OpenAI Changes Everything

What if the ethical dilemmas we face with animals—like dogs and dolphins—start applying to AI systems like ChatGPT? Should we care about the welfare of AI in the same way we care about other intelligent beings? And at what point on the road to Artificial General Intelligence do we need to pause and ask: Are we causing our AI agents harm?
In this thought-provoking episode, I have the privilege of sitting down with philosopher John Basl to explore his groundbreaking paper, “The Ethics of Creating Artificial Consciousness.” Together, we’ll unravel whether AI might one day deserve moral consideration—and what that means for the future of humanity and technology.

This week, I got the opportunity to sit down with Ari LiVigni from GitHub Copilot to discuss the future of coding. Coding assistants are edging closer and closer to enabling developers to build apps using human language.  Does this mean that we can just fire all of the engineers and have product managers build all of our apps?

Could Artificial Intelligence unlock the secrets of the cosmos? This week, I’m thrilled to interview Professor Stella Offner, an astrophysicist and the visionary Director of the CosmicAI initiative. Join us as we dive into the future of AI and its role in shaping our understanding of the cosmos!

My guest this week, Tim Rich, was the Product Manager who drove Responsible AI at Indeed, the world's largest jobsite. Can AI make hiring more fair? Tim shares his vision of using AI to create a more just and fair society.

Our guest this week, Dan Turchin, believes in the potential of AI to transform work in ways that uplift rather than diminish. Join us as we dive into his optimistic vision for a future where AI complements human skills and amplifies our capabilities.

Imagine every college student having their own AI-powered teaching assistant—personalized, available around the clock, and tailored to help them learn faster. Could this be the future of higher education? This week, I’m joined by a founder of Cognify, an innovative AI startup on a mission to transform how students learn. Join us as we explore how AI could change the classroom experience and reshape the future of learning.
 

Not everything you read on the Internet is true. In fact, misinformation can lead to real-world harm—fanning the flames of antisemitism, inciting riots, and even spreading disease. So, how do we combat disinformation without infringing on free speech?
My guest today, Matthew Lease, is one of the leaders of an ambitious project called Good Systems, which is focused on developing innovative AI technologies to protect the information environment. His team is working to support journalists, fact-checkers, and analysts in their efforts to combat misinformation.

Today’s guest offers a compelling perspective on how we might be fundamentally misunderstanding Generative AI tools like ChatGPT. Rather than trying to make it fit existing paradigms such as databases or search engines, he argues that ChatGPT represents something entirely new. It’s best understood as a confabulator—an engine that constructs narratives, or stories, rather than retrieving facts. But this doesn’t mean it’s flawed. In fact, understanding ChatGPT in this way opens up exciting new possibilities for how we can harness its true potential.

Did you know that about one-third of all food produced globally—1.3 billion tons—ends up wasted each year? In this episode, I talk with the co-founder of FridgeGuide AI, a startup using cutting-edge AI to tackle food waste and rethink how we manage food inventory. Tune in to see how technology can help fight world hunger and save our planet.

In this week's episode, I sit down with the Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Solutions at Quadrant Technologies to discuss how enterprises — companies such as Microsoft, Amazon and Nike — are using technologies such as OpenAI. There is one powerful use case that my guest identifies.