The AI Upgrade

D'vorah Graeser started programming when she was 16 before earning a PhD in pharmacology. She went on to become a U.S. patent agent and, while immersed in the patent world, she noticed that many of the brilliant people designing new technological innovations struggled to express their business models. To help solve that problem, she founded RocketSmart, an AI-powered company that helps universities and research organizations to commercialize their innovations. D’vorah is also working on a forthcoming book out later this year titled The AI Process Playbook for Business: Mastering Human AI Cooperation, which explains how to effectively use AI in professional settings. 

On this week’s episode of The Upgrade, host Peter Bittner caught up with D’vorah while she was at a chalet in Finland to talk about their upcoming course aimed at tech transfer professionals and research organizations. 

Show Notes:

(2:15) D’vorah describes her transition from earning a PhD in pharmacology to working in AI

(6:38) How AI can assist innovators and inventors when launching a new project

(10:11) A fascinating study that proves the importance of how much AI depends on humans

(12:10) Steps that teams and organizations can take to develop their own processes for using AI

(15:37) AI tools that organizations can integrate into their processes 

(18:52) Tips for deciding what AI tool to use for specific tasks

(20:32) Ethical considerations for those who are new to AI

(24:17) AI etiquette when asking tools like ChatGPT questions 

(27:03) Peter and D’vorah discuss their new AI course

(36:38) Resources for tech transfer

For more on D’vorah and her upcoming book follow her on LinkedIn or see her company’s website

Learn more about The Upgrade and our online courses

Connect on LinkedIn with Peter Bittner, The Upgrade’s founder and CEO

Special thanks to Mitch Walker for helping to design the podcast’s artwork

This week, host Peter Bittner welcomes back artist, innovator and friend of The Upgrade Kris Krug. Over the last year, Peter and Kris have run courses together that help mediamakers, creatives and working professionals to incorporate AI into their daily lives and make their workflows more efficient. In this episode, the two discuss everything from how Kris trained an AI model on his own photography to the possible ways AI could empower indigenous communities. Plus, they announce their new, weekly AI group coaching calls! Come for an enlightening conversation about the ways AI is influencing a wide variety of fields, stay to hear about Peter’s adventures in Mongolia.

Show Notes:

(1:44) A summary of the courses Peter and Kris offer to help professionals get a handle on AI

(3:15) How AI is changing what it means to have a creative-minded profession

(6:49) Kris explains one way that artists can train AI on their own works to create original art with generative AI in their own style

(14:00) A roundup of exciting new image-generating AI tools

(15:50) Kris describes his go-to AI tools that have become essential parts of his workflow

(18:49) Resources and communities to help you keep up to speed on developments in AI

(20:52) The Upgrade’s new offering for graduates who have finished our courses and want to continue exploring AI in a supportive environment without investing a ton of time

(24:29) A new radio show about AI that Kris recently launched on the CBC in Canada

(27:21) The debate about whether AI can help First Nations in Canada

(31:21) Peter explains his long-term relationship with indigenous communities in Mongolia

(33:20) How tech entrepreneurs in Mongolia are using AI to preserve the Mongolian language and make the internet more accessible to those who don’t speak English 

Links:

• Learn more about Kris and Peter’s weekly AI Coaching Community Calls 
• Kris and Peter’s upcoming, six-week AI course
• Listen to the new radio show Kris launched on the CBC
• YouTubers Wes Roth and Matt Woolfe are great resources Kris recommends to keep up with new developments in AI

Learn more about The Upgrade and our online courses

Connect on LinkedIn with Peter Bittner, The Upgrade’s founder and CEO

Special thanks to Mitch Walker for helping to design the podcast’s artwork

Ricky Sutton began his journalism career as a war correspondent in the Balkans before taking on roles as a news editor and founder of Oovvuu, a company that formerly helped publishers and broadcasters to better reach audiences with the help of AI. He currently reports on the intersection of Big Tech and Big Media in his popular Substack Future Media. In this week’s episode of The Upgrade, host Peter Bittner spoke with Ricky about what the recent Google antitrust ruling could mean for the future of media in the age of AI.

