We often focus on the bad sides of AI, but what about the good aspects, such as the ability to connect with writers or historical people by feeding their work into a huge language model? Although James Lowry is not a household name, his narrative is part of the black experience in America. Lowry grew up in Chicago, served in the Peace Corps in the early 1960s, and was the first black consultant recruited by McKinsey in 1968.
He has devoted his life to convincing large corporations to invest in historically underserved neighborhoods. He has written a memoir titled “Change Agent” about his life. Kobie Fuller, a general partner at Upfront Ventures, has been experimenting with a customized approach to generative AI, dubbed Kobie AI, in order to reimagine the blog post as an interactive vehicle.
He has been dabbling with a variety of issues, ranging from bartending to marketing emotion. Jim Lowry’s AI for DEI is the most recent. He plugged Lowry’s novel into a big language model to allow people to pose questions on diversity, equality, and inclusion, and the results are astounding. Fuller claims to be able to chat with Lowry whenever he wants, and this technology, in its own way, allows others to do the same.
“The book’s amazing, and this is basically representing the book to you in this interactive fashion where you get to explore all the awesomeness that is Jim,” Fuller told Eltrys in a telephone interview.
Lowry says he wrote the book to tell people about his experiences in the world, but he also recognizes that not everyone will read it, and the AI allows people to understand some of the things he has experienced in his life without having to read 300 pages by simply asking questions.
“I thought this would be a powerful way to share the insights and wisdom I’d accumulated over the years with a large number of people.” People don’t always read the whole book, even if they purchase it, and I’m just saying that I believe leveraging AI in this manner is another extremely strong component of this,” Lowry added.
To get folks started, this AI begins with a prompt:
I’ve dedicated my life to DEI work, and I recognize that the subject is quite sensitive for many people. I’m here to answer any questions you may have and to offer insights from my life’s experience. What are you thinking about?
Then you may ask questions, and the responses are shockingly smart and in-depth, owing to the fact that they are based on Lowry’s real words and acts. Students, historians, DEI professionals, and anybody else who is interested may ask about DEI concerns and receive extensive responses, or they can ask about particular events in Lowry’s life, such as meeting Senator Robert F. Kennedy when serving in the Peace Corps in the mid-1960s.
This allows people to engage with Lowry via his work, which will live on beyond his death and serve as a teaching tool for future generations to understand his experiences as a black man working in American industry.
As Fuller investigates this technology, this is just one use, but it demonstrates the potential of generative AI and how it can be used to assist people in comprehending other people’s experiences, as well as maybe function as a vehicle for communicating with other major historical characters.
