The Human Data Engine Training Smarter AI Models

micro1 founder and CEO Ali Ansari joins Derek Andersen to discuss how large language models learn, why human judgment remains essential to AI progress, and why real-world company data could become one of the most valuable assets in the AI economy.

Ali explains key concepts including post-training, long-horizon tasks, compounding errors, AI agents, and the “infinite last mile” of intelligence. He also shares how Micro1 is helping leading AI labs and enterprises build better AI systems through expert data, frontier evaluations, reinforcement learning environments, and contextual agent evaluations.

The conversation also explores what it is like to build at the center of the San Francisco AI ecosystem, how AI may create new categories of high-value work, and how Ali’s journey from immigrating to the U.S. from Iran to building Micro1 shaped his mindset as a founder.