Show Notes:

(2:09) Problems that can arise when tech companies become large monopolies

(3:54) The connection between AI and the recent Google antitrust case 

(7:52) How media companies might change in a world where Google no longer dominates search

(12:23) Ricky outlines the mindset necessary for adapting to a future world where AI plays a greater role in our lives

(14:32) The logistics of breaking up a large tech monopoly 

(18:34) Opportunities for investors in the wake of a major antitrust ruling

(24:34) Potential remedies for saving media companies after the breakup of big tech

(28:26) AI and copyright

(29:20) The New York Times suit against OpenAI

Links:

• Follow Ricky on LinkedIn and X
• Ricky’s Substack Future Media

Learn more about The Upgrade and our online courses

Connect on LinkedIn with Peter Bittner, The Upgrade’s founder and CEO

Special thanks to Mitch Walker for helping to design the podcast’s artwork

Nick Petrie has spent his career in journalism working to help news organizations like The Times and Sunday Times and Reuters figure out the relationship between newsrooms and product development as well as building reader-focused subscription businesses. In this week’s episode of The Upgrade, host Peter Bittner talked with Nick about how generative AI can help media organizations attract and maintain readers in an environment where the internet has become saturated with content. 

Show Notes:

(1:36) How Reuters has incorporated AI into their media strategy

(5:58) Nick’s take on how generative AI is shaking up the media industry 

(7:47) Potential problems that can arise when publications try to use AI

(10:12) Why it has been difficult to design a service that acts like a version of Spotify for news

(11:12) Potential ways that generative AI can increase a publication’s readership

(14:22) Improvements in AI that can shape the media industry’s evolution 

(16:44) The dead internet theory

(19:18) How online publishers can succeed as SEO transforms

(22:59) The potential for data-driven newsrooms to benefit from AI

Learn more about Nick Petrie

• Connect with Nick on LinkedIn
• Follow Nick on X
• Nick’s newsletter

Learn more about The Upgrade and our online courses

Connect on LinkedIn with Peter Bittner, The Upgrade’s founder and CEO

Special thanks to Mitch Walker for helping to design the podcast’s artwork

Noah Kravitz started out as a stringer for a local newspaper in high school before moving out to the Bay Area to pursue a career covering tech. After years of writing product reviews he fell into a dream job hosting Nvidia’s AI podcast – which to date has received more than 5 million listens. On this week’s episode of The Upgrade, host Peter Bittner speaks with Noah about the many years he’s spent following the development of AI and how this new technology is helping him succeed in his own career as a freelance content creator.

Show Notes

(2:27) How Noah landed the dream job of hosting Nvidia’s AI podcast

(7:02) Noah reflects on early uses of AI

(9:32) What Nvidia does

(14:01) The democratization of tools

(16:06) AI’s effect on freelance writers and content creators

(19:09) Noah explains how he uses AI in his freelance writing business

(21:13) Why it’s still necessary to have humans overseeing AI

(29:09) How AI will change careers and the ways we prepare for them

(31:41) Advice for media professionals and creatives on how to succeed in the age of AI

(33:00) Tips for learning how to use AI in your profession

Links:

Connect with Noah on LinkedIn

Listen to Nvidia’s AI podcast

Learn more about Noah

Learn more about The Upgrade and our online courses

Connect on LinkedIn with Peter Bittner, The Upgrade’s founder and CEO

Special thanks to Mitch Walker for helping to design the podcast’s artwork

Tamara McCleary started her career as a trauma nurse in the 1980s rescuing patients in helicopters and performing end of life care through hospice – an experience that gave her a keen interest in existential topics around life and death. In her work, Tamara strives to constantly upskill and update herself. That openness to change has led to many career transitions from healthcare compliance and medical legal consulting to her current role as CEO of the social media marketing agency Thulium. Tamara recently went back to school to study the ethical and social aspects of artificial intelligence at Harvard.

