Possible with Reid Hoffman

What if you could tweak the questions you ask ChatGPT and make you ten times more effective or productive? Ethan Mollick is an Associate Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He studies and teaches innovation and entrepreneurship, and also examines the effects of artificial intelligence on work and education. He’s also an insightful and leading voice in the AI space, especially on Twitter. In the final episode of our AI miniseries, Reid, Aria, and Ethan discuss how society can prepare for a future with AI and how AI enhances learning in—and beyond—the classroom. Ethan shares his specific advice for people of varying experience with AI who are looking to get more out of their interactions with ChatGPT.

Read the transcript of this episode here.

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all of the episodes, visit www.possible.fm/podcast.  

Topics:

Hellos and intros - 3:59

Changes that can make AI more exciting—and functional - 5:36 

Considering more futures involving AI - 8:00

Three tiers of prompting advice - 11:42

Novel applications of AI - 15:34

What education is needed to seize AI’s potential? - 19:16 

AI as a tool for reflection - 25:10

When AI falls into scripts - 26:35

AI in the classroom - 28:24

AI for lifelong learners - 38:19

The humanization of AI - 41:11 

How we elevate humanity using AI - 43:39

Rapid fire questions - 47:41

Debrief with Reid and Aria - 53:47

Possible is a podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? In its first season, hosts Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger spoke with visionaries across many fields, from climate science to criminal justice, and from entertainment to education. For this special miniseries, they’re speaking with expert builders and skilled users of artificial intelligence. These conversations also feature another kind of guest, AI. Whether it’s Inflection’s Pi or OpenAI’s GPT-4, each episode will include an AI-generated element to spark discussion. 

Possible is produced by Wonder Media Network and hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger. Our showrunner is Shaun Young. Possible is produced by Edie Allard and Sara Schleede. Jenny Kaplan is our Executive Producer and Editor. Special thanks to Surya Yalamanchili, Ian Alas, Greg Beato and Ben Relles.

What if we each had a personal “buddy” to support us? Maja Mataric is a computer scientist, roboticist and AI researcher at the University of Southern California. She pioneered the field of socially assistive robotics: the design of robots to help humans—especially vulnerable people such as kids with autism, the elderly, and people struggling with illness—navigate complicated social needs. In the second episode of our AI miniseries, Maja, Reid, and Aria discuss AI, robots and our future with both. Throughout her career, Maja has sought to understand human needs and desires in order to create the right kind of robot. How big should it be? Should it be a humanoid? Animal? Or… WALL-E? These questions lead to the nature of empathy itself—and what it means for robots to be empathetic. Maja also responds to an AI-generated story that speculates on the role that a socially assistive robot could play for a multigenerational family.

Read the transcript of this episode here.

Read the AI story here.

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all of the episodes, visit www.possible.fm/podcast.                                               

Topics:

03:30 - What inspired Maja to pursue robotics?

06:09 - The pop culture perception of “doomsday robots”

07:32 - What are socially assistive robots?

10:20 - How socially assistive robots can enhance our humanity

12:55 - The relationship between an assistive robot and a human

16:19 - The hardware side of AI

20:05 - How our lives would look different with robots in them

24:06 - Why physically embodied robots are important

27:42 - AI story about intergenerational family and a robot assistant

31:16 - How VR/AR can be integrated with AI

38:34 - Rapidfire questions

44:10 - Debrief with Reid and Aria

Possible is a podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? In its first season, hosts Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger spoke with visionaries across many fields, from climate science to criminal justice, and from entertainment to education. For this special miniseries, they’re speaking with expert builders and skilled users of artificial intelligence. These conversations also feature another kind of guest, AI. Whether it’s Inflection’s Pi or OpenAI’s GPT-4, each episode will include an AI-generated element to spark discussion. 

Possible is produced by Wonder Media Network and hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger. Our showrunner is Shaun Young. Possible is produced by Edie Allard and Sara Schleede. Jenny Kaplan is our Executive Producer and Editor. Special thanks to Samantha Barber, Surya Yalamanchili, Ian Alas, Greg Beato and Ben Relles.

