In this episode of The Effortless Podcast, Dheeraj Pandey speaks with Dr. Abhishek Bhowmick about how quantum mechanics reshaped our understanding of determinism and why that shift matters for AI today.

From the Einstein–Bohr debates to the idea that nature is fundamentally probabilistic, they explore how the collapse of “if-then” thinking began nearly a century ago. The discussion draws parallels between quantum superposition and modern LLM behavior. At its core, the episode reframes AI as a rediscovery of how reality computes.

The conversation then moves from physics to computing architecture, tracing the evolution from scalar CPUs to GPUs, TPUs, tensors, and eventually quantum computing. They examine why probabilistic systems and vector math feel more natural than purely deterministic software. Hybrid computing models show that classical systems still matter. The episode also unpacks what quantum computers are truly good at, especially in cryptography and simulation. Ultimately, it reflects on whether the future of computing lies in embracing probability rather than resisting it.

Key Topics & Timestamps

00:00 – Welcome, context, and how Dheeraj & Abhishek met
04:00 – Abhishek’s journey: IIT, Princeton, Apple, Snowflake
08:00 – The 1927 Solvay Conference and physics at a crossroads
12:00 – Einstein vs. Bohr: determinism vs. probability
16:00 – Superposition and the collapse of the wave function
20:00 – Fields vs. particles: what is an electron really?
25:00 – Matter particles, force particles, and the Standard Model
30:00 – Transistors, voltage, and the rise of deterministic computing
35:00 – From scalar CPUs to vectors and matrices
40:00 – Tensors, linear algebra, and modern AI systems
45:00 – Principle of Least Action and gradient descent parallels
50:00 – Hallucinations, probability mass, and LLM behavior
55:00 – Vector databases, embeddings, and KNN search
59:00 – GPUs vs. TPUs: matrix vs. tensor architectures
1:05:00 – What quantum computers are actually good at
1:10:00 – Post-quantum cryptography and the future of computing

Host -

Dheeraj Pandey
Co-founder & CEO at DevRev. Former Co-founder & CEO of Nutanix. A systems thinker and product visionary focused on AI, software architecture, and the future of work.

Guest -

Dr Abhishek Bhowmick Co-Founder and CTO of Samooha, a secure data collaboration platform acquired by Snowflake. He previously worked at Apple as Head of ML Privacy and Cryptography, System Intelligence, and Machine Learning, and earlier at Goldman Sachs. He attended Princeton University and was awarded IIT Kanpur’s Young Alumnus Award in 2024.

Follow the Host and Guest -

Dheeraj Pandey:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dpandey

Twitter - https://x.com/dheeraj

Abhishek Bhowmik

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/ab-abhishek-bhowmick

Twitter/X – https://x.com/bhowmick_ab

Share Your Thoughts

Have questions, comments, or ideas for future episodes?
📩 Email us at EffortlessPodcastHQ@gmail.com

Don’t forget to Like, Comment, and Subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of AI, systems, and product design.

In this episode of The Effortless Podcast, Amit Prakash and Dheeraj Pandey dive deep into one of the most important shifts happening in AI today: the convergence of structured and unstructured data, interfaces, and systems.

Together, they unpack how conversations—not CRM fields—hold the real ground truth; why schemas still matter in an AI-driven world; and how agents can evolve into true managers, coaches, and chiefs of staff for revenue teams. They explore the cognitive science behind visual vs conversational UI, the future of dynamically generated interfaces, and the product depth required to build enduring AI-native software.

Amit and Dheeraj break down the tension between deterministic and probabilistic systems, the limits of prompt-driven workflows, and why the future of enterprise AI is “both-and” rather than “either-or.” It’s a masterclass in modern product, data design, and the psychology of building intelligent tools.

Key Topics & Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction
02:00 – Why conversations—not CRM fields—hold real ground truth
05:00 – Reps as labelers and the parallels with AI training pipelines
08:00 – Business logic vs world models: defining meaning inside enterprises
11:00 – Prompts flatten nuance; schemas restore structure
14:00 – SQL schemas as the true model of a business
17:00 – CRM overload and the friction of rigid data entry
20:00 – AI agents that debrief and infer fields dynamically
23:00 – Capturing qualitative signals: champions, pain, intent
26:00 – Multi-source context: transcripts, email threads, Slack
29:00 – Why structure is required for math, aggregation, forecasting
32:00 – Aggregating unstructured data to reveal organizational issues
35:00 – Labels, classification, and the limits of LLM-only workflows
38:00 – Deterministic (SQL/Python) vs probabilistic (LLMs) systems
41:00 – Transitional workflows: humans + AI field entry
44:00 – Trust issues and the confusion of the early AI market
47:00 – Avoiding “Clippy moments” in agent design
50:00 – Latency, voice UX, and expectations for responsiveness
53:00 – Human-machine interface for SDRs vs senior reps
56:00 – Structured vs unstructured UI: cognitive science insights
59:00 – Charts vs paragraphs: parallel vs sequential processing
1:02:00 – The “Indian thali” dashboard problem and dynamic UI
1:05:00 – Exploration modes, drill-downs, and empty prompts
1:08:00 – Dynamic leaves, static trunk: designing hierarchy
1:11:00 – Both-and thinking: voice + visual, structured + unstructured
1:14:00 – Why “good enough” AI fails without deep product
1:17:00 – PLG, SLG, data access, and trust barriers
1:20:00 – Closing reflections and the future of AI-native software

Hosts:

Amit Prakash – CEO and Founder at AmpUp, former engineer at Google AdSense and Microsoft Bing, with extensive expertise in distributed systems and machine learning

Dheeraj Pandey – Co-founder and CEO at DevRev, former Co-founder & CEO of Nutanix. A tech visionary with a deep interest in AI, systems, and the future of work.

Follow the Hosts:

Amit Prakash
LinkedIn – Amit Prakash I LinkedIn
Twitter/X – https://x.com/amitp42

Dheeraj Pandey
LinkedIn –Dheeraj Pandey | LinkedIn

Twitter/X – https://x.com/dheeraj

Share your thoughts :

Have questions, comments, or ideas for future episodes?
Email us at EffortlessPodcastHQ@gmail.com

Don’t forget to Like, Comment, and Subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of AI, technology, and innovation.