Helen Toner on OpenAI's Boardroom Drama, AI Policy, and the Path to AGI
Let's talk AI governance and policy - the two quickest ways to polarize a room of technologists. Plus exciting & scary uses of Perception AI, and "Why Google Search Isn't Going Anywhere"
In this edition of the Creative Tech Digest, we’ll get into
Scoop on OpenAI Saga with Helen Toner, Former Board Member
The Dichotomy of Perception AI Technologies — The Exciting & Scary
“Why Google Search Isn’t Going Anywhere”
SCOOP: Helen Toner on What REALLY Happened At OpenAI — “We learned about ChatGPT on Twitter”
In my exclusive interview on the “TED AI Show”, Helen Toner, former board member of OpenAI, revealed explosive details about the events leading to the dramatic firing and subsequent rehiring of Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, late last year. At the time of sending this, this episode has been extensively covered by news media — pretty cool.
The conversation sheds light on the internal conflicts, governance issues, and power struggles within one of the most influential AI companies in the world — one that started the generative AI wave we’re riding today.
I went into this conversation expecting a hardcore AI policy wonk, but found Helen Toner to be much more nuanced and fascinating. Listen to Helen's take on OpenAI, self-governance, AI policy, and accelerating optimally towards AGI - only on The TED AI Show.
Perception AI infusing intelligence into an existing fleet of sensors
Beyond OpenAI, we discussed several examples — not in a battle space overseas, but at home in our daily lives. For instance, the level of tracking we’re used to the online world is coming to the real world.
Picture this: you walk into your favorite coffee shop, order the usual, and sit down to work on your laptop. Little do you know, the camera overhead is quietly logging the minutes you spend sipping your latte, analyzing your every move. Meanwhile, the baristas behind the counter are being watched too, their productivity tracked down to the last espresso shot.
Madison Square Garden’s usage of facial recognition is just the tip of the iceberg. As advances in perception AI infuse intelligence into previously ‘dumb’ sensors, our activities in public and private venues are ready to be mined. In the age of intelligent surveillance, nothing is off-limits.
These capabilities by themselves aren’t bad, but as these datasets are aggregated, packaged, sold and rejoined with your online profile — things could look a lot less pretty. I mean look at the state of location data privacy.
3D Capture Makes ‘X-Ray Vision’ Real
The bright side to these technologies is you can also bring spatial intelligence to industries that need it the most. For instance, 3D capture is amazing for media & entertainment use cases, but the utilitarian applications might be even more impactful - literally X-ray vision making the unseen seen.
With tools like Pix4D + RTK GPS (centimeter level accuracy) you can capture critical infrastructure, and overlay it at real world locations in the future - allowing you to 'see' through concrete for future maintenance and construction.
Next Wave Podcast: Why Google Search Ain’t Going Nowhere + Cool 3D Stuff
Changing roles from interviewer to interviewee — it was fun to join my buddies Matt Wolfe and Nathan Lands on ‘The Next Wave’ podcast.
We got into a range of topics — including my bull case for Google, why spatial intelligence is under-hyped and, of course, techno-optimism vs pessimism.
Based on this conversation, Benzinga wrote a nice article on my predictions for the future of 3D tech and its impact on gaming and beyond.
That’s it for this edition! If you have feedback on the topics discussed, just hit reply to this email, or drop me a DM or comment. See y’all in the next one!
Cheers,