LLMs on the Edge of the Scaling Laws | Real Python Podcast

What's happening with the latest releases of large language models? Is the industry hitting the edge of the scaling laws, and do the current benchmarks provide reliable performance assessments? This week on the show, Jodie Burchell returns to discuss the current state of LLM releases.

👉 Links from the show: https://realpython.com/podcasts/rpp/264/

The most recent release of GPT-5 has been a wake-up call for the LLM industry. We discuss how the current scaling of these systems is reaching a diminishing edge. Jodie also shares how many AI model assessments and benchmarks are flawed. We also take a sober look at the productivity gains from using these tools for software development within companies.

We discuss how newer developers should consider additional factors when looking at the current job market. Jodie digs into how economic changes and rising interest rates are influencing layoffs and hiring freezes. Then we share a wide collection of resources for you to continue exploring these topics.

This episode is sponsored by InfluxData.

Topics:

00:00:00 -- Introduction
00:03:00 -- Recent conferences and talks
00:04:18 -- What's going on with LLMs?
00:06:06 -- What happened with the GPT-5 release?
00:08:14 -- Simon Willison - 2025 in LLMs so far
00:09:00 -- How did we get here?
00:10:37 -- OpenAI's and scaling laws
00:12:25 -- Pivoting to post-training
00:16:01 -- Some history of AI eras
00:17:54 -- Issues with measuring performance and benchmarks
00:22:19 -- Chatbot Arena
00:24:06 -- Languages are finite
00:26:22 -- LLMs and the illusion of humanity
00:30:41 -- Sponsor: InfluxData
00:31:34 -- Types of solutions to move past these limits
00:36:57 -- Does AI actually boost developer productivity?
00:44:19 -- Agentic Al Programming with Python
00:48:02 -- Results of non-programmers vibe coding
00:50:18 -- Back to the concept of overfitting
00:52:52 -- The money involved in training
00:56:50 -- Video Course Spotlight
00:58:21 -- Deepseek and new methods of training
01:01:02 -- Quantizing and fitting on a local machine
01:04:48 -- The layoffs and the economic changes
01:10:32 -- AI implementation failures
01:21:01 -- Don't doubt yourself as a developer
01:24:06 -- What are you excited about in the world of Python?
01:25:39 -- What do you want to learn next?
01:26:42 -- What's the best way to follow your work online?
01:27:04 -- Thanks and goodbye

👉 Links from the show: https://realpython.com/podcasts/rpp/264/