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Join us on the Disruption Now podcast as we challenge the status quo and advocate for digital equity, ownership, and responsible technology.
If you don't engage with the product,
you become the product.
And it's not about whether or not you're
ready for AI is already happening to you.
It's a matter of you
taking the opportunity
to educate yourself on it.
If you believe
we can change the narrative,
if you believe
we can change our communities,
if you believe we can change the outcomes,
then we can change the world.
I'm Rob Richardson.
Welcome to disruption now.
All right.
Welcome to disruption now.
I'm your host and moderator
Rob Richardson.
As always, we bring you stories of people
that are, changing the world
through, social action
or social innovation.
And Aaron Reddick is one of those people
with chat black GPT.
He's,
really caught the eye movement by storm
and making sure that it was inclusive,
intentional, avoided bias.
And, you know, he's still, a warrior
and one of the one of the first
to innovate
in that space in terms of making sure
that we are intentional about it
and that we're inclusive about it.
And one of the most important
technological revolutions
that we've ever seen, in AI.
And I'm honored to have her as a friend.
She also be at the next Midwest con.
So we
we have a lot to discuss and to go over.
And I'll see her in DC soon.
Anyway, Aaron, how are you doing today?
I'm doing well.
Thank you for having me. Awesome
to be here.
Yes. Very excited for Midwest Con.
Yeah, very excited to have you for sure.
And you know, I'm curious.
So you, you,
you know, just jumping right into it.
You you what what
what was the like
spark that got that
got you into AI in the first place
and specifically sparked the idea of chat
black GPT?
Yeah.
I mean, my story goes that I was laid off
from Metta and I had worked there
for a couple of years and really kind of
made it my whole identity.
So when I lost that job,
I really felt like I didn't have ownership
over my relationship with technology
as a black woman in tech.
And it didn't really sit right with me.
So I decided to take that into my own
hands.
And I was like,
what's the most tech forward
thing that I can just dive into
and learn everything about?
And I chose AI.
This was late 2023.
And so once I started studying
and doing research, I noticed that
there were two narratives like, it's
so great for business and it's amazing.
And then otherwise it's ruthless,
it's bias.
It's, you know, erasing black history.
And I'm like,
why are there two different stories?
So once I was told, you know,
there's nothing you could do about it.
It's a black box of data.
That's my favorite time to ask.
But are you sure not.
That's why I pretty much shine.
And just continuing to ask questions
and push back and come up with solutions.
And chatbot GPT was born
not soon after that.
Yeah, you're a natural disruptor.
Just, you know,
you don't accept what I appreciate.
You don't accept the first answer, right?
Interesting.
You say your identity, and that's
I really resonated when you talked
about your identity and kind of.
You didn't say this, but, projecting.
And if I'm wrong, you can push back,
you know, but after your layoff,
kind of had an initial identity,
kind of crisis on what you wanted to be
and where you wanted to go.
And my guess is it wasn't just tech,
it was with you as a person
because you saw yourself.
And we often see ourselves,
as attached to what we are doing.
Right.
And so I've shared this story
that it also relates to me
like my identity was I before this,
I was in, you know, politics.
I said I wanted to be,
you know, the president, United States,
the first black president, United States,
obviously, I won't be the first black
president of the United States.
And now I have no aim
to be president. Right.
But I used to write, and that was
and my identity was tied up in politics.
And, make a very long story variable.
Got a lot of votes and still lost.
And, you know,
it was hard for me to reconcile that.
But often I tell people,
and I think you've taken this advice
unknowingly, or maybe knowingly,
you did, that your identity isn't tied to
what you do, but to what your values are
and how you have an impact in the world.
Not not, not a position.
And you're getting laid off for meta
didn't make you less worthy
or less smart,
but it often feels that way, right?
It it felt that way. To me.
It feels like a rejection.
And how did you deal with that?
Take your obviously you've recovered well
and it's and it worked out for the best.
Take us through that moment when you went
through that initial identity
crisis or rejection,
or how have you felt about it?
What did you do to take yourself
to move beyond that, to
to be able to, take the next leap into
what's now chat, black TV?
I mean, to be honest, like,
I, I'm very good at recognizing,
cause and effect, like,
analysis.
Like I understood months before I was laid
off that I was going to be laid off.
