Talk To Me Petey D

How do AI systems magically understand what’s going on in the image you uploaded? Turns out there is an army of low-wage human workers behind the scenes that is required to make this happen. In this episode I attempt to shed some light on these workers, sometimes called data labelers, but often referred to as Ghost Workers. These ghosts are very real, and it behooves us to get to know them and the...

You don’t have to be an engineer to understand how AI works and affects our world. Read these five books and you’ll know more than 90% of people. 1. The Means of Prediction: How AI Really Works (and Who Benefits) by Maximilian Kasy Read this short and to the point book and you’ll understand how AI works and how its builders shape the direction of their technology. 2. Atlas of AI by Kate Crawford L...

AI Ethics and Responsible AI are fields that attempt to make AI function in alignment with societal values. Or you could look at the goal as limiting the risk of harm being caused by AI-backed systems. The question I want to explore today is that can we ever truly have an “ethical” or “responsible” AI solution if the technology stands on an unethical foundation? The sins we'll examine: • Non-...

Professional networking is often described as essential for career growth, learning, and opportunity. Yet many people hesitate to reach out because they feel they need to offer something of equal value in return. In this episode, I explore a different way of thinking about networking: through the lens of the gift economy rather than the traditional market economy. Inspired by ideas from Braiding S...

Are you struggling to find meaning at work in a world of layoffs, AI disruption, and constant change? In this episode of Talk To Me Petey D (TTMPD) , I explore one of the most important drivers of professional fulfillment: meaning . When work feels connected to purpose, we experience greater satisfaction, resilience, and well-being. The same challenge that feels exhausting when disconnected from p...

AI is often marketed as the ultimate productivity booster—but is more activity really the same thing as more value? In this episode of Talk to Me PD, we explore the difference between real productivity and performative productivity in the age of AI. Drawing on concepts from economics, knowledge work, and organizational behavior, he examines why the metrics we choose to measure can dramatically inf...

What happens if AI turns out to be more expensive than we think? For years, large language models (LLMs) have been treated like low-cost cloud services. But what if today's pricing is heavily subsidized? What happens when AI costs rise and organizations are forced to rethink their strategies? In this episode of Talk To Me Petey D, I explore 10 predictions for a future where AI and LLM inferen...

Knowledge workers—especially people managers—feel constant pressure to stay on top of everything happening across their teams, companies, and industries. AI promises a solution: summarize everything, surface what matters, and eliminate the fear of missing out (FOMO). But does it actually work? In this episode of Talk To Me Petey D, we break down the reality: Why AI can’t solve the “infinite buffer...

What does “Responsible AI” actually mean—and why does it matter for builders, leaders, and users of AI systems? In Episode 58 of Talk To Me Petey D , we break down the six core principles of Responsible AI and explore how they apply across the full lifecycle of AI systems—from design and development to deployment and ongoing operations. Responsible AI isn’t just theory—it’s an industry best practi...

AI data centers are at the center of today’s technology boom — but what are they, really?  In this episode of Talk To Me Petey D, I break down the fundamentals of AI data centers in plain language: what they are, how they work, why companies are spending hundreds of billions of dollars building them, and what it all means for jobs, the economy, and local communities.  We go beyond the headlines an...

Can AI really replace a human therapist? In this episode of Talk To Me Petey D , we continue the AI Literacy series by digging into one of the most sensitive and high‑stakes domains for artificial intelligence: mental health . We look back at ELIZA , the earliest AI “therapist” from the 1960s, and trace how its lessons still apply to modern large language models like ChatGPT. While today’s systems...

What does AI literacy really mean—and why does it start with marketing ? In Episode 55 of the Talk To Me, Petey D Podcast , I kick off a new AI Literacy series by exploring how the term artificial intelligence was born, how it has been marketed since 1956, and why that history still shapes AI hype, fear, investment, and policy decisions today. AI literacy isn’t just about learning how models work....

