00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,875
If you don't engage with the product,
you become the product.

00:00:04,500 --> 00:00:09,416
And it's not about whether or not you're
ready for AI is already happening to you.

00:00:09,916 --> 00:00:12,791
It's a matter of you
taking the opportunity

00:00:12,791 --> 00:00:15,791
to educate yourself on it.

00:00:16,666 --> 00:00:18,583
If you believe
we can change the narrative,

00:00:18,583 --> 00:00:20,791
if you believe
we can change our communities,

00:00:20,791 --> 00:00:24,166
if you believe we can change the outcomes,
then we can change the world.

00:00:24,875 --> 00:00:26,458
I'm Rob Richardson.

00:00:26,458 --> 00:00:29,000
Welcome to disruption now.

00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:29,875
All right.

00:00:29,875 --> 00:00:31,166
Welcome to disruption now.

00:00:31,166 --> 00:00:33,000
I'm your host and moderator
Rob Richardson.

00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:36,625
As always, we bring you stories of people
that are, changing the world

00:00:36,625 --> 00:00:39,625
through, social action
or social innovation.

00:00:39,708 --> 00:00:43,541
And Aaron Reddick is one of those people
with chat black GPT.

00:00:43,875 --> 00:00:47,166
He's,
really caught the eye movement by storm

00:00:47,458 --> 00:00:51,458
and making sure that it was inclusive,
intentional, avoided bias.

00:00:51,708 --> 00:00:53,791
And, you know, he's still, a warrior

00:00:53,791 --> 00:00:55,375
and one of the one of the first
to innovate

00:00:55,375 --> 00:00:58,375
in that space in terms of making sure
that we are intentional about it

00:00:58,541 --> 00:01:00,125
and that we're inclusive about it.

00:01:00,125 --> 00:01:01,291
And one of the most important

00:01:01,291 --> 00:01:05,750
technological revolutions
that we've ever seen, in AI.

00:01:05,750 --> 00:01:08,750
And I'm honored to have her as a friend.

00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:10,583
She also be at the next Midwest con.

00:01:10,583 --> 00:01:13,166
So we
we have a lot to discuss and to go over.

00:01:13,166 --> 00:01:15,375
And I'll see her in DC soon.

00:01:15,375 --> 00:01:17,458
Anyway, Aaron, how are you doing today?

00:01:17,458 --> 00:01:18,333
I'm doing well.

00:01:18,333 --> 00:01:21,500
Thank you for having me. Awesome
to be here.

00:01:21,500 --> 00:01:24,250
Yes. Very excited for Midwest Con.

00:01:24,250 --> 00:01:27,208
Yeah, very excited to have you for sure.

00:01:27,208 --> 00:01:28,708
And you know, I'm curious.

00:01:28,708 --> 00:01:31,208
So you, you,
you know, just jumping right into it.

00:01:31,208 --> 00:01:32,708
You you what what

00:01:33,708 --> 00:01:34,708
what was the like

00:01:34,708 --> 00:01:38,625
spark that got that
got you into AI in the first place

00:01:38,625 --> 00:01:41,916
and specifically sparked the idea of chat
black GPT?

00:01:43,250 --> 00:01:43,541
Yeah.

00:01:43,541 --> 00:01:47,458
I mean, my story goes that I was laid off

00:01:47,458 --> 00:01:50,958
from Metta and I had worked there

00:01:50,958 --> 00:01:55,083
for a couple of years and really kind of
made it my whole identity.

00:01:55,083 --> 00:01:59,458
So when I lost that job,
I really felt like I didn't have ownership

00:01:59,458 --> 00:02:03,000
over my relationship with technology
as a black woman in tech.

00:02:03,458 --> 00:02:05,125
And it didn't really sit right with me.

00:02:05,125 --> 00:02:08,000
So I decided to take that into my own
hands.

00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,083
And I was like,
what's the most tech forward

00:02:11,083 --> 00:02:14,291
thing that I can just dive into
and learn everything about?

00:02:14,291 --> 00:02:16,166
And I chose AI.

00:02:16,166 --> 00:02:18,291
This was late 2023.

00:02:18,291 --> 00:02:22,041
And so once I started studying
and doing research, I noticed that

00:02:22,041 --> 00:02:26,708
there were two narratives like, it's
so great for business and it's amazing.

00:02:26,708 --> 00:02:29,458
And then otherwise it's ruthless,
it's bias.

00:02:29,458 --> 00:02:32,000
It's, you know, erasing black history.

00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:34,500
And I'm like,
why are there two different stories?

00:02:34,500 --> 00:02:37,708
So once I was told, you know,
there's nothing you could do about it.

00:02:37,708 --> 00:02:39,541
It's a black box of data.

00:02:39,541 --> 00:02:42,541
That's my favorite time to ask.

00:02:42,583 --> 00:02:44,333
But are you sure not.

00:02:45,458 --> 00:02:46,750
That's why I pretty much shine.

00:02:46,750 --> 00:02:50,333
And just continuing to ask questions
and push back and come up with solutions.

00:02:50,333 --> 00:02:54,500
And chatbot GPT was born
not soon after that.

00:02:54,750 --> 00:02:55,916
Yeah, you're a natural disruptor.

00:02:55,916 --> 00:02:58,000
Just, you know,
you don't accept what I appreciate.

00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:00,750
You don't accept the first answer, right?

00:03:00,750 --> 00:03:01,250
Interesting.

00:03:01,250 --> 00:03:03,750
You say your identity, and that's

00:03:03,750 --> 00:03:07,041
I really resonated when you talked
about your identity and kind of.

00:03:07,125 --> 00:03:09,416
You didn't say this, but, projecting.

00:03:09,416 --> 00:03:11,083
And if I'm wrong, you can push back,

00:03:11,083 --> 00:03:14,625
you know, but after your layoff,
kind of had an initial identity,

00:03:14,625 --> 00:03:17,750
kind of crisis on what you wanted to be
and where you wanted to go.

00:03:18,083 --> 00:03:21,875
And my guess is it wasn't just tech,
it was with you as a person

00:03:21,875 --> 00:03:24,333
because you saw yourself.
And we often see ourselves,

00:03:25,375 --> 00:03:27,958
as attached to what we are doing.

00:03:27,958 --> 00:03:28,333
Right.

00:03:28,333 --> 00:03:32,250
And so I've shared this story
that it also relates to me

00:03:32,250 --> 00:03:35,875
like my identity was I before this,
I was in, you know, politics.

00:03:35,875 --> 00:03:37,250
I said I wanted to be,

00:03:37,250 --> 00:03:40,083
you know, the president, United States,
the first black president, United States,

00:03:40,083 --> 00:03:42,083
obviously, I won't be the first black
president of the United States.

00:03:42,083 --> 00:03:44,875
And now I have no aim
to be president. Right.

00:03:44,875 --> 00:03:48,916
But I used to write, and that was
and my identity was tied up in politics.

00:03:48,916 --> 00:03:51,208
And, make a very long story variable.

00:03:51,208 --> 00:03:53,416
Got a lot of votes and still lost.

86
00:03:53,416 --> 00:03:56,291
And, you know,
it was hard for me to reconcile that.

00:03:56,291 --> 00:04:00,208
But often I tell people,
and I think you've taken this advice

00:04:00,666 --> 00:04:04,791
unknowingly, or maybe knowingly,
you did, that your identity isn't tied to

00:04:05,041 --> 00:04:09,208
what you do, but to what your values are
and how you have an impact in the world.

00:04:09,416 --> 00:04:11,166
Not not, not a position.

00:04:11,166 --> 00:04:16,208
And you're getting laid off for meta
didn't make you less worthy

00:04:16,208 --> 00:04:20,250
or less smart,
but it often feels that way, right?

00:04:20,541 --> 00:04:22,750
It it felt that way. To me.
It feels like a rejection.

00:04:22,750 --> 00:04:24,666
And how did you deal with that?

