Navigating AI Disruption with Waydell D.C. Carvalho

A Conversation on Algorithmic Accountability, Content Strategy, and the Future of Work

We recently caught up with Waydell D.C. Carvalho, an AI project manager with a forward-thinking approach, about the evolving landscape of AI and its impact on legal accountability, workforce development, and content creation. He offered a pragmatic view of how businesses and individuals can adapt to and thrive amidst technological change, and he documents many of his thoughts about the industry at his blog Dailectics Labs, and for the full text, click here.

A few key takeaways:

• The Algorithmic Accountability Act of 2023 doesn’t directly cover AI-generated libel or defamation.
• However, the Act encourages companies to reduce potential harms, including reputational damage from AI, which could lead to liability in the future.
• Carvalho provides examples of reskilling such as “A call center worker learning Python and prompt engineering to transition into data labeling or QA for AI models.”
• He also talks about upskilling saying that a digital marketer can “learn how to use AI content tools like Jasper or GPT to increase productivity, rather than replace their role.”
• Regarding content strategy and SEO, Carvalho notes that “Search is fragmenting. People are getting answers from AI tools, not just Google.”

Carvalho also addressed the broader implications of AI on societal structures, such as education: “One that touches on all 3 will be the need to revamp our education system. We replaced cursive with typing in schools. The education system will have to be changed.” This highlights the necessity for continuous adaptation in our methods of learning and work. Furthermore, he advised, “what an AI ‘knows’ about you is really a reflection of what’s on the internet, not private knowledge.”

To make a point, he often uses comics. As he explained, “The comics can get across big ideas, simply.” The images are AI-generated but he storyboards them and writes the dialogue. He added that the visual style is a Bruce-Timm-meets-cyberpunk that “draws attention but doesn’t distract from the point.”