I got put on a very senior team
because I could hang,
but like, I'm working alongside my manager
and other managers,
just a bunch of managers and managing like
tens of millions of dollars and vendors
of tools that I know are going to be cut.
And it's like if the budgets for
these tools are being cut
and I'm managing the vendor relationship,
where do I fit in?
Right.
So I was you know,
having one on one with my, director.
And I was like, I'm not going to work
any harder than I already am,
because whatever decisions that have been
made are already made.
And I just was very resolute to that.
And she was like, it's
very sobering for you to say that,
and I appreciate your attitude towards
all of this.
It's extremely difficult,
blah, blah, blah.
And so I started my grieving process
while I was still working there.
I went to all the cafeterias.
I touched the felt on the wall
when in the music room,
I stayed late,
I came early, you know, I clicked my badge
a few extra times,
but I knew it was coming.
And, when it all happened, I also knew
I was going to get a severance.
And that was the first time that I had
a lump sum of cash money in my hands.
And I wanted to not waste
the opportunity to just do something.
And I kept hearing this voice in my head
that was like, it's now or never.
Are you actually an entrepreneur?
Because I've had my business license
for years and years and years,
like ten years,
and I never reported any revenue.
2024 I will be the first year
that I report taxable income
and I'm so proud of that. Let's go.
Yeah. So proud of that.
I mean, sure,
it might be half what I was making,
but I still made half of what
I was making from 12 in that there's
nothing to substitute
when you have to go out
and you have to hunt and keep it
like, do not.
I want you to
I do not want you to downplay
the magnitude of what you've done
because it is incredible.
It is not easy to do that.
And most businesses
don't make any type of taxable profit.
Okay.
Like some people like people
get lost in this.
What this actually is because social media
has you worked for meta.
They're good at selling.
The algorithms are good at selling
fantasies.
Yeah. This is hard.
Like and it's like
I mean like there is me.
This is
and this is hard.
So I want you to know that I am
proud of you.
Many are very proud of you.
And I've, seen your work,
and this is just the beginning.
The fact that you're.
I can tell you this without question.
Whatever you did this year, right? In.
I know that if you did that, you can do
triple that with the right approach
and learnings that you get from that.
I promise you, you can.
And then once you get a triple,
you can sense that,
but you are already on your way
and, you know, don't,
don't, don't downplay
what you've already accomplished
because it has been quite amazing.
I really mean that.
I appreciate that.
Yeah.
It's it's, it's definitely in, like,
eye opening,
getting out of the hourly mindset.
Yes, is a huge task.
So, like, getting out of it
and like how I kind of reclaim
my personality and all of that.
I did go to therapy.
I'm ashamed to say that I shouldn't
be right.
I was in I was in there
twice a week for like months.
Okay.
I had to really, like, reset,
like who I am and like, what my what,
what skills, I mean.
And I didn't start to feel better
until I started working
and getting my hands dirty
into and learning how to actually build
and the code and like, the certifications
and like that's when I started to gain
confidence and like, I'm
naturally drawn towards solutions.
So I kind of feel like that's
what brought me back to myself.
Like,
I started the grieving process early.
I went to therapy,
and I was very hands on and immersed
in my new, you know, interest.
So I've kind of coined that.
So, Aaron, I read a little bit
about your background and,
you know, correct me if I'm wrong.
So you
you grew up in a very diverse setting.
So if I'm correct, your father was your father grew up with white was white, right.
Okay.
And I think you've talked about
how that's shaped out of your perspectives
and looking at the world
in an inclusive manner.
Speak about how your experience
growing up in a very diverse
kind of perspective speaks to who you are
and how you approach AI and technology.
Yeah.
So I have a,
blended family.
So I have my stepdad who is a white man,
blond hair, blue eyes, the brown hair.
But he was a blond on,
and then I had my mom, my biological mom.
And so, like, for Christmas
time, we're going to his parents house.
There's boats. We're on the lake.
It's a condo with tall ceilings.
Granite countertops
are making taupe or not.
And then you've got my family
in Saint Louis, Missouri,
where we're, like, pan
fried chicken patties.
And I'm out in Baldwin, Michigan
with my grandmother, who I love dearly.
She's no longer here,
but she's still with us in spirit.
