Rodrigo C. Mahs, J.D.

Turning Pages and Turning Heads: My Journey from Grandfather to Author with Help from UCLA Anderson CEO Forum members and AI. It was my turn to host our UCLA Anderson CEO Forum LA2 meeting. For the host presentation, I decided to present the first rough draft of my book on how to be a grandfather. With my oldest granddaughter being 19 and the youngest being 6 years old, and a total of six grandchildren, I have accumulated a wealth of experience over the past two decades. As part of my legacy, I wish to provide this guide on nurturing grit, smarts, and love in the next generation to grandfathers and those about to become grandfathers. This draft included only the first six chapters and had not been previously read by anyone but myself, so I was understandably anxious about the feedback I would receive. In preparation, I used ChatGPT to help me select the top 10 questions to ask and to create the questionnaire in Microsoft Word format for further editing. I made the reviewers' names optional so respondents could feel comfortable being honest and constructively critical. To my surprise, everyone in our group attached their name to the questionnaire. Some questionnaires were submitted via email in advance of the meeting, while the rest were handed in at the meeting. With twelve members in our group, the responses varied widely, adding to the challenge of aggregating the data and organizing it by priority and action items. To assist in this process, I used ChatGPT Plus GPTs. This was very informative as different GPTs have varying capabilities. For example, one did much better with handwritten responses, while another couldn’t read them at all. Interestingly, a response written in green pen was readable by one GPT but not others. For my host presentation, I had ChatGPT convert the questionnaire into PowerPoint slides, saving me a huge amount of time and requiring only minimal editing. The Q&A session for this presentation lasted about an hour. I recorded it on my iPhone with the group's permission and used Otter.ai to transcribe it. It was only after the presentation that I learned I could have recorded directly to the Otter.ai iOS app, saving a step. I then fed the transcript back into ChatGPT to organize it by priority and action items. This experience was incredibly enlightening, and I am grateful for the excellent actionable input from the group, which I am already starting to implement. While writing this book was originally conceived by me as a hobby project, I have come to realize that I must treat it as a new business venture, giving it the energy, time, and resources it so richly deserves. I look forward to sharing my journey of becoming an author, setting up a self-publishing entity, and launching the book moving forward. #selfpublishing #UCLAAndersonCEOForum #SolomonGrowthAdvisors

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I recently attended an 'offer holder's day' with one of my daughters for a Dentistry degree where one of the speakers talked about training the students to be professionals. She explained that what 'being professional' means can be quite hard to explain but one thing people often know is when it's missing from the service they've received. This theme is repeated in this great interview with Dr. Megan Ma about the potential for GenAI for lawyers. Megan and Richard Tromans discuss what's needed to move from the entry level tools we have now doing tasks for lawyers to those that can work hand-in-hand with us. The frequent answer at the moment is the tools aren't good enough to do what skilled lawyers do - to do "quality legal work". As Dr. Megan Ma says, "what's likely to be the most compelling use case is the ability to unpack our own skills as lawyers and determine what is quality legal work and what is not". At Let's Think we couldn't agree more which is why we're focused on designing technology to access and capitalise on the expert tacit knowledge sitting untapped in our law firms. So great to hear this forward thinking conversation.

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JustiGuide: From Textbooks to Tech - Transforming the Immigration Journey 🌍📚➡️📱 About a decade ago, I made a life-changing decision with just two textbooks. No internet. No videos. Just blind faith as I chose between Chico and Fresno, not knowing what to expect. This lack of information is still a reality for millions of immigrants today. It got me thinking: Desperation: What drives someone to risk everything at the border? The limited options are heartbreaking. 💔 Information Gap: With 2.3 million+ border encounters last year, how many lacked knowledge about safer, legal alternatives? 🤔 This is why we created Relo – a tool I wish I had back then. We're empowering individuals with crucial information about relocation options and legal pathways. Everyone deserves access to clear, reliable immigration information. It's time we bridge this gap. 🌉 Know any organizations working with migrants or individuals seeking relocation assistance? Help us spread the word about Relo! Together, we can empower journeys and create brighter futures. 🤝 #ImmigrationInnovation #TechForGood #MyImmigrantStory

