Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Interface is a podcast where we connect technology and culture through conversation. Interface is brought to you by EMPOWER at PROS. EMPOWER is dedicated to attracting, developing and retaining Black talent at PROS. PROS helps people and companies outperform by enabling smarter selling in the digital economy.
Jenni: [00:00:00] Welcome to Interface, a podcast where we connect technology and culture through Conversation Interface is brought to you by Empower Pros. Empower is dedicated to attracting, developing, and retaining black [00:01:00] talent. At Pros, pros helps people and companies outperform by enabling smarter selling in the digital economy.
I'm your host, Jennifer Plumer. I'm joined with my co-host. And Sierra. Hey guys.
Mattie: Hello.
Jenni: hey. And today our guest is Goldie Powell, c e o, and founder of Cyber Creations. Thanks for joining us today, Goldie.
Goldie Powell: Thank you for having me. Hi, Jenny.
Jenni: So we always like to start the conversation out, um, by hearing your origin story. Everyone usually has a unique, um, Way of getting interested in technology or going into technology fields. So we, you know, we were hoping you could share your story with us.
Goldie Powell: Okay, so I am a proud graduate of Langston University, you know, my H B C U. Um, and my story starts off with someone helping [00:02:00] me. Um, I graduated, um, long, long ago and I, um, I went to college of course, and I really didn't have an idea of what to major in. I just, so I thought, well, I knew I wanted to be a lawyer, so I majored in corrections.
And along my journey, uh, first semester I met the advisor of computer science and he pretty much took me under his ring. He was, uh, he in introduced computer science to me. I've always had, like I. Kind of, I guess you can say like a background in, in with computers. I wouldn't necessarily say tech, but you know, playing with computers, um, the big desktop computers.
Um, so I've always had that interest. Um, so meeting the advisor and talking to him, he kind of took me under his wing and he was like, Hey, I think you should do computer science. And I [00:03:00] was like, I don't know what that is. And he was like, Hey. He was like, you know what? You know I'm going to help you. I'm gonna put you in a couple introduction classes.
And yeah, the story kind of pretty much just takes off from there. So I always like to, um, really push someone helped me. That's why me being in my position, I want to help others. So that's the short and sweet version.
Jenni: That, that's beautiful. Um, what was it about you where he thought you would, you know, he wanted to steer you towards computer science?
Goldie Powell: You know what I, I honestly don't know. I asked that question too because, um, and I think it was just something he saw. You know, it's sometimes you meet a person and you're like, this person. Is really good at X, Y, Z and you just, you may see [00:04:00] it and they may not see it. And, um, I think that was the case with him.
I, I don't know what I was doing because I was so shy and I, I don't know. And, but he did, he seen something in me and he took that chance in me, on me. And yeah, I was, um, the top computer science major. Um, when I graduated the
top computer science student when I graduated,
Jenni: say that again. Say it one more time.
Goldie Powell: How was the top computer science major student?
When I graduated? Yep.
Jenni: amazing. That is amazing. Um, so you, so you graduated and then, um, you founded a company now, but what, what kind of, what did you do in between graduating Langston and, and, and creating your own company?
Goldie Powell: Okay, so, um, I don't know, is it okay for [00:05:00] me to like name the companies that I work for or should we just leave that out?
Jenni: It's up to you. I, I, I, I don't, I think we have a problem with it.
Goldie Powell: Okay. So, um, I'll, I'll kind of just go more into the story. So, upon graduation, remind you I wanted to be a lawyer, so I was like, Uh, we, we had a conversation and I told him, I said, you know, I'm supposed to go to law school now, but I had gotten a position as a business system analyst. I, I will never forget.
I, this was in 2012. 2012 and um, I had got a business system analyst job. At Koch Industries and I was the first computer science, um, major students to go over to Koch Industries. Langston had had a, um, they had had a partnership, but the partnership was through accounting, so [00:06:00] they didn't have any computer science majors going over.
So all the heat was on me. I was like, I don't wanna go work. I wanna go do law school. And then, um, Like I said, 2012, they, my starting salary was 60,000 with a $5,000 sign on bonus. So I was like, well, I don't know what to do and this is just me being very transparent. Um, and I was like, I've never seen this much money.
Like, I didn't know what to do. Um, and we had a conversation and he was like, you know, you still, you're, you can still do law. And the, the, the plan was to. Work at Koch Industries for about six months to a year, and then I would go and study law. But unfortunately it did not happen that way, which is a good thing.
