AI Experts React to Oprah Winfrey's "AI and the Future of Us" Special
Most people saw Oprah’s AI special. But what *didn’t* it cover? Juan Faisal talks with AI filmmaker Jagger Waters, strategist Kate Cook, and edtech PM Kyle-Prescott Ogunbase about the trust gap in AI, what "Generation AI" actually faces, and why public understanding—not just faster tools—matters most.
🤖 Why it matters:
AI is scaling faster than most people can make sense of it. This episode unpacks the real risks, power moves, and human questions getting buried in the hype.
🤖 You’ll learn:
- Why safety, scams, and trust need center stage in AI debates
- How Gen AI is already growing up inside a synthetic media world
- Why ethical development needs stronger incentives—not just open letters
- What AI can and can’t fix when it comes to loneliness, labor, and learning
🤖 Guests:
Kate Cook – Founder, Era Seven Partners
Certified AI strategist helping brands adapt to rapid tech change
Kyle-Prescott Ogunbase – Product Manager, Newsela
Building AI tools to improve literacy in classrooms
Jagger Waters – Award-winning AI filmmaker
Producer at Curious Refuge and escape.ai
🤖 Host: Juan Faisal
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akajuanfaisal/
- Newsletter: https://juanfaisal.substack.com/
- Website: https://juanfaisal.com/
🤖 Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:43 Oprah’s special: What it got right and wrong
06:35 Sam Altman: Most dangerous man in tech?
12:23 Trust, ethics, and who builds the future
18:05 Marques Brownlee: AI for video and voice
20:20 Deepfakes and what’s fueling them
25:20 Why AI literacy may be the most urgent skill
29:10 Aza Raskin & Tristan Harris: AI vs. society
32:21 Christopher Wray: AI and criminal threats
36:00 Why companies still hesitate to adopt AI
40:07 Can schools undo biased training data?
43:05 Parenting in the age of Generation AI
45:35 Is AI a threat—or a lifeline—for workers?
52:19 Marilynne Robinson: The human cost of progress
56:40 Difficulty is the point
59:50 Final thoughts on what comes next
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