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Leveraging AI to meet emotional needs, insights from recent research A recent study published in the *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences* has unveiled fascinating insights into how AI can effectively enhance emotional support, even outperforming untrained humans in making recipients feel heard. Conducted by researchers from the USC Marshall School of Business, the study not only underscores AI's potential in understanding and communication but also highlights the perceptual biases that diminish its perceived value. Despite AI's adeptness at detecting emotions and offering hope, the study reveals a significant bias: individuals feel less heard when they know a message is AI-generated. This "response bias" suggests that the effectiveness of AI in emotional support roles might be compromised by its identification as non-human. The research also touches upon the "uncanny valley" effect, where the awareness of AI's role in empathetic responses can trigger discomfort. For CIOs, CTOs, and CAIOs, these findings point to a crucial aspect of digital transformation—how AI is integrated and presented in organizational structures can significantly influence its acceptance and effectiveness. As AI becomes a more integral part of our social and professional ecosystems, understanding and mitigating biases against AI could enhance its utility, making it a valuable tool for fostering human connection in increasingly digital landscapes. Action Plan — Educate and Train Increase awareness and training sessions within your teams to reduce biases against AI-generated support. Strategic Deployment Integrate AI in ways that complement human roles, emphasizing its strengths without overshadowing the human element. Monitor and Adapt Regularly assess user feedback to adapt AI tools for better personalization and effectiveness. #DigitalTransformation #AI #EmotionalIntelligence #Leadership #TechForGood https://lnkd.in/gekVckKy

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#NotToday The regulation gap is widening as California Governor vetoes SB 1047 AI bill in its softened version. Voices of giants like OpenAI, Meta and Anthropic no doubt heavily influenced the decision, while every day counts in the race for competitive advantage. Good news for tech, bad news for EU AI champions. Although not for today, the bill should pull through in the coming months. While vetoeing, Governor Newsom gives a roadmap for an acceptable bill: scope reduction to AI systems deployed in high-risk environments, involving critical decision-making or using sensitive data. I am impatient to see where California will land on the question of large models versus applications regulation, knowing US leaders already own more than 30% of the LLM market.

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A new ranking of startups ranks University of California, Berkeley #1 for graduates founding venture-backed companies compared to other universities in the world. The report also reveals that #women who graduated from #Berkeley (or "Cal") are a growing force in the startup landscape. Berkeley was ranked: - #1 for female graduates who started businesses. - #1 for female-founded companies. - #1 for the amount of capital raised by women. Well done #Cal! #GoBears!

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We still have time (or do we?) to think carefully about how and when we use AI in the classroom. What do we think about this all-in use in an intro course?

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What I Read This Week... - SF Union Square to Host Nintendo Store in 2025: A new Nintendo store is set to open in San Francisco's Union Square, promising to be a major attraction and potentially revitalizing the area. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g2nQJBwc - Scarlett Johansson vs. AI Firms: An interesting commentary on the challenges even high-profile celebrities like Scarlett Johansson face in holding AI firms accountable. Read more:https://lnkd.in/gw-famew - OpenAI's Team for Controlling Superintelligent AI: OpenAI created a team to control superintelligent AI but reportedly allowed it to wither, raising concerns about future AI governance. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ghsrNSi4 - SFUSD's Budget Shortfall: The San Francisco Unified School District is facing a significant budget shortfall, posing a serious fiscal challenge for the future. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gQ2QZXz2 What did you read this week?

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As someone with a science background, I’ve always been fascinated by how we can use AI to support science research and application. When discussing AI and science, one has to mention Prof. Jennifer Doudna, a Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry and one of the most influential scientists of our day, who’s made a tremendous impact on CRISPR/Cas9-related research and development. Doudna has also been sharing how machine learning tools like AlphaFold2 can be used to predict protein structures, aiding biological research. Even today, lots of things are already a reality. For example, one AI technology, similar to ChatGPT, is creating blueprints for DNA-editing tools, promising more precise and faster gene editing. Soon, it could revolutionize disease treatment by targeting specific genes, leading to better outcomes for genetic disorders​. Bright future ahead! If you’re curious to learn more on the topic, check the link in the comments.

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IMPORTANT: CALIFORNIA SB 1047 THREATENS AI IN CALIFORNIA AND AI DEVELOPMENT FOR ALL WHAT IS SB 1047? California Senate Bill 1047 (SB 1047) is the “Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act” passed Feb 27, 2024. Problems · “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail” · “Creating an ‘AI Agency Scheme’ will hamper AI development (in California) and hurt CA economically and AI development for all everywhere · California has always led in technology, SB 1047 will put California last in AI · California the Golden State >>> NOT the Doomer State “Regulating advanced AI models in California” What is in 1047? "Covered models" - large AI systems trained above certain compute and cost thresholds (over $100 million) YET A CHILLING EFFECT ON ALL AI INVESTMENT INITIATIVES ENTREPRENEURS AND SMALLER COS What does 1047 require? 1. Full shutdown capability for AI models (an "off" switch) 2. Government mandated safety and security protocols 3. Third party compliance audits beginning 2028 4. Compliance certifications to a NEW DEPARTMENT - the Frontier Model Division within the Government Operations Agency 5. Penalties, fines, injunctions, more 6. “Whistleblower protections” for “reporting parties” 7. Collection of customer data by the state for computing clusters (i.e. not just large models) Targets: “unreasonable risk of causing "critical harm" Status? Feb 2024 Passed California Senate July 3 Second read, amended, re-referred to Appropriations. Aug 15 Hearing in Assembly Appropriations Committee Aug 19 (MONDAY) may be killed if doesn’t get out of Appropriations IF NOT VOTE BY FULL ASSEMBLY SCHEDULED AFTER AUGUST 19 For/Against? FOR SB 1047 Sen. Scott Wiener, author and sponsor Sen. Roth, Rubio, and Stern (co-authors) California State Senate bipartisan support Silicon Valley outsiders, (EU doomer template) AGAINST SB 1047 Reps Lofgren, Khanna Fei-Fei Li “Godmother of AI” Neil Chilson, Head of AI Policy, Abundance Institute Kristian Stout, Director of Innovation Policy, International Center for Law & Economics Lisa B. Nelson, CEO, ALEC Action Daniel Castro, Director, Center for Data Innovation Adam Thierer, Resident Senior Fellow, R Street Institute Jessica Melugin, Director, Center for Technology and Innovation, Competitive Enterprise Institute Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) / Anjney Midha Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) Many startups, founders, scientists, and investors in the AI community What can you do? 1. Share information with friends 2. Contact list above and offer your support 3. Contact your Representative https://lnkd.in/gFwsU3de

