Catherine Olsson - Really Quick Questions with an OpenAI Engineer

I ask 67 questions to OpenAI Engineer Catherine Olsson as we take a stroll around OpenAI HQ in San Francisco. Catherine graciously agreed to an interview right after the release of OpenAI's Universe. I ask her questions that range from her deepest fears to her favorite Operating System.
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[@JoelBerman]

I am 70 years old next week. Learned lisp in 1967 and tried AI then. It was amazing at how similar I would have answered some of these questions except there was no Python or Ubuntu or Facebook or "The Matrix" or emacs. We did have LoTR but only as a book. AI was a huge promise with chess games and moving blocks and some NLP, but we had a long AI winter shortly after I started working. Then another resurgence with expert systems and clear distinctions between strong and weak, then a shorter winter. Finally I think AI/Machine Learning is read!. And it is great to see people like Catherine moving things forward. My first company was DEC, and we had a saying (in 1972) that IBM makes computers that count your money, and DEC builds computers that make you money. Now I am thankful that all of you young people are building systems that improve our life.

[@SirajRaval]

tha'ts really cool thanks for sharing that.

[@cyclicyttrium4318]

Respect.

[@GKS225]

awesome, thanks for sharing

[@SachinKumarSahu]

wow

[@sahajamatya]

What a nice comment.

[@alxleiva]

Ok I can start seeing a pattern emerging among ML engineers: -Rock climbing -TensorFlow -Ubuntu -The Matrix -Going to bed at midnight -A fervent desire to make a positive impact in the world

[@mboiko]

Definitely some heavier weighted connections there...

[@andrewsukhantsev575]

Should we feed this data to a neural network?...

[@datvithanh3898]

and hit snooze lol =))

[@theghostmachine]

Hahaha I literally just looked at the comment to see how many people noticed that trend

[@basime1796]

Python is the core

[@admir3429]

The book she mentions at around 5:24 is called "Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning" by Christopher M. Bishop

[@AMAR-lq2dg]

Good bot. 𝑃𝑎𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑛 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑

[@poopcatapult2623]

Condor that saved me at least 5 minutes. Thanks.

[@theodorewinston3891]

Man, she can parse questions and retrieve answers really fast. No thought pauses of any significance. One-shot answering.

[@waxwingvain]

These are so great Siraj keep them coming!! They are actually very informative!

[@SirajRaval]

thanks Bryan will do!

[@lateksi14]

This video is totally awesome! Would like to see more of these quick question interviews!!

[@misterj9817]

Been watching your videos for like 2 weeks. Finally, Subscribed. Thanks for the awesome quality content, keep it coming !

[@SirajRaval]

dope thanks CPP

[@alex.spyropoulos]

great video! only the sound transitions were a little harsh.

[@SirajRaval]

thanks Alexandros, i'll get better next time

[@DuhBroadcaster]

It would just be better if it was the same source of audio.

[@pkScary]

Siraj Raval sorry if you already know about this, but in most video editors you can put a compressor on the audio tracks to even out the highs and the lows

[@rist98]

pkScary Thats not what a compressor does. An Equalizer is what you are looking for. ;)

[@keiran110]

EQ is for boosting or removing frequencies. Usually used to cut offensive sounds. A compressor lessens the dynamic range between the loudest and quietest parts of the audio, by boosting the quieter signals and reducing the louder signals - hence evening out the highs and lows. A compressor is what he is looking for. Though I would also use EQ to cut some background noise. And in future use better mic placement for picking up clearer audio, and use windscreens on the mics to reduce wind noise.

[@indiansoftwareengineer4899]

Very nice and helpful series of this interview videos. Please make more

[@Simon-cc9ob]

Just found this channel today through Shiffman and I'm really loving your content, keep it up! :)

[@SirajRaval]

thank you!

[@MultiShiv19]

these interviews are great! please keep doing more of these :D

[@SirajRaval]

will do

[@exclusivelynyc]

This is such a great video. Amazing questions. Thank you.

[@SteveRowe]

This is a great interview. Thanks for doing it both of you!

[@SirajRaval]

thanks Steve

[@arpitbharti6245]

they all like the matrix huh

[@amenicHD]

And Ubuntu and Rock Climbing haha

[@SirajRaval]

yea lmao

[@amenicHD]

Siraj Raval Hey Siraj, why do you guys use Ubuntu? I use it myself, because it is simple and I am not a Linux pro, same with MacOS, simple and has the console and all the GNU/Linux stuff, I don't need more.

