AI-Curious with Jeff Wilser

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.bioRejuve AI:https://www.rejuve.aiStay Connected:• 🐦 Twitter/Xhttps://x.com/jeffwilser• 💼 LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffwilser/• 🖥️ JeffWilser.comwww.JeffWilser.com🎧 Subscribe to AI-Curious:• Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-curious-with-jeff-wilser/id1703130308• Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/70a9Xbhu5XQ47YOgVTE44Q?si=c31e2c02d8b64f1b• YouTube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@jeffwilser

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_KlingemannMario's personal site and gallery:https://quasimondo.comBotto.com:https://www.botto.comMy interview with Mario at CoinDesk:https://www.coindesk.com/consensus-magazine/2023/08/22/meet-botto-the-ai-artist-that-mints-its-own-nfts/ Stay Connected:• 🐦 Twitter/Xhttps://x.com/jeffwilser• 💼 LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffwilser/• 🖥️ JeffWilser.comwww.JeffWilser.com🎧 Subscribe to AI-Curious:• Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-curious-with-jeff-wilser/id1703130308• Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/70a9Xbhu5XQ47YOgVTE44Q?si=c31e2c02d8b64f1b• YouTube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@jeffwilser

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.orgStay Connected:• 🐦 Twitter/Xhttps://x.com/jeffwilser• 💼 LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffwilser/• 🖥️ JeffWilser.comwww.JeffWilser.com🎧 Subscribe to AI-Curious:• Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-curious-with-jeff-wilser/id1703130308• Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/70a9Xbhu5XQ47YOgVTE44Q?si=c31e2c02d8b64f1b• YouTube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@jeffwilser

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.comHeather's substack, Visually AI:https://heatherbcooper.substack.comHeather Cooper on Twitter/X:https://twitter.com/HBCoop_Heather Cooper on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/hb.coop_/Stay Connected:• 🐦 Twitter/Xhttps://x.com/jeffwilser• 💼 LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffwilser/• 🖥️ JeffWilser.comwww.JeffWilser.com🎧 Subscribe to AI-Curious:• Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-curious-with-jeff-wilser/id1703130308• Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/70a9Xbhu5XQ47YOgVTE44Q?si=c31e2c02d8b64f1b• YouTube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@jeffwilser

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.orgStay Connected:• 🐦 Twitter/Xhttps://x.com/jeffwilser• 💼 LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffwilser/• 🖥️ JeffWilser.comwww.JeffWilser.com🎧 Subscribe to AI-Curious:• Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-curious-with-jeff-wilser/id1703130308• Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/70a9Xbhu5XQ47YOgVTE44Q?si=c31e2c02d8b64f1b• YouTube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@jeffwilser

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/2308.08708The New York Times - "How to Tell if Your A.I. Is Conscious":https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/18/science/ai-computers-consciousness.htmlProfessor 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=8-1Professor Lindsay's site:https://gracewlindsay.comProfessor Lindsay on Twitter/X:https://twitter.com/neurograceStay Connected:• 🐦 Twitter/Xhttps://x.com/jeffwilser• 💼 LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffwilser/• 🖥️ JeffWilser.comwww.JeffWilser.com🎧 Subscribe to AI-Curious:• Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-curious-with-jeff-wilser/id1703130308• Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/70a9Xbhu5XQ47YOgVTE44Q?si=c31e2c02d8b64f1b• YouTube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@jeffwilser

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/jeffrseboJeff Sebo's book "Savings Animals, Saving Ourselves"https://www.amazon.com/Saving-Animals-Ourselves-Pandemics-Catastrophes/dp/0190861010Jeff 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-thinkingStay Connected:• 🐦 Twitter/Xhttps://x.com/jeffwilser• 💼 LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffwilser/• 🖥️ JeffWilser.comwww.JeffWilser.com🎧 Subscribe to AI-Curious:• Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-curious-with-jeff-wilser/id1703130308• Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/70a9Xbhu5XQ47YOgVTE44Q?si=c31e2c02d8b64f1b• YouTube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@jeffwilser

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/digitaltwinStay Connected:• 🐦 Twitter/Xhttps://x.com/jeffwilser• 💼 LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffwilser/• 🖥️ JeffWilser.comwww.JeffWilser.com🎧 Subscribe to AI-Curious:• Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-curious-with-jeff-wilser/id1703130308• Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/70a9Xbhu5XQ47YOgVTE44Q?si=c31e2c02d8b64f1b• YouTube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@jeffwilser

Rachel Woods, CEO of The AI Exchange, shares AI strategies and principles for businesses, favorite AI tools for productivity, importance of bespoke systems, strengths and weaknesses of AI, and advice for beginners. Promo-code provided for educational courses at The AI Exchange.

Think of this as an "AI case study" -- a way to make the abstractness of AI concrete by going deep on a hyper-specific example.Swupnil Sahai is a former Tesla engineer. He worked directly with Elon Musk on the AI that powers self-driving cars.He then created "Swingvision," an AI-powered tennis app, which recently won Apple's prestigious Design Award. (Other winners include heavyhitters like Headspace and Duolingo.)The app records your tennis match. It then lets you analyze the results, review your form, and even challenge line calls in real-time. It's now being used by 100+ division 1 college tennis programs.All of this is powered by AI. So I spoke with Sahai about how the AI works (7:00), what he learned about AI from Tesla and Musk (11:45), how neural networks come into play (15:30), how they built their data model (19:40), what AI is good at and what it's surprisingly bad at (23:30), and his advice for AI founders and entrepreneurs (36:00).SwingVision:https://swing.tennisSwingVision wins Apple Design Award:https://techcrunch.com/2023/06/06/apple-reveals-its-2023-apple-design-award-winners/#:~:text=Image%20Credits%3A%20SwingVision,of%20strategy%20to%20the%20game.Stay Connected:• 🐦 Twitter/Xhttps://x.com/jeffwilser• 💼 LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffwilser/• 🖥️ JeffWilser.comwww.JeffWilser.com🎧 Subscribe to AI-Curious:• Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-curious-with-jeff-wilser/id1703130308• Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/70a9Xbhu5XQ47YOgVTE44Q?si=c31e2c02d8b64f1b• YouTube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@jeffwilser