It’s easy to assume that we all have kindness and care in our daily lives. But not everyone has a family member or friend to lean on during hard times. What if there was a technology that provides easy access to support and consideration? In the first episode of our miniseries about AI and the personal, Reid and Aria are joined by artificial intelligence researcher and founder Mustafa Suleyman. Mustafa co-founded and served as former head of applied AI at DeepMind. His current venture is Inflection—and his co-founder is Reid. Mustafa discusses AI in the context of other technological advancements throughout history and shares the philosophies that guide his work and life. He also talks about Inflection, and the various ways personal AI can enhance our day-to-day lives. Pi, an AI developed by Inflection, also joins the conversation.

Read the transcript of this episode here.

Read the exchange between Reid and Pi here.

Try Inflection's Pi at https://heypi.com/ 

You can pre-order Mustafa's book, The Coming Wave, here.

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all of the episodes, visit www.possible.fm/podcast.                                               

Topics:

5:47 - Hellos and intros

8:04 - Mustafa’s work at DeepMind

11:04 - Philosophies and context that guide Mustafa’s work

13:52 - Mustafa’s book—and books as a type of technology 

21:02 - Comparing AI and nuclear technology 

24:26 - The downsides and upsides of AI

27:23 - What is Pi?

31:08 - A conversation with Pi

35:24 - Uses of Pi

37:07 - The future of personal artificial intelligence

41:36 - Rapidfire questions

46:57 - Debrief with Reid and Aria

Possible is a podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? In its first season, hosts Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger spoke with visionaries across many fields, from climate science to criminal justice, and from entertainment to education. For this special miniseries, they’re speaking with expert builders and skilled users of artificial intelligence. These conversations also feature another kind of guest, AI. Whether it’s Inflection’s Pi or OpenAI’s GPT-4, each episode will include an AI-generated element to spark discussion. 

Possible is produced by Wonder Media Network and hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger. Our showrunner is Shaun Young. Possible is produced by Edie Allard and Sara Schleede. Jenny Kaplan is our Executive Producer and Editor. Special thanks to Samantha Barber, Surya Yalamanchili, Ian Alas, Greg Beato and Ben Relles.

What is the future of the Possible podcast? This week, Reid and Aria wrap up the first season of the podcast with reflections on the show, its guests, and what’s been covered so far. Plus, Reid discusses his new company, Inflection; his book, Impromptu; and what’s next for Possible.  

Read the transcript of this episode here. 

Listen to Reid’s Vanderbilt commencement speech here.

Read Impromptu by Reid Hoffman with GPT-4 here. 

Learn more about Reid’s and Mustafa’s company, Inflection, and Pi here.

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all of the episodes, visit www.possible.fm/podcast.

Topics:

1:41 - Motivations for making the podcast

6:19 - Highlights from guest conversations in Season One

11:52 - The show’s special guest: GPT-4

16:15 - Reid’s new company, Inflection

19:46 - The future of the Possible podcast

22:38 - Reid’s book, Impromptu

27:29 - The value of positivity and friendship

Possible is a new podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with a visionary from a different field: climate science, media, criminal justice, and more. The conversation also features another kind of guest: GPT-4, OpenAI’s latest and most powerful language model to date. Each episode has a companion story, generated by GPT-4, which will serve as a jumping-off point for a hopeful, speculative discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.

Possible is produced by Wonder Media Network and hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger. Our showrunner is Shaun Young. Possible is produced by Edie Allard and Sara Schleede. Jenny Kaplan is our Executive Producer and Editor. Special thanks to Surya Yalamanchili, Saida Sapieva, Ian Alas, Greg Beato, Ben Relles.