[@Simon-cc9ob]

I guess some people like linux over MacOS for it's extra customizability

[@amenicHD]

Simon I didn't say that I use a Mac. I use also Ubuntu, because it's simple like a Mac.

[@vincentbrandon7236]

I love this interview format. It's oddly fresh

[@johnhammer8668]

Thanks so much for this interview

[@victor-iyi]

please, can u make some more Really quick questions? I love it! Plus they inspire me

[@SirajRaval]

will do

[@ayushjain1934]

Hey, Thank You Siraj! I get to know so many new resources for AI. :)

[@dogzer]

I only found out about OpenAI recently and it's driving me nuts in a good way.

[@Promar22]

Hey siraj can you make a video about how to ace programming interviews

[@SirajRaval]

damn, people really want this lol. I will definitely look into this. It's a totally different topic from my regular videos so it will be quite experimental.

[@Promar22]

Thanks man, much appreciated :)

[@diegoantoniorosariopalomin4977]

Siraj Raval hell yeah !!

[@StephaneArcher]

Great interview Siraj :D

[@SirajRaval]

Thanks Stephane!

[@jaitanmartini1478]

That's a great interview!

[@bernardogalvao4448]

Thank you so much!

[@SirajRaval]

anytime!

[@SethuIyer95]

awesome stuff. thanks

[@SirajRaval]

thanks!

[@mamoun003]

i'm from sudan which is a country you never heard of i guess....but man i love your videos....please dont stop....you are really changing my life right now

[@SirajRaval]

Hey Mamoun, i have heard of Sudan. Thanks so much for watching. You will do great things i believe in you

[@Zoronoa01]

what is the book she recommends for learning ML ? thanks

[@RuanBekker]

Yeah! Shout-out from Cape Town!

[@SirajRaval]

woot cape town!

[@krissmagic1]

This series is great, but you should invest in a good microphone with a deadcat (fluffy wind cover). I think you should expect that your channel will grow, because your videos are great for beginners who want to start and is interesting, and for past few years there has been large hype around machine learning and I think it will turn into a somewhat mainstream thing of CS in future. Keep up the good work !

[@SirajRaval]

great point, thank you

[@xPROxSNIPExMW2xPOWER]

that's one empty office

[@catherineolsson385]

ProSurviver yeah, the second floor is "growing room" we haven't grown into yet, and also where we hold talks and lectures. unfortunately we weren't allowed to film on the first floor so as to not disturb everyone, but you can see as we go downstairs that the first floor is where everyone sits

[@xPROxSNIPExMW2xPOWER]

Right! I did see people writing on the glass walls. Taught you guys might have moved to a new space, since Universe is a fairly new AI platform. Just got it installed, you guys have made it really easy for anyone to pick it up.

[@xPROxSNIPExMW2xPOWER]

Ohh!! and research over implementation any day.

[@SirajRaval]

true they are growing fast AF though

[@arturodeza3816]

Most of them were probably at NIPS in Barcelona Spain, while the interview was going on!

[@Vkep4eto]

How do you chose who to ask for help?

[@UsmanAhmed-sq9bl]

Great interview !

[@SirajRaval]

thanks

[@HimothyOHooligan]

The second questions should've been "Why are you running away from me?"

[@fischX]

Great interview again, but also dubbed and just focused on the interview partner - Siraj are you making this interviews or someone else?

[@SirajRaval]

Thanks! It is me, i re-recorded the questions. I'm gonna get a better mic so the audio improves next time. I'll also show myself for a little bit in the next one at the beginning

[@iPavReg]

The video title should be: "Catherine trying to get away from nosy Siraj." :P

[@dav1606]

She is answering really fast, did she have access to the questions in advance?

[@davidgaster]

Is bishop's book - Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning by Christopher M. Bishop a good starting resource to learn this stuff? I just finished first quarter as CS major in college and really want to learn machine learning, AI, deep learning, and neural nets. Any other good starting places?

[@SirajRaval]

All my videos! Download and run the associated code with each video, try to understand what each line says

[@DadBodsRUs]

Is this book "Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning (Information Science and Statistics) by Christopher M. Bishop" the book she refers to at 5:18? If so please put a link in the description or a confirmation so others may know too! Thank you Siraj!!!

