AI Knowhow Episode 97 Overview
- Why AI today feels like the “dial-up stage” of the internet, and what leaders can learn from that analogy.
- Companies should consider and plan for how to move beyond pilots; this will increasingly be a necessity as we prepare for more ubiquitous AI.
- Dr. Pia Lauritzen shares why the biggest risk of AI is forgetting what makes us human in the first place.
AI Roundtable: Drawing the Line from AOL to AI
As AOL shutters its iconic dial-up service, we reflect on what that moment means for leaders navigating the AI era today. What stage are we in, and what’s next? What can looking back on the last thirty years and evaluating how broadband and internet access changed the world as we know it teach us about what the next thirty years and beyond will look like?
Knownwell CMO Courtney Baker is joined by Knownwell CEO David DeWolf and Chief Product & Technology Officer Mohan Rao, who draw parallels between the internet’s evolution and AI’s trajectory. They look at why companies must move begin to move past experimentation so they’re not sitting on the sidelines as AI becomes as interwoven in our lives as the internet.
“The thing that’s hard for all of us to get our heads around when we’re talking about innovation like this is, look at where we are today,” David says. “This is thirty years after the internet. And we can now imagine the progression that’s been made with always-on access in our homes because we’re living it today.”
One of the big challenges today is imagining a world where today’s LLMs and AI platforms are like the water pipes or electric utilities of the future: something everyone has access to and can build with (or upon).
Expert Interview: Dr. Pia Lauritzen
If the roundtable discussion and trying to imagine the world thirty years post-ChatGPT-release isn’t enough to stretch your brain, this week’s expert interview should help.
Philosopher and author Dr. Pia Lauritzen joins Pete Buer to share a different view of AI risk than the P(doom) declarations that dominate the headlines. Forget Skynet or AI-induced nuclear annihilation. The real threat is if we lose sight of what makes us human in the first place. What happens if we start thinking of ourselves as less than and start offloading too much to machines?
Here are some of the highlights from Pia and Pete’s discussion:
- The real existential risk of AI: “The biggest risk that faces humanity is if we stop realizing and reconnecting with what makes us human,” Pia says.
- Prompting vs. questioning: Pia warns that prompting a machine is not the same as asking questions. True progress comes when we question assumptions, use cases, and even whether technology belongs in certain domains.
- A reminder for leaders: Technology pushes for speed and productivity, but leaders must ensure it doesn’t overshadow values, relationships, and human connection.
This is part one of a two-part conversation with Pia Lauritzen. Part two will continue next week; be sure to subscribe wherever you listen for the rest of the conversation.
Watch the Episode
Watch the full episode below, and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Listen to the Episode
You can tune in to the full episode via the Spotify embed below, and you can find AI Knowhow on Apple Podcasts and anywhere else you get your podcasts.
Show Notes
-
- Visit Pia Laurtizen’s website
- Connect with Pia Lauritzen on LinkedIn
- Read Pia’s regular column in Forbes
- Connect with David DeWolf on LinkedIn
- Connect with Mohan Rao on LinkedIn
- Connect with Courtney Baker on LinkedIn
- Connect with Pete Buer on LinkedIn
- Get a guided Knownwell demo
- Follow Knownwell on LinkedIn
