The core of the episode is a tense debate over Superhuman's (formerly Grammarly) 'Expert Review' feature, which used public figures' names without permission. The CEO argues it was a form of attribution based on their public work, while critics, including the interviewer and a class-action lawsuit, label it as impersonation and a misuse of likeness.
The discussion delves into why AI currently has a net negative public perception. The CEO posits that the fear is primarily about job displacement, whereas the interviewer argues it's because AI is seen as purely extractive—scraping vast amounts of data without providing commensurate value or compensation to its sources.
Mohotra outlines a vision for a new creator economy model that moves beyond advertising towards direct monetization. He pitches the new Superhuman Go platform as a tool for experts and creators to package their knowledge into AI agents that users can subscribe to, offering a 70/30 revenue split.
The episode serves as a case study in managing a PR crisis in the AI space. Superhuman's response evolved from offering an opt-out, to killing the feature entirely, to the CEO appearing on a critical podcast to defend the company's position while also apologizing for the user experience.
Keep pulling the thread on Shashir Mohotra.