Hold on to Your Bots

Last year, I thought I'd start 2023 with a new series... At the time, I'd been running a couple of informal series like The Toolbox and then Toolbox Talks . What I wasn't ready for is how AI would change my plans.

As I was planning for my new series and creating the assets, Chat GPT from OpenAI exploded onto the scene and it became the fastest growing technology product ever with 1 million users in five days...faster than TikTok and Instagram with 100 million users in the first two months.

Then, LinkedIn got behind my small show. I was able to reach guests who were focused on building content for us, and that was just the beginning.

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Before I get too far, I want to invite you to check out a couple of episodes you can sign up for.

This Thursday, I'm hosting Noelle R. . Noelle leads the Global AI Solutions team at Accenture and is also a Microsoft MVP in AI. She held executive positions in AI at Amazon, Microsoft, NPR and more and is the founder of the AI Leadership Institute.

We're going to talk about the changing nature of reality brought about by the new AI tools that are dominating the creative world.

Next, I talk to John Maeda . VP of AI and Design for 微软 . A professor for the MIT Media Lab, the 16th president of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).

We'll be talking about the role of Design and Art in this world where computers can imitate a lot of what artists and designers have been doing.

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What I learned from interviewing those leading AI efforts

Back to my story. I started the show with a couple of fantastic internal guests Natalie Pao and Simon St.Laurent talking to them about 2023 . A preview of sorts for what was to come.

Here's my summary so far of each episode with some short clips from each:

Exploring the Birth of AI

My first non-internal guest, Pinar Demirdag , Ai Director at Seyhan Lee is creating tools like Cubric that are bringing the power of AI to Hollywood. She shared how Google came calling in the early days when they realized that their AIs were creating art that looked like hers.

We talked about some of the tools that are going to democratize what could only be done with hundredths of thousands of dollars and now takes just an iPhone.

We also talked about how one of the most important skills in the future is someone's ability to create prompts that direct the AIs to provide desired results.

AI is affecting all aspects of computing

On my next episode, I talked with Jerome Hardaway , founder of Vets Who Code about how AI is changing all aspects of development, including DevOps.

We started by discussing his path to getting a job at 微软 . He shared with me what it's like to go through an interview and how his experience in the armed forces prepared him to do well there.

Hi dedication to others goes way beyond his day job. As the founder of @vets-who-code his new mission is his new adrenalin rush.

He also took the time to talk to me about how he leverates some of the new AI tools for the work he does at Vets Who Code. Here are some of his favorite non technical AI tools.

The Need for Ethical AI

My next guest on Episode 4 was Ayodele Odubela and we talked about some of the hot topics concerning the training and ethics that you should consider when building AI systems.

We covered a curious case where the IRS first adopted and then abandoned a facial recognition requirement in order to process tax returns. That showed that there's a lot that needs to be considered before we implement systems that can have a dramatic impact on society.

Another topic generating a lot of buzz in Ethics is the problem with the displacement of workers in this new age of AI.

There followed a fascinating discussion on the role that transparency plays in the deployment of AI systems. How should companies choose, if at all, the different ways of applying ethics?

Being a first generation immigrant, I've lived in countries with different ethical frameworks, so I asked her how that should work when considering that AIs will be deployed globally.

Crafting a Strategy for Business

My next guest, Andreas Welsch , who has worked with AI strategies for Fortune 500 companies talked to me about how he advises companies to prepare for an AI focused future.

We started talking about the Year of Efficiency, as declared by Mark Zuckerberg.

Then we discussed how most people are focused on things like Chats and Generating art, but there's a bunch of untapped potential in other company departments.

This was the week that Microsoft annouced adding Chat GPT technology into Bing, and Google announced Bard, so we covered Andreas' thoughts on the announcements.

Most of the time, Andreas advises large companies, so I asked him how he thought startups or individuals should plan for the AI revolution.

Then, we covered the balance between government regulation frameworks that are cropping up, and business.

The Future of the Future

The fun thing is that I have other exciting guests coming, including Logan Kilpatrick from OpenAI, who is heading Developer relations at OpenAI .

I'm learning so much from these interactions. I hope you take the time to follow the page and join me and the guests to make these events better with your questions.

It's going to be a great year...all I can say is, "Bring it on...Yippee ki-yay!"