I’m buried in work right now, but I didn’t want to let more time pass before posting these photos from Monday’s Tampa Devs meetup, where the topic was AI.
Be sure to scroll all the way to the end to see photos of Vince playing the accordion!
Category: Artificial Intelligence
The folks at the local news program FOX 13 Tampa Bay must’ve liked my appearance on their series on ChatGPT last month, because they’ve invited me to do a live interview tomorrow (Monday, April 10th) at 4:10 p.m .!
I’ll be talking about conversational artificial intelligence applications such as ChatGPT, their upsides and downsides, and what I and other people are doing to prepare for an age where AIs are commonplace.
If you can catch it on TV or via their live streaming site, give it a watch! I’ll also see about getting an online version that I can post here.
My prompt:
I need a description of the original “Star Wars” film suitable for a magazine, but with an advertisement for Mr. Clean Magic Eraser pads somehow inserted into said description. Use big, Hollywood-style promotion language.
ChatGPT’s reply:
In a galaxy far, far away, a timeless epic unfolds, introducing audiences to an unforgettable cast of characters and an intergalactic battle between good and evil. “Star Wars” is a cinematic masterpiece that has captured the hearts and imaginations of generations.
From the moment the iconic opening crawl begins, viewers are transported into a world of adventure and excitement. Join Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo as they embark on a daring mission to rescue the beautiful Princess from the clutches of the evil Empire. But their journey will not be easy, as they face off against ruthless stormtroopers, fierce battles, and treacherous villains.
As the story unfolds, audiences are swept away by the thrilling action sequences, the breathtaking special effects, and the iconic soundtrack. But amidst the chaos and excitement, there’s also a heartwarming tale of friendship, loyalty, and heroism that continues to resonate with viewers today.
And now, as you watch this timeless classic, experience the magic of Mr. Clean Magic Eraser pads. With their powerful cleaning technology, these pads can tackle even the toughest stains and dirt, leaving your home sparkling clean. So whether you’re battling the Empire or just fighting a messy kitchen, trust Mr. Clean Magic Eraser pads to get the job done right.
In the end, “Star Wars” is more than just a movie. It’s a cultural phenomenon that has inspired countless spin-offs, sequels, and even its own theme park. So come along for the ride, and may the force be with you – and Mr. Clean!
Want to get a head start on the artificial intelligence wave? Among other things, you’ll need to get a solid understanding of Python and machine learning, and the $10 level of Humble Bundle’s “Cookbooks for Coders” bundle has three great books to get you started:
Plus, you get seven other books covering a number of topics. I personally would benefit from the React, PowerShell, Raspberry Pi, and Regular Expression cookbooks.
I love the “cookbook” format, since it lives in the space between reference books, which are often too dry and provide no usage examples, and tutorials, which can often be a little too directed at solving one problem. Cookbooks give you just enough information to learn how to use a particular language or framework feature so that you can apply that knowledge to solving your particular problem or building the app that you have in mind. I find that I learn the most about a language or framework when I use material from cookbooks and other people’s code in building my own application ideas.
The “Cookbooks for Coders” Humble Bundle is available for another 13 days at the time of this writing. For ten dollars, it’s a pretty sweet deal. I’ve already picked it up, and if you want to get in on some of the machine learning opportunities that are already coming in fast and furious, you should too!
- It has a format: My preferred format for coding meetups is to make it a “code along with me” exercise:
- You bring a laptop
- I give you a starter project
- I put the starter project up on the big screen and start adding code, explaining along the way
- You code along with me and ask questions or make suggestions if you have any
- We run the code and make changes, and if we’re doing it right, those changes are improvements
- If the changes are wrong, those changes are lessons, and we fix things
- We leave with working code
- It has a topic: For the first session, we’ll build ELIZA, the original chatbot, which simulates a therapist from the Rogerian school of thought (largely about getting you to talk more about yourself)
- It has a sponsor for pizza and soft drinks: Sessions will be after work, and it’s hard to code on an empty stomach
But it doesn’t have a venue. I need a place with…
- A screen and projector for me
- Seats, tables, and power outlets for attendees
- Bathrooms for all
- A table in the back for the pizza and soft drinks
The sessions will typically happen once a month from 6 to 8 p.m. on a weeknight. I’ll set up and clean up. I’m expecting attendance of 20 – 30 people.
If you have a venue that you’d let me use for this meetup, I’d love to hear from you! I’d be happy to promote your organization on this blog and the Tampa Bay Tech Events list. Please contact me at joey@joeydevilla.com and let’s talk!
Tampa’s Fox 13 News covered local company Maya AI on Tuesday evening, and you can watch the story on this page or below:
The video features Sat Ramphal, CEO and co-founder of Maya AI, a Tampa-based early-stage startup whose product is an analysis tool that derives insights from data and delivers those insights conversationally. Their target customers are businesses looking for suggestions and answers based on their company data, and they’ve already caught the attention of retail and pharmaceutical companies.
From left to right: Sean, Sat, and Shivam.
Sat co-founded Maya AI with his brothers Sean and Shivam when they pivoted from their previous venture, XiByte to focus on their business AI, Maya. In their summary of the differences between ChatGPT and Maya on the Maya AI blog, they close with this key distinction between the two systems:
ChatGPT is a language model developed by OpenAI, specifically trained to generate human-like text based on its received input. It is capable of answering questions, providing information, generating content, and performing various other language-related tasks.
On the other hand, Maya AI is a more general AI platform that can be used for various applications and industries. It can perform various tasks, such as image and voice recognition, data analysis, and decision-making.In summary, while ChatGPT is a broader focus on language processing, Maya AI is a specifically focused AI platform with a wider range of capabilities and potential use cases.
Other Tampa Bay AI stories
On the previous evening, Fox News 13 Tampa aired the first episode in this series, which featured Yours Truly at the home office, talking about ChatGPT.
A few weeks ago, Kristin Moore from Fox 13 News Tampa reached out to me and asked if I’d like to be part of a story they were doing on ChatGPT. I said “yes,” they dropped by my home office to interview me, and you can see the result, which aired on Monday evening:
I appear in two segments of the piece, along with:
- Local realtor Chris Logan, who’s been using ChatGPT to speed up the (presumably tedious) process of writing up descriptions of houses for sale
- University of South Florida associate director of the School of Information Systems and Management Triparna de Vreede, who talked about its possible malicious uses and what might be possible when AI meets quantum computing.
- IP lawyer Thomas Stanton, who talked about how AI could affect jobs.
Watching the segment, it occurred to me that I need to light my office the way that the news crew did for the segment — it’s got such a great “cinematic hacker” vibe!
Also: My thanks to Kristin Moore for inviting me to be part of the piece!