Oprah Winfrey Is Hosting a Prime-Time TV Special on AI
Benj Edwards:
On Thursday, ABC announced an upcoming TV special titled, “AI
and the Future of Us: An Oprah Winfrey Special.” The one-hour
show, set to air on September 12, aims to explore AI’s impact on
daily life and will feature interviews with figures in the tech
industry, like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Bill Gates. Soon after
the announcement, some AI critics began questioning the guest list
and the framing of the show in general. […]
In a nod to present-day content creation, YouTube creator Marques
Brownlee will appear on the show and reportedly walk Winfrey
through “mind-blowing demonstrations of AI’s capabilities.”
Brownlee’s involvement received special attention from some
critics online. “Marques Brownlee should be absolutely ashamed
of himself,” tweeted PR consultant and frequent AI
critic Ed Zitron, who frequently heaps scorn on
generative AI in his own newsletter. “What a disgraceful thing
to be associated with.”
What a jackassed take from Zitron. I mean think about it. Imagine that Oprah’s producers get in touch with MKBHD to ask if he’d like to participate in a prime-time network TV special about AI, specifically to show cool AI use cases, and he was like, “Nah, I don’t think this special is going to sufficiently present the viewpoint of ‘non-doomer AI critics’.”
These galaxy-brain peanut gallerians haven’t even seen clips from the show, let alone the entire special itself. They’re judging it by the guest list. A guest list that in fact includes obvious critics and skeptics. Edwards:
Other guests include Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin from the
Center for Humane Technology, who aim to highlight
“emerging risks posed by powerful and superintelligent AI,” an
existential risk topic that has its own critics. And FBI
Director Christopher Wray will reveal “the terrifying ways
criminals and foreign adversaries are using AI,” while author
Marilynne Robinson will reflect on “AI’s threat to human values.”
It’s also quite likely that invited guests weren’t told who the other interview subjects were. That’s just not now these things work. Oprah’s production surely shot dozens of hours of interviews to cut into a one-hour special — some of the subjects were likely left on the cutting-room floor.
If you don’t think it’s anything short of fucking cool that Marques Brownlee is getting a spot to show off cool AI use cases to Oprah in a prime-time network TV special, you’re a jackass. And if you’re going to argue that there are no cool AI use cases, you’re a liar.
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Benj Edwards:
On Thursday, ABC announced an upcoming TV special titled, “AI
and the Future of Us: An Oprah Winfrey Special.” The one-hour
show, set to air on September 12, aims to explore AI’s impact on
daily life and will feature interviews with figures in the tech
industry, like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Bill Gates. Soon after
the announcement, some AI critics began questioning the guest list
and the framing of the show in general. […]
In a nod to present-day content creation, YouTube creator Marques
Brownlee will appear on the show and reportedly walk Winfrey
through “mind-blowing demonstrations of AI’s capabilities.”
Brownlee’s involvement received special attention from some
critics online. “Marques Brownlee should be absolutely ashamed
of himself,” tweeted PR consultant and frequent AI
critic Ed Zitron, who frequently heaps scorn on
generative AI in his own newsletter. “What a disgraceful thing
to be associated with.”
What a jackassed take from Zitron. I mean think about it. Imagine that Oprah’s producers get in touch with MKBHD to ask if he’d like to participate in a prime-time network TV special about AI, specifically to show cool AI use cases, and he was like, “Nah, I don’t think this special is going to sufficiently present the viewpoint of ‘non-doomer AI critics’.”
These galaxy-brain peanut gallerians haven’t even seen clips from the show, let alone the entire special itself. They’re judging it by the guest list. A guest list that in fact includes obvious critics and skeptics. Edwards:
Other guests include Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin from the
Center for Humane Technology, who aim to highlight
“emerging risks posed by powerful and superintelligent AI,” an
existential risk topic that has its own critics. And FBI
Director Christopher Wray will reveal “the terrifying ways
criminals and foreign adversaries are using AI,” while author
Marilynne Robinson will reflect on “AI’s threat to human values.”
It’s also quite likely that invited guests weren’t told who the other interview subjects were. That’s just not now these things work. Oprah’s production surely shot dozens of hours of interviews to cut into a one-hour special — some of the subjects were likely left on the cutting-room floor.
If you don’t think it’s anything short of fucking cool that Marques Brownlee is getting a spot to show off cool AI use cases to Oprah in a prime-time network TV special, you’re a jackass. And if you’re going to argue that there are no cool AI use cases, you’re a liar.