The Software & AI Expert, Joaquin Brown

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to Basic Business AI, a podcast dedicated to simple AI strategies for businesses who don't want to get an advanced degree or hire some marketing bro. I'm your host, Josh Thomas. You can find me on Social mediat literally. And what we do is we bring on regular business owners just like you and me to discuss practical strategies and ideas and perspectives about AI without getting too far into the weeds of the tech. BBAI is sponsored by conversational Funnels. The easiest way to get more sales is to get more chances to sell. We used one simple conversational funnel to casually book 121 qualified sales opportunities in less than two weeks in a brand new market where we had zero presence and zero connections, all without spending on ads, doing cold outreach, or posting endlessly on social media. This is the new way to close high ticket clients for 2025. And it only takes minutes to start booking calls on your calendar. Download the blueprint for [email protected] Today's guest is Joaquin Brown. Joaquin has been working in software for 20 years and the mobile industry for 15. He's been dabbling in AI and adding it to different app developments for the last couple of years and he is extremely fascinated and simultaneously concerned about AI over the last 10 years. So Joaquin, welcome to Basic Business AI. From your perspective, how is AI reshaping the future of your industry? [00:01:31] Speaker B: Well, thank you for having me on here. So my industry is probably twofold. I am a software developer. I work on several apps. So my industry being a software developer, as you can imagine, it's accelerating it, it's moving really fast. As a developer, I have all these tools. If I have a question or if I need a quick piece of code written real quick, I can go into ChatGPT, tell them what I need, it'll write it for me. If I'm having trouble debugging something, it'll, it'll, it'll help me get there quicker. And then as our app is a wellness app, so we're a yoga alarm clock where we wake you up with 10 minutes of audio guided yoga, just breathing and meditation and some stretching exercises. In that industry, it's moving a lot slower. You can imagine why. And I think it's good that it's moving slower. I don't think we want to wake up to AI generated video or audio with some fake sounds or images. I think we still want humans there. So that industry is moving slower. But we're using recommendation tools so that if you like one piece of content, we can easily or recommend other pieces of content. [00:02:45] Speaker A: Yeah, it's interesting what you're saying about AI moves really fast. I was talking to another gentleman who was telling me that we keep trying to improve the speed and the functionality of AI, when in reality, four generations of AI back was more than humanity will probably ever need. You know, it's. It's kind of like the next iPhone has a 12.6 megapixel camera instead of a 12.5. You know, it's like, do I really need more speed or do I need more functionality and more practicality in my life? [00:03:23] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm. [00:03:24] Speaker A: I'm curious. You know, a guy that has an app for yoga, talking about AI, like, those two things seem to be diametrically opposed. And so tell me a little bit more about how do you marry new technology like that to a practice that is almost as old as time? [00:03:44] Speaker B: 5,000 years old. Yeah, I mean, we kind of dealt with that when we decided to build this app. People were going to studios and getting all their yoga from in person studios. And we thought that, you know, okay, that's great. We don't want to take away from that, but we all use these digital alarm clocks. What if you could just start your day a little bit more yogic? So we're not like replacing your daily practice. We weren't interested in telling you you don't need to go into the in person class. We still really like that. And we were just trying to add that new feature using a phone that we already had in our bedrooms. Then Covid happened, and I don't know. [00:04:24] Speaker A: If you're aware, but a log and here you are positioned like the prime place at the table. [00:04:31] Speaker B: Right. People were willing to use technology to access yoga. And, you know, studios were closed. People use zoom to do yoga classes. And I'm not sure if you're aware, but a lot of studios are struggling to come back. Even though we're pretty much out of the pandemic. No one's wearing masks anymore. Very, very few of us are thinking about it. We get it occasionally, like we get the flu, but the yoga studies really haven't recovered. So technology is right in the middle of yoga, but there are limits to that. Like, we can't. Like I said, we don't want a robot teaching. [00:05:05] Speaker A: Not yet. [00:05:06] Speaker B: Not yet. Well, I don't know. Yeah, I mean, we have had ideas where we could manipulate or take a human voice and create something that doesn't sound like a robot, and pretty soon we could get there. I'm not jazzed about that idea. I kind of