What got you into AI?

Read transcript How I Got Into AI Around November 2022, I first heard about AI—specifically, ChatGPT. Computers have always been my thing: for entertainment, learning, business, and fun. I enjoy seeing what I can pull off with the tools I'm given, and this was no different. Although my memory is a bit foggy—partly because I'm blind from birth and had a stroke in January 2021 that affected my balance due to life (and, well, shit happens sometimes—ha-ha, sorry)—I recall being intrigued by the possibilities AI offered. Today, I have a lot going on but much less stress in my life, aside from the usual problems we all face. I might need surgery in the spring, moving is challenging, and I have a big trip in a week. But discovering ChatGPT was a game-changer. It was like interacting with a computer that basically acts like a person. Back then, I had to really go through a lot of trouble to make an image; it is so easy now. It really helps me a lot to try and think of technology from an average user’s standpoint—nothing too deep there. I used to experiment with back-translating things and asking ChatGPT all sorts of questions: "What are 10 methods that writers use in their work?" "How far is the largest star?" "What happens when two black holes collide?" One of the most fascinating facts I learned is that if the largest star in the universe were in place of our sun, it would extend past Jupiter. That's mind-blowing and a good reminder of how small we are in a universe that's been around for billions of years. Makes paying rent not seem so bad! From 2022 to 2024, I delved into voices, programming, languages, and text—getting pretty good at all of it. I had played with some early AI image models but wasn't on the Be My Eyes beta, so I had to wait until August 2023. When I realized it was possible to create images using Bing, I could have Be My AI describe them. If the description was off, I'd keep working on it. This was probably between August and October 2023. I even had an interview for my podcast with Mike Buckley of Be My Eyes. It was still pretty new to me, and I think I knew half as much about it at that point. Creating images is the most fun for me, along with exploring languages, deep questions, and prompting. I see such potential in this technology that image creation is just a small part of the big picture. Even with all its flaws, I find image creation therapeutic. I can do it anywhere—in any airport or even high in the sky. It really puts my anxiety at bay, and people love it. Even if the images aren't that good, they still bring smiles to those who see them. Some people get overly upset about it all. I have a website called art by keen dot com where I sell prints of my art, but it hardly sells anything. I'll probably take it down soon; it's not worth the $79 a month I pay for it. Either way, it's something people are interested in learning, and it's so simple and accessible to do. I envision an app that paints or draws for you. You launch it, talk to it about making images, it creates the image, and then tells you about it. Maybe you can share it with someone. Including that as an internal feature of a current app would be cool. If that works out, how about a 20% cut? Just kidding, but that's how my brain works. I strive to be open and honest about this technology. I may get some things wrong, but we all do. I admit when I'm wrong—or at least I try to. One of the early things I did with images on Facebook was to describe local photographers' photos using AI. I'd find a cool photo and leave the description—maybe with a message—all created by AI on the post. Those photographers are popular. One of them is a man in Fort Worth, Texas, named Bryan Luenser. Bryan is a retired accountant who now enjoys his hobby of photography. I think he's so busy with this joy that he may have to retire from it someday. We finally met—I had him on an interview on this podcast, which at the time was called WeSpeak Live. This was in November 2023. We met for breakfast in December—I remember the date—and I had some good news around then, so it's fixed in my memory. Bryan is another super person. Nowadays, it's a good idea to surround yourself with good people. It takes a lot of energy to bring on new friends, so just stick with the winners. That's one thing I'm proud of in my life: I've always been able to get along with most people, even if we are vastly different. But I have some good folks in life today! Around the same time, I had just taken a prompting course on a website called Coursera. It was a fully accessible course, and the lectures were the best part. I still need to go back and finish all of those courses, but I got a little distracted. I emailed the professor who teaches the course, Dr. Jules White of Vanderbilt University. He teaches the classes on Coursera and is a professor of computer science at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. I’ll put some links to everything in the comments once I have it all together. Jules is one of my fans nowadays and very supportive. I think this is an interesting story. I try to keep it engaging, but I am who I am. I have a lot of good instincts, but I'm just an everyday person. I don't have a college degree; I just have 50 years of life experience, blindness, pain, and love. That's what keeps me going, including my wife Mindy and kids. I spoke to Dr. White in December on a Zoom call for like an hour or two. He was totally fascinated with me. He's very smart about everything, but blindness is a niche—like wheelchairs for me; I don't know anything, so sometimes I can only go on the knowledge I have, which is sometimes none. That is true on a lot of topics—for me, I don't know it all. Oops, that is all of the Eleven labs voice for this month on Eleven labs, the next acount level upgrade is $99 a month and that isn't in the budget! Support AI For The Blind. by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/wespeak This podcast is powered by Pinecast.