00:04:24,666 --> 00:04:28,500
Take your obviously you've recovered well
and it's and it worked out for the best.

00:04:29,250 --> 00:04:32,625
Take us through that moment when you went
through that initial identity

00:04:32,625 --> 00:04:35,875
crisis or rejection,
or how have you felt about it?

00:04:36,625 --> 00:04:39,916
What did you do to take yourself
to move beyond that, to

00:04:39,916 --> 00:04:44,166
to be able to, take the next leap into
what's now chat, black TV?

00:04:45,291 --> 00:04:46,875
I mean, to be honest, like,

00:04:46,875 --> 00:04:50,041
I, I'm very good at recognizing,

00:04:50,833 --> 00:04:53,833
cause and effect, like,

00:04:53,833 --> 00:04:54,875
analysis.

00:04:54,875 --> 00:05:00,291
Like I understood months before I was laid
off that I was going to be laid off.

00:05:00,833 --> 00:05:04,333
I got put on a very senior team
because I could hang,

00:05:04,791 --> 00:05:09,208
but like, I'm working alongside my manager
and other managers,

00:05:09,291 --> 00:05:12,416
just a bunch of managers and managing like

00:05:13,208 --> 00:05:17,500
tens of millions of dollars and vendors
of tools that I know are going to be cut.

00:05:18,125 --> 00:05:22,791
And it's like if the budgets for
these tools are being cut

00:05:22,791 --> 00:05:26,791
and I'm managing the vendor relationship,
where do I fit in?

00:05:27,125 --> 00:05:27,583
Right.

00:05:27,583 --> 00:05:32,333
So I was you know,
having one on one with my, director.

00:05:32,333 --> 00:05:35,750
And I was like, I'm not going to work
any harder than I already am,

00:05:35,750 --> 00:05:39,208
because whatever decisions that have been
made are already made.

00:05:39,666 --> 00:05:41,541
And I just was very resolute to that.

00:05:41,541 --> 00:05:45,083
And she was like, it's
very sobering for you to say that,

00:05:45,083 --> 00:05:48,291
and I appreciate your attitude towards
all of this.

00:05:48,291 --> 00:05:50,916
It's extremely difficult,
blah, blah, blah.

00:05:50,916 --> 00:05:54,375
And so I started my grieving process
while I was still working there.

00:05:54,750 --> 00:05:56,541
I went to all the cafeterias.

00:05:56,541 --> 00:06:00,041
I touched the felt on the wall
when in the music room,

00:06:00,375 --> 00:06:03,833
I stayed late,
I came early, you know, I clicked my badge

00:06:03,833 --> 00:06:06,916
a few extra times,
but I knew it was coming.

00:06:07,375 --> 00:06:12,416
And, when it all happened, I also knew
I was going to get a severance.

00:06:12,416 --> 00:06:18,250
And that was the first time that I had
a lump sum of cash money in my hands.

00:06:18,250 --> 00:06:21,458
And I wanted to not waste

00:06:21,458 --> 00:06:24,583
the opportunity to just do something.

00:06:24,916 --> 00:06:28,833
And I kept hearing this voice in my head
that was like, it's now or never.

00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:30,750
Are you actually an entrepreneur?

00:06:30,750 --> 00:06:33,708
Because I've had my business license
for years and years and years,

00:06:33,708 --> 00:06:36,958
like ten years,
and I never reported any revenue.

00:06:37,250 --> 00:06:41,458
2024 I will be the first year
that I report taxable income

00:06:41,458 --> 00:06:43,541
and I'm so proud of that. Let's go.

00:06:43,541 --> 00:06:44,708
Yeah. So proud of that.

00:06:44,708 --> 00:06:47,125
I mean, sure,
it might be half what I was making,

00:06:47,125 --> 00:06:50,458
but I still made half of what
I was making from 12 in that there's

00:06:50,458 --> 00:06:53,458
nothing to substitute
when you have to go out

00:06:53,625 --> 00:06:56,416
and you have to hunt and keep it
like, do not.

00:06:56,416 --> 00:06:59,666
I want you to
I do not want you to downplay

00:07:00,416 --> 00:07:03,625
the magnitude of what you've done
because it is incredible.

00:07:04,041 --> 00:07:06,708
It is not easy to do that.

00:07:06,708 --> 00:07:10,083
And most businesses
don't make any type of taxable profit.

00:07:10,083 --> 00:07:10,791
Okay.

00:07:10,791 --> 00:07:13,375
Like some people like people
get lost in this.

00:07:13,375 --> 00:07:16,916
What this actually is because social media
has you worked for meta.

00:07:16,916 --> 00:07:17,958
They're good at selling.

00:07:17,958 --> 00:07:19,916
The algorithms are good at selling
fantasies.

00:07:19,916 --> 00:07:20,875
Yeah. This is hard.

00:07:20,875 --> 00:07:24,541
Like and it's like
I mean like there is me.

00:07:24,750 --> 00:07:25,250
This is

00:07:26,750 --> 00:07:27,250
and this is hard.

00:07:27,250 --> 00:07:30,000
So I want you to know that I am
proud of you.

00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:31,708
Many are very proud of you.

00:07:31,708 --> 00:07:36,083
And I've, seen your work,
and this is just the beginning.

00:07:36,083 --> 00:07:37,083
The fact that you're.

00:07:37,083 --> 00:07:39,000
I can tell you this without question.

00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:42,000
Whatever you did this year, right? In.

00:07:42,208 --> 00:07:45,916
I know that if you did that, you can do

00:07:45,916 --> 00:07:49,416
triple that with the right approach
and learnings that you get from that.

00:07:49,416 --> 00:07:50,666
I promise you, you can.

00:07:50,666 --> 00:07:53,125
And then once you get a triple,
you can sense that,

00:07:53,125 --> 00:07:56,666
but you are already on your way
and, you know, don't,

00:07:56,916 --> 00:07:58,500
don't, don't downplay

00:07:58,500 --> 00:08:01,125
what you've already accomplished
because it has been quite amazing.

00:08:01,125 --> 00:08:02,125
I really mean that.

00:08:02,125 --> 00:08:03,583
I appreciate that.

00:08:03,583 --> 00:08:03,916
Yeah.

00:08:03,916 --> 00:08:07,250
It's it's, it's definitely in, like,

00:08:08,541 --> 00:08:11,250
eye opening,

00:08:11,250 --> 00:08:13,250
getting out of the hourly mindset.

00:08:13,250 --> 00:08:16,208
Yes, is a huge task.

00:08:16,208 --> 00:08:20,041
So, like, getting out of it
and like how I kind of reclaim

00:08:20,041 --> 00:08:22,000
my personality and all of that.

00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:23,416
I did go to therapy.

00:08:23,416 --> 00:08:26,541
I'm ashamed to say that I shouldn't
be right.

00:08:26,833 --> 00:08:30,833
I was in I was in there
twice a week for like months.

00:08:30,833 --> 00:08:31,833
Okay.

00:08:31,833 --> 00:08:34,208
I had to really, like, reset,

00:08:34,208 --> 00:08:38,375
like who I am and like, what my what,
what skills, I mean.

00:08:38,416 --> 00:08:41,458
And I didn't start to feel better
until I started working

00:08:41,458 --> 00:08:46,916
and getting my hands dirty
into and learning how to actually build

00:08:46,916 --> 00:08:51,208
and the code and like, the certifications
and like that's when I started to gain

00:08:51,208 --> 00:08:54,250
confidence and like, I'm
naturally drawn towards solutions.

00:08:54,250 --> 00:08:58,416
So I kind of feel like that's
what brought me back to myself.

00:08:58,416 --> 00:09:01,375
Like,
I started the grieving process early.

00:09:01,375 --> 00:09:04,583
I went to therapy,
and I was very hands on and immersed

00:09:04,583 --> 00:09:07,708
in my new, you know, interest.

00:09:07,708 --> 00:09:10,333
So I've kind of coined that.