really want the human to be in control of the session, the actual recorded voice and not computer program mixing and splicing different words together to make it sound like a different practice. [00:05:32] Speaker A: So here's, here's something that's fascinating that I've seen this applied a couple of different ways. Number one, in elite sports, the NFL, the NBA, baseball, there, There are so many high definition cameras that we can, we can put a camera on every angle of the athlete and we can see like how their body is moving to execute whatever form it is. And now there is AI software that can analyze their movements and say, oh well, your, your left metatarsal is 2 degrees too far to the right and that's why you couldn't throw the ball so far. [00:06:15] Speaker B: Right. [00:06:16] Speaker A: And it's like, that's crazy. And, and so it's like mind blowing now. But it reminds me of, there's, there's a question that, you know, there's this, there's this surgeon, like an AI surgeon, and the question now is like, would you let AI perform surgery on you? Most people are like, nah. But fast forward 10 years, how many people are going to be like, no, I'd rather have the AI do it than a human. [00:06:44] Speaker B: Yeah. Or simpler driving cars. Like right now, a lot of Us don't trust AI computer drivers, but in 10 years it's going to be way safer than us. You look at the numbers and you're actually putting yourself in danger by getting into a car with a human driver versus AI driver. We're not there yet, but we'll get there quickly. And same with medical and same with lots of things. [00:07:07] Speaker A: Here's what's fascinating since you said that the, in 2004, the movie with Will Smith came out. IRobot. [00:07:14] Speaker B: Yeah, I think about that all the time. [00:07:16] Speaker A: Right. And, and it would, I think the movie took place in 2032, which is about eight years from now. And the, the standard of vehicles is. You don't like, they warned you against manual driving. [00:07:30] Speaker B: Right. [00:07:31] Speaker A: That's where we're going. And so I'm just kind of coming back to your yoga idea. It. How long will it be before we start incorporating AI to analyze your sun salutation to make sure that you're reaching the maximum angle to, you know, release your toxins or whatever. Like how, how soon before something like that takes? [00:07:53] Speaker B: I'm totally comfortable with the Will Smith movie idea. You know, I hope they have roads that humans aren't allowed on because, you know, the cars will be able to go real fast. I don't feel the same way about yoga. I feel like some things like breastfeeding and reproduction should be left to the humans. And I think yoga is one of those things. I just don't know if I want it in there. It's about shutting all of that noise off and centering and focusing and turning it off for a minute so that you can center. How do you improve your poses? How can you get to a handstand quicker? Maybe, you know, maybe reading some notes when you're not in the middle of the practice, I could understand. But, yeah, I'm a little scared. And this is where I get into that extremely concerned area. Right. [00:08:43] Speaker A: This is. [00:08:44] Speaker B: Now we've. [00:08:44] Speaker A: We've crossed the line from fascinated Joaquin to terrified Joaquin. I get it. [00:08:49] Speaker B: Right. Yeah. Like, if we have a. If we have AI Yoga teachers, I don't know if that's gonna be a good thing. [00:08:55] Speaker A: Yeah. And. But that's the thing is it's. It's worth having the debate and the conversation because people will naturally just draw the line where it needs to be drawn. There's always going to be somebody who's going to push it, and there's always going to be somebody who's going to be like, stay away from it. [00:09:12] Speaker B: Right. [00:09:12] Speaker A: There is this kind of marriage of technology and humanity that is the ideal balance. In fact, it's. I think it's. Ray Kurzweil wrote a book about the future, and he predicted this moment called the Singularity. And it's supposed to happen in the next five to 10 years, where technology and humanity actually merges. And it's coming. Like, you can see it, you know, like where you get, like, cyborg implants. Like, it's on its way, man. It's almost here. [00:09:47] Speaker B: Right. Well, I mean, Elon Musk is testing that already. Several companies are detecting chips in your brain. That's where I get concerned. [00:09:55] Speaker A: Right. [00:09:55] Speaker B: And, and yeah, the singularity. So is it artificial general AGI as general intelligence? I. I thought singularity was the past. The point where they surpassed us and we're no longer in control. AGI is when they, they. They can think and reason at our level, but it's gonna be whether. Whether each different. The definitions are different. It's going to be fast. It's gonna almost open overnight. We, and we might not know right away because, you know, it could be happening in a simulated environment and it might not be released to the masses. But, you know, we, we don't really know how close we are. Unless you're working