Disengagement at work is rampant. In this episode we explore why connecting our work to purpose is so important. This is a big challenge; I am fortunate to be joined by Dani G, a leadership coach, to unpack the issues together. Dani’s details: https://www.withinsightdev.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-giannone-b97b3770/   Content mentioned: Sheryl Richardson - https://cherylrichardson.co...

We explore how to craft your own executive presence in the age of remote work and video calls. How you present yourself influences how you are perceived. Being intentional allows you to control your own narrative.    Book: https://www.amazon.com/People-Management-Ground-Up-Aspiring/dp/B0DBGQ57XT LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pete-dempsey/ Website: https://peterdempseywrites.com/ Newsletter...

·         Managing stress to prevent burnout ·         Boundaries and breaks ·         Early to bed, early to rise ·         Pressure release ·         Start each interaction fresh ·         Give stress time to fade ·         End of day reflection ·         Sleep on it before taking action ·         Breathe ·         Schedule around stressors ·         Gratitude ·         Sustainable high-performa...

Everyone can build an identity as a reader. We’ll cover a few simple techniques you can apply to your own reading practice. Beginner: Short interval reading, once or twice a day Intermediate: Always have a book with you. Read multiple books concurrently. Advanced: Read for longer stretches on a flight or at the pool on vacation. 

Behavioral interviews test your ability to articulate our cultural values and how you live them in the real world. I offer up some advice from my years of experience interviewing for a diverse set of roles. The behavioral interview is important for any role, but it is especially important for people manager and leadership roles. Book: https://www.amazon.com/People-Management-Ground-Up-Aspiring/dp/...

When our consumer devices become nodes in a mass surveillance network, we have the opportunity to influence privacy rights with how we spend our consumer dollars. In this episode I talk about my personal choice to remove my Ring doorbell camera and replace it with a more privacy preserving option. Your Data Will Be Use Against You https://nyupress.org/9781479838288/your-data-will-be-used-against-y...

My study guide to prepare business leaders and managers to pass the Microsoft AB-731 Certification. While parts of the test are Microsoft specific, this knowledge applies across all AI solution providers.

AI will evolve and replace human skills Progress is inevitable. AI will keep getting “better” AI requires an entirely new and different skill set AI is a general purpose technology

The U.S. Government is moving from deregulation tech to actively providing national sponsorship to support AI companies. This investment is propping up GDP in the short term and has started a new tech cold war with China. Data and Society Paper - https://datasociety.net/library/the-big-ai-state/   This Machine Kills Episode - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/443-behold-the-big-beautiful-ai-st...

I am a passionate technologist as well as a parent. Our kids are growing up in a world ubiquitous with technology. Some of it good, some of it distracting, and some that is outright parasitic. Trying to control the technologies our kids get exposed to is a daunting task. I’m sharing some of my successes with a few failures along the way. You won’t be perfect, but you are not powerless.   Principle...

Skilling – training a worker to do a specific task Skilling is work-oriented, discrete, and measurable. Skilling is necessary but not sufficient. Skilling isn’t as durable as general-purpose learning: critical-thinking, leadership, and empathy. A kind learning environment builds skill by practicing the activity alone. A wicked learning environment has unclear or incomplete rules, there may or may...

1.Networking 2.Individual Job Research 3.Personalized Job Search 4.Career Development Plan Networking Prompt: “look at [ur] find every person and organization mentioned. then find if each person and each organization has a linkedIn profile and a bluesky profile. create a table for organizations with columns "name", "LinkedIn" and "Blue Sky". create a table for people...

Grok/X has finally relented and turned off the ability allowing X users to Grok's generative AI to sexualize images directly on the social platform. We’ll unpack the harms caused and why this is different than existing deepfake tools.   Find Me: Book: https://www.amazon.com/People-Management-Ground-Up-Aspiring/dp/B0DBGQ57XT LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pete-dempsey/ Website: https://...