Garnet S. Heraman’s Post

Since moving to Laguna Beach in 2019, I’ve met and befriended some amazing business leaders in SoCal: Kimberly Davis King and Gary Benitt in San Diego; Tonya Williams Bradford in Irvine; Sue Toigo and Joss Tillard-Gates in LA. The list is too long to complete. So I’m super excited to be joining Ric Franzi on Critical Mass Business Talk Show on July 17 2pm PST to share my experiences and contribute to the collective knowledge base here in OC. Critical Mass is Orange County, CA's longest-running business talk show, focused on offering value and insight to middle-market business leaders in the OC and beyond.

Mandatory read from Kellogg Insight today, especially during this already troubling #election year. As an American voter, you know how it is: intense political campaign ads, fliers and constant texts/e-mails from candidates, heated political discussion amongst co-workers, friends and family. This year, though, you should be prepared for AI-generated #deepfaked images, and audio — there’s already lots of #false information being spread on the internet lately, and without some #AI literacy it will be even tougher to discern the truth from fiction. This article goes deep into the history of deepfake technology, how to recognize it, and how to protect yourself from being fooled by malicious content. Be alert, use common sense, and use your brain!

This is a shameless plug for a friend’s new children’s book- ‘Bo Gotta Go.’ I’ve known Mark R. for years now and we’ve worked on multiple projects including a podcast and a startup. His humor, kindness and love of dogs imbue this book with a charm and whimsy that speak to little tykes and big tykes alike. Purchase it on Amazon here: Bo Gotta Go https://a.co/d/03U1tpsw

Here’s some Monday wisdom published by Mohammed Ali Vakil from Sufi Comics today. As a businessman, I struggle a lot with the exact topic this comic is confronting. The modern way of life is obsessed with #efficiency. How can we accomplish more in less time and money? Should I be doing even more with time? There is a beauty to productivity, but sometimes you will find inner #peace in complete #silence. The last panel in particular is important. It’s essentially a hierarchy of needs. Without moments of silence, you cannot prepare your heart for reflection or understanding. It inhibits your ability to ponder and think about what your values are and the person you want to become. I still admire and value people who work hard and have a strong work ethic, but I also think it’s important to be in touch with your #spiritual self too. If you can, make some time today to have a moment of #stillness, and be in touch with your own heart.

Great post today from PostHog about the concept of “product-market fit” making an analogy to a gaming perspective — that finding product-market fit is something that takes numerous levels in the process. It’s about making a significant enough #product that will solve issues for certain consumers, keeping your consumers happy with repeating #business with your company. Sounds easy? For the most part, but there are significant road blocks along the way, Part of success is innovation, but part of it is also reading the room and seeing what consumer not only desire but also #demand. The product-market fit model is about keeping customers coming back and #fulfilled. The document goes over many different stages, but basically, better relationship with consumers and their needs does equal better products and even more relevancy. You can read more about it in the link below and play James Hawkin’s little mental game here.

They say that #automation is the future, but is that really true? Here’s a some thought provoking, first-of-its-kind news from Interesting Engineering today that might challenge that statement. In South Korea, a civil servant “Robot Supervisor” at Gumi City Council was found fully dysfunctional after it fell down a two-meter staircase. Accidents happen, right? The funny thing is, it seems as though the robot’s plunge was deliberate — it wasn’t vandalized or pushed by any physical thing but rather performed it in its own will. Witnesses claim they saw the robot circling in one spot before falling down the stairs, and some #experts have been suggesting the robot had experienced “an emotional breakdown” due to “high stress of its #workload,” and others are writing it off as a simple technical malfunction. What do you all think? Is this a robot “suicide”? Does this make you rethink the limits of technology? Should we consider the moral/ethical concerns of robot integration seriously now?

Grim news from Forbes last week. #Point72 Ventures (run by famous billionaire, Steve Cohen) has laid off their fintech team in an attempt to #pivot away from crypto and shift into more of a focus investing in #AI and defense technology startups. Five #investors, and a few rumored partners of the company including are also rumored to separate from Point72 as well. The initial wave of fintech #startups were intended to disrupt the old school banking system and allow modern technology to thrive. Now that AI is an #industry wide trendsetter, Point72 are making a dire mistake of using it as a replacement for human input and perspective instead of a supplement. Hopefully this won’t set a precedent for future companies to get rid of their fintech experts and #investors who use their skills to great success.

Is there a future for generative #AI in the #music industry? According to this article by MIT Technology Review, it might be too expensive to be worth pursuing. Last week, two major AI music startups, Suno and Udio were both sued by numerous major record labels under the claim that the companies’ #copyrighted music is used in the learning data “at an almost unimaginable scale,” giving the AI tools ability to imitate many copyrighted artists, and songs. YouTube is finding their own niche in the AI music market by offering incentive for users to add to their pool of music. The stakes are higher for AI music — music in the public domain is sparse and not exactly trendy to current listeners. I highly recommend the full article to get the most perspective, but in my opinion aside from the well discussed concerns about generative AI’s place in #artistic mediums, I don’t think Suno nor Udio have a case in their favor. These apps are much more “imitative” than generative, and don’t really have an ability yet to make music that is “new” or at least doesn’t heavily borrow from existing works. But what do you all take away from this case? Is this an honest mistake from two startups, or is all AI music bound to repeat the same mistakes? I’d be open to rear what the broad consensus is.

It's concerning to see the impact of financial #fraud on older Americans in the digital age. According to the National Institute of Justice, they lose nearly $36 billion annually to these types of scams, impersonating a #bank branch or a loved one, with the added threat of AI-powered spam calls, the situation becomes even more #challenging for those less #techsavvy. However, there is hope on the horizon. Fast Company recently featured Charlie, a banking fintech company dedicated to older Americans. Charlie is developing an innovative anti-fraud system called SpeedBump. This system #detects unauthorized money transfers, delays payments for 6 hours, giving users the crucial time needed to prevent fraudulent activity. Do you have a loved one who is aging out of current technology? Would you consider recommending Charlie Banking to them? Why don’t more banks implement anti-fraud systems for elders?