I think. Um, I, I think my purpose was written for me somewhere and, um, Yeah, so I worked at Koch [00:07:00] Industries and then I left Koch Industries, um, within a year because it was difficult to being a, um, being a African American female straight out of college and a H B C U, um, it was difficult going into corporate America.
That that's a, a whole nother conver conversation. It, it was hard, it was hard talking to my colleagues. I was 21 years old on the team with, you know, 40 plus people. Um, and that's, and I mean, age wise. So the conversation, it was just hard trying to communicate and I felt like I was failing. Um, so start, so I ended up leaving Koch and then I went to another corporation, which was, uh, Cerner.
Uh, I worked at Cerner for seven years as a, I was a software engineer. I was a, um, [00:08:00] I was a software engineer, then I went to a senior software engineer, and then I had another role. Um, I can't remember. Sorry about that. But, um, so yeah, I, I worked in corporate America and that's where the need came about.
That's where I seen. Okay. Going into corporate America, we're putting students in corporate America, but are they really ready? Are they, do they have, maybe they have the skills, but maybe it's just, it's a culture shock. You're going in into this business or in this, to this corporate corporation and you're like, you're like a small fish in a big pond.
Um, so yeah.
Siara: Can you talk a little bit about why you thought you were failing at the at Koch Industries?
Goldie Powell: I would say a big on the, the communication, um, talking [00:09:00] to, talking to my peers. It, it's, it's so. It's, it's, it's crazy. Um, and I, and I tell my students, now you can be having a one-on-one conversation with a person, right? Or, you know, a colleague or, um, someone, and you could. Completely not understand what they're saying.
And they could be just speaking the speaking, you know, regular English, but you're like, I don't know what they're talking about. And it just sounds like mumble jumble in your ear. So I think that's where the disconnect was when being asked by, uh, someone on my team, Hey, can you do X, Y, Z? And. Of course, I wanna say, yeah, I can do that, but I don't even know what X, Y, Z is, and I don't even know where to start on X, Y, Z, if that makes sense.
Siara: Did it feel like [00:10:00] it wasn't? In a culture where you could sort of ask questions, it you felt like you needed to uphold this standard that you weren't sure that you were actually able to do as kind of being the newbie.
Goldie Powell: Yes, I think there were, there were silent expectations because, you know, um, you're hired so you're, you're expected to be able to do this job. Um, And yet when you ask questions, one question might turn into two. Two questions might turn into five. Five questions might turn into six. And when you're going into the corporate America world, everyone's busy.
So I don't have time to answer eight questions for you. I need to be able to tell you, Hey, I need this done. And. And you go, you're able to get it done. And I think that's where a lot of disconnect is because in college you're [00:11:00] able to go and you're able to ask your professor, or even if you don't ask your professor, you're able to ask your peers, Hey, what was that homework?
Did you understand it? I didn't understand it. You're able to have that, that one-on-one with someone. Who not only looks like you, but they're on your same level, if you will, so you're, you're speaking the same language to each other and the, the communication barrier is not there.
Siara: Gotcha. That makes, that makes sense. I would probably the same. I'm like, I can't talk to anybody and I also don't know how to do this.
Goldie Powell: Right.
Jenni: I could definitely relate to that. Um, especially when I was newer in my career, I felt like everyone understood everything and no one asked questions. But then as what I realized as I progressed was, oh, I wasn't the only one confused. And people, you [00:12:00] know, people are just either, you know, through their relationships with other people going offline.
You know, we say go offline. You know, they like leaving that meeting and just going ask someone privately rather than just kind of just bringing it up in the meeting and just kind of being like, can you, can you drill into that and explain that? And just kind of, it took a while to have the confidence just to be like, wait a minute.
Let's all get on the same page now in this meeting. And it's, it's kind of something you get with your, I guess, professional ma professional maturity. Um, and I think, I think one way to combat that is right, reinforcing maybe the, and I think you'll get into what you're doing with your students, um, kind of professional techniques as far as, you know, when, when it's appropriate to ask questions or.
How, who to reach out to, or, um, establishing a network or a community in your professional
Goldie Powell: As well. Yes, and knowing the technical jargon, [00:13:00] I always say that's important because someone can ask you to do a task and they may use a certain word and you're like, Oh, they just want me to close out of their email, but they are saying, you know, something totally different, but yeah.
Jenni: Okay, so I think this leads into, um, so you're, you're realizing this and you just, you. At some point you took the jump and established a company. Can you tell us about the steps that you did to do that?