00:09:10,333 --> 00:09:13,500
So, Aaron, I read a little bit
about your background and,

00:09:13,500 --> 00:09:14,541
you know, correct me if I'm wrong.

00:09:14,541 --> 00:09:17,291
So you
you grew up in a very diverse setting.

00:09:17,291 --> 00:09:21,375
So if I'm correct, your father was your father grew up with white was white, right.

00:09:22,375 --> 00:09:22,750
Okay.

00:09:22,750 --> 00:09:26,125
And I think you've talked about
how that's shaped out of your perspectives

00:09:26,125 --> 00:09:27,958
and looking at the world
in an inclusive manner.

00:09:27,958 --> 00:09:31,500
Speak about how your experience
growing up in a very diverse

00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:36,458
kind of perspective speaks to who you are
and how you approach AI and technology.

00:09:37,166 --> 00:09:37,583
Yeah.

00:09:37,583 --> 00:09:40,583
So I have a,

200
00:09:43,041 --> 00:09:44,416
blended family.

00:09:44,416 --> 00:09:47,958
So I have my stepdad who is a white man,

00:09:49,083 --> 00:09:51,875
blond hair, blue eyes, the brown hair.

00:09:51,875 --> 00:09:57,000
But he was a blond on,
and then I had my mom, my biological mom.

00:09:57,500 --> 00:10:02,208
And so, like, for Christmas
time, we're going to his parents house.

00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:05,000
There's boats. We're on the lake.

00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:07,833
It's a condo with tall ceilings.

00:10:07,833 --> 00:10:10,791
Granite countertops
are making taupe or not.

00:10:10,791 --> 00:10:13,583
And then you've got my family
in Saint Louis, Missouri,

00:10:13,583 --> 00:10:16,750
where we're, like, pan
fried chicken patties.

00:10:16,750 --> 00:10:22,166
And I'm out in Baldwin, Michigan
with my grandmother, who I love dearly.

00:10:22,250 --> 00:10:25,166
She's no longer here,
but she's still with us in spirit.

00:10:25,166 --> 00:10:28,791
Yes, I'm in hot dog and jello cuts
and it's like,

00:10:29,125 --> 00:10:32,125
no matter what environment I was in.

00:10:32,791 --> 00:10:35,708
And not to put a juxtaposition
of rich and poor,

00:10:35,708 --> 00:10:40,791
because I also had a four floor story,
you know, grandparents

00:10:40,791 --> 00:10:44,666
house in Saint Louis, and they had trucks
and a construction company.

00:10:44,958 --> 00:10:47,916
But just with the family members
that I spent most time

00:10:47,916 --> 00:10:50,916
with, the juxtaposition was very stark.

00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:55,250
But I never felt that I loved
one more than the other,

00:10:55,250 --> 00:10:58,250
or I never felt more loved by one
or the other.

00:10:58,250 --> 00:11:00,958
It was just, this is my life.

00:11:00,958 --> 00:11:05,458
And sometimes my dad dropped me off
at school and people are like, who's that?

00:11:05,458 --> 00:11:06,500
And I'm like, it's my dad.

00:11:06,500 --> 00:11:11,250
And then they're like, oh, you know, oh,
you're this, you're that, blah blah blah.

00:11:11,458 --> 00:11:14,916
And like, then my mom would come
and I'd be like, oh, you know,

00:11:15,416 --> 00:11:16,708
she talks like you.

00:11:16,708 --> 00:11:19,708
And it's just like so many things.

00:11:20,416 --> 00:11:24,166
Dismantled and built up who I am today.

00:11:24,166 --> 00:11:28,083
Like definitions of,
like, being black in a black household.

00:11:28,375 --> 00:11:30,125
I still got black, mom.

00:11:30,125 --> 00:11:34,166
But, you know,
I still also had a different perspective.

00:11:34,250 --> 00:11:34,791
Absolutely.

00:11:34,791 --> 00:11:36,333
That got me into hunting.

00:11:36,333 --> 00:11:41,375
And he's, eating, venison chili and deer
jerky, like,

00:11:42,208 --> 00:11:46,166
you know, it's just two different cultures
and fish and it's like, right.

00:11:46,666 --> 00:11:47,000
Yeah.

00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:49,291
They just collided for me
my whole life. So.

00:11:49,291 --> 00:11:52,291
And oh, excuse me, I'm curious on because,

00:11:52,666 --> 00:11:55,583
because I kind of, in your description,

00:11:56,833 --> 00:11:58,750
think about,
like, you probably have some challenges

00:11:58,750 --> 00:12:02,916
with some of your peers in terms of them
trying to put you in a box.

00:12:02,916 --> 00:12:06,625
That's what I felt like you were getting
to, because I've been through this, too.

00:12:06,625 --> 00:12:07,500
Right.

00:12:07,500 --> 00:12:10,583
And I wonder how that's both informed you
and how you navigated that.

00:12:10,583 --> 00:12:10,791
Right.

00:12:10,791 --> 00:12:13,833
Because I had to navigate
the ridiculous definition of what

00:12:13,833 --> 00:12:16,500
it's supposed to mean to be whatever
the definition of being black

00:12:16,500 --> 00:12:19,583
supposed to mean, whatever
it means to talk black, to be black,

00:12:20,250 --> 00:12:24,250
like given your background
and your experience

00:12:24,250 --> 00:12:27,250
and how you dealt with, how do you
how did that both inform you?

00:12:27,541 --> 00:12:30,500
How did you deal with the,

00:12:30,500 --> 00:12:30,708
sure.

00:12:30,708 --> 00:12:34,583
Direct criticisms of people
thinking that you're a, you're either

00:12:34,583 --> 00:12:38,166
not black enough and then if you're
talking to your white counterparts

00:12:38,166 --> 00:12:41,250
that you're also not one of them,
because I'm sure that's a, that's a thing.

00:12:41,250 --> 00:12:41,875
That's still a thing.

00:12:41,875 --> 00:12:44,208
It was the thing with me, maybe
wasn't thing with you because you're like,

00:12:45,750 --> 00:12:47,291
so that

00:12:47,291 --> 00:12:50,416
yeah, I definitely, have had some

00:12:50,833 --> 00:12:53,875
really traumatic experiences,
you know, like your,

00:12:54,875 --> 00:12:56,541
What? Why are you talk so white?

00:12:56,541 --> 00:12:58,166
Why do you act like a white girl?

00:12:58,166 --> 00:13:00,208
Like it was like a white girl, Aaron.

00:13:00,208 --> 00:13:04,166
You know, and then my name is already
not very black.

00:13:04,166 --> 00:13:05,875
It's Aaron Reddick.

00:13:05,875 --> 00:13:08,875
It is literally not a black origin
that Reddick

00:13:09,041 --> 00:13:11,666
and then,

00:13:11,666 --> 00:13:14,041
and then you have, white friends.

00:13:14,041 --> 00:13:15,416
I was like, into, like,

00:13:15,416 --> 00:13:19,166
I don't know, you know, I got I got to,
you know, is they're all white

00:13:19,583 --> 00:13:23,000
and they're making fun of your hair
and like,

00:13:24,333 --> 00:13:27,750
run their fingers and say,
on the black market, I think it's cool.

00:13:27,750 --> 00:13:29,083
Yeah, yeah.

00:13:29,083 --> 00:13:31,125
And, you know, certain things
I shouldn't say.

00:13:31,125 --> 00:13:35,375
And testing boundaries
and it was just it was very difficult

00:13:35,375 --> 00:13:40,125
because I wasn't going to be,
you know, talking to T-Pain.

00:13:40,125 --> 00:13:42,250
But I also wasn't being much him.

00:13:42,250 --> 00:13:46,000
So it's like I
never danced, you know, like,

00:13:47,333 --> 00:13:50,416
but it helps with how it informs
my design for the product,

00:13:50,416 --> 00:13:54,583
because when people say, oh, well,
you can't represent the how can you say

00:13:54,583 --> 00:13:58,125
represent all, you know, black people,
black people aren't a monolith.

