My Journey Into AI: A Front Row Seat to the Unknown

On June 22nd, 2023, at 10:13 PDT, Bloomberg released an interview between Sam Altman and Emily Chang during the Bloomberg Technology Summit. Fourteen hours later, I decided to watch it as part of my nightly dive into AI.

Sam Altman came with excitement to share the future of AI, while Emily Chang played the bad cop, pressing him with tough questions about what this all means for humanity.

Surprisingly, I came away actually liking Sam’s personality. Not because I assumed he would be an accomplished genius with no social skills, but because I genuinely thought I wouldn’t understand half the conversation and would leave feeling dumber than when I started. Instead, I walked away feeling excited about living at the pinnacle of technological advancement—or on the “exponential curve,” as Sam called it.

During his global tour, Sam mentioned being fascinated by “the way people want to customize the tools, the way they want to make sure their own values, culture, history, and language are represented.”

Before this interview, I hadn’t even considered that perspective while scrolling through AI-related TikToks. My feed was filled with tools that seemed impressive but came with a flood of comments about AI stealing jobs. I saw people debating whether generating futuristic images with a few prompts was just another way of taking from real artists without compensating them. The negativity made me wary—like AI was a force to be feared rather than embraced. 

I wasn’t sure where I stood. Was this technology an innovation or a disservice? Would using it mean I was contributing to something unethical?

But after watching the interview, my curiosity took over. Instead of shying away, I wanted to understand how artists could advance their craft with AI, how these tools could streamline my life, and ultimately, whether I could carve out a space for myself in this evolving world.

Here’s what stood out to me the most:

• A “Desire for the world to cooperate” – AI’s development will require collaboration, not isolation.
• The Exponential Curve – “We are on an exponential curve, and a relatively steep one—human intuition for exponential curves is really bad in general.” – Sam
• The “Upsides Are Tremendous” – While AI brings concerns, the potential benefits could be game-changing.
• The Beginning, Not the End – “There are a lot of people that talk about AI as the last technological evolution. From the other side, I suspect it will look like the first.” – Sam

People are worried about what the future holds for AI, while I still don’t fully understand what it actually is! Maybe I should be worried, too. Maybe AI will be the worst thing invented since the nuclear bomb—or the best thing since sliced bread. Either way, I want a front-row seat.

This blog isn’t for the tech geniuses rewriting code that moves and shakes the digital world. It’s not for those digging deep into conspiracy theories about AI taking over humanity.

It’s for people like me—those who see the immense potential of AI but fear it because of ignorance. I want to unravel my own misunderstandings, document what I learn, and track how my perspective shifts over time.

So, let’s navigate this AI revolution together—learning, questioning, and growing. Drop a comment and share how you think AI will shape your world. Don’t we all want to remove the mundane and focus on what truly matters?