Goldie Powell: Yes, so Cyber Creations, um, and Cyber Creations is a web development company, and originally it started out as I wanted to help, I wanted to help. Black women. I wanted to help people who look like me get into the field of tech because into, I wanted to help boost their confidence early. That [00:14:00] way when they're in the same seat that I'm in, they don't feel as uncomfortable as I felt.
So if we start here, Where everything is, it's okay to ask those questions. It's okay to make a mistake, it's okay to be in front of everyone. Um, then when, later on down the line when you're in these big companies, you're, you don't have the fear that I had. Um, you don't feel like you've just been pushed out there.
You have a little bit of backing to you. Um, However it has grown. It is not just for black women, it is not just for African Americans because we're not the only ones who want to get in tech. Although I do support, um, everyone, it, hey, everyone wants to start somewhere, right? So they're like, how can I be a part of cyber creations?
How can I be a part of cyber creations? And that's what we do. We take, um, we take our time [00:15:00] and we teach. Uh, individuals web design, and we teach them those soft skills on how to communicate. We teach them, um, tech jargon that that way if they, like I was saying, if they wanna go into these corporate businesses, they already have experience.
Jenni: So it sounds like, um, it's taken off. Was it? I don't know how to ask this question. How hard was it to create a company?
Goldie Powell: Extremely. It's, it's, it's extremely hard. Um, I've never, I, I don't come from a background of entrepreneurs, so I've. Done this all basically off of experience. What did in a, in, and I don't know if this is a way to build a, a business or not, but I've done it off of experience and emotion. What did I feel? Um, so, [00:16:00] and I don't want someone else to feel that same way.
What did I experience so that someone else doesn't? Feel that same one way. And it is hard. It takes a lot of time and it takes, it takes a lot of prayer. It takes a lot of everything. So, um, but I feel like it's worth it. I, I see, you know, students that, um, they, they, I've had students write me letters. I've had students, um, You know, go on and go to college, and they call me later and say, Hey, I just wanted to let you know this is what I'm doing, and thank you.
You know, I have students that say, I'm not leaving. I'm, I'm staying right here with you, and I have to find something for them to do. But that makes me feel good because now they have a sense. Of they feel like they belong and I'm able to, and, and, and the [00:17:00] ball, it's like a ball that just keeps on growing because now they talk to their friends and now their friends wanna become a part of it and they see how they've grown and it just keeps on twinkling down.
Mattie: so yeah, you're coming up with a business, right? And how do you take something as ambiguities as we want to help more black women into tech and then turn that into a business model. Do you have like steps? How are you measuring success? Like, what does that process look like at like a high level for people that might wanna start their own business?
Goldie Powell: So it, it's, so when I was saying I wanted to originally help, um, black women in tech, it, it started. Really growing on, its on, um, one, it grew from, I can say word of mouth. So clients that we were working with, they would tell people, Hey, you should reach out to this person and then you should reach out to this person.
Um, [00:18:00] have them, you know, do your website, have them, uh, help you with your business and on. Simultaneously as that was happening, people were saying, people were also reaching out to me saying, Hey, I want to be a part of this business. How can I help? Okay. So then it's like, okay, I have a job for you. I have a job for you.
I have a job for you. Um, let's, let's all come together and make it happen. And how do we measure to success? I would say we measure success by, um, our, our satisfied customers. We went from, I went from. Leaving Cerner, and this is 2023. I left in 2021, so I became full-time, um, in 2021. And we're in 2023 and we are in 16 states.
So we have clients in 16 states. So that's how we measure our success by [00:19:00] constantly. When someone reaches out to me from California and someone reaches out from. Florida and they're saying, you know, and they're, and they're excited. That's how we measure success. I think I, I don't know if I answered your question, Maddie, but hopefully, if not, go ahead and reframe it and
Mattie: Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, you're good. I, I think you answered the second part of measuring success. I think I'm looking for, Um, like you have your problem statement, and I'm just gonna use the example of that. You said, getting more black women into tech. So that's kind of your problem statement.
So how do you take that problem statement and then develop a business around that to solve that problem?
Goldie Powell: Okay. Um, so what I did was the networking piece in talking to other organizations. So I don't know, uh, if you all are familiar or I feel like everyone has, uh, a full employment council. So I reached out to the full employment council. [00:20:00] I reached out to, uh, different schools. Hey, do you have any. Um, originally, and we're so, we're not, uh, just women based anymore, but I reached out and I asked, Hey, do you have any women that are interested in tech?
