devs as they dive into the world of MLOps and explore KitOps, an open-source tool for packaging and versioning machine learning models and related artifacts. Learn how KitOps leverages the Open Container Initiative (OCI) standard to simplify model sharing and deployment. More info: https://kitops.ml Key Topics and Timestamps: What is DevOps? (0:00:41) - Allen and Mark discuss the fundamentals of DevOps and its role in software development and oper...
Aug 02, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 201
Mark Tucker and Allen Firstenberg celebrate 200 episodes and four years of Two Voice Devs! In this special episode, they reflect on the journey so far, the evolution of the AI landscape, and what excites them most about the future of development. Join them as they discuss: 00:00 Four years ago... 00:10 The evolution of large language models (LLMs) and how the landscape has shifted over the past year. 03:10 The emergence of new players in the AI model space and how Google, Microsoft, and Amazon a...
Jul 26, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 200
Join Allen Firstenberg and Roger Kibbe as they delve into the exciting world of local, embedded LLMs. We navigate some technical gremlins along the way, but that doesn't stop us from exploring the reasons behind this shift, the potential benefits for consumers and vendors, and the challenges developers will face in this new landscape. We discuss the "killer features" needed to drive adoption, the role of fine-tuning and LoRA adapters, and the potential impact on autonomous agents and an appless ...
Jul 22, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 199
Join us on Two Voice Devs as we welcome back Roger Kibbe. Fresh off emceeing the developer track at the Unparsed Conference in London, Roger shares his insights on the biggest takeaways, trends, and challenges facing #GenAI, #VoiceFirst and #ConversationalAI developers today. Get ready for a dose of reality as Roger emphasizes the need to view LLMs as powerful tools – think hammers – rather than magical solutions. We dive deep into: Timestamps: * 0:00 - Intro * 1:56 - Exploring the Unparsed Conf...
Jul 12, 2024•42 min•Season 1Ep. 198
What should people developing with LLMs learn from a decade of experience building Alexa skills? How will Alexa skill developers leverage the latest #GenerativeAI and #CoversationalAI tools as they continue to build #VoiceFirst and multimodal skills? Join Allen and Mark on Two Voice Devs as they delve into the evolving landscape of Alexa skill development in the era of large language models (LLMs). Sparked by a thought-provoking discussion on the Alexa forums, they explore the potential benefits...
Jul 05, 2024•40 min•Season 1Ep. 197
OpenAI's ChatGPT 4o and GPT 4o announcements have sent shockwaves through the developer community! In this episode of Two Voice Devs, Mark and Allen dive into the implications of these new models, comparing them to Google's Gemini. We discuss: [00:00:10] Initial takeaways from the OpenAI presentations. [00:02:29] The impressive voice capabilities of ChatGPT 4o. [00:04:49] Concerns about OpenAI's ambitions for conversational AI. [00:07:30] The difference between "doing" and "knowing" AI systems. ...
Jun 06, 2024•23 min•Season 1Ep. 196
Allen Firstenberg chats with fellow Google Developer Expert (GDE) Mike Wolfson about his career, the evolution of Android, and his new interest in generative AI. Mike shares his thoughts on the future of AI with agents, Large Action Models (LAMs), and the potential of the "Rabbit," a new AI-powered device. Does the Rabbit live up to its promise? If not - what could? Timestamps: 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:01:32 - Mike's career journey 00:04:15 - Transition from enterprise Java to Android developm...
May 30, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 195
Join Allen and Roya as they dissect the major AI announcements from Google I/O 2024. From Gemini updates and new models to responsible AI and groundbreaking projects like ASTRA, this episode dives into the future of AI development. Timestamps: [00:00:00] Introduction and Google I/O Overview [00:02:00] Gemini 1.5 Flash & Gemini 1.5 Pro: New Models and Features [00:04:30] AI Studio Access Expansion for Europe, UK & Switzerland [00:06:20] Choosing the Right AI Model for Your Project [00:06:...
May 17, 2024•23 min•Season 1Ep. 194
Join Allen and Mark as they delve into Voiceflow's groundbreaking new feature: intent classification using a hybrid of LLMs and classic NLU models. Discover how this innovative approach leverages the strengths of both technologies to achieve greater accuracy and flexibility in understanding user intent. How they're doing it just may blow your mind! 🤯 Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:00:33 - Exploring the concept of intents and slots in conversational UI 0:05:11 - Understanding Natural Langu...
May 09, 2024•40 min•Season 1Ep. 193
Join Allen Firstenberg and guest host Stefania Pecore on Two Voice Devs as they delve into the exciting announcements and highlights from Google Cloud Next 2024! This episode focuses on the latest advancements in AI and their impact on the healthcare industry, providing valuable insights for developers and tech enthusiasts. Learn more: * https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/google-cloud-next/google-cloud-next-2024-wrap-up Timestamps: 00:00:00: Introduction 00:01:02: Stefania's background and jou...
Apr 26, 2024•41 min•Season 1Ep. 192
This episode of Two Voice Devs takes a closer look at BERT, a powerful language model with applications beyond the typical hype surrounding large language models (LLMs). We delve into the specifics of BERT, its strengths in understanding and classifying text, and how developers can utilize it for tasks like sentiment analysis, entity recognition, and more. Timestamps: 0:00:00: Introduction 0:01:04: What is BERT and how does it differ from LLMs? 0:02:16: Exploring Hugging Face and the BERT base u...
Apr 19, 2024•40 min•Season 1Ep. 191
Embark on a wild race with Gemma as we explore the exciting (and sometimes slow) world of running Google's open-source large language model! We'll test drive different methods, from the leisurely pace of Ollama on a local machine to the speedier Groq platform. Join us as we compare these approaches, analyzing performance, costs, and ease of use for developers working with LLMs. Will the tortoise or the hare win this race? Learn more: * Model card: https://console.cloud.google.com/vertex-ai/publi...
Apr 11, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 190
The Alexa Developer Rewards Program (ADR) is shutting down, leaving many developers wondering about the future of Alexa skills. Mark and Allen discuss the implications of this change, explore alternative monetization options, and share their thoughts on the future of skill development. Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro and announcement of the ADR program ending 1:45 - History of the ADR program and its impact on skill development 7:13 - Discussion of the Skill Developer Accelerator Program (SDAP) and Ski...
Apr 05, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 189
As large language models (LLMs) become increasingly powerful, ensuring their responsible use is crucial. In this episode of Two Voice Devs, Allen and Mark delve into Google's Gemini LLM, specifically its built-in safety features designed to prevent harmful outputs like harassment, hate speech, sexually explicit content, and dangerous information. Join them as they discuss: (00:01:55) The importance of safety features in LLMs and Google's approach to responsible AI. (00:03:08) A walkthrough of Ge...
Mar 29, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 188
In this episode of Two Voice Devs, Mark and Allen discuss how developers can leverage AI tools like ChatGPT to improve their workflow. Mark shares his experience using ChatGPT to generate an OpenAPI specification from TypeScript types, saving him significant time and effort. They discuss the benefits and limitations of using AI for code generation, emphasizing the importance of understanding the generated code and maintaining healthy skepticism. Timestamps: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:49 Using A...
Mar 21, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 187