00:13:58,166 --> 00:14:01,375
If anybody understand
that, it's definitely also me,

00:14:01,833 --> 00:14:03,125
that we're not a monolith.

00:14:03,125 --> 00:14:09,791
And so I'm very much I'm open
minded to all walks of black life when,

00:14:10,625 --> 00:14:14,250
considering data
and information and stories

00:14:14,250 --> 00:14:17,875
and things that are donated for the tool
and how it actually

00:14:18,416 --> 00:14:21,416
acts and provides output.

00:14:21,666 --> 00:14:25,250
So with I speaking more about that,
because we're talking about like AI is,

00:14:26,541 --> 00:14:28,666
it's, it's, it's
what you put in is what you get.

00:14:28,666 --> 00:14:31,208
Right
in terms of making sure it's trained,

00:14:31,208 --> 00:14:33,000
that you give it the correct information.

00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:36,750
And that's why Chat Black GPT
is so important because our perspective

00:14:36,750 --> 00:14:38,375
isn't there.

00:14:38,375 --> 00:14:42,583
A lot of times it's not the those who are
building, put their perspective first.

00:14:42,583 --> 00:14:44,875
Like, it hit like,
you know, as they say, with history, the,

00:14:44,875 --> 00:14:47,875
the history is written
by the winners, right?

00:14:48,208 --> 00:14:49,541
So on and so forth.

00:14:49,541 --> 00:14:50,875
It's kind of true with data too.

00:14:50,875 --> 00:14:54,500
But I'm curious, given
some of the challenges in your obviously

00:14:54,958 --> 00:14:57,833
with what you're doing, you're taking a
step at addressing some of the challenges.

00:14:57,833 --> 00:15:03,000
But what do you see as the greatest
challenge in the future with AI?

00:15:03,208 --> 00:15:05,791
And actually,
let me state the question another way.

00:15:07,625 --> 00:15:08,916
What do you see as

00:15:08,916 --> 00:15:12,416
the worst case scenario
when it comes to AI?

00:15:12,875 --> 00:15:14,916
All right, that's the first question.

00:15:14,916 --> 00:15:18,500
What do you see as the best case scenario
and how do we make that happen.

00:15:19,375 --> 00:15:20,750
Sure.

00:15:20,750 --> 00:15:23,666
I think like worst case scenario

00:15:23,666 --> 00:15:26,666
with AI is that,

00:15:27,166 --> 00:15:28,791
the general public

00:15:28,791 --> 00:15:33,500
doesn't have access to it anymore
and we're only subjected to it.

00:15:34,083 --> 00:15:37,375
I think that's worst case scenario,
because then we don't have

00:15:37,375 --> 00:15:38,875
an opportunity to build.

00:15:38,875 --> 00:15:43,041
We don't have an opportunity
to create the technology

00:15:43,041 --> 00:15:46,166
in a way
that it can serve our communities.

00:15:47,333 --> 00:15:50,083
And we kind of lose our autonomy.

00:15:50,083 --> 00:15:56,458
We lose a lot if if we don't
have access to it in order to build it.

00:15:57,916 --> 00:16:01,250
And I know that some people might expect
the worst case scenario

00:16:01,250 --> 00:16:04,416
is that it takes over the world
and starts killing everyone.

00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:06,708
But I think

00:16:06,708 --> 00:16:09,958
that scenario exist with or without AI.

00:16:10,500 --> 00:16:15,583
Yeah, yeah, I actually think that's
the least likely scenario.

00:16:15,583 --> 00:16:18,625
I tell people, if you want to say sci fi

00:16:18,625 --> 00:16:21,958
movies, it's less Terminator,
more matrix, right?

00:16:22,041 --> 00:16:25,041
It's terms of like like, you know,

00:16:25,041 --> 00:16:26,250
with with with Terminator.

00:16:26,250 --> 00:16:28,583
It was they took over destroy.

00:16:28,583 --> 00:16:29,541
We destroyed the Earth.

00:16:29,541 --> 00:16:32,166
Whatever. With matrix.

00:16:32,166 --> 00:16:35,625
It was more like the algorithms
were giving people what they wanted.

00:16:35,625 --> 00:16:35,958
Right.

00:16:35,958 --> 00:16:39,791
And they were for and they and people
were mindlessly following

00:16:40,208 --> 00:16:42,625
without without thinking about it. Right.

00:16:42,625 --> 00:16:47,666
I think that could be a scenario where
it's where only a few have access to it.

00:16:47,666 --> 00:16:50,875
We have digital dictatorships,
and algorithms

00:16:50,875 --> 00:16:54,333
are influencing because they already
are to some extent, right.

00:16:54,333 --> 00:16:57,333
In terms of how things
are with social media, things like that.

00:16:57,333 --> 00:17:00,375
Now with algorithms,
pick it up to a new level.

00:17:01,500 --> 00:17:02,666
And knowing

00:17:02,666 --> 00:17:05,666
us at a better level
and being able to learn,

00:17:06,291 --> 00:17:09,166
it could exacerbate that,
that that issue in that problem,

00:17:09,166 --> 00:17:11,833
if we don't have some intentionality
and thought process about it.

00:17:11,833 --> 00:17:13,041
So, yeah.

00:17:13,041 --> 00:17:14,625
So I guess that that's the worst case
scenario.

00:17:14,625 --> 00:17:16,125
I agree with you.

00:17:16,125 --> 00:17:17,708
Let's
how do we make the best case scenario?

00:17:17,708 --> 00:17:19,291
What is the best case
scenario in your mind.

00:17:19,291 --> 00:17:21,250
And how do we make that happen?

00:17:21,250 --> 00:17:25,125
I think the best case scenario is that
AI is used to solve,

00:17:25,958 --> 00:17:29,541
like basic human rights concerns,

00:17:29,958 --> 00:17:32,958
like hunger, housing,

00:17:33,666 --> 00:17:36,666
clean water, medicine.

00:17:36,833 --> 00:17:40,458
I like using AI to, advance

00:17:40,541 --> 00:17:45,958
research faster and help
everybody just live a normal, decent life.

00:17:46,250 --> 00:17:50,250
I think that's best case
scenario and best case scenario

00:17:50,250 --> 00:17:53,708
as far as let's say that that was already
a standard,

00:17:54,041 --> 00:17:57,041
is that people understand how to use AI

00:17:57,041 --> 00:17:59,791
to bring out the best in themselves

00:17:59,791 --> 00:18:02,916
and really explore and expand

00:18:02,916 --> 00:18:08,000
and explode like just who they are
and scale themselves

00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:12,500
and what, gifted them with
and how their beauty and talents

00:18:12,500 --> 00:18:15,500
can grace
the earth and other people around.

00:18:15,666 --> 00:18:19,000
I really think that it should be about

00:18:19,375 --> 00:18:22,375
helping us spread our true selves,

00:18:22,375 --> 00:18:25,833
rather
than recreating versions of ourselves.

00:18:26,250 --> 00:18:27,291
I love that so.

367
00:18:27,291 --> 00:18:30,291
So, I think that was a that was a
it was a mic drop moment.

00:18:30,291 --> 00:18:33,541
So it's about spreading our true selves
versus

00:18:33,541 --> 00:18:36,666
just recreating or copying things.

00:18:36,666 --> 00:18:39,541
I feel like ourselves. That's
that's really that's a gem.

00:18:39,541 --> 00:18:39,958
It's a gem.

00:18:39,958 --> 00:18:42,583
We have to we're gonna have to have
a mic drop moment for that.

00:18:42,583 --> 00:18:43,875
It really is.

00:18:43,875 --> 00:18:47,250
I, I talk about that in terms of, like,
I think of it like,

00:18:47,541 --> 00:18:52,708
if we had Einsteins, Benjamin Banneker,
you know, other geniuses and others

00:18:52,708 --> 00:18:57,041
that were around him,
I wouldn't replace them.

00:18:57,041 --> 00:19:00,041
And they're great inventions
and thought processes.