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Brad Gerstner’s Invest America initiative is focused on addressing the growing wealth gap in the U.S. by creating long-term financial stability for future generations. The basic idea is to set up investment accounts at birth for every child born in the U.S., starting with a $1,000 contribution from the government, invested in the S&P 500. This initiative would allow each child to benefit from compound growth over time, providing a financial foundation as they grow up. It’s far less expensive than some of the expanded child tax credit proposals (which could also be great!), and deepens the connection between young people and overall U.S. economic growth and productivity. The goal is to create more equitable access to wealth-building opportunities, especially for lower-income families, while promoting financial literacy. Invest America is working now on nonpartisan coalition building and support from business and nonprofit communities, with the goal to propose legislation in early 2025. Check out the great Prof G Markets podcast below or the initiative website here: www.investamerica.org

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This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . To help us get new and valuable insights into the future of work is Matt Beane, Assistant Professor in the Technology Management Program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has spent over a decade doing extensive field research on how workers, organizations and even AI defy norms and rules in the 21st century.  His new book: The Skill Code: How to Save Human Ability in an Age of Intelligent Machines, was just published by Harper Business, and he has given you a special deal as a listener, to get a free copy of the first chapter, by going to https://lnkd.in/gTWMijSg. The book lays out a plan for us to protect our skills and by extension the human connection between experts and novices (which is the foundation of skill-building) even as AI continues to take hold in our lives. In this first part, we talk about how Matt studied surgeons in operating rooms for his PhD thesis and saw the effects that the introduction of a robot surgical system had in stifling the time-honored process of mentoring new surgeons, and generalized this to other fields, and observed the rise of “shadow learning,” where people bend or break the rules to get the learning they need.  All this plus our usual look at today's AI headlines. Transcript and URLs referenced at HumanCusp Blog.          

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This new tool will be interesting to see how it does. A use of #AI in law that may be very impactful.

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I’m interested in how AI is impacting law practice. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued guidance on how to determine inventorship when AI was involved in creating the invention. In 2022, in Thaler v. Vidal, the Federal Circuit held that “only a natural person can be an inventor, so AI cannot be.”  So, how can something developed by AI be patented? ·      The guidance reaffirms the Federal Circuit decision: Named inventors must be “natural persons.” A non-human, such an AI system, cannot be listed as inventor, even if it was “instrumental” in creating the invention. ·      A person named as inventor must make a “significant contribution” to any AI-assisted invention. ·      This is determined by existing inventorship law: The inventor must contribute in some significant way to the invention’s conception or reduction to practice. ·      USPTO gives an example: A person who merely 1) recognizes the need for a new design to solve a specific problem, 2) prompts an AI system to create a design, and 3) reviews the design outputted by the AI system, has not made a significant contribution. ·      On the other hand, a significant contribution “could be shown by the way the person constructs the prompt in view of a specific problem to elicit a particular solution from the AI system.” ·      These distinctions could be difficult to make in practice. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in real world examples as AI develops and its use in creating inventions increases. ·      The USPTO guidance tells us that inventors using AI should be prepared to demonstrate, with supporting documentation, the specific things they did to contribute to the invention and how AI was used to assist. https://lnkd.in/g6gx_eTV #artificialintelligence #technology #AI

