Local AI consultant speaks at library
Temese Szali lives in Astoria and is the CEO of Subtextive, an AI strategy consulting firm. Mr. Szali has worked in the field of artificial intelligence for 20 years at companies such as Google and Bose.
On Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., Zari will host an AI workshop, “AI for Everyone: Understanding and Using It,” in the Flag Room of the Astoria Public Library. The purpose of this talk is to show people how tools like ChatGPT work and what they can and cannot do.
Ahead of the workshop, Astorian reached out to Shari via email to ask about his background in AI and what he hopes people will take away from the workshop. The following conversation has been lightly edited.
When did you first develop your understanding of artificial intelligence?
Short answer: The late 90s and early 2000s were a different generation of AI than today.
Details: I first understood artificial intelligence when I was in graduate school pursuing my Ph.D. in Theoretical Linguistics with a focus on Computational Linguistics and Natural Language Processing (NLP). I dropped out of grad school before finishing my degree to work at a semantic search company. I primarily worked on developing ontologies, which are machine-readable representations of real-world contexts, relationships, and information. After just a few years, I moved on to machine learning-based approaches to NLP and how to use the same kind of human-centered information to enhance, enhance, and improve NLP. It was right around the turn of the century, around the time of the first dot bomb. Since then, I have continued to work at the forefront of applying AI technology to real-world needs, desires, and applications through a human-focused lens, evolving and adapting my approach as technology advances.
Why do you think it is important for people to become familiar with technology?
Short answer: AI is becoming more and more widely used. By becoming familiar with this, people will become more comfortable and able to use and operate it effectively, responsibly and safely.
Read more: AI is already permeating society. It presents many opportunities for those who know how to use or build on it effectively. It also carries the risk of exclusion and prejudice in many ways. There are other dangers, including AI stalling, content and intellectual property infringement, and environmental issues.
AI literacy will become increasingly important in everything from medicine to finance to professional fields. There’s a meme that says, “Your job will not be replaced by AI. It will be replaced by someone who knows AI.” I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but there’s also some truth to it.
There’s also a lot of hype around AI, but I think it’s important that everyone can “sniff and test” it and beat it.
But more importantly, just like people in general, AI is increasingly integrated into our lives. So I think it’s important that people understand some basics of what it actually is, how it’s constructed, the implications of our choices, and if possible use it effectively and responsibly so that everyone can get some benefit while minimizing risk and harm as much as possible.
What do you hope people will take away from this talk?
Short answer: AI is not magic and does not “think”.
Details: We hope most people have a basic understanding of how AI systems generally work. It would be even better if people could understand, in the words of Superman, that with great power comes great responsibility. It is our responsibility to AI to exercise critical thinking, human judgment, and human understanding.
Where do you think the future of technology is headed?
Short answer: The era of generative AI is just beginning. There’s a lot more to it than just generative AI. Overall, I think AI will become more deeply integrated into our daily lives and take on “higher-order” tasks and jobs. So to make that happen, we need to become smarter and more human-centric.
Details: After working in this field for over 25 years, we feel this is just the beginning. AI has many uses in different ways for different uses and potential uses. And what we apply it to and what’s successful will drive at least some of the direction of the technology. For now, this is more of a problem-finding tool than something purpose-built. I think this kind of technology will evolve with a more purpose-built mindset. “Agentic AI,” AI that can solve complex, well-described tasks, will be a big focus and hype in 2026. If you apply it to the right kind of things, you can expect a lot of possibilities. That’s because agent AI (and AI-powered robots) can take over the mechanical, resource-intensive, unfulfilling, or dangerous tasks currently performed by humans. Also, a lot of research is being done to alleviate some of the limitations of AI, which should make it even more reliable. And that’s promising. I think there are many promising applications in healthcare and scientific research. I also think there will be more emphasis on chips and processors and optimizing them. Beyond that, I think there will be a greater emphasis on accountability, sustainability and responsibility in this area.
What made you quit Bose and start Subtextive?
Short answer: I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit and thought there were some interesting opportunities in the near future.
Details: Before joining Bose, I ran a technology startup in Portland. I was starting to miss the entrepreneurial side of the job. And several months before I left Bose, many people in my network asked for my leadership and experience on a consulting basis to address the challenges they were facing. At that moment, I was shocked. Organizations need human-centered AI leadership and sensitivity. It’s not just about writing code. Not all companies have the senior staff to do it, and some may even require permanent staff. But such thinking is necessary at certain points. It can be helpful if it’s an independent third party or someone within your company. This is exactly the “Mary Poppins” model. So I started Subtextive. This gave me a great opportunity to manage an organization through AI product design, strategy, and execution of many projects. All of my work is specifically focused on incorporating real-world, human-centered context into the equation while leveraging new generation AI technologies. And I get to do that while living here in the great community of Astoria.
Is there anything you would like to add before the workshop?
Short answer: Despite its name, this is probably more of a “talk” than a “workshop.” So you can expect some “talk”, but not a detailed technical presentation. Everyone is welcome and we look forward to seeing you at the event.
Details: In addition to “talking”, there are also several aspects of the workshop. I’ll also show you a few things. We’ll also be running an interactive survey at the end to find out what aspects of AI people want to know more about. Most importantly, I hope people learn something they didn’t know before, have a little fun or at least have a chuckle here and there, and get a chance to interact with other members of the community who are interested in this topic. We will also be bringing popcorn for you to enjoy during the event.