00:19:00,250 --> 00:19:05,458
But what it could do is expand or 100 x
what they were able to output.

00:19:05,458 --> 00:19:06,958
Right? Right.

00:19:06,958 --> 00:19:07,250
Yeah.

00:19:07,250 --> 00:19:08,541
That's what I that's how I see it,

00:19:08,541 --> 00:19:10,916
because I don't think there's
a lot of concern about like,

00:19:12,625 --> 00:19:13,791
it like replacing

00:19:13,791 --> 00:19:18,208
all of human creativity,
which I don't think is at least right now,

00:19:18,333 --> 00:19:22,000
even even in the realm of possibility,
like, I think artistic intelligence

00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:23,041
is what we need to look for.

00:19:23,041 --> 00:19:26,041
Not, not artificial intelligence.

00:19:26,083 --> 00:19:27,458
It doesn't replace us.

00:19:27,458 --> 00:19:29,666
It it done right enhances us.

00:19:29,666 --> 00:19:33,291
So let's let's, let's, let's work
through the average person because,

00:19:33,750 --> 00:19:37,833
you know, although it seems like it,
most people still probably don't use,

00:19:39,458 --> 00:19:40,500
generative AI.

00:19:40,500 --> 00:19:42,833
And AI,

00:19:42,833 --> 00:19:45,833
at a level that they should
or mostly probably still not at all.

00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:48,125
How do you introduce people
through the process?

00:19:48,125 --> 00:19:51,958
Like how like what do you do to make sure
you kind of get over that initial

00:19:51,958 --> 00:19:55,250
kind of psychological block that I'm sure,
especially if you're dealing

00:19:55,250 --> 00:19:59,000
with the black community in particular
that is there, the mistrust, the,

00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:02,791
the feeling of like,
oh, I'm not technical, so I can't do this.

00:20:02,791 --> 00:20:04,916
So how do you approach those opportunities

00:20:04,916 --> 00:20:07,916
and conversations when you, when you,
when you talk about AI?

00:20:08,250 --> 00:20:12,708
Yeah, I think that's probably why
my, keynotes and talks are popular

00:20:13,041 --> 00:20:16,708
because I, I may get somebody
what's the last person who said there?

00:20:16,708 --> 00:20:19,708
But thank you
for making AI less scary for me.

00:20:19,875 --> 00:20:22,041
I'm like, I like that.

00:20:22,041 --> 00:20:25,916
It's it's it's like when
when people think about coding.

00:20:25,916 --> 00:20:27,625
I remember the first time my dad was,

00:20:27,625 --> 00:20:29,416
like, moved to Seattle to be a software
engineer.

00:20:29,416 --> 00:20:31,166
I'm like, what is software?

00:20:31,166 --> 00:20:33,750
I'm like, what do you mean code?

00:20:33,750 --> 00:20:39,000
Like, I didn't understand how numbers
and screens like, just make things happen.

00:20:39,250 --> 00:20:42,416
Obviously I'm interacting with technology,
but how to create it?

00:20:43,041 --> 00:20:46,291
I could not connect those dots
for the life of me

00:20:46,666 --> 00:20:49,708
until I started working at it
and actually working at these companies,

00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:51,000
and then I can understand.

00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:53,500
And I think it's kind of the same for AI.

00:20:53,500 --> 00:20:57,750
It's happening, I see it,
but I don't understand how it's doing,

00:20:57,750 --> 00:20:58,791
what it's doing.

00:20:58,791 --> 00:21:01,916
And so I just break it down
like people say,

00:21:02,541 --> 00:21:05,791
that the number one
coding language in the next,

00:21:05,791 --> 00:21:08,791
I don't know, five,
ten years is going to be English.

00:21:09,083 --> 00:21:09,791
Right.

00:21:09,791 --> 00:21:13,541
And and it's because algorithms like it's

00:21:13,666 --> 00:21:16,708
words, you're telling it with words.

00:21:16,708 --> 00:21:19,250
I break it down like it's like a parent.

00:21:19,250 --> 00:21:22,250
Like I is like a child.

00:21:22,500 --> 00:21:27,416
The algorithm is like a parent telling
the child, these are your core values.

00:21:27,416 --> 00:21:30,000
This is wrong. This is right.

00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:33,500
And then the kid is just looking at things
and like taking into the information,

00:21:33,500 --> 00:21:37,250
but it's really not organized because it's
a child, but it's just taking it all in.

00:21:37,583 --> 00:21:38,666
And it's up to you as a parent

00:21:38,666 --> 00:21:42,416
to guide the child
to grow up and do good in the world.

00:21:42,708 --> 00:21:45,958
And so that's kind of how I help
break it down for people.

00:21:45,958 --> 00:21:47,750
So it's like less scary.

00:21:47,750 --> 00:21:53,416
And with the whole thing of so AI is
the child and the algorithm is the parent.

00:21:54,291 --> 00:21:55,083
That's how I look at it.

00:21:55,083 --> 00:21:58,791
And how do you see the human interacting
with the algorithm with the AI?

00:21:59,791 --> 00:22:01,291
So do you mean

00:22:01,291 --> 00:22:05,375
like the child,
like interacting with the world around it?

00:22:05,375 --> 00:22:07,916
Like, or if it's just so like,
because if I'm hearing you right,

00:22:07,916 --> 00:22:09,875
you say the algorithm is guiding the AI.

00:22:09,875 --> 00:22:12,750
So I guess to rephrase the question,
because it feels like

00:22:12,750 --> 00:22:14,583
it feels like we're getting to that.

00:22:14,583 --> 00:22:17,708
We are guiding
the principles around the algorithm.

00:22:17,708 --> 00:22:18,583
Is, is that how you see it?

00:22:18,583 --> 00:22:22,833
And then that then guides the
AI as a child, right? Yes.

00:22:22,833 --> 00:22:25,291
And we have to remember that
we're in charge.

00:22:25,291 --> 00:22:29,333
So I always tell them when you start,
don't don't use AI blindly.

00:22:29,541 --> 00:22:32,541
Like don't go into it
and expect it to lead you somewhere.

00:22:32,833 --> 00:22:37,833
Allow it to help you get where you're
going or help you challenge yourself.

00:22:38,875 --> 00:22:39,666
And so what I,

00:22:39,666 --> 00:22:43,583
what I say is let AI inform you,
not perform.

00:22:43,583 --> 00:22:45,625
You, say it again.

00:22:45,625 --> 00:22:46,458
Say that again.

Listen, letting it inform you.

00:22:49,375 --> 00:22:52,375
Let AI inform you. Yes.

00:22:52,583 --> 00:22:54,708
Not perform. Yeah.

00:22:54,708 --> 00:22:57,041
There you go, I like that. Yeah.

00:22:57,041 --> 00:23:00,500
So that's how I try to, like,
make it more approachable for people.

00:23:00,500 --> 00:23:05,833
And then I show them the back end of,
like, these custom AI engines.

00:23:05,833 --> 00:23:09,083
And it's like, it's really not all that.

00:23:09,083 --> 00:23:11,541
Now when you build one from scratch,
you know, that's different.

00:23:11,541 --> 00:23:12,750
Yeah. Very different.

00:23:12,750 --> 00:23:16,916
But the average person can create their
own custom GPT and they don't realize it.

00:23:17,208 --> 00:23:17,458
Yeah.

00:23:17,458 --> 00:23:20,250
And people have to get like it's just me.

00:23:20,250 --> 00:23:24,458
Like a lot of really great points
about the necessity of bringing the

00:23:24,625 --> 00:23:27,583
the authenticity of who you are

00:23:27,583 --> 00:23:30,416
and understanding who you are first.

00:23:30,416 --> 00:23:33,583
AI in a world where everything is
artificial, authenticity reigns supreme.

00:23:33,583 --> 00:23:38,333
So think about like you still
this is why, like critical

00:23:38,333 --> 00:23:42,416
thinking, understanding principles
and developing your own set of creativity

00:23:43,458 --> 00:23:44,458
will not go away.

