The AI Expert Who Will Change Your Mind About AI - Josh Tyrangiel
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What is the significance of AI in today's society?
We got hypnotized by social media, where for the last 20 years, it kind of showed up on your phone. It was easy. Oh, it was fun too, right? But it turns out there were some harms. And those harms were known by the companies that made social media. Some of those companies now make AI. And so if you were a passive consumer of AI in the way we have been of social media, we're screwed, man. AI is so much more powerful than social media. So you actually have to demand what you want from it. And you have to make a market for the good stuff. When I talk to the guys running the labs, They're working on technology that nobody has ever made before. It's volatile. They have huge competitors. They have trillion dollar caps that they're looking at.
They have investors who are saying, where are the returns? They have energy issues. They have computing issues. You know what they're not thinking about? Boy, I hope this works out great for the Republic. That's actually on us. And so we have to know what to do. We have to know what we want out of it. And then we have to insist that they deliver.
Welcome to Open Book. I am your host, Anthony Scaramucci. Joining us today is Josh Thuringell. The title of the book is AI for Good. Wow, Josh, I got to get into this with you. How real people are using artificial intelligence to fix things that matter. And so I am a believer in what you're saying. And so I appreciate you coming on the show because I think we have to proselytize this more. But let's go to your career, if you don't mind, because you got an interesting career, my friend, your media technology storytelling intersection. And the book reads very breezy, Josh, so you know how to write. OK, but tell us a little bit about your background and tell us what drew you to the AI conversation, which I think is the most important conversation that we're having right now.
Yeah. So I'm, look, I'm a career journalist for the most part, but I grew up in an era where it was very easy to move between writing, editing, digital and television and documentary. And so to me, to stay in one lane is kind of boring. So I just kind of veer around the highway, wherever the most interesting possibilities are. I spent about a decade at Time Magazine. I Literally did everything the place had to offer. I started writing the, you know, you remember those old three-inch obits they used to run on the front? So that was my first job. Ended up as the number two at the magazine. Went to Bloomberg for a while. And I think I actually, we actually met at Bloomberg many, many years ago. I was the chief content officer and ran Bloomberg Business Week.
Ran the TV over there.
Was Dan Calaruso there at that time?
Yeah. Yep.
Okay. Great guy.
I then left Bloomberg and went to HBO and Vice, launched a new nightly news show called Vice News Tonight, did all the Vice stuff on HBO.
How has Josh Tyrangiel's career influenced his perspective on AI?
Um, and ever since I've just been kind of going where the, where the best funnest opportunity is. Um, so in 2023, right when chat GPT came out, uh, a good friend of mine was then running the Washington post op-ed desk and the way he just, he called me and he said, look, it's a hellscape down here with AI. It's like, it's an information hellscape. We have, uh, journalists who can't really quite figure out or explain the tech. We have subjects who seem to be racing ahead without telling us what it's good for, what it's doing. Our readers are furious. They're really angry that this thing is like showed up on their desks. And they offer me the chance to do a column for a year and just kind of chronicle it.
And so, listen, I was like, sounds great, right? Let me dive into the deep end of this. Um, long story short, after about eight weeks, I realized it was not all that different from writing about money because everybody was focused on raising and spending and their future valuation and very few people, you know, what they would do. And I know you remember this in those first couple of years, basically they'd say, well, it's going to cure cancer or on the other side, no, it's going to end civilization.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the significance of AI in today's society?
0:00–2:44
2
How has Josh Tyrangiel's career influenced his perspective on AI?
2:44–11:26
3
What challenges do journalists face in understanding AI technology?
11:26–16:15
4
How are real-world applications of AI improving healthcare?
16:15–21:40
5
What role does human oversight play in successful AI implementation?
21:40–26:20
6
How can individuals and organizations effectively use AI tools?
26:20–29:17
7
What are the potential risks associated with AI development?
29:17–29:49
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Open Book with Anthony Scaramucci
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