>> I'm Dr.

Benjamin Chavis Jr.

and this is "The Chavis Chronicles."

>> Definitely understand how AI works and what AI is.

But you have to understand the business, too, to know if it's the right mix.

Is it the right tool to solve this particular business problem?

And I think that's where the secret sauce is.

>> Major funding for "The Chavis Chronicles" is provided by the following.

At Wells Fargo, we continue to look for ways to empower our customers.

We seek broad impact in our communities, and we're proud of the role we play for our customers and the U.S.

economy.

As a company, we are focused on supporting our customers and communities through housing access, small-business growth, financial health, and other community needs.

Together, we want to make a tangible difference in people's lives.

Wells Fargo -- the bank of doing.

American Petroleum Institute.

Our members are committed to accelerating safety, environmental, and sustainability progress throughout the natural-gas and oil industry.

Learn more, api.org/apienergyexcellence.

Reynolds American -- dedicated to building a better tomorrow for our employees and communities.

Reynolds stands against discrimination in all forms and is committed to building a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

At AARP, we are committed to ensuring your money, health, and happiness live as long as you do.

>> We're so pleased to welcome to "The Chavis Chronicles" one of our nation's leading authorities on AI, Dr.

Denise Turley.

Welcome to "The Chavis Chronicles."

>> Thank you so much.

I'm excited to be here.

>> Tell me how you first got involved with machine learning, artificial intelligence, AI?

>> I really started with AI when shortly after I jumped into technology, which is maybe a little bit over 10 years ago, and I started doing things with automation.

So working in business, we were experiencing tremendous growth, and we just couldn't hire fast enough to bring enough people to the table to do the work.

So I started experimenting more with technology and then with automation, which was really my first foray into artificial intelligence.

>> You know, some people fear AI because they don't understand it.

Talk to us about how people should grasp AI rather than to fear it.

>> I think fear for some people is normal, and so I just want to acknowledge that, right, that it's okay.

But I think that the way for me at least to think about getting around fear, how do you navigate fear, is to educate yourself about what that thing is.

And so I think with AI and really more specifically generative AI, It's about learning what it is, what it's capable of, what it isn't, and how you can maybe use that yourself to improve your livelihood.

>> How would you define generative artificial intelligence?

>> So, generative AI is what's been around now.

It started off with ChatGPT, about three years ago next month, I think.

And, so, generative AI can create new content.

So that's the generative.

It generates things, like pictures and videos and written content.

So that's generative AI.

>> All of this is happening in just three years?

It looks like, 'cause everybody talks about AI, it's been around for decades.

But that shows you how rapidly the technology is growing and expanding.

What is happening with AI around the world, global, innovations in AI?

>> I think that many countries now are trying to figure it out, right?

How do we think about AI?

How do we think about governance?

How do we think about keeping it safe?

But how do we do that in a way that we also allow innovation to happen?

We know that right now we have to really think about how do we embrace AI, for a number of different reasons, whether that is to increase our capabilities in healthcare, whether that's education.

We certainly know that we have to be in the game.

And that's not just us in the U.S., but that's all countries, right?

'Cause there's this fear of being left behind that's really very real.

But there's the ability to improve the livelihood of the constituents, of the citizens if we really figure out how to use AI for good.

So many countries are doing the same things that we're doing now, is that they're exploring how do we use it?

What is it?

What can we use it for?

Trying to understand it.

Many people, we still don't fully understand exactly how it works, but we're figuring it out as we go.

>> Well, as an AI strategist, I'm sure you get called on by many different entities.

In the healthcare industry, does AI serve to give people more opportunities to improve their health?

>> I think so, and I think it will over time.

So we're seeing studies come out now to where AI is able to detect cancer earlier than what human eyes could.

>> That's lifesaving.

>> That's absolutely lifesaving.

And so imagine that it's not only able to detect cancer, but it's also able to help us speed up medicine and speed up different ways of trying to treat cancer.

Over time, we'll be able to come up with prescriptions and medicine that's just for you based on your DNA.

It's not necessarily something that works for the entire population.

But how can I really tweak this so that it works exactly the way your body works?

And so that, I believe, is where we're heading.

So there's a tremendous opportunity for AI to be used to really improve and save lives.

>> So, in medical schools today, there's probably more not only lectures and training, but making new doctors coming into the marketplace aware of the utility of AI.

>> In schools and academia, we're trying to catch up a little bit as we start to think about how do we train students on AI when it still is largely research-based, right?

So we are seeing some of this impact happen in research and in some companies.

There are some medical companies that are all-in on AI.

They recognize its ability to have impact in their operations, in the way that they can detect and even prevent things like cancer.