[@supercat7284]

She looks like she is having fun learning and problem solving. I like these kind of passionate people. I am in first year of college right now, when I see anything with interest I do great in them. I was horrible at math until i started seeing those things with interest. I think myself as bill nye or neil tyson or newton ,etc while I am coding or taking derivative of a function or finding where the object will be landing or solving those complex trig functions.

[@SirajRaval]

she is very passionate. very cool!

[@tracerVG]

amazing video.

[@SirajRaval]

thanks Red

[@GandalfExtreme]

I really love these

[@SirajRaval]

Thanks Gandalf

[@SandroRocchi]

Damn. She spits her answers out so easily, I'm impressed.

[@larryteslaspacexboringlawr739]

thank you for openai video

[@SirajRaval]

anytime

[@DavidAttenbraai]

University of Cape Town student here! Great City!

[@DJNuckChorris]

3:33 that car tried to pull under a closing door to stop it LOL

[@batlin]

Did she say "headlouse" for spirit animal? That's pretty cool :D

[@chicken6180]

Waitwaitwait i swear it was called Sirajology a few days ago.... Did you change it or am I just being an idiot

[@SirajRaval]

i changed it to my full name since that's the brand i'm building

[@viniciusemanoelares9787]

What book did she recommend?

[@integralyogin]

Wowzers that was amazing.

[@SirajRaval]

thanks Josh

[@Tiara48z]

She’s amazing!

[@arbabarshad2148]

You put a lot of hard work bro.

[@SirajRaval]

definitely

[@Techonsapevole]

Can you make a video about Machine Learning in JavaScript inside the browser?

[@SirajRaval]

absolutely. coming up soon.

[@chicken6180]

YES THANK YOU!

[@deepak3303]

wait? JavaScript has library to do ML?

[@apoorvwatsky]

Hell yes. Not then, but now : Tensorflow.js xD

[@nouaimmebarki5669]

coding train has done a lot of cool stuff about that, you may want to check that out

[@shadmankudchikar6978]

which code editor do you like siraj?

[@SirajRaval]

sublime text.

[@aidenconnersmith3153]

I like the video siraj.

[@SirajRaval]

thanks Aiden!

[@ridhazangar3098]

okey, again, super cool concept, but, can i ask why do you pre record the questions, why don't you ask them live and record the whole interview ( questions and answers ) without stopping ?

[@SirajRaval]

Thanks Ridha, i'll make sure they are live next time, i'm getting better audio equipment

[@ridhazangar3098]

excited to see the result :) gl for your work.

[@MrBobo923]

Just signed up for import AI!

[@SirajRaval]

woot! OpenAI got some free marketing from me lol. its all good i love them

[@diegoantoniorosariopalomin4977]

Siraj Raval they should hire you to promote their projects

[@andrewkiminhwan]

did you sort of take the format from vogue's videos? they has like 70 something questions haha

[@SirajRaval]

I was totally inspired by Vogue! And I wanted to do something similar for Computer Science

[@andrewkiminhwan]

Bowties or Ties?

[@McMurchie]

Hey so it looks like you guys all like python as your PL of choice for computer learning. So like how would you upload a python app to say a website if you wanted people to check it out- since its client side right?

[@rpcruz]

Python is neither client or server side. Use a package like django or flask to easily reply to http requests.

[@deepbits7312]

You reply to http requests from server side. So when it comes to web, python is server side.

[@rpcruz]

Deep Bits Exactly. If you use python in a "server", then it is a server language. If you use it in a "client" computer, then it is a client language lol. I have been using Flask for a website that we have, where we apply on-the-fly convolutional networks to great effect. ;)

[@deepbits7312]

I think we do agree :) It all depends what the original poster meant by his comment. If he meant running the python app in browser on a website, then it can't be run client side. If he meant that one will have to download the script then ofc it will be run on the client side.

[@SirajRaval]

via a web framework like Django and uploading it to Heroku

[@DShaker24]

Do they know the questions before they are asked? Because if not, that is some crazy quick thinking. Some of the questions he asks are easily answered, but others would definitely make me think.

[@thezanke]

Ubuntu, Rock Climbing, Snooze, The Matrix 🤔 I'm beginning to see a pattern.

[@olfmombach260]

ikr

[@SirajRaval]

def a pattern

[@junouyang5755]

Awesome

[@jayli5690]

Catherine speaks so quickly, i thought i was watching at x1.5 :O

[@zodisgreat4510]

Wow, she's brilliant- sharp sharp mind. Thank you both for being awesome.