on one of those secret projects. [00:10:33] Speaker A: Yeah. It's wild, man. Like, I've, I've recorded over a hundred episodes of this podcast and this is probably the deepest that we've gone, like, philosophically, you know, it's like you want to talk, you want to have a real conversation about AI, bring on a yoga dude. Like, that's the way to do it. [00:10:50] Speaker B: That's awesome. [00:10:51] Speaker A: Like, that's some existential right there. That's cool. [00:10:54] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, I'm not saying we can't do it. In fact, I think we have a responsibility to do it because we're going to do it anyways. Humans have never really been able to tailor their, their technology advancements, so it's going to get there. I feel like the more of us that are good people and don't want to harm humans or other humans, the more we're involved, the more we can help shape it. So I don't know that regulation will help. We can regulate it legally, but illegally it won't be regulated. So I don't know what the solution is there. I don't think we can stop it. I think we should be aware of the concerns and the issues and things that could happen. And I think we need to just keep in mind that we are human. We want to continue exist in the future, even when we're no longer in control. And how do we, how do we help protect that? [00:11:44] Speaker A: Yeah. And I think that you frame it greatly. Coming back to the initial conversation about yoga is like, well, hey, there's a limit to where you don't need machines involved in yoga. It's not about that. And we can decide as human beings with our own personal agency where we draw the line of what's utility, what's interference. Right. And if you can use AI as a tool to enhance your ability to do something versus replacing the need for you, then that's ultimately going to be the healthiest thing to do. And so I love that you put that lens on all of this. Joaquin. And so tell me a little bit more about your app and anything else that you're working on and how people can connect and learn more. [00:12:32] Speaker B: Yeah. So the app is called Yoga Wake Up. We're on the Apple and Google Play stores. Like I said, it's alarm clock that wakes you up with human audio guided stretching and breathing exercises. You can do first 10 minutes of your bed. And the idea is don't wake up to news. Don't wake up to dune scrolling. Don't wake up to an annoying alarm. Gradually transition from dream state to wake state, where you can, you know, get your day started off on the right foot and ideally with as many minimal computers as possible. [00:13:05] Speaker A: So there's a ton of science and observation and medical congruence with the idea that you want to keep all the noise and crap out of your head while you're, while your brain is waking up. Tell me, just, just tell me a little more about that because I think more people need to know about this. [00:13:24] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, I, I am guilty of it, too. I, I have my phone next to me in my bed and I actually currently have TikTok and Instagram deleted from my phone because I was looking at it too much. The screen, the, the, the nervousness, the, the stress that comes with those apps is not good for sleep. And it's also not good when you first wake up in the morning. So if you can just put it off for a half hour first thing in the morning, the, the better off your day is going to be because you're going to get it all day. But if you can, just when you're, when you're asleep, you're not getting any of it. It's completely turned off unless you've, you know, got some speaker in the background playing. But ideally, you transition from the dream state. You give yourself a minute to get into your day before you check your email and start working. [00:14:08] Speaker A: Awesome. Where can we go to to. To grab this app and learn more. [00:14:11] Speaker B: Yogawakeup.Com or just search for Yoga Wakeup on the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. [00:14:18] Speaker A: Excellent. Well, hey, we're going to wrap up from here. Thanks so much to our guest, Joaquin Brown for joining us. [00:14:23] Speaker B: Thank you, Josh. Appreciate it. [00:14:24] Speaker A: Yeah, you got it. For a practical conversation about AI and its potential for business, you can learn more about what Joaquin does by going to yogawakeup.com if you run a business of any size and have some ideas or strategies around the topic of AI, we'd love to have a conversation with you on a future episode as well. We interview business owners of all levels and experience and exposure to AI so that we can represent all voices, especially those of us who are curious but not trying to be tech geniuses. You can apply for a future episode by going to basicbusinessai.com and one more time, if you want to stuff your calendar with qualified and motivated ideal clients who want what you have, download the Conversational Funnels blueprint for free at Conversational Funnels. See you next time here on Basic Business AI. And by the way, if you like this episode, tell your friends. See you later.