Live from the show floor of the Voice & AI Conference, host Greg Matusky tracked down some of the most creative entrepreneurs and thinkers in conversational and generative AI.
The conversations cover how to build better chatbots, using generative AI to fuel creativity, monetization opportunities for musicians, and the art of getting better results out of ChatGPT.
The guests include:
- Ian Collins, CEO of Wysdom, a champion of chatbots and conversational AI.
- Joe Turow, Robert Lewis Shayon Professor of Media Systems & Industries at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, whose work lies at the intersection of marketing, digital media, and society.
- Chad Gerber, Musician, Founder and Creator, Meloscene, a metaverse platform for musicians and creators.
- Susan Westwater, CEO and Co-Founder of Pragmatic Digital and Strategy Director at Vixen Labs, who recently published the book “Voice Marketing: Harnessing the Power of Conversational AI to Drive Customer Engagement.”
Watch now:
Key takeaways:
Ian Collins [1:01 – 10:30]
- Some chatbots only solve 5% of customer problems. Most either aren’t analyzing how well their chatbots are performing, or are focused on metrics like “containment” — how often a customer was kept away from a live human agent — instead of customer satisfaction or the bot’s effectiveness at solving problems.
- Generative AI isn’t quite ready for enterprise chatbot applications. Banks and telcos using chatbots that work in customer-facing roles need more precise control over the answers they provide. Generative AI isn’t there just yet.
- AI copilots are coming. They’ll trickle down from enterprise applications to personal, consumer-level copilots to help with everything from work to school so you can essentially be in two places at once.
Dr. Joe Turow [10:34 – 22:43]
- AI represents a profound change to how students access knowledge. Students have quickly adopted the technology, but professors are still figuring out how to adjust assignments.
- Generative AI can be a double-edged sword. While there are plenty of examples of AI aiding creativity, the risk of hallucinations means users need to keep a close eye on AI output and be sure to fact check.
Chad Gerber [22:47 – 33:20]
- Virtual recording studios give musicians new opportunities. Collaborate and record with musicians around the world. Invite fans to watch the performance. Artists, producers, and other contributors gain new monetization opportunities.
- Virtual environments solve the problem of fragmented fan bases. Instead of a band touring the world to see small pockets of fans, the artists can bring the fans to them for experiences — like watching their favorite musician compose a song in real time — that weren’t previously available.
- Music is just the start. Live, interactive podcast sessions are another area that this kind of technology could serve.
Susan Westwater [33:24 – 47:36]
- The AI adoption curve is now shifting toward business use cases. Like every technology, AI users have been through a number of mindset shifts since ChatGPT debuted, and after the novelty and a certain comfort level, they’re asking new questions of the technology, like what can this do for my business?
- Get specific on ChatGPT’s editor persona. Westwater’s friend recommends telling ChatGPT to review writing as if it was E.B. White.
- Now is the time to ask AI ethics questions. It’s important to ask not just “can we?” but “should we?” as AI develops. The ethical issues of the internet and social media were only explored after they had taken hold, but we have an opportunity to ask those questions alongside the development of AI.
Key moments:
- Why there are so many terrible chatbots (3:57)
- LLMs and chatbots (4:59)
- The future of AI copilots (9:02)
- Can real creativity come from AI? (13:27)
- Uses of generative AI for education and learning (17:18)
- The risk of hallucinations (18:46)
- How virtual studios can connect musicians and fans (26:18)
- Solving the latency issue of virtual recording (27:22)
- The tech adoption curve and mindset shifts around AI (35:02)
- Why Susan didn’t use generative AI to write her book (39:28)
- The future of AI (42:45)
- How to bring ethics into the AI conversation (45:58)