[@DubstepDinosaurs]

Zodis Great she is a (nASI) non-artificial super intelligence! That quick recall is hot.

[@SirajRaval]

thanks!

[@RenjiB]

She's like... Cortana from Halo.. #AI

[@SirajRaval]

lol nice ya shes dope

[@seanpedersen829]

Google, OpenAI what comes next? Siraj boi, U R LIT!

[@guitarheroprince123]

MS, apple perhaps?

[@SirajRaval]

Thanks Sean! No idea. But something big!!

[@seanpedersen829]

Looking forward! DeepMind would be sick as well!

[@Leetpwnedsrs]

I know a friend of mine that works at Tesla that would probably be open for an interview

[@sadscientist9995]

Currently in school for computer science, want to work at OpenAI it’s been my dream job for a couple years !

[@user-jg8lo1km9q]

but is it worth it?...

[@sadscientist9995]

tealeaf yeah it is

[@robinborjesson8499]

Did she get to read the questions in advance? If not she is wickedly quick-witted!

[@david0aloha]

Aha, recorded over the interview questions! I could tell when you went outside and she wasn't echoing at all while you still did.

[@SirajRaval]

yes, yes i admit it. I did. Next time will be better though for sure

[@david0aloha]

Haha all right. Still a good interview though :)

[@YankeeMaharjan]

You should do this more often.

[@SirajRaval]

will do

[@rohanayush]

Ok I laughed at end because I hadn't seen that its your channel and I thought that the video is really cool specially at 2x its a real fun😁. So I thouht whose this video is... I looked down and I saw Oh oh its you, its your channel. 😂Then I thought wow , nice . Great stuff. Thank you :)

[@gmaiI.com.]

Nice Taiko!

[@SirajRaval]

very cool activity

[@saadnamro878]

I love how if you search geo hotz you will find a lot about it and our girl you just have some university stuff

[@prestonjensen6172]

Did you record your voice after the fact?

[@SirajRaval]

Yes! I admit it. I'll get better at this next time

[@prestonjensen6172]

Siraj Raval whatever you do, keep making these quick questions videos. they're super cool!

[@aaqibahmad4446]

Wow, she has good sense of humour 👌

[@DanieliusVisockas42]

Sup, Siraj, Loving these new videos, but the cuts and differences between you and the interviewee triggers me a tiny bit. Maybe we could do a RNN that would take two tracks and make them more similar?

[@SirajRaval]

Danielius, good point. I am getting better at this, will improve next time thanks

[@TheAnderus]

This is so good but please sort out the sound

[@motivationmusic4821]

which book she suggested?

[@SirajRaval]

i couldnt hear her

[@HKragh]

I have a goal: Within the next 5 years I want to work in this field. I have no experience with implementation of deep learning systems, only this burning desire, and lots of knowledge from reading about neural networks in general. I have no formal education that turns anyone's head at first glance. So to land a job requires me to showcase skills and experience, which I will acquire using channels like this, books and long nights in front of the screen, writing code. I have been working in the games industry for more than a decade, and always seem to be the one solving the problematic math/physics problems, even when sitting next to engineers. So... this should be reasonable dream to hold. I WILL hold it, dammit. Definitely... First things first, have to start rock climbing if I want to fit in, that seems obvious. Wish me luck on this journey. And keep up the good work Siraj, your content is great!

[@SirajRaval]

you can definitely do this Henrik. Watch my videos, and immerse yourself completely in this field. You'll learn faster than you think. Thanks!

[@xanthirudha]

How is it going bro, its been 5 years

[@HKragh]

@@xanthirudha Well... you see, this post above was about one year before I accidently almost killed an old pedestrian lady while driving my car, which itself was around three months before another son arrived in the family. So I went into first a deep depression of sorts, which was then ended by the joy of my fourth child. But... I decided to scale back, and instead of continuing the production life, and the long hours and deadlines, I took a teaching position, which I have held for close to four years now. So the dream still exists. It is just delayed by life altering events, which were unknown to me 5 years ago.

[@xanthirudha]

@@HKragh God bless, happy to hear about family doing well. I cannot imagine being in that scenario, I am realizing that today your games industry knowledge can be channeled into AI. Anyway glad to hear things are better now

[@Leibniz_28]

Hi Siraj, I know you already have a lot of work, but it would be great if you had subtitles in English for your videos, so it would be easier to understand the content for those who barely learn English like me. By the way, it was an excellent video, thanks.