00:23:44,458 --> 00:23:45,583
They'll only become enhanced.

00:23:45,583 --> 00:23:49,458
But I think people will think that
they can turn off their brain and use AI.

00:23:49,500 --> 00:23:51,375
That's that's not going to work.

00:23:51,375 --> 00:23:54,666
And what he could do is that, you know,
I can give you something

00:23:54,666 --> 00:23:56,333
where you don't guided appropriately.

00:23:56,333 --> 00:23:58,291
You're not clear on what you're saying.

00:23:58,291 --> 00:24:00,458
And then you get, you know,

00:24:00,458 --> 00:24:03,958
the on the, on the, on the most mild
example, you get a bad answer.

00:24:04,291 --> 00:24:04,833
Yeah.

00:24:04,833 --> 00:24:08,666
On a horrible example, you know, you get
you get something where it instructs

00:24:08,666 --> 00:24:12,583
a customer to to, to
to give to get all your money back or.

00:24:13,041 --> 00:24:16,416
But the car crashes because you weren't
clear with how you got to the child.

00:24:17,750 --> 00:24:18,000
Yeah.

00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:21,000
So this is why your work is so important
I love to talk about.

00:24:21,083 --> 00:24:23,541
So we talked about the worst case
scenario. The best case scenario.

00:24:25,416 --> 00:24:25,791
When you're

00:24:25,791 --> 00:24:28,791
starting off you give people the back end
and you give them the support.

00:24:29,041 --> 00:24:33,125
How can we from a systemic level
make sure more people are getting

00:24:33,750 --> 00:24:36,208
the knowledge and are getting the access.

00:24:36,208 --> 00:24:37,041
That's the first question.

00:24:37,041 --> 00:24:38,791
The second question is
what's the one thing

00:24:38,791 --> 00:24:41,791
if you had to advise someone right now
that doesn't know anything about AI,

00:24:42,208 --> 00:24:45,208
what's the what's the one thing
they can do to really get started?

00:24:46,916 --> 00:24:49,791
So for your first question,

00:24:49,791 --> 00:24:53,291
I think that recognizing it

00:24:53,833 --> 00:24:57,416
from like a standard,

00:24:57,416 --> 00:25:01,583
like a, almost like a basic, bare
minimum standard

00:25:01,750 --> 00:25:05,458
to have an understanding of AI

00:25:05,791 --> 00:25:09,500
in some way should be like a requirement
to graduate high school.

00:25:10,458 --> 00:25:11,125
Yeah.

00:25:11,125 --> 00:25:16,041
Just because of how prevalent it is
in our day to day lives

00:25:16,041 --> 00:25:20,541
and in the future of work, in the future
of their work and their jobs potentially.

00:25:21,916 --> 00:25:24,416
I think there should be some

00:25:24,416 --> 00:25:30,208
requirement that they know what it is
and what it's doing, and how to use it,

00:25:30,625 --> 00:25:35,708
not promoting a specific product,
but just the literacy or understanding.

00:25:35,958 --> 00:25:38,708
And I know some school districts
in California already

00:25:38,708 --> 00:25:42,375
have those requirements to graduate
and some,

00:25:43,791 --> 00:25:46,583
private schools
already have prompt engineering classes.

00:25:46,583 --> 00:25:50,750
And it's like you're saying
systematically, I think if we're going

00:25:51,125 --> 00:25:55,791
that route, it needs to be a part of
like a typical curriculum,

00:25:57,875 --> 00:26:03,083
or at least a very robust lesson
in absolutely math class.

00:26:03,083 --> 00:26:04,166
You know, it's math.

00:26:04,166 --> 00:26:06,458
It's pretty much what it is. Math.

00:26:06,458 --> 00:26:09,458
So, like,
I would even put it somewhere in there,

00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:12,375
or like a social science class, like,

00:26:12,375 --> 00:26:15,833
if you're looking at it more towards,
like, a public school, those things.

00:26:15,833 --> 00:26:18,333
I mean, if you
I mean, go into your point here and it's

00:26:18,333 --> 00:26:22,166
I think it should be infused
in, and, and arts

00:26:22,583 --> 00:26:26,750
infused and lessons and think about
we have to figure out how we are

00:26:26,750 --> 00:26:28,125
now going to approach the world.

00:26:28,125 --> 00:26:29,875
Just like when the internet came about.

00:26:29,875 --> 00:26:33,333
We had to reorient
how everything was done.

00:26:33,750 --> 00:26:37,333
Communication, business payments.

00:26:38,250 --> 00:26:40,958
I mean, there's not anything
that this is not going to affect

00:26:40,958 --> 00:26:42,000
at a really large level.

00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:43,708
I mean, it's and I believe

00:26:43,708 --> 00:26:46,875
we're probably undervaluing it in terms
of how we're talking about it.

00:26:47,291 --> 00:26:49,375
So when I think about it
in terms of sense, you,

00:26:49,375 --> 00:26:52,375
I know you're focused a lot on the black
community too, just as I am to

00:26:52,750 --> 00:26:56,083
like our institutions need to move faster.

00:26:56,458 --> 00:26:59,375
If I was every HBCU right now,

00:26:59,375 --> 00:27:01,791
like you don't have
all the advantages in the world.

00:27:01,791 --> 00:27:02,875
Some people have more resources,

00:27:02,875 --> 00:27:06,291
obviously because of many reasons
structural, systematic.

00:27:06,291 --> 00:27:10,708
But like if I was right now,
I would be doing everything to adopt and

00:27:10,708 --> 00:27:14,750
run with how I could differentiate myself
within the I movement.

00:27:14,750 --> 00:27:20,291
I mean, every HBCU should be hiring you,
self, Noel and others to help them scale

00:27:20,291 --> 00:27:23,833
because this is something they could do
right now to differentiate themselves.

00:27:24,083 --> 00:27:25,791
But if you wait, five years is too late.

00:27:25,791 --> 00:27:30,208
Right now would be the time to,
to really adopt and disrupt.

00:27:30,625 --> 00:27:32,333
Like their approach to education.

00:27:32,333 --> 00:27:35,416
So I just want to just the point
you're making is a valid one like this

00:27:35,416 --> 00:27:38,750
needs to be implemented
and thought about right now.

00:27:39,083 --> 00:27:41,208
But I think people are overwhelmed.

00:27:41,208 --> 00:27:44,125
So and then I want to get to a couple
of rapid fire questions and then we'll,

00:27:44,125 --> 00:27:44,750
we'll close out.

00:27:46,041 --> 00:27:48,041
I'm sure people are overwhelmed
when you breathe that brain,

00:27:48,041 --> 00:27:50,500
when you show
all the opportunities with AI,

00:27:50,500 --> 00:27:52,750
like when people get to you
and they just feel like they can't start.

00:27:52,750 --> 00:27:53,166
Like what?

00:27:53,166 --> 00:27:55,833
What do you what do you tell them?

00:27:55,833 --> 00:27:56,291
Yeah.

00:27:56,291 --> 00:28:00,541
So I mean, I just look at it like a
I try to tell people

00:28:00,541 --> 00:28:04,500
if you don't engage with the product,
you become the product.

00:28:05,125 --> 00:28:08,041
And it's not about
whether or not you're ready for AI.

00:28:08,041 --> 00:28:10,541
AI is already happening to you.

00:28:10,541 --> 00:28:16,041
It's a matter of you taking
the opportunity to educate yourself on it

00:28:16,333 --> 00:28:21,458
and make yourself a part of the narrative
and AI in your life.

00:28:21,958 --> 00:28:23,541
It's like, yeah, you got it.

00:28:23,541 --> 00:28:28,500
You got to actually, like, use it and take
advantage of it in the way that you can,

00:28:28,708 --> 00:28:33,958
because other people are
and they're getting a lot further ahead.

00:28:33,958 --> 00:28:35,625
And that tech divide

00:28:35,625 --> 00:28:39,750
is it's not just a matter of,
oh, I don't have a laptop or a computer.

