Chris Wexler on Using AI to Protect the Vulnerable

In this second episode of the fifth season, Frank and Andy speak to Chris Wexler about using AI to protect the vulnerable.

Speaking of which, I would like to advise you, dear listener, that this show touches on some sensitive areas, namely child sexual abuse materials.

If you have little ears or sensitive persons within listening range, you may want to pause or skip this episode.

Transcript

00:00:00 BAILey 

Hello and welcome to data driven, the podcast where we explore the emerging fields of data science and artificial intelligence. 

00:00:07 BAILey 

In this second episode of the 5th season, Frank and Andy speak to Chris Wexler about using AI to protect the vulnerable. 

00:00:13 BAILey 

Speaking of which, I would like to advise you, dear listener, that this show touches on some sensitive areas, namely child sexual. 

00:00:20 BAILey 

Abuse materials. 

00:00:22 BAILey 

If you have little ears or sensitive persons within listening range, you may want to pause or skip this episode. 

00:00:28 BAILey 

Don't say we didn't warn you. 

00:00:30 BAILey 

Now on with the show. 

00:00:31 Frank 

Hello and welcome to data driven, the podcast where we explore the emerging fields of data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence. 

00:00:39 Frank 

If you like to think of data as the new oil, then you can think of us as well Car Talk because we focus on where the rubber meets the verb. 

00:00:46 Frank 

Road and with me on this epic virtual road trip down the information superhighway, as always is Andy Lander. How's it going, Andy? 

00:00:54 Andy 

Good Frank, how are you brother? 

00:00:56 Frank 

I'm doing alright, I'm doing alright. We've had a chaotic week at Chateau Lavinia we. We ended up going to Baltimore in the middle of the night on. 

00:01:05 Frank 

Wednesday, wow, so you pick up. 

00:01:06 Andy 

Wow, what was in Baltimore? 

00:01:06 Andy 

What was in Baltimore? 

00:01:09 Frank 

A really good pizza, but mostly we went because there was a situation bad situation where the pit bull that was about to go to a shelter and so we do a lot of fostering and rescuing of dogs. 

00:01:25 Frank 

So we just got her out and we've spent kind of the rest of the week all over our free time trying to find our new home and she landed in the new home on Saturday and she's doing great. So that's. 

00:01:37 Andy 

That's awesome, and it's really it's really awesome y'all do that kind of stuff. 

00:01:41 

Yeah. 

00:01:42 Frank 

Yeah, I always wanted to do it, but it only and it's only been in the last. You know, maybe like 5-10 years I've been able to do it, so we've been doing that. 

00:01:51 Frank 

Cool, the risk of fostering is primarily foster failing. How we we got our current dog count up to five. 

00:01:59 Frank 

Uh, while twelve. That weekend, my wife and I counted it like 12 dogs who kind of come through our house the last two years. Three years. 

00:02:06 Andy 

Nice. 

00:02:07 Frank 

So it's a good thing to do. We have the space to do it and. 

00:02:12 Frank 

You know at the time this one, we didn't know anything about, so we had to kind of keep her isolated. 

00:02:17 Frank 

So we had like this airlock system. She's a super sweetheart with people, but she's kind of iffy around other dogs and she she's super strong. So once she had her mind to do something it takes a lot of effort. 

00:02:18 Andy 

Light. 

00:02:25 

Right? 

00:02:32 Frank 

To corral her. 

00:02:34 Frank 

But she's super happy. She's the only dog in her new home and she has them wrapped around her little paw already, so. 

00:02:42 Frank 

How things go? 

00:02:42 Andy 

That's funny, things are good, you know, pretty quiet weekend. Here we have, uh, it's warmer weather. We're recording this on the Ides of March. 

00:02:54 Andy 

Now debatably, the upwards of March, yes, depending on who you talk to, it's probably the 13th, but I don't, I don't know. 

00:02:54 Frank 

Well, you are smart. 

00:03:02 Andy 

But we're on the 15th of March 2021 and it's starting to warm up. Our greenhouse is is being put to use. 

00:03:11 Andy 

We have some seedlings in there and that's always fun and we've got some raised beds out to the side of the house. Those are. 

00:03:19 Andy 

There's a starting to come. We're starting to see different things come up. They're kind of colder weather crops, so we started assigning couple three weeks ago. 

00:03:29 Andy 

And it's you know it's been nice. I love getting outside and working, especially this time of year. The bugs haven't shown up yet. 

00:03:36 Frank 

So pollen. 

00:03:37 Andy 

The pollen is really low, it's there, but it's really. 

00:03:40 BAILey 

Oh 

00:03:41 Andy 

Yeah. 

00:03:41 Frank 

It hasn't affected me yet, so. 

00:03:43 Andy 

Oh good good yeah. 

00:03:45 Frank 

That 

00:03:47 Andy 

It's good that time is coming, so let's enjoy it while we can. 

00:03:51 Frank 

Oh, I totally agree. There's like 2 weeks a year where the weather in DC is wonderful and this is one of those two weeks so. 

00:03:55 BAILey 

Yes. 

00:03:56 Andy 

That's it, that's it. 

00:03:58 Frank 

Uh, so today we have an awesome guest and and this is, you know, in our in our HR we always talk about where the rubber meets the road in terms of you know how a I can you know how data becomes AI now a I can kind of help businesses and I think this time we have an interesting guest because now we're not just talking about helping AI. 

00:04:18 Frank 

But we're helping society. 

00:04:20 Frank 

Uh, and you know, I'll make sure Bailey has a kind of intro speech that if you have little little ears in the car, you may not. 

00:04:29 Frank 

You may want to listen to this later or listen to this on a headset, because we're going to be talking about human trafficking and all the sorts of horrible things that happen to kids. 

00:04:39 Frank 

And but he's doing some. He's doing some great work in terms of leveraging the power of AI. 

00:04:46 Frank 

To help child sexual abuse materials that are online as well as you know, kind of human trafficking and all the bad things that happen with the technology we like to focus on all the wonderful things. But there's a clearly a large underbelly. 

00:05:06 Frank 

To the Internet and I'm I'm a big believer in transparency because what happens when you I grew up in New York City? 

00:05:16 Frank 

Cockroaches are inevitable no matter what you do. One thing is when the lights come on, they all scatter. So I I think bad things tend to happen in the shadows and you know. 

00:05:29 Frank 

So the more light you turn on, I think the better it is for society as a whole. So with that I'd like to introduce. 

00:05:36 Frank 

Chris Wexler, who is the CEO at Crunch Krenim Craney I. We covered this in the green room. 

00:05:43 Frank 

But 

00:05:44 Chris 

Crew on crew nob. It's OK. 

00:05:46 Andy 

Rudoff crew Nam. There we go. 

00:05:49 Frank 

I I need to drink more coffee in the morning, but Trudeau is in the business of removing what I like this term that he uses digital toxic waste from the Internet and using AI to identify. I never heard this acronym before, but Sicam child sexual abuse materials. 

00:06:09 Frank 

And other awful content to help content moderation and his technology is already in use by law enforcement and is now moving into. 

00:06:21 Frank 

The the private sector and there's a whole bunch of stuff we could talk about, but particularly what's interesting is a for profit startup or social benefit corporation so we can talk about that. 

00:06:32 Frank 

But I like to work so welcome Chris to the show and and thank him for putting up with some of. 

00:06:36 Frank 

The scheduling growing pains that we're having. 

00:06:40 Chris 

Yeah, no. It's it's really great to meet you guys and. 

00:06:43 Chris 

The. 

00:06:43 Chris 

00:06:44 Chris 

I understand having five dogs. I definitely hearing the intro. I understand I like to refer