Joe Nigro poses at a viewing platform near the wharf in Stonington Borough on June 5, 2023.Photo credit: Lee Howard
Artificial intelligence is not the nuisance many imagine it to be, local entrepreneur Joe Nigro recently told me at the Stonington Harbor Yacht Club.
Nigro, the CEO of Maslow Capital, is a rare figure in the space. He is a 37-year-old businessman who makes a living by helping build companies that rely on AI technology.
Just recently, a Suffolk University graduate learned that technology similar to that used by the well-known AI company Chat GPT could help homeowners troubleshoot and repair dishwashers, refrigerators, dishwashers, and more. In anticipation, I started a new business compiling information about large appliances in people’s homes. stoves and other household items.
“It’s an engine,” Nigro said of the AI technology he employs. “Engines are built, but they must be used. If they are not used, they are not productive.”
So the best thing from a Negro point of view is to use technology. Because this is how machine learning works. The more information you enter and the more questions you ask, the better.
“I strongly believe that everyone should be interested in AI, find ways to incorporate it into their daily lives, learn about it, and see how it can benefit their personal and professional lives. he said. “The problem I see is that people are terrified of taking advantage of this rapidly evolving technology (without knowing) that it is so beneficial to them in so many ways.”
Nigro said a recent petition from the Institute for the Future of Life urging the United States to suspend the use of its most powerful AI systems for six months until it is confident its effects are positive and risks are mitigated. I will not sign the document. Manageable. ” For him, the future of AI is part of the future of humanity.
Nigro, whose business is named after the famous psychologist who proposed the human hierarchy of needs, said he was trying to follow Maslow’s philosophy of focusing on what’s most important in life. . He followed this philosophy and moved to his current residence, Stonington. Stonington is basically the town I chose on the map because it has an excellent education system and is halfway between Boston and New York, where he has his main business.
Shortly after moving to town, my Negro dishwasher started leaking. And when the handyman showed up to fix it, he didn’t have the right parts. and on and on. Conclusion: It’s been several weeks and nothing has been fixed.
Using his background in AI, Nigro entered information about the model and year of the dishwasher from an 86-page manual he found on the internet and quickly found a solution at no cost. He entered answers to some troubleshooting questions and let the AI suggest simple solutions, and it all happened.
“We fixed the problem in 15 minutes,” said Nigro. “He told me exactly what to do.”
And that’s the beauty of AI. No need to know how to write code. You treat your machine like an old friend who has knowledge on a particular topic and uses simple language prompts to explain the solution.
“We are using AI to solve real-world problems,” said Nigro, who sees the technology as “the next wave of affluence for citizens around the world.”
He’s not ignoring concerns about AI. He acknowledges that guardrails are needed and that AI can create fake stories just as easily as true ones. But in Nigro’s view, the lure of AI is so strong that the potential for AI to do good is too strong to ignore.
“It should empower people,” he said. “It’s going to be a prosperous decade. It’s a great time for consumers.”
And that’s his superpower, says friend and fellow tech investor Peter Black. He lives in Los Angeles and advised Negro when he started Work Today when he was in Los Angeles.
“His enthusiasm is contagious,” Black said in a telephone interview. “So he’s been effective both in recruiting teams and building investor interest. … He’s one of the best hustlers I know. If there’s anything he doesn’t know , he will find it…. He is also a very likable person.”
The first AI company founded by Mr. Nigro in 2012 was called Handy, of which he had ownership as general manager. The company, which connects homeowners and handymen, was later sold to Angi.
He then joined HomeHero in 2015 as Vice President of Growth. The company, which helped families find in-home assistance for seniors who needed personalized care, was later sold to Family Directed.
Also in 2017, he founded WorkToday, an AI-based business that connects blue-collar workers with jobs. The business was eventually sold to IAC Inc., a holding company focused on media and internet.
And most recently, he set out to create FIY.ai, an assistant for diagnosing problems with consumer electronics. He was the founder and CEO of both FIY.ai and WorkToday.
“I’m an entrepreneur,” he said. “I found a bug.”
Now married and with a one-year-old at home, he is also an avid AI advocate, admitting that AI is a somewhat hot political issue these days. He wants to set up a business collective in Connecticut to discuss AI issues and find like-minded people interested in expanding job opportunities in the industry.
“This is the iPhone moment,” he said, referring to the major shift in technology history that AI heralds. “I think there’s a business opportunity in southeastern Connecticut. … I want to build a network. A person’s smarts are determined by his network and who he surrounds himself with.”
And he said the great thing about AI is that you don’t have to be particularly tech savvy. All you need is curiosity. That’s because the AI gets better the more questions it asks.
“You only get out what you put in,” he said.
And it sounds far from artificial. Sounds just like real life.
Lee Howard is The Day’s business editor. Please contact l.howard@theday.com.