00:28:39,750 --> 00:28:45,000
It's I'm not using AI technology at all
in my business or in my school

00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:47,458
or teaching my kids. And, that is like

00:28:48,458 --> 00:28:51,458
the tech is so much

00:28:51,625 --> 00:28:54,333
bigger and dividing so much faster,

00:28:54,333 --> 00:28:59,541
except when at least I've created
what I call a culture intervention,

00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:04,500
where I'm just creating a safe space
for black and brown communities

00:29:04,500 --> 00:29:08,666
to engage with the technology
in a way that is relatable.

00:29:09,333 --> 00:29:11,875
Significantly less harmful.

00:29:11,875 --> 00:29:15,291
And I really
I only the, the main things that I do is

00:29:15,750 --> 00:29:18,750
it's sources from black owned,

00:29:19,166 --> 00:29:24,000
content black authored content first,
which makes it a lot less biased

00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:27,000
because you're learning from the community
you're asking about.

00:29:27,291 --> 00:29:32,500
And, obviously
I teach it principles of like equity.

00:29:32,500 --> 00:29:37,375
And, it's also rooted in historical fact.

00:29:37,375 --> 00:29:39,291
So all the things that they're banning,

00:29:39,291 --> 00:29:42,583
all the classes that they're getting rid
of, critical race theory,

00:29:42,583 --> 00:29:45,750
like all of those things
that they want to pretend didn't happen,

00:29:46,791 --> 00:29:47,541
is like the heart

00:29:47,541 --> 00:29:50,916
and soul of the guarantee that I've got.

00:29:51,416 --> 00:29:54,541
So that's why it performs so well.

00:29:55,791 --> 00:29:56,416
That makes sense.

00:29:56,416 --> 00:29:58,916
And I, I tell people often,

00:29:58,916 --> 00:30:02,541
you may not like the system,
but you can't completely opt out, right?

00:30:02,541 --> 00:30:05,250
Unless you're just not going
to have any power, any knowledge.

00:30:05,250 --> 00:30:06,708
You can't opt out of technology.

00:30:06,708 --> 00:30:09,958
You can't opt out of AI.
It's it's too late.

00:30:10,250 --> 00:30:11,541
It is too late.

00:30:11,541 --> 00:30:15,625
And the future is going to be determined
by those who are building.

00:30:15,625 --> 00:30:18,625
So you are like the new civil
rights leader movement.

00:30:18,625 --> 00:30:21,625
That's how it's people
that are building in this space.

00:30:21,625 --> 00:30:25,208
Because, like you said,
the future is being written.

00:30:26,125 --> 00:30:30,458
Narratives are being written and, and,
and a lot of them are not accurate.

00:30:30,791 --> 00:30:32,750
And some of them are erasing history.

00:30:32,750 --> 00:30:35,500
So we have to be a part of building this.

00:30:35,500 --> 00:30:37,875
And it's also influencing
people like you said.

00:30:37,875 --> 00:30:41,208
So the only solution is for us to
to get up,

00:30:41,750 --> 00:30:45,541
get involved, become builders
and do the work that you're doing.

00:30:45,583 --> 00:30:48,000
Okay, a couple of rapid fire questions
I got for you.

00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:49,500
So these always trip people up.

00:30:49,500 --> 00:30:51,958
So sorry.
Not sorry. Let me give you a couple.

00:30:53,791 --> 00:30:55,625
What's an important truth you have that

00:30:55,625 --> 00:30:58,625
very few people agree with you on?

00:31:01,125 --> 00:31:05,041
Black people are uniquely equipped
to thrive

00:31:05,625 --> 00:31:10,583
in this new administration
because things are about to be unfair.

00:31:10,583 --> 00:31:13,208
But life's been unfair for us.

00:31:13,208 --> 00:31:15,833
This is transparent as a people.

00:31:15,833 --> 00:31:20,708
And it may not be fun,
it may not feel good, but you can thrive

00:31:20,708 --> 00:31:23,708
and you will thrive
if you allow yourself to.

00:31:24,750 --> 00:31:27,041
Especially as an entrepreneur.

00:31:27,041 --> 00:31:30,166
And I love it,
I love it, something I you know,

00:31:30,208 --> 00:31:33,208
I won't go too down into a rabbit
hole in this, but I'll say this,

00:31:33,416 --> 00:31:36,833
I think, you know, when we think
about a lot of these, diversity, inclusion

00:31:36,833 --> 00:31:39,833
efforts, I'm obviously
pro diversity, diversity, inclusion.

00:31:39,875 --> 00:31:40,166
Right.

00:31:40,166 --> 00:31:44,875
What they have been a lot, though,
is a lot of people here at this level

00:31:44,875 --> 00:31:48,416
have been a few people have been helped
and I call it diversity inclusion.

00:31:48,416 --> 00:31:49,875
But you look at the systemic,

00:31:49,875 --> 00:31:52,500
effort, it's not a lot of people
that end up getting contracts.

00:31:52,500 --> 00:31:54,291
It was a check the box approach.

00:31:54,291 --> 00:31:57,166
And so from that extent,
it really didn't work.

00:31:57,166 --> 00:32:00,041
Like we could just be honest.
Like diversity, inclusion works.

00:32:00,041 --> 00:32:03,625
The programing of how it was done
was mostly for show.

00:32:03,625 --> 00:32:04,750
We can be real.

00:32:04,750 --> 00:32:07,750
And most of it it didn't
it didn't help a lot of black communities.

00:32:07,750 --> 00:32:10,750
But and that's the reason
why it didn't have that push back.

00:32:10,750 --> 00:32:13,500
Now the reasons they're doing it,
I don't agree with. Right.

00:32:13,500 --> 00:32:16,500
Because I think they're doing it
for reactionary and

00:32:16,625 --> 00:32:18,083
and some of them are bigots.

00:32:18,083 --> 00:32:21,458
But, that's one of my truths
that people don't agree with.

00:32:21,500 --> 00:32:25,083
Like the diversity, inclusion
and how it was done was not effective,

00:32:25,375 --> 00:32:28,166
only helped a few people,
and mostly was a gatekeeping.

00:32:28,166 --> 00:32:28,500
Right.

00:32:28,500 --> 00:32:32,583
Okay, yeah, I didn't
I don't think it was that helpful.

00:32:32,583 --> 00:32:35,583
And that's not from me
being outside of most of my work.

00:32:35,666 --> 00:32:40,416
And I don't put it on my profile,
but it was working in Dei department.

00:32:40,583 --> 00:32:43,583
Yeah, it's a tolerance machine.

00:32:43,583 --> 00:32:44,666
That's right.

00:32:44,666 --> 00:32:48,375
And it's like it's like, hey,
just a reminder,

645
00:32:48,791 --> 00:32:51,250
please be nice and a decent human being.

00:32:51,250 --> 00:32:55,291
And by the way, all you black people,
I really want you guys to support

00:32:55,291 --> 00:32:57,000
and lean on each other.

00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:00,000
So how much onus on us to take care of us

00:33:00,250 --> 00:33:03,416
without actually giving any, like,

00:33:03,833 --> 00:33:08,583
actionable resources
to just be equal sized?

00:33:08,958 --> 00:33:12,083
Yes. About virtual deejays
and pizza parties.

00:33:12,291 --> 00:33:12,750
Okay.

00:33:12,750 --> 00:33:14,041
It's about

00:33:14,041 --> 00:33:18,375
how do I get a raise when she got a raise,
how do you not tone police me?

655
00:33:18,416 --> 00:33:23,250
How do you not talk about my hair
or ask me about,

00:33:23,666 --> 00:33:26,875
you know, problems
that have nothing to do with me?

00:33:26,875 --> 00:33:30,750
An overburdened me with subject matter
that's not related to what

00:33:30,750 --> 00:33:32,541
I'm getting paid to do. Yeah,

00:33:33,750 --> 00:33:36,375
that's what the where the real equity.