And they would say, um, that are looking for a job. And they would say, yes, I have a. Two, or I have one, but I also have three other people that may not be African American or may not be, um, female gender, but they're also interested in tech and that's how it, the business kind of grew from there.
Siara: So how do you structure sort of the. piece and then also the actual web development for, for your clients.
Goldie Powell: That is the hardest part. So, um, recently we've, [00:21:00] um, created a nonprofit. So our nonprofit teaches web design so people go through, so we have it for students and we have it for adults. So for the students it is grade level six through 12. And for the adults it's. Um, 18 and older, but they go through a five week course of learning web design.
And then after that they have the opportunity of going through five weeks for advanced coding. So they get the web design skills and then they get coding skills within those 10 weeks, and then they're able to come on board to cyber creations. Now, before. The, the nonprofit was established. I was doing the, the, the work on the for-profit side.
So that's why I said it's hard because I was teaching as well. So let's say I have a, a project. As I have this project, I would. Teach, I would put it on the, the [00:22:00] projector and I would go through, Hey, this is the domain. This is website hosting. This is, um, you know, this is this code, this is how you put these colors together.
And we just kind of rolled with it. And then students just kind of picked up on it and to where they were able to get their own projects. So we would give them a small project and it just kind of kept going from there.
Siara: Nice. I love the, the growth and how kind of figuring out the best way to separate the two sides of the house, so to speak.
Jenni: Although hopefully you're not, you're not, um, making the elementary school kids work too hard.
Goldie Powell: You know what? You hear me out, hear me out. Cause we have taken students, we, our, um, signup sheet says grade level six through 12th. I always tell people I had a third grader [00:23:00] and my class, her, her dad came and he said, she's really interested. She really wants to do this. Just, you know, can she sit in on one class and let's see how it goes.
And when I tell you that third grader held her on anytime we were asking questions, her hand was the first one to go up. She was so into it. She had so much passion. I'm, I'm like, okay, so, so do not sleep on the elementary school.
Jenni: So would you consider for, for the adult, it's more like an apprenticeship program or, um, I'm trying to think of the other models that I've seen, because it's not a bootcamp. A bootcamp really? Or is it a bootcamp? Or do, do you have a category for it?
Goldie Powell: So we are, we're, that, that's our ne our next piece. So between the apprenticeship cohort and getting certifications, because right now, um, [00:24:00] our employees and our students, they get, um, a certificate of completion, but I want them to get actually certified because they, they know the work, they know everything.
They just need the credentials to. Um, back them up. So that's actually what I'm, I'm in the process of working with now. Um, trying to see how I can get them a certification.
Jenni: Awesome.
Mattie: So I understand the connection of, you know, computer science and that that's kind of where the, the business part is coming from. Can you talk to some of your life experiences of maybe what's prepared you to run a business?
Goldie Powell: Um, I would say every, literally everything. So I am, I'm a very shy person and, um, I don't know if I speak for everyone in tech, but a lot of people in tech, we like to just give us. The problem and [00:25:00] let us fix it. We like to be, um, in our little corner and working, but, um, different. So being in different organizations within school where I've had to, um, you know, speak in front of people, that has helped me a lot in working, um, well in being a business owner because, Everyone's looking to me to answer all the questions, and I can't go in there and put my head down.
So that's another piece. Um, a lot of it comes from friends. Um, they, they're always, you know, I. Pouring, um, positive words into me and telling me what they see about me. And I don't know if they know. I'm like, wow, you, you really think I can do this? And in my head I'm thinking like, okay, so the next time I'm.
Thinking of an idea, I'm like, okay. I have so [00:26:00] much momentum. Um, also, and I, me being in corporate America, I always tell, uh, everyone this, I run my business. As if it is a corporate business. So, um, being on teams, everyone has to, um, reply to emails within 24 hours. That is a must. Um, how you format your emails, how you talk to, uh, clients, having a, having something as small as a signature in your email block.
All of these are, are little, um, key. Key, I guess you can say, like just key, important pieces that I've learned as I've, um, you know, worked in corporate America. I've met different people, um, just as I've journeyed along the way I.
Jenni: So, you kind of touched upon this, but could you, could you describe a day in the [00:27:00] life of your role or maybe your typical week types of activities that you're doing?
