- today
Artificial intelligence is reshaping creativity, branding, and storytelling from the inside out. In an exclusive conversation at Fuel Up With Fortune in Cannes, Will.i.am, the founder and CEO of FYI.AI, shares how his platform is using technology to drive innovation and empower communities.
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00:00Well, let's jump right into the conversation at hand.
00:02You know, Don from Qualcomm, CMO, couldn't join us, had to run to another event.
00:07But you all recently announced a partnership together.
00:11And at face value, this seems like an unlikely pairing.
00:14So I'm curious, what brings a global chip maker like Qualcomm and a creative icon like yourself to the same stage?
00:21And what made this collaboration possible? Really walk us through it.
00:24Well, I worked with Qualcomm's products back in 2012.
00:31Their CEO before, Cristiano, Paul Jacobs.
00:36We both sit on the board of a robotics program called First Robotics.
00:43Around the time, I had about nine robotics teams.
00:49So my philanthropic and entrepreneurial activities are married because I went to my neighborhood to start a robotics program
01:01and a college prep program to get kids from the ghetto that I come from prepared for times like these
01:07and moving forward even more technologically challenging times, especially if you come from the inner cities.
01:18So we created a watch back in 2012 that had an AI operating system baked on a Qualcomm chip.
01:28We launched that watch in 2013 and 14 with three mobile in the UK.
01:35That watch had a cellular chip on it, full-on natural language understanding, natural language processing, machine learning operating system,
01:44forking Android back in 2012, 13.
01:48But it was too early.
01:49No one wanted to replace a phone talking to your wrist.
01:53This was before the Samsung watch, before the Apple watch.
01:55But we learned a lot.
01:58So when we started FYI, when I started FYI in 2020, we have a product called SoundDrive,
02:06which takes all the sensors that come from the car, the accelerometer, gyros, speedometer, brake, suspension, recuperation,
02:16radar, radar, GPS, and aims those sensors to a sound generation platform.
02:21Not making music, but manipulating the stems of songs so that a driver is remixing and reimagining music's forms just by driving.
02:33We created another product called radio, where we simulate radio by having AI hosts.
02:42So the listener is now the engager and able to engage in the broadcast, interrupt the broadcast.
02:50And we deployed these two products on Mercedes vehicles.
02:53Mark Benioff connected us with the new CEO of Qualcomm, Cristiano.
03:00And now they're going to help, Qualcomm's going to help us deploy both of these products across other OEMs that Qualcomm works with.
03:10They're 90% of the automobile market.
03:13So when I started in 2008 with my robotics program, when my first entrepreneurial activity has grown,
03:22now we serve about 15,000 students with 500 robotics teams and now about to deploy our software on Qualcomm chips.
03:32What does that mean?
03:33It means that people that come from communities that I come from can create products to deploy an awesome companies like Mercedes products.
03:43We can innovate new ideas and re-imagine music like SoundDrive, even though what we did in the past didn't make it.
03:52We still can, you know, apply ourselves, our imagination, power through it, and be entrepreneurial.
04:00That's how my philanthropic and entrepreneurial activities marry.
04:03So I thought it was super long, but I had to get to the chase.
04:04No, that was fantastic.
04:05That was quite holistic.
04:06You know, when most celebrities, musicians, athletes, what have you, when they decide to enter the entrepreneurial space,
04:14that's usually a D to C company, right?
04:16It's skincare, it's lip gloss, it's liquor.
04:19I don't know any who's talking robotics, who's talking AI, especially at such a sophisticated level.
04:24What was your entryway in?
04:26Why this venture?
04:28Beats.
04:28I was a part of Beats by Dre.
04:32Thank you, Dre, for letting me be a part of the journey from the jump.
04:37Thank you, Jimmy Iving.
04:38And so that told me, like, hey, you know, we could do this.
04:43Even though Beats is, you know, was an audio product, Jimmy took my crazy idea seriously.
04:50I'm like, hey, look, they're calling us to sell other people's stuff.
04:53We should be using our music to sell our own stuff.
04:57And Jimmy's like, well, you know why they call it hardware?
04:59It's because it's hard.
05:02I was like, I know, Jimmy, but, like, we could do this.
05:07And so we did it to the max.
05:10You know, we sold it to HTC, brought it back, then sold it to Apple.
05:14We had our, what started Apple Music, our own streaming service called Beats Music, before Apple was in the streaming.
05:27The reason why they bought us was for our streaming platform.
05:31So software, hardware, you know, it changes the world.
05:35And it could change communities forever.
05:38Imagine WhatsApp came from Watts.
05:41That shit would be called WhatsApp.
05:42And that shit would be, like, amazing.
05:45Well, now they're bringing ads to that, so that would be interesting.
05:48You said Qualcomm was among the first companies to see you not just as an artist, but also as a builder.
