Zoom CEO Eric Yuan wants AI clones in meetings
1Digest
In this episode of Decoder, Neil Apital interviews Zoom CEO Eric Young, exploring the company's evolution from a video conferencing app to a comprehensive workplace platform powered by AI. Young outlines his vision for a future where AI-powered digital twins can attend meetings and make decisions on behalf of humans, freeing up time for more meaningful activities. He emphasizes the importance of personalized AI models that understand individual needs and preferences, and discusses the challenges of ensuring privacy and security in this new era of AI-driven work. Young also addresses the company's recent restructuring and its commitment to responsible AI development, highlighting the importance of internal testing and user feedback before releasing new features. The conversation delves into the potential impact of AI on the video conferencing market, the role of hybrid work, and the importance of balancing innovation with ethical considerations.
Outlines
Introduction and Sponsors
This Chapter introduces the podcast and its sponsors, The Current Report and HubSpot, highlighting their focus on digital marketing and business growth.
Zoom's Evolution and AI Ambitions
This Chapter begins with Neil Apital introducing Eric Young, CEO of Zoom, and setting the stage for a conversation about the company's transformation and its ambitious AI vision. Young describes Zoom's shift from a simple video conferencing app to a comprehensive workplace platform, encompassing features like chat, email, and live board sessions. He emphasizes the goal of automating tasks and reducing human involvement through AI, ultimately aiming to create a future where people can spend less time on work and more time on personal pursuits.
Zoom's Structure and AI Investments
This Chapter delves into the organizational structure of Zoom and how it's adapting to the company's AI ambitions. Young explains the recent restructuring and layoffs, emphasizing the need for efficiency to free up resources for AI development. He discusses the dedicated AI team, the increasing investment in GPUs and AI engineers, and the company's commitment to integrating AI across various departments, including marketing, sales, and IT.
AI in the Workplace: Privacy, Security, and Ethical Considerations
This Chapter explores the challenges and opportunities of integrating AI into the workplace, focusing on privacy, security, and ethical considerations. Young emphasizes Zoom's commitment to responsible AI development, stating that the company does not use customer data to train its own AI models. He discusses the importance of internal testing and user feedback before releasing new features, and addresses the potential risks associated with AI-powered digital twins, particularly in terms of security and deep-fake technology.
Zoom's Hybrid Workplace and Dogfooding AI
This Chapter examines Zoom's approach to hybrid work and its impact on the company's culture and product development. Young explains the decision to bring employees back to the office, citing the importance of in-person interaction for building trust and accelerating innovation. He emphasizes the need for Zoom to "dogfood" its own products, ensuring that the company's hybrid work features are effective and user-friendly. The conversation also touches on the balance between embracing AI innovation and managing the risks associated with unproven technology.
Keywords
Zoom
Zoom is a video conferencing and online meeting platform that gained widespread popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. It offers features such as video calls, screen sharing, chat, and virtual backgrounds. Zoom has expanded its services to include a comprehensive workplace platform, encompassing features like chat, email, and live board sessions. The company is also heavily investing in AI to automate tasks and enhance user experience.
AI
AI stands for Artificial Intelligence, a branch of computer science that focuses on creating intelligent agents that can reason, learn, and act autonomously. AI is being applied to a wide range of industries, including healthcare, finance, and transportation. In the context of this podcast, AI is discussed in relation to its potential to automate tasks, enhance productivity, and transform the workplace.
Digital Twin
A digital twin is a virtual representation of a physical object or system. In the context of this podcast, Eric Young, CEO of Zoom, envisions a future where AI-powered digital twins can attend meetings and make decisions on behalf of humans. These digital twins would be personalized representations of individuals, capable of interacting with others in a realistic and meaningful way.
Hybrid Work
Hybrid work refers to a work model that combines remote work with in-person office work. It allows employees to work from home or other remote locations for part of the week while also coming into the office for collaboration and in-person meetings. Zoom, as a company, has embraced hybrid work and has developed features to support this model.
Large Language Model (LLM)
A large language model (LLM) is a type of artificial intelligence that is trained on massive amounts of text data. LLMs can generate text, translate languages, write different kinds of creative content, and answer your questions in an informative way. In the context of this podcast, LLMs are discussed in relation to their potential to automate tasks, enhance productivity, and transform the workplace. However, LLMs are also known for their tendency to hallucinate, meaning they can generate incorrect or nonsensical information.
Privacy
Privacy refers to the right of individuals to control their personal information. In the context of this podcast, privacy is discussed in relation to the use of AI in the workplace. As AI systems collect and process personal data, it is important to ensure that this data is handled responsibly and ethically.
Security
Security refers to the measures taken to protect information and systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction. In the context of this podcast, security is discussed in relation to the use of AI in the workplace. As AI systems become more sophisticated, it is important to ensure that they are secure from malicious actors.