Goldie Powell: It is nonstop. So, um, Right now. So we have Cyber creations, and then we have Cyber Creations Tech. So Cyber Creations Tech is the nonprofit side, and Cyber Creations is the for-profit side. So on the for-profit side, we start work as early as 9:00 AM. So, uh, you can call, you can email, you can reach out. Um, they're, they're.
Taking website requests, they're doing website troubleshooting, they're doing logo design. Um, and I am trying to make sure everyone, uh, has enough work to do. So I am always out networking. I am trying to be in different spaces to continue to grow the business. So I see, I hear about a networking event. I wanna go, I hear either, whether it's in town or out of town.[00:28:00]
I'm there, I'm trying to make a presence. And then, um, we, on the Cyber Creations tech side, the nonprofit, what we do is class starts at five 30. We take our grade level students on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So Tuesdays and Thursdays I'm teaching, um, the grade level six through 12. Excuse me. Monday and Wednesday I am teaching young adults from three to five, and that's the day just never stops.
Jenni: Yeah, it's, that sounds like a very busy schedule. Um, I'm curious cuz you know what web technologies change, um, that's the only thing you can guarantee is that it'll change. How, how do you and your company stay up to date with changing technologies?
Goldie Powell: So that, um, that's why I like working with the youth. Because they are always, Hey, Ms. G, have you heard about [00:29:00] so-and-so? Have you heard about so-and-so? And I'm like, what is that? What is that? And then also, um, another thing is I, I ha I work with other technical organizations, so I'm, I'm not one that is afraid of collaboration.
I think that collaboration is important. How can we help each other? What, what have you heard out that's new or what's coming out? This is what we've heard, or this is what we've been working on, or, you know, so always having a, a network of, you know, technical individuals that we constantly work with, work close with.
And then just having a, a business network as well. People are always talking about what they've seen or what they've heard, and just keeping a ear out for those things and doing our research on the back end.
Jenni: So the, uh, since you collaborate with so many companies, your, your undergrad seemed to [00:30:00] partner with, you know, had, had partnerships with, with corporations. So you, it seems like you have a lot of experience. You, you're a teacher, so it seems like you have a lot of experience. This is a question we ask everyone.
What should companies be doing to increase the number of black talent?
Goldie Powell: I think they should start, um, At, let me make sure I say this right, but I think these companies should start looking at home. That's one thing. So I'm here, I'm in Kansas City, Missouri. We have all of these students that are going through all of these programs that are wanting to get hired. Um, and we, we see different companies.
They look at, okay, these, this student comes from maybe Houston and this student comes from maybe New York or [00:31:00] this student. When you have so many students that could do that same job right here, located in the, in the same city, I feel like that would, that would really help because it would. Help the tech companies.
If we have, um, guaranteed job positions, more students want to get involved, we create a pipeline. So more students wanna get involved. More students know they're gonna have guaranteed, um, job placement. You can't go wrong there. So looking in-house, teaming up with the smaller businesses, um, that are in the community, pulling those students.
And then also, um, Maybe and, and I don't know how, how far this goes, but maybe sharing expectations. Okay. Uh, corporate job X, they do a lot of Python. So who does a lot of [00:32:00] Python coding in the community? And who can I pull from or will your. Um, will your organization support Python coding? If so, this is what I need my future employees to know or so and I, that's just what I think starting there.
I will go on and on and on, but that's what I feel like
Jenni: No, I love the, I love what you're saying is like, look to your community first and, and how, um, kind of don't ignore, uh, the pool of people that you have locally and, and establish those relationships. I think that's a, that's a big, um, Thing that more companies can be doing.
Mattie: I also love that you're from Missouri because you're kind of touching on my path. Um, being in St. Louis, the, uh, tech industry wasn't really like a path that I saw. I. And it wasn't until I moved to Seattle where it was like Amazon, Microsoft, all, everyone, [00:33:00] basically every person that you talked to wor worked in tech in some capacity.
And then being a part of the, this, this podcast and kind of having that exposure to other tech people that had, um, different paths. Yeah. Your your point of like, look at the community in the local level, I think, yeah. If companies. Show that there is opportunity in in these paths in the local communities, then people might actually see that versus thinking I have to be on the west coast to get into a tech role or even to be looked at for a tech role.
Goldie Powell: Absolutely.
Siara: Yeah. I also think creating the, it's almost like a, I don't wanna say unlimited pipeline, but if you're all, if you're in the community and communities know who you are and you're offering this information, You, you do kind of create an unlimited pipeline because people know who you are. You're giving back.