Yes, I'm in hot dog and jello cuts
and it's like,
no matter what environment I was in.
And not to put a juxtaposition
of rich and poor,
because I also had a four floor story,
you know, grandparents
house in Saint Louis, and they had trucks
and a construction company.
But just with the family members
that I spent most time
with, the juxtaposition was very stark.
But I never felt that I loved
one more than the other,
or I never felt more loved by one
or the other.
It was just, this is my life.
And sometimes my dad dropped me off
at school and people are like, who's that?
And I'm like, it's my dad.
And then they're like, oh, you know, oh,
you're this, you're that, blah blah blah.
And like, then my mom would come
and I'd be like, oh, you know,
she talks like you.
And it's just like so many things.
Dismantled and built up who I am today.
Like definitions of,
like, being black in a black household.
I still got black, mom.
But, you know,
I still also had a different perspective.
Absolutely.
That got me into hunting.
And he's, eating, venison chili and deer
jerky, like,
you know, it's just two different cultures
and fish and it's like, right.
Yeah.
They just collided for me
my whole life. So.
And oh, excuse me, I'm curious on because,
because I kind of, in your description,
think about,
like, you probably have some challenges
with some of your peers in terms of them
trying to put you in a box.
That's what I felt like you were getting
to, because I've been through this, too.
Right.
And I wonder how that's both informed you
and how you navigated that.
Right.
Because I had to navigate
the ridiculous definition of what
it's supposed to mean to be whatever
the definition of being black
supposed to mean, whatever
it means to talk black, to be black,
like given your background
and your experience
and how you dealt with, how do you
how did that both inform you?
How did you deal with the,
sure.
Direct criticisms of people
thinking that you're a, you're either
not black enough and then if you're
talking to your white counterparts
that you're also not one of them,
because I'm sure that's a, that's a thing.
That's still a thing.
It was the thing with me, maybe
wasn't thing with you because you're like,
so that
yeah, I definitely, have had some
really traumatic experiences,
you know, like your,
What? Why are you talk so white?
Why do you act like a white girl?
Like it was like a white girl, Aaron.
You know, and then my name is already
not very black.
It's Aaron Reddick.
It is literally not a black origin
that Reddick
and then,
and then you have, white friends.
I was like, into, like,
I don't know, you know, I got I got to,
you know, is they're all white
and they're making fun of your hair
and like,
run their fingers and say,
on the black market, I think it's cool.
Yeah, yeah.
And, you know, certain things
I shouldn't say.
And testing boundaries
and it was just it was very difficult
because I wasn't going to be,
you know, talking to T-Pain.
But I also wasn't being much him.
So it's like I
never danced, you know, like,
but it helps with how it informs
my design for the product,
because when people say, oh, well,
you can't represent the how can you say
represent all, you know, black people,
black people aren't a monolith.
If anybody understand
that, it's definitely also me,
that we're not a monolith.
And so I'm very much I'm open
minded to all walks of black life when,
considering data
and information and stories
and things that are donated for the tool
and how it actually
acts and provides output.
So with I speaking more about that,
because we're talking about like AI is,
it's, it's, it's
what you put in is what you get.
Right
in terms of making sure it's trained,
that you give it the correct information.
And that's why Chat Black GPT
is so important because our perspective
isn't there.
A lot of times it's not the those who are
building, put their perspective first.
Like, it hit like,
you know, as they say, with history, the,
the history is written
by the winners, right?
So on and so forth.
It's kind of true with data too.
But I'm curious, given
some of the challenges in your obviously
with what you're doing, you're taking a
step at addressing some of the challenges.
But what do you see as the greatest
challenge in the future with AI?
And actually,
let me state the question another way.
What do you see as
the worst case scenario
when it comes to AI?
All right, that's the first question.
What do you see as the best case scenario
and how do we make that happen.
Sure.
I think like worst case scenario
with AI is that,
the general public
doesn't have access to it anymore
and we're only subjected to it.
I think that's worst case scenario,
because then we don't have
an opportunity to build.
We don't have an opportunity
to create the technology
in a way
that it can serve our communities.
And we kind of lose our autonomy.
We lose a lot if if we don't
have access to it in order to build it.
And I know that some people might expect
the worst case scenario
is that it takes over the world
and starts killing everyone.