What if we could commute to space for work? Or rest and relax in a floating pod, immersed in a galaxy? Such easy access to space might not be as far away as we think. This week, Reid and Aria sit down with Ariel Ekblaw, director of the MIT Space Exploration Initiative and founding CEO of Aurelia Institute. Ariel talks about democratizing access to space and using advancements in space technology to improve life on earth, now and in the future. Her goal isn’t just to make life in space possible, but to make it worth living, with culture and art. Plus, Ariel reflects on GPT-4 stories that speculate on space technologies that can enhance life on Earth. 

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all of the episodes, visit www.possible.fm/podcast.

Topics:

3:25 - Hellos and intros

5:15 - Reflecting on Aurelia’s achievements 

7:05 - Chatting about Star Trek

7:56 - How space exploration will impact life on Earth 

12:04 - The feasibility of colonizing Mars

15:45 - Scaling human presence in space

20:27 - GPT-4 story about a futuristic home in the Nevada desert and in space

23:43 - The relationship between AI and space exploration

27:48 - How culture would change as a spacefaring society 

31:05 - GPT-4 list of inventions designed for space and adapted for Earth

33:49 - The democratization of space 

44:25 - Rapidfire questions

48:56 - Debrief with Reid and Aria

Possible is a new podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with a visionary from a different field: climate science, media, criminal justice, and more. The conversation also features another kind of guest: GPT-4, OpenAI’s latest and most powerful language model to date. Each episode has a companion story, generated by GPT-4, which will serve as a jumping-off point for a hopeful, speculative discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.

Possible is produced by Wonder Media Network and hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger. Our showrunner is Shaun Young. Possible is produced by Edie Allard and Sara Schleede. Jenny Kaplan is our Executive Producer and Editor. Special thanks to Ted Huetter, Geoff Nunn, Sean Mobley, Janine Liberty, Sands Fish, Nicole L'huillier, Thomas Sanchez Lengeling, MIT Space Exploration Initiative, Surya Yalamanchili, Saida Sapieva, Ian Alas, Greg Beato, Ben Relles, and the team at Jump Creative for video production on this episode.

How might we develop and deploy beneficial, safe artificial general intelligence for humanity? Reid and Aria are joined by Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, and Greg Brockman, OpenAI co-founder and president. Sam and Greg trace their journey—from articulating their mission to early company projects and decisions to scaling and sharing GPT-4 with the world. They also explore the transformative impact artificial intelligence can have on other industries, like energy, medicine, education, and law. Plus, GPT-4 offers a poetic perspective on a piece of code.

Read OpenAI’s paper on the Unsupervised Sentiment Neuron here.

Here's the code used to generate Greg's AI poem: https://github.com/openai/openai-python/blob/main/openai/api_requestor.py. 

Read Impromptu by Reid Hoffman with GPT-4 here. 

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all of the episodes, visit www.possible.fm/podcast.

Topics

4:00 - Hellos and intros

4:30 - The OpenAI mission

8:45 - Advancements in education and medicine

12:14 - Surprises with scale 

15:19 - Building GPT-4 

18:34 - Regulating AI

25:50 - How OpenAI got where it is today

28:26 - First scaling success with DOTA

32:51 - Which industries will AI transform?

39:30 - Sam and Greg’s investments outside AI

45:08 - Surprising applications of AI 

49:40 - Rapidfire questions

56:16 - Debrief with Reid and Aria

Possible is a new podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with a visionary from a different field: climate science, media, criminal justice, and more. The conversation also features another kind of guest: GPT-4, OpenAI’s latest and most powerful language model to date. Each episode has a companion story, generated by GPT-4, which will serve as a jumping-off point for a hopeful, speculative discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.

Possible is produced by Wonder Media Network and hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger. Our showrunner is Shaun Young. Possible is produced by Edie Allard and Sara Schleede. Jenny Kaplan is our Executive Producer and Editor. Special thanks to Theresa Lopez, Surya Yalamanchili, Saida Sapieva, Ian Alas, Greg Beato, and Ben Relles.

