Navigating an AI-Enabled Future with Eric Schmidt (Former Google CEO)

The speaker discusses the importance of public funding and government participation in advancing key industries, particularly in the field of AI. He also highlights the potential of AI as a tool to accelerate progress in various industries, including biotechnology. The speaker emphasizes the urgency of adopting AI technology and bridging the gap between the old and new economy.

• There is a generational shift in the industry with many smart people coming in, particularly in the field of computer science and AI.
• Public funding and government participation are necessary to move key industries forward.
• AI is a platform technology that can be utilized as a tool to accelerate progress in various industries, including biotechnology.
• There is a massive gap between the old and new economy, and urgent adoption of AI technology is necessary.
• The open source community is catching up to the big tech companies in terms of AI innovation.

The speaker gives an example of how technology was used to help Ukraine defend themselves during the Russian-Ukrainian War. They utilized an app called Dia Dia, which allowed them to take a picture of a tank, classify it, and geo-locate it. A human then made a targeting decision based on the information provided.

Thanks to Dall-E, Stable Diffusion, Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, and plenty of others, AI technologies are now more visible to the public than ever. But even though there have been numerous AI advancements and AI-infused products over the past decade, many organizations are still looking to understand how AI fits into their path to innovation. Eric Schmidt is an accomplished technologist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist and is well known for leading Google in its early days, from 2001 to 2011, and helping it to scale its infrastructure, diversify its product offerings, and maintain a strong culture of innovation. Today, he runs Schmidt Futures—a philanthropic venture—and advises governments and societies around the world on how to build a brighter future through technology.Gerrit De Vynck, AI and algorithms reporter for The Washington Post, will moderate a fireside chat between Schmidt and Scale Founder and CEO Alexandr Wang, where they will talk about today’s advances in AI compared to 10 years ago. Schmidt and Wang will share their thoughts on what the next generation of AI companies will look like, what the proliferation of AI technology will mean for big tech, startups, and government, and how to push AI forward responsibly.