But I think
that scenario exist with or without AI.
Yeah, yeah, I actually think that's
the least likely scenario.
I tell people, if you want to say sci fi
movies, it's less Terminator,
more matrix, right?
It's terms of like like, you know,
with with with Terminator.
It was they took over destroy.
We destroyed the Earth.
Whatever. With matrix.
It was more like the algorithms
were giving people what they wanted.
Right.
And they were for and they and people
were mindlessly following
without without thinking about it. Right.
I think that could be a scenario where
it's where only a few have access to it.
We have digital dictatorships,
and algorithms
are influencing because they already
are to some extent, right.
In terms of how things
are with social media, things like that.
Now with algorithms,
pick it up to a new level.
And knowing
us at a better level
and being able to learn,
it could exacerbate that,
that that issue in that problem,
if we don't have some intentionality
and thought process about it.
So, yeah.
So I guess that that's the worst case
scenario.
I agree with you.
Let's
how do we make the best case scenario?
What is the best case
scenario in your mind.
And how do we make that happen?
I think the best case scenario is that
AI is used to solve,
like basic human rights concerns,
like hunger, housing,
clean water, medicine.
I like using AI to, advance
research faster and help
everybody just live a normal, decent life.
I think that's best case
scenario and best case scenario
as far as let's say that that was already
a standard,
is that people understand how to use AI
to bring out the best in themselves
and really explore and expand
and explode like just who they are
and scale themselves
and what, gifted them with
and how their beauty and talents
can grace
the earth and other people around.
I really think that it should be about
helping us spread our true selves,
rather
than recreating versions of ourselves.
I love that so.
So, I think that was a that was a
it was a mic drop moment.
So it's about spreading our true selves
versus
just recreating or copying things.
I feel like ourselves. That's
that's really that's a gem.
It's a gem.
We have to we're gonna have to have
a mic drop moment for that.
It really is.
I, I talk about that in terms of, like,
I think of it like,
if we had Einsteins, Benjamin Banneker,
you know, other geniuses and others
that were around him,
I wouldn't replace them.
And they're great inventions
and thought processes.
But what it could do is expand or 100 x
what they were able to output.
Right? Right.
Yeah.
That's what I that's how I see it,
because I don't think there's
a lot of concern about like,
it like replacing
all of human creativity,
which I don't think is at least right now,
even even in the realm of possibility,
like, I think artistic intelligence
is what we need to look for.
Not, not artificial intelligence.
It doesn't replace us.
It it done right enhances us.
So let's let's, let's, let's work
through the average person because,
you know, although it seems like it,
most people still probably don't use,
generative AI.
And AI,
at a level that they should
or mostly probably still not at all.
How do you introduce people
through the process?
Like how like what do you do to make sure
you kind of get over that initial
kind of psychological block that I'm sure,
especially if you're dealing
with the black community in particular
that is there, the mistrust, the,
the feeling of like,
oh, I'm not technical, so I can't do this.
So how do you approach those opportunities
and conversations when you, when you,
when you talk about AI?
Yeah, I think that's probably why
my, keynotes and talks are popular
because I, I may get somebody
what's the last person who said there?
But thank you
for making AI less scary for me.
I'm like, I like that.
It's it's it's like when
when people think about coding.
I remember the first time my dad was,
like, moved to Seattle to be a software
engineer.
I'm like, what is software?
I'm like, what do you mean code?
Like, I didn't understand how numbers
and screens like, just make things happen.
Obviously I'm interacting with technology,
but how to create it?
I could not connect those dots
for the life of me
until I started working at it
and actually working at these companies,
and then I can understand.
And I think it's kind of the same for AI.
It's happening, I see it,
but I don't understand how it's doing,
what it's doing.
And so I just break it down
like people say,
that the number one
coding language in the next,
I don't know, five,
ten years is going to be English.
Right.
And and it's because algorithms like it's
words, you're telling it with words.
I break it down like it's like a parent.
Like I is like a child.
The algorithm is like a parent telling
the child, these are your core values.
This is wrong. This is right.
And then the kid is just looking at things
and like taking into the information,
but it's really not organized because it's
a child, but it's just taking it all in.
And it's up to you as a parent
to guide the child
to grow up and do good in the world.