And I think with schools, we're trying to figure out how do we now build that into a curriculum in a way that makes sense for new and upcoming medical students?

>> That's a good segue into higher education itself.

Do you see the educational marketplace, the business side of education, having much more involved with AI?

>> I think so.

I think we have to.

So I think that we have to sort of pivot at this time to figure out, one, understand what it is, how can it help us as educators be better at what we do.

From a business perspective, there's a tremendous amount of opportunity to improve operations.

Think about things like school counselors and how, you know, they're often overworked.

They're stressed out.

They have too many students to take care of.

How could AI help us with that so that it can maybe alleviate that burden, but, also, providing quality and personal experiences to the students that we serve?

So I think that there's a lot of opportunity across the whole workflow of education, whether that's in business operations, whether that's in teaching.

How do we teach?

How do we grade?

How do we assess students differently and more effectively and really enrich that student experience?

>> How early should a student start using AI?

>> Oh, that is such an interesting question.

Because I recognize I am definitely all-in on AI, live in an AI bubble, I have already exposed my 4-year-old granddaughter to generative AI.

Now, I think that when they're young, you certainly have to make sure that it is something that you've always got parental oversight, right, so that you know what they're doing.

But she loves unicorns.

And so we will interact with the AI in voice mode so that she can describe the picture of the unicorn that she wants to create.

And we do customized bedtime stories so that she can hear a story given to her.

I've also worked to create customized storybooks so that she sees herself in the book.

So instead of me reading just a generic storybook to her at night, it's now a story specifically about her and her sister and her family.

And we can do that really quickly.

So I've already introduced her to technology.

And I think you can do that very young, as long as you're also really sensible as staying in the loop as a parent to know what your kids are doing.

>> So early-childhood education can be enhanced with AI, to the extent to which parents stay involved?

>> Yeah.

You must stay involved.

Yes.

>> So, from your own personal experience with your family and with your granddaughter, are you gonna be able to project that she would do much better in school by the time she gets into K-12?

>> What we do know is that exposure and repetition, right?

We know about those things already, about how people learn, how children learns.

So we should be able to apply that same methodology to say that if she has access, if she has exposure, if there is repetition, then it is my hope, of course, that she does end up coming to school more prepared than what she would be if she didn't.

>> There have been some research studies that show that gaining vocabulary in the first, second, or third grade helps determine your viability later on.

And of course there's some disparities in communities of color about how what type of vocabulary and the volume of vocabulary that children in our communities are exposed to.

If I listen to you, it seems to me that if parents would utilize AI, it could really help the vocabulary of their children.

>> 100%.

So, my son, who is an adult, I also use AI for him.

And I created a custom GPT for him -- It's really easy to do.

It sounds complicated.

I promise you, it is not -- to help him when he was studying for something to do with law enforcement.

And so I wanted to make it customized because he doesn't learn the same way everyone else learns.

He gets very bored quickly.

And if the topic isn't something that's going to resonate with him, he's gonna check out.

So I customize that to be very focused on law enforcement, on the things that he likes, or that he would stay engaged in his learning.

So I do think there's opportunity to increase his vocabulary.

It was also very focused on improving his writing.

And so there is that opportunity where, yeah, you can interact with it in a fun way with videos, with music that also is increasing our vocabulary and our ability to learn.

>> So AI is customizable.

>> Yes, absolutely.

That's really when you get the most benefit from it is when you understand how to customize it so that it stops sounding so mechanical and so "AI," if you will, and starts sounding more like you or producing content that you're going to really resonate with.

>> When the Internet first was introduced to populations around the world, people saw the Internet as being a leveling of the playing field.

Would you also see that with the evolution of AI, there's a possibility and potential for leveling the playing field in terms of equal opportunity?

>> Yes.

I actually used that exact same terms.

I do believe that AI has the ability to level out the playing field in a number of different areas.

Education is one.

When you think about there's times when we haven't had access to certain things -- maybe that's a personalized tutor, right?

Because the cost of that is something that not everyone can afford.

But AI now puts that within your reach so that you can create customized study plans with something that's very personal to what your individual goals are.

It's not expensive.

It's on your own time.

You can do it in different languages if you want.

And so that really has leveled the playing field for access to information in a way that we've never actually seen before that's so incredibly customizable.

>> If somebody who is a novice and wants to learn first stage of acquiring abilities in AI, what do you recommend?

>> I recommend that you choose just one tool.

It can be quite overwhelming when you look at so many people talking about so many things when it has to do with AI, and people start to feel a little bit intimidated by it, and I understand that.

So I would say choose any one tool that's available to you.

That can be ChatGPT.

It can be Meta's tool on WhatsApp.

It can be Gemini on Google.

But just choose one tool and experiment with it for about a week.

