Me, Myself, and AI

Taylor Stockton, Chief Innovation Officer at the U.S. Department of Labor who builds workforce solutions, talks about AI reshaping tasks across the economy. He explores how AI changes workflows, the need for AI literacy alongside relationship skills, the role of apprenticeships and work-based learning, and why the public narrative should shift from fear to optimism about opportunity and mobility.

Alice Xiang, Sony’s global head of AI governance and lead AI ethics researcher, discusses making responsible AI work at scale. She explains why Sony built the Phoebe fairness benchmark, how ethically sourced datasets and consent matter, and the real harms of unmeasured bias. The conversation covers granular bias diagnosis, mitigation strategies beyond more data, and scaling ethical data practices across modalities.

Daron Acemoglu, MIT institute professor and Nobel Prize–winning economist, argues technology’s path is shaped by choices, not fate. He explores automation versus complementary new tasks. He examines centralization in large language models and why incentives and regulation matter for steering AI toward pro-worker, domain-specific designs.

In this engaging discussion, Tom Griffiths, a Princeton professor specializing in AI and cognitive science, dives into his book, The Laws of Thought. He explores how mathematics has historically shaped our understanding of both human and machine intelligence. Tom elaborates on three frameworks—rules, neural networks, and probability—that drive modern AI and connects these concepts to language. He emphasizes the unique human skills of judgment and metacognition while discussing the limits of large language models and the future of human-AI collaboration.

Will Croushorn, a product leader at Wendy's and co-creator of the FreshAi drive-through voice agent, transforms fast food ordering with AI. He dives into how FreshAi processes over 150,000 orders daily while offering multilingual support and improving accessibility for all customers. Will discusses the importance of empathy in AI, shares surprises like hidden Easter eggs in orders, and reveals new metrics for enhancing customer experience. His journey reflects a blend of curiosity and innovation, aiming to redefine convenience in the fast-food industry.

In this engaging discussion, Ronnie Chatterji, Chief Economist at OpenAI and Duke University professor, delves into how AI is transforming the economy and scientific innovation. He highlights AI's immediate economic boosts from infrastructure investments and its potential long-term productivity gains within organizations. Ronnie also illustrates AI's role in accelerating research, enabling faster idea testing, and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. Furthermore, he stresses the importance of deep expertise in the evolving AI landscape.

Todd Bishop is co-founder of GeekWire and a seasoned tech journalist who explores the evolving landscape of AI. In this discussion, he stresses that AI isn’t replacing jobs but reshaping tasks to enhance human capabilities. They delve into AI's role in education, with students using it in exams, and its impact on journalism, where traditional storytelling is being transformed. Bishop highlights the paradigm shift in hiring, emphasizing that AI is enabling companies to do more with less, all while fostering a new generation of workers learning alongside AI tools.

Vishal Gupta, an engineering manager for machine learning at Reddit, shares insights from his extensive background at DeepMind and Google. He dives into how Reddit leverages sophisticated AI to enhance user experience and ad relevance. Vishal explains the evolution of recommendation systems from basic methods to complex deep learning techniques, stressing the need for balance between user engagement and advertiser goals. He champions the value of authentic human conversation amidst the rise of AI content, making a compelling case for collaboration between human and machine insights.

Kathleen Peters, Chief Innovation Officer at Experian, dives into the exciting world of AI and innovation in financial services. She discusses how the Experian Innovation Lab is harnessing generative AI to enhance fraud detection and identity management. Kathleen highlights the democratization of AI as a double-edged sword, fostering creativity but also enabling sophisticated fraud. She contrasts corporate innovation with startup agility, showcases AI's role in supporting customer service, and emphasizes the need for trust in emerging technologies.

In this discussion, Jeetu Patel, Cisco's President and Chief Product Officer, reveals how AI stands as a transformative megatrend, potentially eclipsing past technological revolutions like the internet. He emphasizes Cisco's pivotal role in AI infrastructure and the urgent need to rethink data center capabilities. Jeetu advocates for reverse-mentoring to foster innovation and maintain a balance between harnessing productivity and nurturing creativity. He also shares insights on the rapid acceleration of AI technologies and the desire for more autonomous AI agents in our workflows.