What if we had a copilot for every profession? Or if we had the capability to create digital clones of ourselves to pursue our creative projects? These prospects aren’t too far-fetched thanks to the latest developments in AI. What does the future of work actually look like? This week, Reid and Aria sat down with Jaime Teevan, Chief Scientist and Technical Fellow at Microsoft, and former technical advisor to CEO Satya Nadella. Leading Microsoft’s Future of Work Initiative, Jaime explores how everything from AI to hybrid work changes the way people get things done. Together, Jaime and our hosts discuss how we might best use AI, get a lot done with microtasks, and reimagine measures of productivity. Plus, GPT-4 and special guest stars share some neat stats and hot takes on the future of work.

Read the AI-generated stories for this episode here.

Read the transcript of this episode here. 

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all of the episodes, visit www.possible.fm/podcast.

Topics:

03:43 - Hellos and intros

04:36 - The viability of microproductivity

08:15 - How microproductivity is evolving with AI

12:01 - How the COVID-19 pandemic changed hybrid work

14:36 - What will we look back on and consider quaint in the future?

15:39 - GPT-4 story about using LLM clones for work

22:52 - But isn’t AI going to steal all our jobs?

25:38 - GPT-4 story about new jobs that will be common in the future

29:26 - Managing stress in the workplace

36:24 - Considering the 4-day work week model

39:48 - How to measure joy and engagement alongside productivity

46:10 - Rapidfire questions

51:35 - Debrief with Reid and Aria

Possible is a new podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with a visionary from a different field: climate science, media, criminal justice, and more. The conversation also features another kind of guest: GPT-4, OpenAI’s latest and most powerful language model to date. Each episode has a companion story, generated by GPT-4, which will serve as a jumping-off point for a hopeful, speculative discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.

Possible is produced by Wonder Media Network and hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger. Our showrunner is Shaun Young. Possible is produced by Edie Allard and Sara Schleede. Jenny Kaplan is our Executive Producer and Editor. Special thanks to Caitlin Cummings, Katrina Zuccaro, Lauren Cole, Surya Yalamanchili, Saida Sapieva, Ian Alas, Greg Beato, and Ben Relles. Also, gratitude to Papia Debroy, Adam Grant, Ryan Roslansky, Jessi Hempel, and everyone who called in with their thoughts on the future of work.  

What if, instead of punishing people who made mistakes, we helped them? Bryan Stevenson, founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative, has spent his career working toward a more equitable and restorative criminal justice system. He joins Reid and Aria this week to discuss the root causes of mass incarceration in America and how we can build safe communities without excessive policing and sentencing. Bryan responds to GPT-4 stories that imagine how new technologies could prevent wrongful convictions and contribute to a better criminal justice system—but are the questions we ask still stuck in carceral logic? 

Read the AI-generated stories for this episode here.

Read the transcript of this episode here. 

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all of the episodes, visit www.possible.fm/podcast.

Topics:

5:37 - Hellos and intros

6:07 - Defining the criminal justice system and how it has evolved

11:51 - Where our approach to incarceration has started to shift

14:39 - GPT-4’s story about addressing minor crimes

23:45 - GPT-4’s story about reconciling wrongful convictions

28:28 - Is a world without prisons possible?

36:36 - The first steps towards criminal justice reform

39:33 - Progress afoot at the local level 

42:36 - Reformulating sentencing and rethinking drug policy 

46:15 - Rapidfire questions

54:50 - Debrief with Reid and Aria

Possible is a new podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with a visionary from a different field: climate science, media, criminal justice, and more. The conversation also features another kind of guest: GPT-4, OpenAI’s latest and most powerful language model to date. Each episode has a companion story, generated by GPT-4, which will serve as a jumping-off point for a hopeful, speculative discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.

Possible is produced by Wonder Media Network and hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger. Our showrunner is Shaun Young. Possible is produced by Edie Allard and Sara Schleede. Jenny Kaplan is our Executive Producer and Editor. Special thanks to Caitlin McCaskey, Taylor Washington, Surya Yalamanchili, Saida Sapieva, Ian Alas, Greg Beato, and Ben Relles.