Give it one week.

You can do things at home, like give you suggestions on what to cook for dinner tonight.

If I have chicken and broccoli and, I don't know, tell it the ingredients that you have that's in your pantry and ask it to give you five suggestions of recipes that you can cook tonight, and then walk you through how to prepare that meal.

So you can do it in ways that aren't really technical.

>> And you've done that?

>> Yes, yes.

>> And how does the meal turn out?

>> Well, it's based on the cook, but it does turn out pretty good.

And sometimes I don't even think about here's something that I can create.

I sometimes open up my pantry and I think, "Oh, I don't actually have anything.

There's nothing in there that I can come up with."

Because I'm not super creative.

But then I use ChatGPT as my creative assistant to let me see that I really can create something that looks awesome with just a few ingredients.

Right?

So it's really useful.

Personal travel.

Whenever I'm traveling somewhere, I want suggestions on things to do -- I recently took vacation with my family.

We've got grown adult boys and grandchildren, so we need activity that's going to appeal to all of us.

And they asked it for suggestions on things to do.

Where can we go?

And it also gives us that.

>> Sort of variety of options... >> Yes, yes.

>> ...of using AI.

On "The Chavis Chronicles," I had Robert Smith, who's one of the first African-American billionaires.

And I asked him point-blank.

I said, "Man, what is the future?"

And he said two words -- data science.

>> Data science.

>> Data science.

>> And it seems to me that AI is an aspect of data science, but it's just not getting numbers and information.

It's the question you ask of the data.

>> Yes.

>> And it seems to me you talked about how AI also can be used as research.

>> Yes.

>> You know, asking the right question gives you the right answer.

But a lot of times people don't know what question to ask.

>> That's right.

>> Talk about the relationship of data science and AI.

>> Yeah, well, listen, AI doesn't work without data, right?

So the reason that generative AI and artificial intelligence is so good is because it is trained on massive, massive amounts of data.

Otherwise, it wouldn't do anything, right?

So that relationship, it's like any good marriage, right?

You have to have both for it to work and for it to be successful.

So data science is also critical.

It's important, that that's another area where we will continue to need employees and jobs, is being data scientists and AI engineers and people who understand how to get that data AI-ready, right?

Because a lot of organizations, they have a ton of data.

Their data maybe isn't in good enough shape yet for the AI to make sense of it and give you quality output.

So you may have heard that a few years ago when generative AI first came out, it wasn't that good, and it had a high error rate, and it would just flat out make things up and lie.

But we've gotten much, much better now.

And the more that you prepped your data, the more that you have quality data, the better the outcome is on the AI.

>> Given your own career evolution, what kind of educational background would lend more success to become an AI strategist?

>> I think what's made me be successful in my role and in my many roles, it really is having this grounding and this core understanding of business right?

So I come from a business background.

And so because I understand business and business operations -- >> Do you have a degree in business.

>> I have a degree.

I have an MBA.

I'm one of these overachievers, right?

So I have a degree in accounting.

I have a master's in accounting.

I have an MBA.

I have a degree in e-commerce.

I have too many, right?

But the foundational understanding business operations, and you don't necessarily need a formal degree to know that.

You get that in your work experience, right?

If you're paying attention, if you're learning, if you're reading, there's many ways to learn.

But when I then understand how business works and what many core gaps are, when the technology comes along, it becomes that much easier for me to then think about how can I use technology as an enabler?

How can I use technology to solve some of these pain points that are in the business?

So I think if somebody is thinking about being an AI strategist or an AI advisor, definitely understand how AI works and what AI is.

But you have to understand the business, too, to know if it's the right mix.

Is it the right tool to solve this particular business problem?

And I think that's where the secret sauce is.

>> People approach me all the time about AI, and I'm gonna start saying, "Well, you know what?

I know an AI strategist."

>> That's right.

>> "I know an AI advisor."

But there needs to be many more.

There are millions of people who are impacted by AI.

And, again, for the lack of knowledge, for the lack of understanding, they may not be able to comprehend how useful it could be.

>> Yeah, yeah.

I'm struggling at this point to find an area where it doesn't have use.

I start my day with AI.

I ask AI what's on my calendar, what's on my schedule, what are my priorities for today?

I ask AI, you know, I need to be more Impactful.

I need to be more productive this weekend.

What are the some of the things that I can actually stop doing, because they're not a good use of my time?

But I use AI all the time.

It's become something that's like -- It's my assistant, right?

I have a board of directors of AI that advise me, that give me insights and opinions on things.

So for me, I've really infused it into my everyday life, and my hope is that others will start doing maybe not as much as that, but at least they'll start the learning.

