Oprah Seeks To Spread Some Intelligence About Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence gets the Oprah Winfrey treatment when she hosts an inquisitive, one-hour special on the subject later this month on ABC. But the question is, will it really be Oprah, or an AI version of her? Actually, the TV Blog made up this question. There was nothing in an ABC press release to indicate that the Winfrey we will see on the show is not the real person. But you never know, do you? Or do we? These are some of the questions that will hopefully be addressed in the special, in which Oprah (the real one) will be seen interviewing an array of experts and star entrepreneurs in this exploding field. Titled “AI and the Future of Us: An Oprah Winfrey Special,” the show airs Thursday, September 12, 8-9 p.m. Eastern, on ABC.
Interview Subjects
The list of interview subjects demonstrates once again that Winfrey is TV’s reigning Queen of “Gets,” a word that once referred to an array of sought-after, news-making interview subjects who the top interview stars of network news fought each other for. But today, Oprah is really the only one left with the clout to attract powerhouse interviews. On her AI show, they include:
- Open AI CEO Sam Altman
- Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates
- YouTube creator Marques Brownlee
- FBI Director Christopher Wray
- Novelist/essayist Marilynne Robinson
- Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin, co-founders of the Center for Humane Technology
To Winfrey’s credit, the list of interview subjects represents an attempt at balance. For example, YouTube’s Brownlee is on hand to “walk Winfrey through mind-blowing demonstrations of AI’s capabilities,” ABC said. Altman “will explain how AI works in layman’s terms and discuss the immense personal responsibility that must be borne by the executives of AI companies.” Gates “warns of the once-in-a-century type of impact AI may have on the job market,” and FBI Director Wray “reveals the terrifying ways criminals and foreign adversaries are using AI.”
The last time Oprah took on one of these big subjects was last March when she did a prime-time, one-hour special on “the weight-loss revolution” focusing on the explosion in prescription, weight-control drugs -- the brands that have come to dominate TV advertising.