They're more willing to say, I, I wanna go work there in the future. I wanna do everything that I need to do to set myself up for success to be a part [00:34:00] of, of that organization. Um, I, I think that's a great idea.
Goldie Powell: Thank you.
Jenni: Okay, so now it's time for the heat check. The heat check is where the interface crew shares an interesting or hot topic happening in the technology space or black. CU culture. Um, so we're gonna go ahead and share Goldie, I don't know if you have one, so I'm gonna pick on Maddie to go first.
Mattie: Yeah, two episodes in a row. Um,
Siara: I thought for sure she was gonna pick me.
Mattie: I thought for sure she was gonna get you this
Jenni: I couldn't remember. I can't remember which one of you mentioned Snapchat, and I was like, that's the one I want, but I couldn't remember which
one. So,
Mattie: yeah, that, that's me. I'm always, um, Goldie. So I, I don't have a lot of social media. I [00:35:00] have, uh, Facebook, um, but I'm picking on Snapchat. Um, so this, uh, articles from TechCrunch and the title is Snapchat Sees Spike in one star reviews as users pan the My AI feature calling for its removal. So back in February, Snapchat implemented as we were seeing with a bunch of companies, um, Implemented chat g p t into their software, um, as a chat box for people to have a friend, um, to talk to on Snapchat, which I, it is kind of weird cuz don't you have friends to talk to on Snapchat.
But anyway, um, apparently a bunch of users are giving this feature a one star, are actually giving Snapchat a one star because of this feature. Um, citing issues with privacy, trust, and safety. Um, and that some of the, uh, responses aren't really that helpful, which we've seen with. Chat, g p t with the, uh, halluc hallucinating.
Um, so it's kind of, you're just getting the same stuff. So, um, yeah, Snapchat responded to [00:36:00] the negative feedback saying that it takes user privacy and safety seriously, and that it's trained the AI to avoid, um, harmful or misleading information. But they also noted that the conversations are stored and may be reviewed.
So, um, I think, yeah, it's just interesting to see all the companies kind of. Chasing this AI trend. And I think it's really funny cuz there was this point that I want to quote that. It said, um, the backlash against Snapchat's. My AI comes at a time when the hype around AI is at an inflection point.
Companies are weighing how to integrate AI into their business and not if they should. So yeah, I I wanna have a discussion on that, that last sentence. Right. If they should, if we should be implementing all this AI as quickly as it's coming and, and versus maybe taking a second to see if like what the value add is. Any thoughts?
Jenni: Goldie.
Goldie Powell: oh, okay. So I [00:37:00] personally, I, I, it's, I feel like sometimes it can be a thin line with jumping on the next hot thing in business, and like you said, kind of sitting back and saying, how does this work? Or how does this, Support my organization, how, how do we enhance it using, um, this new feature, but yet not just trying to do it to stay up with the trends.
And that's, that's just a business conversation. Sometimes you, you have to make you take those risks and I mean, you see a lot of business, they, they try something, it doesn't work, and, and then they, they go back to the drawing board and they try something else. Um, me personally, With the Snapchat, I am a little biased because I do work with students and I personally don't.
And, and they love Snapchat. I do not like Snapchat and I have to teach them, you know, about [00:38:00] different, um, features of Snapchat. Um, but on the business side, I feel like, um, You, you, you can, you just kind of make a decision and you hope for the best. Because some people could have really, really liked the ai.
It could have went really well, or it could have went. Not so good. And that's, I feel like that just kind of comes with business sometimes. Um, if you are doing, if you are doing your research and seeing how it comes, seeing how it supports your business, then sometimes you just have to take that leap.
Siara: I
Jenni: I, I agree with you. I'm on the same side. It's kind, I kind like, I'm, I'm, I'm definitely not a hater, but I'm just kind of like, what's really going on? Like, are people really using this for, uh, an intentional purpose that makes sense. And so if everyone's just gonna have a little chat, [00:39:00] g chat, g p t powered feature on their website or on their app, I'm just kind of like, why?
Like, do, do you need it? So I just want, yeah. I want people to think through, is this something that's really adding value and are you testing it to make sure it's actually
Goldie Powell: Mm-hmm.
Jenni: the results? Because if, if the, if Snapchat, which I'm not familiar with, right? If it's, it's, if it's replying with things that are nonsensical, then.
Then what is the point? I don't
Siara: Yeah,
Goldie Powell: Yeah.
Siara: and it's also these AI tools you have to. You have to put thought into what you're asking it to do. If you just throw something out there, it is going to basically give you back just something super random that's probably irrelevant to what you're actually needing. So, back to what Goldie said, like what value is this bringing?