What if we didn’t need cars? Janette Sadik-Khan, former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation, helped revolutionize some of New York’s most famous streets into navigable, car-free areas. She joins the show this week to paint a picture of cities that put people first. How has the purpose of the city changed over time? Is it really possible—and preferable—to remove cars from cities altogether? And what does the future of cities really look like? Janette also responds to speculation about the future of transportation via GPT-4’s stories of how people might traverse Istanbul and Vietnam decades from now. It turns out, we might need a lot less new technology than we think to create the people-first cities of the future.

Read the AI-generated stories for this episode here.

Read the transcript of this episode here. 

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all of the episodes, visit www.possible.fm/podcast.

Topics:

4:15 - Hellos and intros

5:06 - How do we deal with city highways?

8:21 - When and how the city became all about the car

11:37 - What people-first cities look like

13:57 - GPT-4’s story about navigating Istanbul in the future

18:10 - What does the future of our cities look like?

20:40 - How COVID-19 transformed cities

23:51 - A change we can make today to improve cities

24:57 - Why are e-bikes so innovative?

29:59 - How we can make our polis more human

33:53 - Case study: New York City

37:43 - GPT-4’s story about an innovative new transportation system

42:28 - Rapidfire questions

46:00 - Debrief with Reid and Aria

Possible is a new podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with a visionary from a different field: climate science, media, criminal justice, and more. The conversation also features another kind of guest: GPT-4, OpenAI’s latest and most powerful language model to date. Each episode has a companion story, generated by GPT-4, which will serve as a jumping-off point for a hopeful, speculative discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.

Possible is produced by Wonder Media Network and hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger. Our showrunner is Shaun Young. Possible is produced by Edie Allard and Sara Schleede. Jenny Kaplan is our Executive Producer and Editor. Special thanks to Kevin Sheekey, Seth Solomonow, Surya Yalamanchili, Saida Sapieva, Ian Alas, Greg Beato, and Ben Relles.

What if every student had access to the same high-quality educational tools? This week, Reid and Aria are joined by Ben Nelson to discuss higher education. Ben is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of the Minerva Project, a for-profit educational organization that created the non-profit Minerva University with the mission of reforming global education through an interdisciplinary curriculum and fully active learning pedagogy. Ben talks about how we can increase people’s access to an elite education that prepares them for success as both professionals and citizens. Also, Ben responds to GPT-4 stories that reimagine what a “classroom” really can be. 

Read the AI-generated stories for this episode here.

Read the transcript of this episode here.

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all of the episodes, visit www.possible.fm/podcast.

Topics:

4:54 - Hellos and intros

6:54 - Ben’s elevator description of Minerva University 

11:11 - How we absorb information and the concept of transfer in education 

16:01 - The ways technology can deepen learning and remove biases

19:57 - ChatGPT in schools

25:37 - Responding to GPT-4’s story about immersive learning using AR/VR

32:37 - How to push past typical higher education talking points

37:40 - Rapidfire questions, including a take on higher ed and public policy

45:06 - Debrief with Reid and Aria

Possible is a new podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with a visionary from a different field: climate science, media, criminal justice, and more. The conversation also features another kind of guest: GPT-4, OpenAI’s latest and most powerful language model to date. Each episode has a companion story, generated by GPT-4, which will serve as a jumping-off point for a hopeful, speculative discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.

Possible is produced by Wonder Media Network and hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger. Our showrunner is Shaun Young. Possible is produced by Edie Allard and Sara Schleede. Jenny Kaplan is our Executive Producer and Editor. Special thanks to Diana El Azar, Surya Yalamanchili, Saida Sapieva, Ian Alas, Greg Beato, Ben Relles, and the team at LinkedIn Media Productions, including Justin Blumenthal, Hasan Ahmed, Keith Cheng, Eric Carlos, and Gabe Lomeli Jr. for video production on this episode.