And so that's kind of how I help
break it down for people.
So it's like less scary.
And with the whole thing of so AI is
the child and the algorithm is the parent.
That's how I look at it.
And how do you see the human interacting
with the algorithm with the AI?
So do you mean
like the child,
like interacting with the world around it?
Like, or if it's just so like,
because if I'm hearing you right,
you say the algorithm is guiding the AI.
So I guess to rephrase the question,
because it feels like
it feels like we're getting to that.
We are guiding
the principles around the algorithm.
Is, is that how you see it?
And then that then guides the
AI as a child, right? Yes.
And we have to remember that
we're in charge.
So I always tell them when you start,
don't don't use AI blindly.
Like don't go into it
and expect it to lead you somewhere.
Allow it to help you get where you're
going or help you challenge yourself.
And so what I,
what I say is let AI inform you,
not perform.
You, say it again.
Say that again.
Listen, letting it inform you.
Let AI inform you. Yes.
Not perform. Yeah.
There you go, I like that. Yeah.
So that's how I try to, like,
make it more approachable for people.
And then I show them the back end of,
like, these custom AI engines.
And it's like, it's really not all that.
Now when you build one from scratch,
you know, that's different.
Yeah. Very different.
But the average person can create their
own custom GPT and they don't realize it.
Yeah.
And people have to get like it's just me.
Like a lot of really great points
about the necessity of bringing the
the authenticity of who you are
and understanding who you are first.
AI in a world where everything is
artificial, authenticity reigns supreme.
So think about like you still
this is why, like critical
thinking, understanding principles
and developing your own set of creativity
will not go away.
They'll only become enhanced.
But I think people will think that
they can turn off their brain and use AI.
That's that's not going to work.
And what he could do is that, you know,
I can give you something
where you don't guided appropriately.
You're not clear on what you're saying.
And then you get, you know,
the on the, on the, on the most mild
example, you get a bad answer.
Yeah.
On a horrible example, you know, you get
you get something where it instructs
a customer to to, to
to give to get all your money back or.
But the car crashes because you weren't
clear with how you got to the child.
Yeah.
So this is why your work is so important
I love to talk about.
So we talked about the worst case
scenario. The best case scenario.
When you're
starting off you give people the back end
and you give them the support.
How can we from a systemic level
make sure more people are getting
the knowledge and are getting the access.
That's the first question.
The second question is
what's the one thing
if you had to advise someone right now
that doesn't know anything about AI,
what's the what's the one thing
they can do to really get started?
So for your first question,
I think that recognizing it
from like a standard,
like a, almost like a basic, bare
minimum standard
to have an understanding of AI
in some way should be like a requirement
to graduate high school.
Yeah.
Just because of how prevalent it is
in our day to day lives
and in the future of work, in the future
of their work and their jobs potentially.
I think there should be some
requirement that they know what it is
and what it's doing, and how to use it,
not promoting a specific product,
but just the literacy or understanding.
And I know some school districts
in California already
have those requirements to graduate
and some,
private schools
already have prompt engineering classes.
And it's like you're saying
systematically, I think if we're going
that route, it needs to be a part of
like a typical curriculum,
or at least a very robust lesson
in absolutely math class.
You know, it's math.
It's pretty much what it is. Math.
So, like,
I would even put it somewhere in there,
or like a social science class, like,
if you're looking at it more towards,
like, a public school, those things.
I mean, if you
I mean, go into your point here and it's
I think it should be infused
in, and, and arts
infused and lessons and think about
we have to figure out how we are
now going to approach the world.
Just like when the internet came about.
We had to reorient
how everything was done.
Communication, business payments.
I mean, there's not anything
that this is not going to affect
at a really large level.
I mean, it's and I believe
we're probably undervaluing it in terms
of how we're talking about it.
So when I think about it
in terms of sense, you,
I know you're focused a lot on the black
community too, just as I am to
like our institutions need to move faster.
If I was every HBCU right now,
like you don't have
all the advantages in the world.
Some people have more resources,
obviously because of many reasons
structural, systematic.
But like if I was right now,
I would be doing everything to adopt and
run with how I could differentiate myself
within the I movement.
I mean, every HBCU should be hiring you,
self, Noel and others to help them scale
because this is something they could do
right now to differentiate themselves.