Are we, are we using this intentionally? Um, and it, what's the, what's the value add for [00:40:00] it?
Jenni: Yeah. Okay. I'm gonna sandwich myself in the middle, so I'll go next. Um, mine is also, uh, AI related. Uh, this is a wired article. Saying Stack Overflow will charge AI giants for training DA data. So basically Stack Overflow, um, if you're not familiar, um, is a community where you could say, you know, you, you've been working on something and you, you expect certain results and it's not working.
And you could just go to this community and ask a question, Hey, I'm using. Java and I'm using this API and I'm not getting the results I want. And you know, anyone can post like any other community, and I think that's where their, um, stack overflows, um, value add is that they, they're providing this community and, and it is free.
And there's probably, you know, some o they have some other products that ki that kind of, you can. Have your own standalone system. So that's how they make money. But, um, chat, [00:41:00] G p T and other people are basically scraping their websites or using their APIs to train their models. And then they're selling that to, you know, their, their business models.
I'm gonna sell that information to someone else. So stack overflow's, kind of like, well that's, you know, that's quite not fair. You know, it, it doesn't. It doesn't uphold our community standards, right? This is supposed to be information for free, and then you're turning around and selling to someone. So that's that, that I think that's their premise for charging for this data.
They've also had issues with, when people post these questions, people are just, Putting it in, in a, in, in a chat, t p t, getting a nonsensical answer and posting it, which also degrades the quality of their, of their site. Because if people go there thinking I'm gonna get right answers, and now every time I go there, I'm getting some automated response that is wrong, then that people will lose faith in their product.
So, um, it sounds like they may be. [00:42:00] Coming up with their own solution, um, that might be coming out in a few months, so I'll be listening out for that. But I thought that was pretty interesting.
Goldie Powell: I think that's a part of, and do you mind if I go first?
Jenni: Yeah, go. Yeah.
Goldie Powell: I think that's a part of growth. Any, anytime with business, you know, um, you always, so in my world with coding, right, you're always going to. You start out building your, your code with 20 lines of code, and as you get better, you, then it becomes 10 lines, then it becomes five lines and it, it does the exact same thing, but it, it's, it comes with growth.
So, um, I feel like that company is just at a growing period now. So it's okay, what do we need to change about our organization to. Protect us from what's happening out in the world because things are going to continuously [00:43:00] happen. Mm-hmm. If it's not chat, g b t, if it's going to be another organization or it's gonna be another technical something coming out.
So this is going to always happen. So how can we, um, protect ourselves and, you know, constantly stay, uh, relevant and give out great information. Um, that's, That's kind of what I think.
Mattie: Yeah. Of comment on this cuz I had, we, I had a discussion over the weekend about, um, using these chat, um, learning language models to kind of make code or make work. And at a certain point you start to get in the conversation of like copyright and derivative work. So if you were to use maybe someone's code that is given to you by chat G P T, how much now does.
That person that made that original code owned your work. And so you have to be very careful. And I think that's kind of probably the next frontier of, of all this AI stuff is like, [00:44:00] does the ai ac, is it creating things or is it rearranging stuff to make something new? And if that's the case, is that original or is it just derivative of what's already been made?
So having those conversations and, and becoming aware of like what risk you're putting yourself out by. Asking a question and copying, pasting the response, and then put publishing it as your own. So be aware.
Jenni: Yeah, it kind of goes to the, the artist, right? That it's scraping their styles. And so it's ta it's kind of related to that as well, but you, you know, producing something in the style of something. Someone else who's an established artist, who's making a living, doing that is it, you know, ethical for this tool to just regenerate the art, you know, in less, less time for free or for much less money,
Mattie: And not tell you where it came from. Yeah.
Jenni: Not tell you where came from, not not acknowledge the artist. You know, that's, these are the questions that we need [00:45:00] to answer. Okay. Sierra, your turn.
Siara: We're all picking on AI today.
Jenni: It's what's hot? the hot topic. It's.
Siara: So I came across, um, I came across an article from Tech Brew, um, and the title of it is Building a Validity Score in the Age of ai, which has been a theme across today. Um, so a German artist revealed that his winning submission in this year's Sony World Photography Awards was actually generated by ai.
And he did it on purpose. And it was intended to start a conversation about realism in the age of AI and was the latest example of how easy it has become for media spawned by AI to deceive even the most discerning, uh, viewers. So Adobe has had this [00:46:00] sort of council called the Content Authenticity Initiative, um, and they work with a ton of companies to, to.
