I work in AI and live in La Crosse — AMA
Hey Folks,
My name is Drew and I'm a La Crosse local. Been in the area since 2014 so not a recent transplant... I came for college and decided to stay, but I digress.
Being that rare extroverted nerd, my specialty has always been a balance between technology and communication. My current position has me help leading the internal application of AI and Machine Learning within a major edu-tech organization.
I'm sure that sentence alone probably set off some red flags for some people, and I would not even blame them for it. There are many conceptually terrifying aspects of the technology.
Well why am I posting then? It upsets me that there are really only two camps when it comes to this technology:
- The AI tech utopia group (AI can do no wrong)
- The AI doomer club (every part of this technology is toxic)
The reality is AI represents tremendous potential, but its development, utilization, environmental impact, and ethical usage are all real factors that we cannot avoid. On the other hand, I've had personal conversations with the AlphaFold team at Google whose Nobel prize winning work is going to fast track so much when it comes to medical advances moving forward. It has opened up a suite of outlets and tools for those with disabilities, and personally as a neuro-divergent adult it has greatly improved a number of elements in my life.
We live in the real world, between both extremes, and it's people willing to engage in the conversation that will ultimately help decide where we land when it comes to this technology.
I've helped do a few local community talks at area HS and the Public Library on the topic. If anyone has any questions from the good to the bad, from datacenters to medical advances, I can't say I'm an expert at all the things, but I will do my best to answer any questions on the topic as honestly and transparently as I am able.
TL;DR: Works in AI. I think the conversation around AI tends to get stuck at the extremes, and I'd love to chat about the nuances. Happy to answer any honest questions about the tech, good or bad and will answer as honestly and transparently as I'm able.