Deep-Fake
A deep-fake is a synthetic media, such as a video or audio recording, that has been manipulated to make it appear as if a person is saying or doing something that they did not actually say or do. Deep-fakes are created using AI techniques and can be used for malicious purposes, such as spreading misinformation or damaging reputations. In the context of this podcast, deep-fakes are discussed in relation to the potential risks associated with AI-powered digital twins.
Moore's Law
Moore's Law is an observation made by Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel, that the number of transistors that can be placed on an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. This has led to a rapid increase in the processing power of computers over time. In the context of this podcast, Moore's Law is used as a metaphor to describe the rapid progress of AI technology.
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
Total cost of ownership (TCO) is a financial calculation that takes into account all the costs associated with owning and operating an asset, including purchase price, maintenance, repairs, and disposal. In the context of this podcast, TCO is discussed in relation to the cost of using video conferencing platforms. Zoom argues that its platform has a lower TCO than its competitors, due to its lower support costs and its AI-powered features.
Q&A
What is Zoom's vision for the future of work?
Zoom's CEO, Eric Young, envisions a future where AI-powered digital twins can attend meetings and make decisions on behalf of humans, freeing up time for more meaningful activities. This could lead to a four-day workweek and a more balanced lifestyle.
How is Zoom adapting its structure to achieve its AI ambitions?
Zoom has recently restructured and laid off a small percentage of its workforce to free up resources for AI development. The company has a dedicated AI team and is investing heavily in GPUs and AI engineers. Zoom is also integrating AI across various departments, including marketing, sales, and IT.
What are Zoom's concerns about privacy and security in relation to AI?
Zoom is committed to responsible AI development and does not use customer data to train its own AI models. The company emphasizes the importance of internal testing and user feedback before releasing new features. Zoom is also working on deep-fake detection technology to mitigate the risks associated with AI-powered digital twins.
How does Zoom's hybrid workplace model influence its product development?
Zoom's decision to bring employees back to the office is driven by the importance of in-person interaction for building trust and accelerating innovation. The company believes that a hybrid work model is essential for developing effective and user-friendly tools for remote and hybrid teams.
What is Zoom's approach to managing the risks associated with unproven AI tools?
Zoom takes a conservative and responsible approach to AI development, conducting internal testing and user feedback before releasing new features. The company also uses a default-off approach for some AI features, allowing users to opt-in only when they feel comfortable.
What is the next step for Zoom in its AI journey?
Zoom plans to continue rolling out new AI features, aiming to make its workplace platform more comprehensive and user-friendly. The company believes that its AI features will ultimately help users save time and improve their overall work experience.
How does Zoom address the gap between industry enthusiasm for AI and public skepticism?
Zoom believes that it's important to focus on early adopters and continuously improve AI technology until it becomes mainstream. The company acknowledges that not everyone will embrace AI immediately, but it's committed to making its AI features accessible and user-friendly.
What are some of the ethical considerations surrounding AI-powered digital twins?
The use of AI-powered digital twins raises ethical concerns about privacy, security, and the potential for manipulation. It's important to ensure that these digital twins are used responsibly and ethically, and that they do not violate individual rights or create unintended consequences.
How does Zoom plan to ensure the reliability and security of digital twins?
Zoom is investing in both the creation and detection of digital twins. The company believes that it will be possible to reliably detect deep-fakes and ensure that digital twins are authenticated and trustworthy.
What are the potential implications of a future where people can send multiple digital twins into the world?
The potential implications of a future where people can send multiple digital twins into the world are vast and complex. It raises questions about identity, accountability, and the nature of work itself. It's important to consider these implications carefully and ensure that AI technology is used in a way that benefits society as a whole.
Show Notes
Today, I’m talking with Zoom CEO Eric Yuan — and let me tell you, this conversation is nothing like what I expected. It turns out Eric wants Zoom to be much, much more than just a videoconferencing platform. Zoom wants to take on Microsoft and Google and now has a big investment in AI – and Eric’s visions for what that AI will do are pretty wild.
See, Eric really wants you to stop having to attend Zoom meetings yourself. You’ll hear him describe how he thinks one of the big benefits of AI at work will be letting us all create something he calls a “digital twin," essentially a deepfake of yourself that can go attend meetings on your behalf and even make decisions for you. I’ll just warn you: I tried to ask a bunch of the usual Decoder questions during this conversation, but once we got to digital twins going to Zoom meetings for people, well, I had a lot of followup questions.
Links:
- Zoom gets its first major overhaul in 10 years, powered by generative AI | ZDNet
- An interview with Zoom CEO Eric Yuan | Stratechery / Ben Thompson
- Zoom is cutting about 150 jobs, or close to 2% of its workforce | CNBC
- Zoom meetings are about to get weirder thanks to the Vision Pro | The Verge
- Zoom Docs launches in 2024 with built-in AI collaboration features | The Verge
- Zoom rewrites its policies to make clear that your videos aren’t used to train AI tools | The Verge
- Zoom says its new AI tools aren’t stealing ownership of your content | The Verge
- Zoom adds “post-quantum” end-to-end encryption | Zoom
Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/23932774
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Today’s episode was produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and was edited by Callie Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
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