Season 3, Episode 5: A Crash Course on GPTs and AI (featuring John Otwell)

This week, we’re talking to another old friend, John Otwell, a software engineer and fellow RPCV, (Returned Peace Corps Volunteer) about AI. We thought this was going to be a talk about physical infrastructure and geopolitical struggle and instead it got quite metaphysical quite fast.John knows his stuff and clearly explains what a GPT is and what it does using the human brain as a basis. If you don’t know what a neural network is, how how the brain works, he’s got you covered.He decided to come to Indonesia with Peace Corps rather than attend medical school, and his knowledge of the human brain, cognition, and tech mesh perfectly to give you the first of many pods we will have with him in this philosophical “no man’s land.” (it’s not human after all!)We talk about the essential mystery at the core of human behavior, and the sort of curious ethical questions that float to the surface as more and more things get AI thrown at them.The Robots are already here—in our heads, screens, and our cars. Where else will they be in the near future? Listen in for one-of-a-kind insight from someone who may be putting them there, or on your screen!Timestamps:1:02 (Background about John + a couple of caveats)5:18 Technical part starts. What is a GPT? 12:30 How AI works and builds associations with words17:18 AI gone wild25:05 What can happen to people being exposed to AI constantly32:58 Differences in US and Chinese companies when it comes to AI47:00 (the philosophical part starts)47:20 Where is AI taking the human race?52:00 Will the robots take over?57:07 Workin’ for the bot58:40 Legal liability in the future63:30 A bot has its finger on the red button69:09 What bots can’t replace—the human touch If you enjoyed the episode, like, comment, subscribe, and share—and let us [email protected] The small bot in the corner is from freepik.com, can be found here, and was created by upklyak This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit onthefringepodcast.substack.com/subscribe