But if you wait, five years is too late.
Right now would be the time to,
to really adopt and disrupt.
Like their approach to education.
So I just want to just the point
you're making is a valid one like this
needs to be implemented
and thought about right now.
But I think people are overwhelmed.
So and then I want to get to a couple
of rapid fire questions and then we'll,
we'll close out.
I'm sure people are overwhelmed
when you breathe that brain,
when you show
all the opportunities with AI,
like when people get to you
and they just feel like they can't start.
Like what?
What do you what do you tell them?
Yeah.
So I mean, I just look at it like a
I try to tell people
if you don't engage with the product,
you become the product.
And it's not about
whether or not you're ready for AI.
AI is already happening to you.
It's a matter of you taking
the opportunity to educate yourself on it
and make yourself a part of the narrative
and AI in your life.
It's like, yeah, you got it.
You got to actually, like, use it and take
advantage of it in the way that you can,
because other people are
and they're getting a lot further ahead.
And that tech divide
is it's not just a matter of,
oh, I don't have a laptop or a computer.
It's I'm not using AI technology at all
in my business or in my school
or teaching my kids. And, that is like
the tech is so much
bigger and dividing so much faster,
except when at least I've created
what I call a culture intervention,
where I'm just creating a safe space
for black and brown communities
to engage with the technology
in a way that is relatable.
Significantly less harmful.
And I really
I only the, the main things that I do is
it's sources from black owned,
content black authored content first,
which makes it a lot less biased
because you're learning from the community
you're asking about.
And, obviously
I teach it principles of like equity.
And, it's also rooted in historical fact.
So all the things that they're banning,
all the classes that they're getting rid
of, critical race theory,
like all of those things
that they want to pretend didn't happen,
is like the heart
and soul of the guarantee that I've got.
So that's why it performs so well.
That makes sense.
And I, I tell people often,
you may not like the system,
but you can't completely opt out, right?
Unless you're just not going
to have any power, any knowledge.
You can't opt out of technology.
You can't opt out of AI.
It's it's too late.
It is too late.
And the future is going to be determined
by those who are building.
So you are like the new civil
rights leader movement.
That's how it's people
that are building in this space.
Because, like you said,
the future is being written.
Narratives are being written and, and,
and a lot of them are not accurate.
And some of them are erasing history.
So we have to be a part of building this.
And it's also influencing
people like you said.
So the only solution is for us to
to get up,
get involved, become builders
and do the work that you're doing.
Okay, a couple of rapid fire questions
I got for you.
So these always trip people up.
So sorry.
Not sorry. Let me give you a couple.
What's an important truth you have that
very few people agree with you on?
Black people are uniquely equipped
to thrive
in this new administration
because things are about to be unfair.
But life's been unfair for us.
This is transparent as a people.
And it may not be fun,
it may not feel good, but you can thrive
and you will thrive
if you allow yourself to.
Especially as an entrepreneur.
And I love it,
I love it, something I you know,
I won't go too down into a rabbit
hole in this, but I'll say this,
I think, you know, when we think
about a lot of these, diversity, inclusion
efforts, I'm obviously
pro diversity, diversity, inclusion.
Right.
What they have been a lot, though,
is a lot of people here at this level
have been a few people have been helped
and I call it diversity inclusion.
But you look at the systemic,
effort, it's not a lot of people
that end up getting contracts.
It was a check the box approach.
And so from that extent,
it really didn't work.
Like we could just be honest.
Like diversity, inclusion works.
The programing of how it was done
was mostly for show.
We can be real.
And most of it it didn't
it didn't help a lot of black communities.
But and that's the reason
why it didn't have that push back.
Now the reasons they're doing it,
I don't agree with. Right.
Because I think they're doing it
for reactionary and
and some of them are bigots.
But, that's one of my truths
that people don't agree with.
Like the diversity, inclusion
and how it was done was not effective,
only helped a few people,
and mostly was a gatekeeping.
Right.
Okay, yeah, I didn't
I don't think it was that helpful.
And that's not from me
being outside of most of my work.
And I don't put it on my profile,
but it was working in Dei department.
Yeah, it's a tolerance machine.
That's right.
And it's like it's like, hey,
just a reminder,
please be nice and a decent human being.