>> From an organized-labor perspective, labor unions, you know, they have questions about technology supplanting the workforce.

And, then, on the other hand, there are business leaders who spent a good amount of time on future work -- the future of work.

>> Yeah.

>> Where do you come in in terms of seeing the value of AI in helping to construct a workforce or education for a workforce of the future?

>> The job that you do today and the way that you do that job today is probably not going to change in the next year or 18 months.

It does not mean that your job necessarily is going away, but the way you do your job will change.

So, I do think that there are jobs that will go away for sure.

AI is going to take many different jobs, and it is going to automate it, and it's going to do those for us.

That really gives us the freedom now to think about, well, what is the work that I want to do, now that I'm freed from some of these more mundane tasks?

And that really is coming back to our critical thinking, communication, relationships.

Those things are gonna be premium.

They're still important.

That's still how a lot of business gets done.

And AI can't do that for us, right?

So it is incredibly disruptive.

It is changing jobs, but it's also creating jobs.

There are jobs that are coming out that we didn't have before.

So as a lot of organizations right now are thinking about how can I really use AI?

How can I use AI to make my business more profitable, more efficient, better, better servicing my customers?

They need a team of people to do that.

And we've got a massive shortage, right?

So it's going to create jobs in places that they didn't exist just two years ago.

>> And as I listen to you, it seems to me that people should understand that you can retool.

>> Yes.

>> You can if you have one job, you can leverage that not only to another job, but a better job.

>> Yes.

>> A job where you make more.

>> Yes.

>> Because to me, technology should enhance not only your productivity, but should enhance your well-being.

>> I think that's right.

So, imagine that sometimes -- I was doing a workshop a few weeks ago, and somebody was mentioning that there was so much ability now and potential for this person to stop working so many hours of overtime every day.

So that to me speaks to wellness and quality of life and balance.

How can you get back some of your hours in your day?

Well, if AI can come in and help you by doing some of that work, that is a positive, and it's a positive that should really hit people first, right?

It's going to hit organizations, and it should.

But how does AI really help you in your life?

>> From all of what you've learned thus far, do you see AI being around over the next 20, 30, 40 years?

Or do you think something else will come and take its place?

>> I think AI is still going to be here, right?

AI has been here already since like the '60s, so it's been around.

It's just it's improving.

It's getting smarter.

So I think it is going to still be here, and it's going to continue to evolve.

We're already seeing some experimentation, even some humanoids that are in production in other countries, right?

So it used to seem like it was back in the movies, right, where you would have a robot at home that was doing the laundry or helping with cooking or whatever it is that it's doing.

I think that all of that is going to progress and potentially in some ways that we're not even thinking about right now, 'cause we can't even fathom how good this technology is going to get and how the way that we live, the way that we learn, the way that we interact is going to change.

>> I know a lot of college students watch this program.

So if somebody is a business major today or an accounting major, as you were, should they seek out to take more courses in preparation for AI?

>> Absolutely.

This is going to be one of the number-one skills that employers are looking for, is your ability to understand AI -- not just understand AI, but how do you understand what the technology is and how it can impact organizations and impact your role?

So absolutely.

And having that core understanding of business, as we talked about before, whether that's a business course, whether that's accounting, whatever that is, whether that's finance, and now understanding how that technology is going to help you improve and helps your organization improve, or, better yet, help you perhaps become an entrepreneur.

>> Based on all of what you know today, what gives you your greatest hope for the future?

>> My greatest hope is that AI really comes in and starts reducing barriers, that we have a world somewhere that is more equitable, that everybody gets their opportunity to be able to earn wealth, and that it really ends up really as being a level playing field and an equalizer so that we're actually all thriving and not just a few.

>> Dr.

Denise Turley, thank you for joining "The Chavis Chronicles."

>> Thank you so much.

>> For more information about "The Chavis Chronicles" and our guests, visit our website at TheChavisChronicles.com.

Also, follow us on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

Major funding for "The Chavis Chronicles" is provided by the following.

At Wells Fargo, we continue to look for ways to empower our customers.

We seek broad impact in our communities, and we're proud of the role we play for our customers and the U.S.

economy.

As a company, we are focused on supporting our customers and communities through housing access, small-business growth, financial health, and other community needs.

Together, we want to make a tangible difference in people's lives.

Wells Fargo -- the bank of doing.

American Petroleum Institute.

Our members are committed to accelerating safety, environmental, and sustainability progress throughout the natural-gas and oil industry.

Learn more, api.org/apienergyexcellence.

Reynolds American -- dedicated to building a better tomorrow for our employees and communities.

Reynolds stands against discrimination in all forms and is committed to building a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

At AARP, we are committed to ensuring your money, health, and happiness live as long as you do.

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