AI-Curious with Jeff Wilser

Some of the best use cases of AI are when we think of it not as Artificial Intelligence, but "Augmented Intelligence."

That's what Bryan Murphy, CEO of Smartling, is effectively doing: Using AI to enhance and super-charge their systems, as opposed to scrapping the old way and starting from scratch. 

Smartling is a company that uses AI to translate languages for clients like Peloton, Shopify, and Pinterest. On this episode, Bryan explains how they've embraced AI to do it faster and cheaper and at a higher quality (9:10); why global translation matters (14:35); whether AI can help us achieve a Star Trek-level "universal translator" (16:30); whether AI can effectively translate literature or poetry (21:00); and why all of us are probably better off in our careers embracing AI (23:00).

And before that, for the first time on this podcast, Jeff shares how he's personally using AI...

Smartling:
https://www.smartling.com

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The most important, wide-reaching, and profound use case for AI might just be drug discovery. Normally it takes YEARS for scientists to develop drugs; AI can slash the timeline.

Kennedy Schaal is the CEO of Rejuve Bio, a startup that’s harnessing AI for faster drug discovery. And Jasmine Smith is the CEO of Rejuve AI, its sister company, which is racing to build a data-set that’s more equitable and inclusive and reflective of all humanity, with an end game of extending our longevity. 

Kennedy and Jasmine discuss the current problems with drug discovery, how AI can help, and how AI can be especially impactful for more “niche diseases” that wouldn’t normally provide enough profit for Pharma companies to invest in.

Conversation with Rejuve Bio CEO Kennedy Schaal at (3:00).

Conversation with Rejuve AI CEO Jasmine Smith at (40:30).

Rejuve Biotech:
https://www.rejuve.bio

Rejuve AI:
https://www.rejuve.ai

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By now you've heard the question, "Can AI create art?"

Mario Klingemann had a more provocative question: "Can an AI machine be an artist?"

So Mario set out to do just that. He created an ingenious AI-powered system called "Botto," which is creating art as we speak. Each week, a group of humans votes on the best stuff, and then the winners are sold as NFTs. Sometimes these are listed at Christie's.

Mario's work is FASCINATING. And he's been working with art and machine learning for over 15 years; his work has appeared in places like The Met, the MoMa, and the British Library.

In this episode we cover what draws him to AI (3:30); the creation of Botto (8:00); whether AI can truly be creative (25:00); his advice for traditional artists looking to break into AI (32:00); and his predictions for the future of Botto and AI art (38:00).

Fun episode!

Mario's Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Klingemann

Mario's personal site and gallery:
https://quasimondo.com

Botto.com:
https://www.botto.com

My interview with Mario at CoinDesk:
https://www.coindesk.com/consensus-magazine/2023/08/22/meet-botto-the-ai-artist-that-mints-its-own-nfts/ 

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Will AI kill the newsroom? Possibly. But today’s guest has a different goal. Winston Chen, the co-founder of Nano Media, is using AI to try and *save* the newsroom, or at least to save local newsrooms. 

The fact is that over the last 20 years, local newsrooms have been gutted — most are no longer economically viable. So Winston is using AI to create tools to help revitalize the nation’s network of newsrooms… and it has already started.

In this episode we cover:

How a loss of local news leads to tribalism and polarization (5:00 ); How a morning walk with his dog sparked the idea for AI experimentation (14:30); How the team began experimenting with using AI to summarize YouTube videos of local meetings (23:00); Whether AI should “write” a news story (29:00); Why the AI tool is designed to be boring (32:00); Future types of AI-empowered content for the newsroom (43:30 ); Predictions for how AI will impact the media industry (54:00 ). 

For any fellow media nerds out there, this one's for you!

NanoMedia:

https://nanomedia.org

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For many, the first "gateway drug" for generative AI is text-to-image, using tools like DALL-E and Midjourney to instantly flex your creative muscles.

Heather Cooper is a master of AI visual art and storytelling.

She has quickly become one of the most respected voices in the AI visual art/storytelling space. Her Substack, Visually AI, shares all kinds of tips and tricks on how to make better AI images. And she's also just really, really, really good at creating stunning AI visual artwork.

This episode is for anyone who either 1) has ever dabbled in visual AI and wants to get better; or 2) enjoys hearing stories about how people turn side-hustles into proper hustles, and what we can learn from their success.

We cover: Her strategies for learning and mastering visual storytelling with AI, and how  worked to make prompts more inclusive and representative (7:00); her favorite use cases for ChatGPT (20:00); advice she gives people when they're starting out with visual AI art (22:00); her favorite tools, and the sneaky power of spreadsheets (26:30); hyper-specific prompting tips and tricks (38:30); and much much more.

Heather Cooper's website (check out her gallery):
https://heatherbcooper.com

Heather's substack, Visually AI:
https://heatherbcooper.substack.com

Heather Cooper on Twitter/X:
https://twitter.com/HBCoop_

Heather Cooper on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/hb.coop_/

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What should be the role of AI in education?  Cheating is an obvious concern. But can AI be used to accelerate, personalize, and even empower education? 

That's the path taken by All Star Code, a non-profit education organization that teaches tech and coding skills to young men of color.  Danny Rojas is All Star Code's Executive Director.  And he has been *extremely* forward-thinking in integrating AI into both the curriculum and the non-profit's workflow.