On this week’s episode of The Upgrade, host Peter Bittner talked with Tamara about her academic work which uses a philosopher’s eye to consider the social impact of AI’s use in a range of technologies and sciences from autonomous vehicles to genetic engineering and sex dolls. 

(Show Notes)

(2:31) Going to Harvard in your mid-50s

(6:02) AI’s ability to deceive 

(6:52) How an AI lied to get past a captcha

(10:11) Potential scenarios for AI to go off the rails

(14:55) Tamara tells a fable that offers a powerful lesson for understanding AI

(17:06) The cautionary tale of an AI that sought to turn all matter in the universe into paperclips

(19:59) Looking at AI through the lens of confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance

(23:40) Tamara’s research about the possibility of AI-powered sex dolls

(26:49) Philosophizing on the ethics of AI

(30:10) How AI will integrate into different aspects of our lives 

(32:50) AI and education

(34:54) Solutions to help resolve some of the problems posed by AI

(37:22) Tamara describes the podcast she's developing about the challenges and ethical dilemmas that come with progress 

Connect with Tamara on LinkedIn

Learn more about The Upgrade and our online courses

Connect on LinkedIn with Peter Bittner, The Upgrade’s founder and CEO

Special thanks to Mitch Walker for helping to design the podcast’s artwork

Jagger Waters is a storyteller, writer and producer with a background in theater and comedy who spent her childhood behind the scenes at various local broadcast news stations, tagging along with parents who worked in newsrooms all around the United States. As a kid, she witnessed the corporate buyout of small-market television stations firsthand and saw how journalism transformed as on-camera talent was pressured to adopt social media and other emerging tech. These influences helped Jagger redefine her identity as an entertainer in the face of rapid technological change, and embrace the ways AI can help her succeed as a storyteller today.

On this week’s episode of The Upgrade, host Peter Bittner talked with Jagger about how AI is changing the entertainment industry. 

Show Notes:

(1:27) The growing community of AI filmmakers 

(2:47) How to win an esports competition if you’re not a gamer

(5:52) A summary of AI tools that can help filmmakers

(7:59) AI is helping filmmakers more easily pitch new projects

(9:37) The possibilities for how viewers can shape how the shows they watch are made

(12:59) Why AI filmmaking still needs writers

(16:51) Growing up in a family who worked in media helped Jagger understand why she needed to embrace AI

(17:54) The mixed ways the film world is reacting to AI

(21:45) An argument for why AI television anchors might be a good idea

(24:45) Jagger’s VR project writing standup comedy performed by a giant fetus to spread awareness about reproductive rights

(26:54) AI Resources for filmmakers 

Where to find Jagger:

• Read Jagger’s Substack
• Connect with Jagger on LinkedIn
• Follow Jagger on Instagram
• For more resources on AI and filmmaking check out Curious Refuge

Learn more about The Upgrade and our online courses

Connect on LinkedIn with Peter Bittner, The Upgrade’s founder and CEO

Special thanks to Mitch Walker for helping to design the podcast’s artwork

Eldad Sotnick-Yogev was working in fine dining back in the late ‘90s when some friends told him about a new, and at the time little-known, search engine called Google. He started playing around with Google search and was immediately hooked – so much that he embarked on a major career pivot to focusing on SEO and content strategy, and everything that became digital marketing. Eldad has kept his finger on the pulse of technology ever since and embraced the possibilities of AI in his work both as a marketing consultant and lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire. His open mindedness to evolutions in tech has at times even caused some friction after the university where he teaches banned students and faculty from using AI. 

On this week’s episode of The Upgrade, host Peter Bittner talked with Eldad about the evolution of search engines, the possibilities and limitations of GPTs, and the complications that can arise when using AI in the classroom.