And by the way, all you black people,
I really want you guys to support
and lean on each other.
So how much onus on us to take care of us
without actually giving any, like,
actionable resources
to just be equal sized?
Yes. About virtual deejays
and pizza parties.
Okay.
It's about
how do I get a raise when she got a raise,
how do you not tone police me?
How do you not talk about my hair
or ask me about,
you know, problems
that have nothing to do with me?
An overburdened me with subject matter
that's not related to what
I'm getting paid to do. Yeah,
that's what the where the real equity.
Like we're still working on equal
pay for women. Yeah.
So it's like the Dei.
It was very much like a tolerance machine
that people looked at as an inconvenience.
And I think it perpetuated,
rage because you got engineers
over here working
and then you've got the black whatever.
That's the right.
They're not doing this work, or now
things are behind here
and it's like, oh, well,
they get their day, blah, blah, blah.
And it's kind of like, that's not.
Why do we always get
put in a position where it looks like
we have to be entertained
to stay employed? Oh, oh, please, please.
Preaching to the choir and preaching
oh my God. So like this is.
And then as we get ready to wrap
up, I'll just say this is really
one of my impetus to start a midwest con,
right?
It's not it's and I have nothing against,
any of the other,
and any other, conferences programing.
I'm all for it. I got one coming.
I got two coming on. They're good.
But what I found is that
I wanted us to be in a space where, like,
you know what, I.
There was no diversity.
Inclusion within what? I talk about stuff.
You know why?
Because it's part of who we are
or we don't like.
So then I make sure that when people come
to the stage that they are,
they bring diverse perspective.
Because what has to happen is it has to be
part of the leadership and culture.
It can't be seen as it has to be.
It has to be integral to the organization,
not seen as a side piece,
because then, it, it never really happens
and it becomes a distraction.
And then, you know, we have what we have
now like, and I just think there was a,
there's a better way
for us to move forward. And so,
we definitely need diversity, inclusion.
So I'll be clear on what I'm saying. Yeah.
But how it's been done in
the past has been more token
gating, helping a few people.
It has not been effective.
And that's why we need to
now become builders in the space.
It cannot be enough for us
just to say we have a inclusion program.
We have to be builders
and a part of actually
changing the narrative
and changing the outcome.
And that's why, Aaron,
I am so proud of you. And,
to see the work that you're doing
and looking forward to,
you know, figuring out ways
that we collaborate.
What's the final piece
you'd like to leave folks with in terms of
how do we build a better future together,
and what would you like people to take
away with black ChatGPT?
I just want
it to be looked at as an opportunity
to learn about black people
in black culture, with no consequences,
and use generative AI with same ease
as the people who created the one.
That doesn't really work
for us all the time.
So it's like, if you have a question about
why can't I touch a black person's hair?
Why do people make everything by race?
But you don't have to disrupt
and burden a black person
with these emotionally charged
like questions you can ask chat like GPT
and give us a break.
I think there's nothing
like the let us mind our own business
and do our thing.
And that is exactly what I'm focused on.
And so like you said,
how about you and then black people,
you know, it's actually going to help you
create business plans
or strategies
with systemic oppression in mind.
It's going to actually acknowledge like,
oh, you're
you might run into these hardships
like remember to ask these questions
when you're in this setting
because these are
the things
that are going to be working against you.
It's like a it's like a strategy.
It's like somebody in your corner
who's like, hey, like, this is the world.
Here's how you can navigate it with,
street smarts, I don't know, street
smarts, essentially.
So but but yeah, I want people to use it.
I use it. I'm a fan.
Oh, and I encourage everybody to use it.
Of course I do that. Yeah.
You sound like you surprised.
Like about it. Yeah.
But it's, you know,
like I said, we're going to continue
to build work together for, Aaron Reddick.
Chat black GPT
make sure you check her out.
If you need to book her as a, as a,
as a, as a, as a, as a, as a speaker.
Highly recommended.
She is very knowledgeable,
very entertaining,
and a wonderful person overall
that is working to really make
a difference in the world.
I'm proud to call her a friend
and a fellow disruptor
and looking forward
to working more with you.
Aaron, it's been a pleasure.
Thank you so much for coming on.
Thanks so much. All right.
Hold on one second. There you go. Okay.