Understanding AI: AlixTalks with Simon Freakley, Michael Kratsios and Amna
Nawaz
With Simon Freakley, CEO, Alix Partners, Michael Kratsios, Managing Director at Scale AI, and
Amna Nawaz, Co-Anchor of PBS NewsHour
00:06
Amna Nawaz
Hello, everyone, and welcome to another edition of AlixTalks, the series in which business and
thought leaders gather for conversations about leading through, managing and anticipating change
in a global economy driven by intensifying cycles of disruption. Today, we're going to be focused on
understanding artificial intelligence and what it means for the future of business. I'm Amna Nawaz,
co-anchor of the PBS NewsHour, and I am delighted to be here today in conversation with two
leaders you already know very well. Simon Freakley is the Chief Executive Officer of AlixPartners.
Simon, good to see you.
00:41
Simon Freakley
Great to see you, too. Thank you.
00:43
Amna Nawaz
And Michael Kratsios is Managing Director of Scale AI and formerly the fourth Chief technology
officer of the United States. Michael, how are you?
00:52
Michael Kratsios
Great. It's great to be here. Thank you.
00:54
Amna Nawaz
Excellent. So, just a quick note to our audience out there. Thank you for joining us. We are going to
be taking your questions in real time. So, if you want to add them into the chat, I'll try to work them
into the conversation. And if there are a few others, I'll save them for the end of the conversation,
and make sure to get you answers to the questions that you have.
But, gentlemen, let's jump in here, because there is a lot of conversation, a lot of fear and concern
around issues of AI, I can say certainly in media and journalism, a lot of questions. So, after the
release of some early platforms like ChatGPT, there was a lot of excitement, but there was also some
panic. There were headlines like, should we fear AI? And is AI coming for your job? There is sort of a
pervasive sense of skepticism around some of these conversations. So, Simon, let's begin with you.
Are you hearing that same kind of concern and skepticism among business leaders? What's the
general attitude around the AI conversation right now?
01:52
Simon Freakley
Amna, I think you captured it in your opening remarks. I think there's excitement and there's