00:33:36,375 --> 00:33:39,083
Like we're still working on equal
pay for women. Yeah.

00:33:39,083 --> 00:33:40,791
So it's like the Dei.

00:33:40,791 --> 00:33:43,916
It was very much like a tolerance machine

00:33:44,208 --> 00:33:46,916
that people looked at as an inconvenience.

00:33:46,916 --> 00:33:49,791
And I think it perpetuated,

00:33:49,791 --> 00:33:52,291
rage because you got engineers

00:33:52,291 --> 00:33:55,625
over here working
and then you've got the black whatever.

00:33:55,708 --> 00:33:56,583
That's the right.

00:33:56,583 --> 00:34:00,333
They're not doing this work, or now
things are behind here

00:34:00,625 --> 00:34:03,583
and it's like, oh, well,
they get their day, blah, blah, blah.

00:34:03,583 --> 00:34:06,583
And it's kind of like, that's not.

00:34:07,333 --> 00:34:09,791
Why do we always get

00:34:09,791 --> 00:34:15,166
put in a position where it looks like
we have to be entertained

00:34:15,666 --> 00:34:18,250
to stay employed? Oh, oh, please, please.

00:34:18,250 --> 00:34:21,166
Preaching to the choir and preaching
oh my God. So like this is.

00:34:21,166 --> 00:34:23,791
And then as we get ready to wrap
up, I'll just say this is really

00:34:23,791 --> 00:34:27,208
one of my impetus to start a midwest con,
right?

00:34:27,208 --> 00:34:29,458
It's not it's and I have nothing against,

00:34:30,625 --> 00:34:33,500
any of the other,
and any other, conferences programing.

00:34:33,500 --> 00:34:35,291
I'm all for it. I got one coming.

00:34:35,291 --> 00:34:36,333
I got two coming on. They're good.

00:34:36,333 --> 00:34:40,291
But what I found is that
I wanted us to be in a space where, like,

00:34:40,291 --> 00:34:41,125
you know what, I.

00:34:41,125 --> 00:34:42,125
There was no diversity.

00:34:42,125 --> 00:34:44,750
Inclusion within what? I talk about stuff.

00:34:44,750 --> 00:34:45,250
You know why?

00:34:45,250 --> 00:34:47,250
Because it's part of who we are
or we don't like.

00:34:47,250 --> 00:34:51,416
So then I make sure that when people come
to the stage that they are,

00:34:51,416 --> 00:34:52,666
they bring diverse perspective.

00:34:52,666 --> 00:34:56,000
Because what has to happen is it has to be
part of the leadership and culture.

00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:58,041
It can't be seen as it has to be.

00:34:58,041 --> 00:35:02,625
It has to be integral to the organization,
not seen as a side piece,

00:35:02,625 --> 00:35:06,750
because then, it, it never really happens
and it becomes a distraction.

00:35:06,750 --> 00:35:11,458
And then, you know, we have what we have
now like, and I just think there was a,

00:35:11,500 --> 00:35:13,583
there's a better way
for us to move forward. And so,

00:35:15,083 --> 00:35:16,791
we definitely need diversity, inclusion.

00:35:16,791 --> 00:35:19,166
So I'll be clear on what I'm saying. Yeah.

00:35:19,166 --> 00:35:21,833
But how it's been done in

00:35:21,833 --> 00:35:25,500
the past has been more token
gating, helping a few people.

00:35:25,750 --> 00:35:27,458
It has not been effective.

00:35:27,458 --> 00:35:30,583
And that's why we need to
now become builders in the space.

00:35:30,583 --> 00:35:33,833
It cannot be enough for us
just to say we have a inclusion program.

00:35:34,166 --> 00:35:37,416
We have to be builders
and a part of actually

00:35:37,416 --> 00:35:40,458
changing the narrative
and changing the outcome.

00:35:40,458 --> 00:35:43,458
And that's why, Aaron,
I am so proud of you. And,

00:35:43,666 --> 00:35:46,333
to see the work that you're doing
and looking forward to,

00:35:46,333 --> 00:35:48,041
you know, figuring out ways
that we collaborate.

00:35:48,041 --> 00:35:50,750
What's the final piece
you'd like to leave folks with in terms of

00:35:50,750 --> 00:35:53,916
how do we build a better future together,
and what would you like people to take

00:35:53,916 --> 00:35:55,208
away with black ChatGPT?

00:35:56,750 --> 00:35:57,416
I just want

00:35:57,416 --> 00:36:00,416
it to be looked at as an opportunity

00:36:00,416 --> 00:36:05,958
to learn about black people
in black culture, with no consequences,

00:36:06,375 --> 00:36:11,875
and use generative AI with same ease
as the people who created the one.

00:36:11,875 --> 00:36:14,875
That doesn't really work
for us all the time.

00:36:15,166 --> 00:36:20,458
So it's like, if you have a question about
why can't I touch a black person's hair?

00:36:20,458 --> 00:36:22,666
Why do people make everything by race?

00:36:22,666 --> 00:36:25,583
But you don't have to disrupt

00:36:25,583 --> 00:36:29,416
and burden a black person
with these emotionally charged

00:36:29,416 --> 00:36:33,291
like questions you can ask chat like GPT
and give us a break.

00:36:33,541 --> 00:36:35,916
I think there's nothing

00:36:35,916 --> 00:36:39,625
like the let us mind our own business
and do our thing.

00:36:40,416 --> 00:36:42,750
And that is exactly what I'm focused on.

00:36:42,750 --> 00:36:47,000
And so like you said,
how about you and then black people,

00:36:47,333 --> 00:36:51,041
you know, it's actually going to help you
create business plans

00:36:51,041 --> 00:36:55,458
or strategies
with systemic oppression in mind.

00:36:55,458 --> 00:36:58,583
It's going to actually acknowledge like,
oh, you're

00:36:58,583 --> 00:37:02,333
you might run into these hardships
like remember to ask these questions

00:37:02,333 --> 00:37:04,416
when you're in this setting
because these are

00:37:04,416 --> 00:37:06,208
the things
that are going to be working against you.

00:37:06,208 --> 00:37:08,333
It's like a it's like a strategy.

00:37:08,333 --> 00:37:12,125
It's like somebody in your corner
who's like, hey, like, this is the world.

00:37:12,125 --> 00:37:14,458
Here's how you can navigate it with,

00:37:15,416 --> 00:37:17,916
street smarts, I don't know, street
smarts, essentially.

00:37:17,916 --> 00:37:21,541
So but but yeah, I want people to use it.

00:37:22,625 --> 00:37:24,166
I use it. I'm a fan.

00:37:24,166 --> 00:37:27,166
Oh, and I encourage everybody to use it.

00:37:27,375 --> 00:37:28,375
Of course I do that. Yeah.

00:37:28,375 --> 00:37:29,625
You sound like you surprised.

00:37:29,625 --> 00:37:32,625
Like about it. Yeah.

00:37:32,625 --> 00:37:34,666
But it's, you know,

00:37:34,666 --> 00:37:39,083
like I said, we're going to continue
to build work together for, Aaron Reddick.

00:37:39,500 --> 00:37:42,500
Chat black GPT
make sure you check her out.

00:37:42,958 --> 00:37:47,000
If you need to book her as a, as a,
as a, as a, as a, as a, as a speaker.

00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:48,000
Highly recommended.

00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:51,000
She is very knowledgeable,
very entertaining,

00:37:51,750 --> 00:37:54,291
and a wonderful person overall
that is working to really make

00:37:54,291 --> 00:37:55,041
a difference in the world.

00:37:55,041 --> 00:37:57,750
I'm proud to call her a friend
and a fellow disruptor

00:37:57,750 --> 00:37:59,208
and looking forward
to working more with you.

00:37:59,208 --> 00:38:02,000
Aaron, it's been a pleasure.
Thank you so much for coming on.

00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:03,625
Thanks so much. All right.

00:38:03,625 --> 00:38:05,208
Hold on one second. There you go. Okay.