‘AI for Everyone’
Published 2:00 pm Saturday, February 7, 2026
Local AI consultant gives talk at library
Temese Szalai lives in Astoria and is the CEO of Subtextive, an AI strategy consultancy. Szalai has worked in the field of artificial intelligence for two decades with companies such as Google and Bose.
At 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Szalai will host an AI workshop in the Astoria Public Library’s Flag Room, “AI for Everyone: Understand It, Use It.” The talk aims to show people how tools like ChatGPT work and what they can and cannot do.
Ahead of the workshop, the Astorian reached out to Szalai via email to ask about her background in AI and what she hopes people will get out of the workshop. The following conversation has been lightly edited.
When did you first develop an understanding of artificial intelligence?
Short answer: In the late ’90s/early 2000s, which was a different generation of AI than where we are today.
More details: I first developed an understanding of artificial intelligence while in graduate school working towards a Ph.D. in Theoretical Linguistics, with a focus on computational linguistics and Natural Language Processing (NLP). I left grad school before I completed that degree to work at a semantic search company. I worked primarily on developing ontologies, which are machine readable representations of real-world context, relationships and information. Just a couple of years later, I moved into machine learning-based approaches to NLP and how to augment, enhance, and improve them with this same kind of human-centered information. That was right around the turn of the century, during the first dot-bomb. Since then, I’ve continued to work at the forefront of applying AI technologies to real world needs, wants, and uses through a human-focused lens, evolving and adapting my approaches as technologies advance.
Why do you think it is important that people be acquainted with the technology?
Short answer: AI is becoming more and more widely used. Becoming more familiar with it should make people more comfortable with it and better able to use it/interact with it effectively, responsibly, and safely.
More details: AI is already becoming pervasive in our society. It presents a lot of opportunity for those who know how to use it effectively or build it. It also presents the risk of exclusion and bias on many fronts. There are other dangers as well, like AI slop, content and intellectual property infringement, environmental issues, I could go on.
AI literacy is going to become increasingly important in navigating everything from healthcare to finances to professional spheres, where there’s a meme that “your job won’t be replaced by AI. It’ll be replaced by someone who knows AI.” While I think that’s something of an exaggeration, there’s also some truth to it.
There’s also a lot of hype around AI that I think it’s important for everybody to be able to “sniff test” for and cut through it.
But, more importantly, just as regular people, AI is becoming more and more interwoven in our lives. So, I think it’s important for people to understand some fundamentals about what it actually is, how it’s built, the repercussions of our choices, and, if at all possible, using it effectively and responsibly so that we can all reap some benefit while minimizing risk and harm as much as possible.
What is the takeaway you hope most people have from this talk?
Short answer: That AI isn’t magic and that it doesn’t “think.”
More details: I hope what most people take away is some basic understanding of how AI systems work generally. A bonus would be if people understand that, in the words of Superman, with great power comes great responsibility. It’s our responsibility with AI to exercise critical thinking, human judgment and human understanding.
Where do you see the future of technology going?
Short answer: The era of generative AI is just beginning. There’s a lot beyond generative AI, too. Overall, I think AI is going to become more embedded in our day-to-day lives and take on “higher order” tasks and jobs. So, it will have to become smarter and smarter and also more human-centered to do that.
More details: After over 25 years in this field, I feel like this is just the beginning. AI has a lot of applications in a lot of different ways to a lot of different uses and potential uses. And, what we apply it to and what’s successful is going to drive at least some of where the tech goes. So far, it’s more a tool looking for a problem than something purpose built. I think we’re going to see this type of technology evolve with a more purpose-built mindset. “Agentic AI,” which is AI that can solve complex, well-described tasks, is going to be a big focus and area of hype in 2026. When applied to the right kinds of things, it has a lot of promise. That’s because agentic AI (and also AI-driven robots) can take over rote, resource-intensive, unfulfilling and/or dangerous tasks that humans currently perform. There’s also a lot of research being put into mitigating some of AI limitations, which should make it more reliable. And that’s promising. I think there are a lot of promising applications in health care and scientific research. I also think we’re going to see a bigger focus on chips and processors and their optimization. Beyond that, I think there’s going to be more emphasis on accountability, sustainability and responsibility in the field.
What inspired you to leave Bose and start Subtextive?
Short answer: I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit and saw some interesting opportunities on the horizon.
More details: I had been running a technology start-up in Portland before I joined Bose. I was starting to miss the entrepreneurial aspects of work. Then, a few months before I left Bose, I had a number of people in my network asking for my leadership and experience on a consulting basis to meet challenges they were facing. That’s when it hit me. Organizations need human-centered AI leadership and sensibilities. It’s not just about writing code. Not all of them have someone senior on staff — or even need someone on staff permanently — to do that. Yet there’s a need for that kind of thinking at certain points. It can be helpful if it’s an independent third party vs. someone internal. It’s sort of a “Mary Poppins” model. So, I started Subtextive, which has given me an incredible opportunity to steward organizations through AI product design, strategy and execution on a lot of projects. All of my work has a particular focus on bringing real-world, human-centered context into the equation while leveraging the new generation of AI tech. And I get to do that while living here in the wonderful community of Astoria.
Is there anything that you would like to add ahead of your workshop?
Short answer: This is probably more “talk” than “workshop,” despite the name. So, do expect some “talking” but it’s not an in-depth technical presentation. All are welcome and I’m looking forward to seeing folks at the event.
More details: In addition to the “talking” there will be some workshop aspects to it. We’re going to show a couple of things hands-on, too. We’re also going to be doing an interactive poll at the end to find out what aspects of AI people would like to find out more about. Most importantly, I hope that people learn something that they didn’t know before, have a little fun, or at least a giggle here or there and get a chance to engage with other members of our community interested in this topic. Also, I’m going to try to bring popcorn that people can enjoy during the event.
