Exclusive: Catching Up with Google’s Jules Walter regarding its AI app, Bard
When it comes to technology, it’s an ever growing mechanism that has no limits. Everyday, someone’s creating a new app or new ways (from a technical standpoint), where things can be done at a better or faster rate. It’s really scary how far we’ve come along with new product. One can never be attached to a tool because before you know, it’s obsolete in less time than expected. When you’re looking to travel, eat, or my professional case, have things transcribed, you can find the fastest solutions online. There are several sites that you provide the best options. AI is here. It’s a matter of how to use it, do we need it, and how often.
Blackfilmandtv.com recently spoke with Jules Walter, who’s a product leader at Google and co-founder of both the Black Product Managers Network and Codepath.org. Previously, he led monetization and mobile growth teams at Slack.
Jules, briefly describe your background in the tech field, what made tech such a passion of yours? When did you begin your career at Google?
JW: Well, I grew up in Haiti but came to the states for college and studied computer science at MIT. I became interested in making people’s lives better and went to work in West Africa to bring better access to healthcare. My knowledge of tech led me to work at Slack and then I co-founded two nonprofits to help underrepresented people get into tech: one is called Black Product Managers and the other one CodePath. Soon, I joined Google three years ago and am now working on Bard which I’m really excited about because it’s so great to be involved in a product at its infancy and explore the world of possibility!
Did you have any mentors that helped guide you along the way?
JW: Mentorship has been a game changer in my career. Part of why I decided to join tech is because friends and mentors encouraged me to. Once I was able to break in, I relied on mentors to get better at the craft. When I joined Slack as the first PM on their growth team, I didn’t know much about growth, so I reached out to mentors who were experts in growth and they taught me frameworks and approaches that continue to serve me even today. A big part of why I created the Black Product Managers organization was because I saw the impact that mentors had in my life, especially mentors who share a similar background and deeply understand me. I wanted other people in the community to have the same opportunity.
My use of AI is through the Otter app, which I use for transcripts. Does BARD offer more advantages?
JW: I’m not familiar with all of Otter’s capabilities but Google has a number of helpful AI tools across our portfolio of products, one of them being the latest Pixel 8 phone which has a built in Recorder app. This app, with help from our AI and speech technology, does real-time transcription from voice recordings. You can share the transcriptions with colleagues and even go back and search for words or moments within the transcript if you’re looking to pull a quote or specific piece of text for a story you’re working on. It can even transcribe YouTube videos in real-time and translate text, right in the app.
How does Bard help journalists looking with story ideas?
JW: Bard is a collaborative AI. If you are already working on a story, Bard can brainstorm with you on potential interview questions. You could also work with Bard to explore potential story ideas about untold black filmmakers, the evolution of black representation in film or think more in the future about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for black filmmakers. Bard can give you ideas to get your creative juices flowing.
What are some of the misconceptions you'd like to dismiss about BARD?
JW: I think that one of the things that surprises people the most about Bard is that it’s a possibility generator more so than just an answer generator (can make you more creative than you thought possible). We are so used to technology that does things for you, Bard does things with you and opens up a world of possibility by helping bring people’s ideas to life. This is more than we ever expected – it’s really giving people a tool that helps them expand their ideas, it’s not just a novelty it’s a real utility.