This CEO is betting on AI to solve the world’s biggest problems

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Humanity is facing many challenges, from human rights to pandemics to climate change, and AI can be our best tool against them, says Alexandr Wang, CEO and founder of Scale AI. “That’s what we dedicated Scale to: How do we enable the most ambitious organizations in the world to utilize artificial intelligence to solve the most transformational problems today?”

On this week’s Most Innovative Companies podcast, Wang explains how Scale is making data “useful” in order to help not only tackle our biggest problems, but also unleash human creativity. He talks about why modern AI systems are no match for humans and never will be, how to foster innovation as a company scales in size, and why he believes that optimism can shape reality. 

Over the last few months, Scale has been working closely with the U.S. and Ukrainian governments to better understand what’s happening in the region. “We’ve used satellite data and ran artificial intelligence algorithms on top of that data to map out all of the major cities: Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Mariupol,” Wang says. “And then we mapped out, on a day-by-day basis, the level of damage to every single structure within these cities–literally building by building.” 

This effort is enabling both governments to divert humanitarian and medical resources where they’re needed most, answering questions such as what is the level of damage that is being caused by the war with Russia, how can we divert infrastructure projects, and how can we divert our resources to immediately address wherever there’s meaningful damage on a day by day basis.

Scale’s work is not limited to the Ukraine conflict, though. Wang cites several use cases among many in the application of modern AI and data labeling technology. In medicine, for example, Scale is working to streamline access to healthcare by facilitating the automatic detection of illness. In the wake of global doctor shortages, medical facilities simply can’t train people fast enough, he explains, but AI can lighten the load. 

“Enamored” by data, Wang dropped out of MIT at age 19 to found Scale. Today, at just 25, he is the world’s youngest self-made billionaire. With 700 employees and growing, Scale has managed to get big without going “bad,” becoming, as Wang describes it, something “like a nuclear reactor for energy and excitement.”

Wang believes that ‘ambition shapes reality’, describing a phenomenon by which people tend to accomplish the magnitude of their ambition. 

This is one of the reasons why, as he was growing Scale, Wang always hired people who “give a shit”: “It’s impossible to build something and nearly impossible to make magic if nobody around you cares about what they’re doing,” he says. Which is why, he adds, it’s crucial to create a culture where people can dream big and have a sense of optimism around what they’re able to accomplish: “There’s nothing more seductive than the invitation to think bigger.”

Retaining the sort of energy and drive for which startups are fondly known is also key. “[That environment] is one of the most powerful forces in the world, frankly. And that only happens if you get the preconditions just right, where people feel safe, people feel excited, people are excited about what they’re doing.”

“When you get the conditions for innovation right,” Wang says, “you know it when you see it. You just need to keep trying to find it. And once you find it, never let it go.”

Listen to the episode for the full interview.

You can listen and subscribe to Most Innovative Companies on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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