We discuss:

How AI can be used as a "co-pilot" for students (4:00); How they're thinking about the issue of AI and cheating (12:00); How AI can help teachers with lesson plans (15:00), How AI can help high school students in surprising ways (22:00); How AI can help scale the non-profit (27:00); Practical tips for more effective prompting (35:15); What's exciting about AI trends in education in the future (43:30).

All Star Code:
https://allstarcode.org

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If AI becomes conscious, you could argue this is the most important inflection point in the history of humanity.

So how will we know if and when that happens?

Professor Grace Lindsay, a neuroscientist, recently co-authored a report -- along with a team of philosophers and fellow neuroscientists -- that suggested a framework for how we might know if AIs are conscious.  

In this episode, Dr. Lindsay unpacks that report and helps us understand it, shedding light and clarity on a tough-to-understand topic.  We cover: The background and goals of the AI Consciousness Study (5:00); The philosophical chicken-and-egg problem of how to define consciousness (07:50); Why it's so damn tricky to determine if AIs are conscious (16:00); An overview of the study's framework (19:00); Why all of these possible criteria might be "necessary but not sufficient" (26:00); Whether any current AI projects are getting close to consciousness (42:00); What most people get wrong about AI consciousness (50:30). 

The report Dr. Lindsay co-authored, "Consciousness in Artificial Intelligence: Insights from the Science of Consciousness":
https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.08708

The New York Times - "How to Tell if Your A.I. Is Conscious":
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/18/science/ai-computers-consciousness.html

Professor Lindsay's book "Models of the Mind: How Physics, Engineering and Mathematics Have Shaped Our Understanding of the Brain":
https://www.amazon.com/Models-Mind-Engineering-Mathematics-Understanding/dp/1472966422/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=models+of+the+mind&qid=1612921824&sr=8-1

Professor Lindsay's site:
https://gracewlindsay.com

Professor Lindsay on Twitter/X:
https://twitter.com/neurograce

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If AI becomes sentient, what are the moral, ethical, and legal implications?
 
This is a tricky question with many, many, *many* follow-up questions. So here to help is philosopher Jeff Sebo -- a professor at New York University; the Director of the Mind, Ethics, and Policy Program; and the author of the book "Saving Animals, Saving Ourselves."
 
In this sprawling conversation, we cover the ethics of AI from a ton of different angles: What can we learn about consciousness from the study of animals, and how does that apply to AI? (4:00); How can we discern AI consciousness? (11:10); What are the implications of AI sentience, and do they deserve rights? (25:30); What are some legal and moral scenarios we might need to deal with if AIs become sentient? (30:00); Why it's surprisingly urgent to start tackling these questions NOW (35:00); Is it okay to be a "species-ist"? (46:30); Why AI Rights and AI welfare might become the most controversial and polarizing issue of our lifetime (52:15).

Jeff Sebo on Twitter/X:
https://twitter.com/jeffrsebo

Jeff Sebo's book "Savings Animals, Saving Ourselves"
https://www.amazon.com/Saving-Animals-Ourselves-Pandemics-Catastrophes/dp/0190861010

Jeff Sebo's Los Angeles Times Op-Ed, "What should we do if a chatbot has thoughts and feelings?"
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-06-16/artificial-intelligence-morals-ethics-sentience-thinking

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You can now use AI to create a digital clone, or "digital twin" of yourself or loved one or anyone, really. Why would you do this? What's the benefit? And why do some digital twin enthusiasts view the tech, essentially, as a way to cheat death?
 
There's no better expert on digital twins than Francesco Rulli, founder and CEO of Querlo, an AI company that provides services to clients like Microsoft and IBM and Pepsi. 
 
Francesco has created his own digital twin. He shares how and why he did it (4:40), he opens up with candor and vulnerability about how, he hopes, he can use digital twins to communicate with his deceased parents (11:00), he predicts when this will all become a reality (17:00), he responds to the critics who say "this is all too creepy" (20:00), and provides some wider AI predictions (24:00).
 
 You can meet Francesco's digital twin at:
 https://www.francescorulli.com
 
 You can learn how to create your own digital twin through Querlo at:
 https://www.querlo.com/digitaltwin

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Do you work at a job? Then you're probably involved in some kind of business operations, and there's a 99.999% chance that your job will be impacted by AI.

So how do you leverage AI to make your job easier? If you're a business leader, how do you create an AI strategy for your company or department? Where should you even begin?

I spoke with an expert in all of this, Rachel Woods, CEO of The AI Exchange, who's a consultant and educator for how businesses can embrace AI. 

We get into it!

At a high level, Rachel shares the AI strategies and principles that businesses should think about, as opposed to just using the tools (4:40), how to think about the question of whether AI will take our jobs (11:00), some of her favorite AI tools for boosting productivity (14:00), the importance of creating what she calls "bespoke systems" (18:00), what AI is surpassingly good at... and surprisingly bad at (28:34), and advice for those in business just starting out with AI (39:40).

Bonus? At the end of the show, Rachel provides a promo-code for AI-Curious listeners to use for the educational courses at The AI Exchange.

Super practical episode, hope you enjoy.

You can find Rachel Woods at:
https://twitter.com/rachel_l_woods

The AI Exchange:
 https://theaiexchange.com

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