Show Notes:

(2:48) An introduction to how AI search works

(4:29) Competition among AI search engines

(8:38) Eldad shares his favorite AI-powered programs

(10:01) How Eldad helps his clients get up to speed on AI

(12:47) Figuring out what aspects of AI you need to know in order to better perform at your job

(14:58) Using AI as a tutor to teach you how to better use AI

(18:37) Peter and Eldad go deep on whether GPTs are overhyped

(26:11) The complications that arose when the University of Hertfordshire banned students and faculty from using AI

(27:03) What we can learn from a high school student who used AI to cheat on their homework

Follow Eldad on LinkedIn

Learn more about The Upgrade and our online courses

Connect on LinkedIn with Peter Bittner, The Upgrade’s founder and CEO

Special thanks to Mitch Walker for helping to design the podcast’s artwork

Stacie Chan has worked as a television and voiceover actor, reporter in California, Google Product Partnerships Manager, and as the recently exited co-founder of the successful text-to-video startup Vidiofy.ai. But above all, Stacie considers herself a storyteller. That’s the mindset she brings to her new role as VP of Business & Growth at Haiper, a video-generation platform powered by AI. On this week’s episode of The Upgrade, host Peter Bittner talked with Stacie about launching a startup, the multiple use cases for producing video with AI, and a powerful argument for embracing AI as part of your workflow.

Show Notes:

(1:02) Stacie’s journey from actor to reporter to AI video entrepreneur

(3:38) Launching a tech startup in your mid-30s

(6:44) How Stacie and her team developed the product offering of their company VideoFi

(8:48) Stacie explains how Haiper, the new company she works with, generates videos with AI

(12:03) The business side of launching a video-oriented company

(15:47) An argument for how AI can help everyone

(16:46) As a former voiceover actress, Stacie share her concerns – and what excites her – about how AI will affect voice actors

(18:46) How to get over the fear many have about AI

(23:47) Stacie and Peter lay out how leaders and working professionals can incorporate AI into their workflow

(26:45) AI notetakers and how you can create your own virtual work universe 

Learn more about Stacie Chan:

• Follow Stacie on LinkedIn
• Stacie personal website
• Try Haiper for free

Learn more about The Upgrade and our online courses

Connect on LinkedIn with Peter Bittner, The Upgrade’s founder and CEO

Special thanks to Mitch Walker for helping to design the podcast’s artwork

Hilke Schellmann never saw herself as a tech reporter. As a journalism professor at NYU who has covered subjects like sexual violence in Pakistan, Hilke first got interested in AI during a chance encounter with a Lyft driver who told her he had recently had an online job interview with a robot. That moment set her off on a years-long investigation to uncover how major American companies use AI to recruit and spy on their workers, which she documents in her new book The Algorithm. In this week’s episode, host Peter Bittner talks with Hilke about how employers are secretly using AI at work and what we can do to fight back.

(Show Notes)

(1:07) How Hilke first stumbled upon the story of AI’s use in the labor industry

(2:36) Why your job application is likely being read by AI

(3:21) The robot job interview

(4:00) The ways employers use surveillance to track their workers

(5:32) AI tools used in job applications can often be discriminatory

(8:42) The unfairness of AI games that some companies use to review applicants

(9:53) The limitations regulatory agencies have with enforcing and cracking down on malicious ways AI is used by employers 

(13:02) Hilke explains different ways employers can track a worker’s productivity online

(16:34) Drivers are under particular threat from AI surveillance  

(18:02) How companies that design AI-powered job interview tools market their product to companies

(19:36) Hacks workers use to get around tools that spy on them

(22:29) Germany has institute policy to protect workers from online surveillance

(25:09) Employers are also finding super creepy ways to monitor the health of their employees, even by tracking women’s periods 

Where to find Hilke:

• Follow Hilke on LinkedIn
• Where to buy Hilke’s book The Algorithm
• Learn more about Hilke

Learn more about The Upgrade and our online courses

Connect on LinkedIn with Peter Bittner, The Upgrade’s founder and CEO

Special thanks to Mitch Walker for helping to design the podcast’s artwork