[@diegoantoniorosariopalomin4977]

Nelson Cárdenas Bolaño cant we add the subs ourselves ?

[@Leibniz_28]

Diego Antonio Rosario Palomino hmm... I have never done that.

[@muhammadharris4470]

youtube automatically generates subtitles for most english audio content now. just click the cc button or go to Settings(gear icon) -> Subtitles/CC -> English(Auto generated)

[@Leibniz_28]

It is not so simple. Obviously I use it, but, surprisingly, many times the algorithm is confused just in the same words that I do not understand.

[@im.empimp]

Instead of asking for someone to transcribe the whole video, why don't you just: 1) Expand the transcript [0] 2) Highlight and copy the timestamps and transcription that you need help with 3) Post a request for a corrected translation For example, if you posted that you needed help with, >1:19 up-to-date in ml so Jack Clark is PR >1:22 firm has this news article import AI You might get something like, 1:19 up-to-date in ml. So Jack Clark who does PR 1:22 for us, has this news letter called "Import AI", it's great! This means no single person is left trying to do the whole transcript, and it will probably be faster to boot. [0] Click "... More" (below the "Subscribe" button and expand the transcript, it shows you the whole transcript in timestamped sections.

[@BitcoinmeetupsOrg123]

When she mentioned the bombama I tuned out.

[@osalbaro]

She's so cool :D

[@jpratt8676]

Yay! An Aussie!

[@edgarsanchez9583]

Neat.

[@SirajRaval]

thanks

[@ACEOFMAX]

Noiiiiice vid

[@SirajRaval]

thanks Max!

[@LeoAculaMiles]

Wizard of Earthsea!

[@SirajRaval]

woot!

[@soccerguitarmex]

She has some of the exact same answers as the Google guy hahaha

[@SirajRaval]

yea its uncanny

[@deepak3303]

different instance of same class!

[@abhishekr6853]

Me to the topper sitting next to me in exams hall :- Do you mind if I ask you 67 questions

[@antondorozhko8199]

what was the name of spirit animal?

[@SirajRaval]

I think she said the Head Louse?

[@antondorozhko8199]

Siraj Raval thx

[@irikefecyrus6895]

I really appreciate the depth of the answers and breadth of the questions although the interviewer sounds like an AI

[@IndianDesiTennis]

Much better than those "vogue" ones !

[@SirajRaval]

thanks Alok

[@KeshanSodimana]

Siraj, Why don't you put that questionnaire to your viewers and then opensource that dataset. Probably without their names.

[@SirajRaval]

Hmm. I can definitely open source the questions next time thanks

[@fridget8799]

funny how both engineers chose matrix 1 as their favorite movie

[@DanieliusVisockas42]

Also they both go to sleep @ midnight and a first thing they do is "Hit the snooze button"

[@SirajRaval]

i know right.

[@cortexai6541]

audio pristine like is was recorded in a sound booth

[@SirajRaval]

dope

[@joshsmit779]

Why did she go to work on the Google Brain team after working at openAI? Does Google allow some degree of democratization of AI knowledge too?

[@whatthefunction9140]

would try anything once... unless its coachella

[@SirajRaval]

lol

[@spenhouet]

3:39 Is there a accident in the background?

[@Kassenoid]

The garage door almost closes on the car's hood

[@SirajRaval]

almost!

[@citiblocsMaster]

1:30 That's the correct answer

[@akofa13039]

Why did you change the name of the channel ? .. sirajology was really cool ; )

[@SirajRaval]

As I grow, I'd like to be known by my full name. And eventually i just want to be known by my first name like Elvis or Madonna. But one step at a time. Thanks for watching!

[@SL8475]

Wait which book did she recommend if she had to start all over with AI????

[@jagc2206]

What is openai? Like opengl for ai?

[@TTGxCROTTY]

OpenGL is a cross-language cross-platform programming interface for rendering 2D and 3D graphics. OpenAI is a non-profit artificial intelligence research company, Elon Musk is one of the main investors.. you should watch his videos talking about AI and OpenAI and what's it's goal is. Basically they want to make AI Open Source and not have it contained to only Goverments and Companies since it could potentially lead to bad outcomes for AI.

[@SirajRaval]

what Josh said

[@jorenboulanger4347]

Wow, she's fast.