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Can you tell us about your journey in the AI industry and what led you to join SmythOS?
My AI journey began at Amazon in 2019, during my MBA program when I interned as a Sr. Technical Product Manager for the Alexa AI & Machine Learning team. It was the first time I got to work so deeply with AI tech and immediately knew that this was my calling. So, right after my graduation in May 2020, I started researching companies in the AI space. Coincidentally, GPT-3 launched the month following my graduation & I learnt about OpenAI.
One thing led to another and I joined OpenAI’s Trust & Safety team in early 2021. Had an amazing time there for 2.5 years until last June, when I decided to launch my own AI startup. It was an AI Copilot for enterprise and I sold it to a well-known company this March. After exiting my startup as I was exploring what’s next, I got reconnected with Alexander De Ridder, the CTO & Visionary of SmythOS, who I have known since my days at OpenAI.
Our visions were aligned and I could immediately see how SmythOS is changing the game by allowing both technical & non-technical users to safely build their own custom AI agents with complete control over their functions. And that’s when I knew, I had to be a part of SmythOS.
During your time at OpenAI, you played a key role in advancing AI safety and security frameworks. What do you consider your most significant achievements in this area, and how do you plan to apply your expertise at SmythOS?
As AI Trust & Safety team members, our job was to make sure that the AI functionality & its generated outputs are safe for the end-users. And in the early days when the model’s output was not as restricted as it is today, we had to work with the AI developers to manually implement safety mitigations within their application. But over time, as we gathered more usage data, we were able to make the models better & automate the majority of safety mechanisms within our systems.
I plan to help our customers understand the importance of implementing AI agents safely so they can avoid unintended side effects. SmythOS makes it very easy for users as it allows them to have complete control over what specific function an AI agent can perform and what not. This ensures that a junior developer, using an AI agent within your company, does not mistakenly delete the entire database by just giving a bad command to the AI agent.
SmythOS is known for its intuitive, no-code AI orchestration platform. How do you see this approach contributing to the democratization of AI and the empowerment of businesses?
Today, AI has touched every single industry in the world and most companies are trying to find ways to leverage AI to help their business become more efficient. There are thousands of companies from non-technical industries that may not have a full IT department with computer engineers to implement AI technology within their workflow & this is where, SmythOS, a no-code AI agent building platform, allows both technical & non-technical users to build AI agents that can perform any technical task for their business, is democratizing AI & empowering companies to leverage AI without the technical know-how.
As an AI safety expert, what advice would you give to businesses and individuals who are concerned about the potential risks associated with AI technologies, and how does SmythOS address these concerns?
I would say people should educate themselves and their team about the potential risks and ethical implications of AI. Recognize that AI systems can exhibit biases, errors, and side effects. While selecting an AI platform to use, they should prioritize transparency by ensuring there is clear documentation, including data sources and decision-making processes. It shouldn’t be a black box like most off-the-shelf AI Copilots are these days. People should also thoroughly test their AI agents for any biases or unintended consequences if misused by an end-user.
SmythOS handles all these concerns by providing exceptionally detailed documentation, along with video tutorials on how to build your own custom AI agents. You can decide which specific data source should be accessible to which AI agent so there is no data leakage & it also allows the users to fully scope their agent’s functionality & test them thoroughly before pushing into production to avoid any side effects.
As the new Director of Customer Success at SmythOS, what are your top priorities for the department, and how do you plan to ensure that SmythOS delivers exceptional value and support to its customers?
My top priorities are to understand our customer’ needs & help them get the most value out of SmythOS so they can become awesome at their job! I aim to achieve this by streamlining our onboarding process, offering proactive support, and delivering personalized consultations and workshops. By focusing on proactive engagement, comprehensive training resources, and continuous feedback collection, I aim to ensure that our customers effectively leverage SmythOS to achieve their goals.
Additionally, I plan to collaborate closely with the product development team to advocate for customer-centric enhancements and drive product improvements that align with customer needs.
Looking ahead, what excites you most about the future of AI, and how do you see SmythOS contributing to the advancement of the industry while prioritizing safety and security?
The potential of AI to revolutionize industries and improve every aspect of our lives excites me the most. I believe SmythOS is uniquely positioned to contribute towards the advancement of the industry by democratizing access to AI and empowering businesses to build AI agents without the need for extensive technical expertise. This democratization of AI has the potential to accelerate innovation in every industry we know of today.