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As the former Google CEO and co-author of Genesis, Eric Schmidt dives deep into the dual-edged nature of AI—its potential to revolutionize healthcare, climate change, and warfare, while posing critical risks through proliferation and misuse. This isn’t just a tech story; it’s about how humanity shapes - and will be shaped by—its most powerful creation yet. “The Europeans will over-regulate. The Chinese will regulate in a Chinese way. The U.S. will under-regulate. … So what happens when an evil terrorist gets full access to one of these things? We need to prevent that.” - Read Eric Schmidt’s important new book Genesis: https://amzn.to/3CAqgwQ - Listen to the 3 Takeaways podcast episode Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt on AI: Shaping the Next Era of Humanity https://lnkd.in/eUi3dpyZ Hachette Book Group Schmidt Sciences #3Takeaways #Interview #Podcast #AI #AGI #ArtificialIntelligence #EricSchmidt #FutureOfAI #AIInnovation #AIRevolution #AIandEthics #AIinBusiness #AIinHealthcare #AILeadership

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Jason Shull, Scott M. Kelly, and Joshua Davenport led an important discussion today on approaches to IP in an AI-driven landscape. 1 ***Define the tool to claim the work.*** We must clearly define AI’s Role in our inventions. Josh emphasized that entrepreneurs should be precise in distinguishing between AI-assisted and AI-generated outputs in their IP filings. Clear definitions can protect against legal ambiguities and help secure rights to valuable innovations. 2 ***Your work must stand apart from the machine.*** We must document our contributions and AI’s involvement. Both Scott and Josh stressed the importance of documenting the human role in the creative process – it’s crucial in proving authorship and invention in both patent and copyright applications, especially if AI was a significant part of the development process. 3 ***Secure each step along the journey*** Use multiple stages for IP protection. For products refined through AI, Josh suggested filing for protection at various stages of development. This can provide a safety net if AI contributions in the final version complicate IP claims, ensuring earlier versions remain enforceable if needed. 4 ***Novelty without inventorship is an orphaned idea.*** We must balance innovation with legal practicalities. Scott’s reflections on human inventorship highlighted that a truly novel, AI-generated idea may lack enforceable protection if human contribution is insufficient. Entrepreneurs should ensure their creative influence guides AI-generated inventions to retain ownership. 5 ***The rules are shifting as fast as the tech.*** We must stay informed on regulatory changes. Jason’s and Scott’s comments on evolving IP regulations emphasized the need for entrepreneurs to stay updated on legal guidelines around AI. Compliance with current IP laws and proactive adaptation to new policies will safeguard IP and ensure its commercial viability. Thank you Steven Zylstra and team at the Arizona Technology Council and Banner Witcoff for sponsoring and hosting, and Jason, Scott, and josh your thought-provoking insights!

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Is generative AI doomed? I attended a discussion led by Professor Eric Goldman, Director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University.  Eric is also a former Cooley Associate in Tech Transactions. Eric gave us his take on the similarities and differences between how the Internet and Generative AI were received.  He believes that we are at the beginning of a “regulatory tsunami” to put governance around AI. His belief is that AI may displace workers and will have emotional and business consequences at levels never before seen.  On the other hand, he believes that AI creates new opportunities for creativity and opens opportunities to a broader scope of users. Eric listed that in the 1st 38 days of 2024, over 400 bills for AI regulation were submitted.  By contrast, when the internet was starting out, there were little to no regulations submitted.  This is a huge dichotomy where regulators are intervening and hitting hard early in the life cycle of AI.  It will not enjoy the same “honeymoon” period that the internet got. Eric called out 3 types of regulations: 1 - the “stupid” regulation.  Where people are throwing out regulations without understanding the product, or the potential ramifications if passed 2 - the “sensorial” regulation - regulating AI outputs based on how they make people feel.  Regulating sensorial AI involves addressing ethical and regulatory considerations related to privacy, data security, bias mitigation, and societal impact 3 - the “partisan” regulation - this one is used to advance partisan agendas and used to try and block or advance the regulation based solely on one's political position How do you see the future of generative AI?  Doomed or the sky's the limit?

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I recently had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Federica Fornaciari, Ph. D. on our "People and AI" podcast at Armilla. I'm always excited to engage with experts who bring fresh perspectives to the intersection of technology and society. Dr. Fornaciari, a professor and academic program director at National University, shared her invaluable insights on media studies, political communication, and privacy in the digital age. Our conversation covered crucial topics including: - The ethical implications of media and technology use - Contrasting privacy perspectives between the EU and US - GDPR's impact and the potential need for similar global frameworks - The risks posed by AI algorithms in creating echo chambers and propagating misinformation As we navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of AI and its societal impact, discussions like these are more important than ever. I'm grateful for the opportunity to facilitate these important conversations through our podcast. Let's continue to stay curious and engage in meaningful dialogue about the future we're building with AI. What are your thoughts on these topics? I'd love to hear your perspectives in the comments below. #AI #MediaEthics #DigitalPrivacy #TechAndSociety #ArmillaPodcast #EUAIAct

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