How, how to best authenticate media out in the digital space. Right? And so now with obviously this big boom of ai, they're trying to work on building, um, A set of standards where, where people can authenticate where certain media is coming from and getting, you know, much better at how to discern whether this is AI or whether this is real.
Um, and so they're working with, A ton of companies. So, um, they noted like camera companies like Nikon and Leia, Lecia, Elise, I c a, um, they're agreeing to put like certain technologies in their cameras that they're developing to put some type of authenticity code or something in [00:47:00] there to let people know that this is real.
It's not something that was generated on the internet. And so reading through this is, I think the future is going to be, there's gonna be a lot of regulation around how people are using ai. Um, I think the government is gonna be very involved in this because it's such an easy way to prey on vulnerable communities.
I mean, just think about, you know, the elder population, how they're constantly getting scammed and even just moving in a fast-paced world where everybody's multi-tasking and doing a million things, it's so easy to overlook. Things, and then you end up either being out of money or out of time or something gets stolen or whatever.
Um, and so yeah, this AI thing is, it's cool, but it's kind of scary in [00:48:00] my opinion.
Goldie Powell: I think you, you really did touch on a key point, um, a. With speaking about like our elders, um, be because my, like my mom for instance, she, she's like, Godi, how do I turn on the computer? Like, how do I, like, she's one like that. And if you are a person that does not stay, you know, um, stay up to date with what's happening, then yes.
You, you do, you become, Preyed upon, so I, I, I, I just wanted to say like, I, I agree. We, we do need to have some type of regulations, something in, in place that protects people.
Siara: Agreed. I think there's gonna be a lot more of [00:49:00] more stories that come out about people being deceived and whatever that trickle down effect is,
Jenni: just don't trust anything. Don't trust anything.
Siara: nothing
Goldie Powell: Well,
we know
Jenni: good to be true.
Siara: is metaverse we're living in.
Goldie Powell: hey, it came in. It came in kind of like steps because. That's, that's the same with social media. Like you can't believe everything that you see on social media. You, you can't, and now it's the next step is ai. And like I was saying earlier, it's, it's not going to stop. It's going to just keep going. So, um, yeah.
Jenni: The, the only thing I think that might stop it is just the amount of, um, resources it takes to train these machines and the storage of all this data. Um, So if there is some like crazy recession or crazy downfall of [00:50:00] society, that might be the first thing to go, because who's gonna, who's gonna pay for all of that? Okay. So Goldie, can you share your contact information or how people can reach out to you if they wanna learn more about your company or more, or do they want to reach out to you individually?
Goldie Powell: Yes, absolutely. So, uh, the company is Cyber Creations and that's with the Z, so c Y B E r C R E A T I O N Z. Um, and I can be reached at contact at Cyber Creations, or you can go directly on cyber creations.com. If you are interested in learning, you can go to cyber creations tech.org,
Jenni: Awesome.
Goldie Powell: call us directly at (816) 715-0702.
Jenni: I think you're the first person that shared a phone number.
Siara: I know[00:51:00]
Jenni: You win with that. No, I think, I think your story and is amazing. Um, and just, um, just what you're doing in the community is just really, uh, uh, applaud you. I think it's. It's just great. I wish I was more eloquent with that. Sierra always Sierra's the one with the eloquent words on the team, so I'm just saying I like it.
I like it a lot.
Goldie Powell: Thank you.
Siara: No, I love it. I mean, honestly, the pairing, the teaching piece, the teaching and the coaching, and then also having jobs that these people can funnel into if they so choose like that is. An amazing, like, I can't say better words about that. That's like, to me the gold, the kind of the gold standard when you talk about, you know, passing to tech, the exposure.
And then also if I do well, I can, I can get a job and actually get some experience under my belt. Um, with [00:52:00] that infrastructure around me that I know that I'm gonna continue learning.
Goldie Powell: Mm-hmm.
Siara: It's amazing.
Goldie Powell: Thank you.
Jenni: Thank you, Goldie, for joining us today as well as all, as well As all of you listening, if you enjoyed this conversation, drop us a line at Interface podcast@pros.com or find us on LinkedIn. Please rate and review us on whatever platform you're listening from. It helps the show tremendously and we want your feedback to make the show better.
We encourage you to go out and continue this conversation and even start your own. We'll meet you back here for the next episode from our crew to yours. Have a good one.