Feed Drop: Masters of Scale | Reid Hoffman confronts the AI critics

11/22/23 • 25 min

Hey listeners! Possible is off this week but we’re bringing you an episode from another podcast hosted by Reid called Masters of Scale.

Questions in this episode include: Are AI’s harshest critics causing irreversible harm to humanity? How far should leaders lean into AI? And just what would Reid sound like speaking Chinese with a British accent?

Reid Hoffman sits down with CEO of WaitWhat and longtime friend Jeff Berman to tackle these pressing questions and more. Join them in an unguarded exploration of how the AI landscape has continued to shift in the six months since Reid published Impromptu, the book he co-authored with GPT-4.

Reid also gives a sneak peek into his work with Microsoft's research-only, commercially unreleased AI text-to-speech tech, and discusses why he chose not to join Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak and other tech leaders in signing an open letter warning about the existential threat of AI.

This episode was produced by the team at Masters of Scale, the award-winning business podcast hosted by Reid Hoffman. In each episode of Masters of Scale, Reid joins iconic business leaders to unpack their scale journeys, delving into the moments—and mindsets—behind their success.

Follow Masters of Scale: https://listen.mastersofscale.com/Possible

Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com

Hey listeners! Possible is off this week but we’re bringing you an episode from another podcast hosted by Reid called Masters of Scale.

Follow Masters of Scale: https://listen.mastersofscale.com/Possible

Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com

Previous Episode

Siddhartha Mukherjee on the future of disease and diagnostics

Will artificial intelligence change what it means to be human? Cancer physician, researcher, and author Siddhartha Mukherjee joins the podcast to help rethink how we understand human health—and the ways AI can help. Sid talks about using AI to emancipate patients from disease as well as enhance patient health and wellbeing. He also discusses the risks that come along with incorporating AI into the medical world and how new technologies in medicine are ushering in a “new human.” Plus, Sid and Reid pose a thought exercise: if there were five spots on a spaceship about to be sent off to restart humanity, which professions would get those seats?

Read the transcript of this episode here.

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all of the episodes, visit www.possible.fm/podcast.

Topics:

6:22 - Hellos and intros

8:50 - What excites Sid most about cancer research right now

13:08 - Bringing CAR T-cell therapy to India

15:48 - Reflections on AI and medicine

19:31 - Can we make something completely new in medicine with AI?

22:01 - Pi explains AlphaFold

23:35 - What risks are worth taking to accelerate science?

25:23 - The New Human

32:36 - Enhancement vs. Emancipation

39:43 - Sid’s thoughts on the meaning of humanity writ large

47:04 - Which professions should be on the spaceship that’s sent off to restart humanity?

54:18 - Rapidfire questions

The award-winning Possible podcast is back with a new season that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Tune in for grounded and speculative takes on how technology—and, in particular, AI—is inspiring change and transforming the future.

This season, hosts Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, are speaking with a new set of ambitious builders and deep thinkers about everything from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Whether it's Inflection’s Pi, OpenAI’s ChatGPT or other AI tools, each episode will use AI to enhance and advance our discussion.

Possible is produced by Wonder Media Network and hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger. Our showrunner is Shaun Young. Possible is produced by Edie Allard, Sara Schleede, and Paloma Moreno Jimenez. Jenny Kaplan is our Executive Producer and Editor. Special thanks to Surya Yalamanchili, Saida Sapieva, Ian Alas, Greg Beato, Ben Relles, Yan Ma, and Little Monster Media Company.

Next Episode

Peter Lee on the future of health and medicine

What if every doctor and every patient had an artificial intelligence copilot to help with medical decisions? Peter Lee joins the show to offer his expertise as co-author of The AI Revolution in Medicine: GPT-4 and Beyond and Corporate Vice President of Research and Incubations at Microsoft. Peter is working at the cutting edge of how to safely incorporate AI into medicine, training healthcare providers on the strengths and limitations of technology like GPT-4 in a medical setting. Reid, Aria, and Peter discuss how to regulate AI while encouraging innovation. Plus, Peter provides a fascinating live demonstration of GPT-4’s ability to listen to a patient’s symptoms and provide a second opinion, illustrating AI’s potential to bridge healthcare gaps and revolutionize care.

Read the transcript of this episode here.

Read Peter’s book here.

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all of the episodes, visit www.possible.fm/podcast.

Topics:

03:47 - Hellos and intros

04:16 - Mapping Peter’s career

07:00 - How patients can use AI in healthcare

08:54 - Peter’s personal experience using AI in healthcare

11:35 - Demo of GPT-4 as a physician’s copilot

15:30 - How best to educate about GPT-4’s capabilities

19:33 - Demo of GPT-4’s “critical thinking” skills

26:57 - How to safely incentivize innovation

30:37 - The importance of building effective technology around AI

31:47 - Exploring “hallucinations” in AI, and other limitations

35:28 - How to best use partnerships to foster innovation

38:21 - Example of new technology using AI in healthcare

40:37 - Rapidfire questions

This season, hosts Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger are speaking with a new set of ambitious builders and deep thinkers about everything from art to geopolitics, and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Whether it's Inflection’s Pi, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, or other AI tools, each episode will use AI to enhance and advance our discussion.

Possible is produced by Wonder Media Network and hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger. Our showrunner is Shaun Young. Possible is produced by Edie Allard, Sara Schleede, and Paloma Moreno Jimenez. Jenny Kaplan is our executive producer and editor. Special thanks to Katie Sanders, Surya Yalamanchili, Saida Sapieva, Ian Alas, Greg Beato, Ben Relles, Katie Zoller, Katy Halliday, Rhoades Clark, and Little Monster Media Company.