Show Notes
A note to listeners: The 4th and final installment of Searching for Mr. Deepfakes will be released on July 9th. The AI revolution is here. It’s a part of every facet of our lives — or at least trying to be — from work, to dating, from parenting to how we spend our free time. But is life so much better when we let AI in? Joanna Stern, longtime tech journalist and author of I Am Not a Robot, went all in on AI for a year to see if this technology could fulfill its promise. Over twelve months, Joanna had her mammogram read by AI, took a family vacation in a Waymo, and spent a weekend away with her AI boyfriend, Evan. What did Joanna learn from this year of AI? Host Laurie Segall sits down with Joanna to talk AI lovers, atrophy of the brain, and the impact — good and bad — AI can have on our health, relationships and life. The two tech journalists talk about what is lost with technological progress and what we should work to preserve. At the heart of this question is what, ultimately, will get us closer to our humanity. The answer may surprise you. Plus: they let ChatGPT simulate the entire interview. It was, to put it kindly, a book report. Joanna Stern is the founder of of New Things, an independent media company, and author of I Am Not a Robot: My Year Using AI to do (Almost) Everything. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
More from Mostly Human with Laurie Segall
If you don’t have your own newsletter (what are you even doing?!), your inbox is probably packed with them. In a world of bifurcated media, billionaire journalism moguls, and misinformed doomscrolling, the humble email newsletter has become the information-delivery tool dejour. But can a newsletter do more for media, the internet, our sanity? Tyler Denk sure thinks so. The cofounder and CEO of Beehiiv, the newsletter platform he hopes will rival Substack, is building outloud, using his own newsletter to share the highs and lows of that #entrepreneurlife, the mental health tax, and what it means to share content - to share yourself - on the internet. In this conversation, host Laurie Segall and Tyler Denk talk about the rise of newsletter culture, building a community of strangers, the information ecosystem, and how to bet on yourself when no one else will. Find out more about Beehiiv. If you have thoughts or questions for Laurie about this episode or anything Mostly Human, email us at [email protected]. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
One in six job applicants is fake. Their resume, their identity, even their face for zoom interviews are all made up. What does this mean for job seekers? What does this mean for employers? And what does this mean for national security? "Your HR recruiter is the front of your security perimeter," says Vijay Balasubramaniyan, co-founder and CEO of Pindrop Security. In this episode, Laurie Segall talks to Vijay about the AI deepfake infiltrating the workplace, how their technology detects these bad actors, the AI-amplified deterioration of truth more broadly, and how we - any of us - can help turn things around. Find out more about Pindrop. If you have thoughts or questions for Laurie about this episode or anything Mostly Human, email us at [email protected]. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dating Apps overwhelming serve young people — A generation who has grown up on the internet, whose very lives are dictated by tech, whose still navigating a post-pandemic period of isolation, and whose mere desire for a relationship is ‘cringe.’ How do you meet this audience where they are? For Hinge CEO Jackie Jantos, the answer comes down to empathy and understanding this cultural moment. In this conversation, Laurie Segall and Jackie Jantos talk about what AI can and cannot do when it comes to pairing two humans, how the app incorporates inclusion, and how to productize intimacy. Jackie also answers your questions about profiles, swipe-fatigue, and dating after divorce. Find out more about the Hinge event, Heads Up, and Jackie’s reflections on our ‘closeness crisis.’ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
There is a lot of doom and gloom with AI, particularly with how it could affect that uniquely human output - creativity. AI has already infiltrated the art world, but Alex Reben believes it’s for the good if we don’t relinquish our control. The artist, roboticist, and co-founder and CTO of Phyzify is building an entire company around the belief that machines can democratize creation and help bring more ideas into the physical world. In this conversation, host Laurie Segall and Alex dig deep into those big questions about what is — and isn’t — art in the AI age and mull over the choices we can make to both protect the creativity that makes us human while using tech to advance it. Alex argues we have the opportunity now to have agency in this marriage of art, creativity and AI, but we might not for long. Where will humans sit within the future that is coming fast? And at the end of the conversation, Alex demonstrates how he uses AI to make art — and magic — right before Laurie’s eyes. Learn more about Phyzify. Read Alex Reben’s manifesto. If you have thoughts or questions for Laurie about this episode or anything Mostly Human, email us at [email protected] See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
YouTube has gotten huge. Not just because it's been number one in streaming for the past three years, but because it's on the big screen, in our living rooms, and consuming most of America's attention. How much bigger can YouTube get and what does it mean for the entertainment industry, for media, and how we get information? On this bonus episode, Laurie interviews YouTube leaders Amjad Hanif (VP creator products) and Kurt Wilms (Sr Director, Product, YouTube on TV) about the evolution of the site and how we consume content. They talk about the new products launched during their annual Made On event, including serialized shorts. Laurie also explores the future of identity online and asks the execs, in an AI world how we retain the most human parts of ourselves? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.