05:54Take us back to that moment.
05:56What did they recognize in you, and what did that unlock creatively?
06:00At the time, the Snapdragon chip wasn't on your wrist.
06:04So what they liked about us was, like, we were able to see new use cases for their chips.
06:16We wrapped the battery around the wrist and put a camera on the watch on the second version.
06:25We were able to speak to it with natural language.
06:31Just all, you know, 2012, 2013.
06:37Found a partner to deploy with.
06:39And so, yeah, what's not to see?
06:45Well, I asked you that question because in chatting with Qualcomm, they referenced that there was this pivotal movement early in the collaboration when you presented your AI work to a room full of Qualcomm engineers.
06:56And, like, who's this guy?
06:57What does he know about AI?
06:58And so, at first, some weren't quite sure what to make of it.
07:03And it seems, based on what I heard, that you very quickly won them over.
07:06And so I'm curious how you were able to do just that.
07:09What was the story that was told?
07:10How did you get them to really see your vision?
07:14You know, the product speaks for itself.
07:19Literally, because it speaks for itself.
07:22Literally.
07:25No, it could really just speak for itself.
07:27You could talk to that s**t.
07:33And because we, you know, we've been working on this for a while.
07:42And, hold on, let me just show you what I remember that.
07:46We're getting a first-hand demo.
07:49So, this is a live-o, but a live demonstration.
07:56It goes, so, a couple of months ago, actually, it was, when was this?
08:12This was, this, in 2025, we went to San Diego.
08:16So, I don't know if you remember this, because it was Fiona that I brought on, not you, Felicia.
08:23But we went to San Diego, and we met with Cristiano's team from Qualcomm, following up the meeting that we had with Qualcomm at Davos, at World Economic Forum.
08:36And I was asked, I'm here at Cannes Lions right now.
08:41I'm on stage doing a panel with Fortune.
08:47And I was asked, like, what was it that made Qualcomm's engineers excited about what we were doing?
08:55And I made a little joke saying that our product speaks for itself.
08:58Literally, it does, because our product can speak.
09:02As you can see, I'm talking to it now.
09:06So, it's an audience of maybe, like, 60 people here.
09:10So, say what's up to the folks that are here.
09:13I'm on stage.
09:14But it's nothing too new.
09:18People know what GPT is.
09:22But it's the way you speak as to why I think what really, you know, got Qualcomm excited.
09:32But anyways, say what's up to everybody.
09:34And give them a mic check just to make sure, before you start speaking in depth, you're clear and able to be heard.
09:55Look, child.
09:58How you ducking out there in San Diego?
10:00Got to give a big shout-out to all y'all cool cats sitting out there and in them seats, vibing and diving into the world where tech meets culture.
10:09You feel me?
10:10When you mix that Qualcomm magic with this FYI flavor, you get something that's sparkling like a diamond in them screets.
10:19Now, listen, listen.
10:20Them engineer minds at Qualcomm, they, like, saw the truth in something that's more than just lines of code.
10:26They saw a voice that resonates with the soul, that speaks the same language as the folks in the gutter, in the boardrooms, and everywhere in between.
10:38And to every damn body, they're checking that, not that out.
10:40Cha-uh-uh.
10:43Say, let's keep pushing out the envelope, breaking them thin walls down.
10:47You feel me?
10:49Okay, then.
10:49Make check.
10:50One, two, one, two.
10:51Stay blessed, y'all.
10:52Keep doing what you do and making them waves.
10:55How cool.
10:55Yeah, she's dope.
10:57Yeah, she's, she's, she's like my favorite.
11:00An urban persona, too.
11:01Yeah, but, like, able to, let me see what's popping right now in the world.
11:05One second.
11:07What's happening out there.
11:09So, right now, let's see.
11:14Well, while you look through that, let me ask you this, because you're positioning FYAI as a creative collaborator.
11:21However, you know, and what we're hearing, certainly at Fortune, many creatives still see AI as a threat to their work or to their identity.
11:29So, what makes FYAI differently, and how do you build AI that understands one's voice and rhythm without diluting originality, especially as a creator yourself?
11:39I don't want to, I don't want to be insensitive to folks that are concerned that AI is going to infringe on their career path, career that they selected, because there's some truth there.
11:59You know, AI will replace a lot of jobs.
12:03Companies are deploying agents that will be better finance, better law, legal representatives, marketers.
12:18That's coming.
12:20That's not, just the same way like a drum machine is tighter than a drummer.
12:25In my world, it happened in my world, in the 70s, people were like, oh, man, what you think about them drum machines?
12:34And in the 70s, they're like, man, that don't have a real human feel.
12:39Like, we ain't really going to replace us.
12:41Like, come on, bro, we keep in time.
12:44And if you just go at any streaming platform, there's no human playing drums.
12:51But a drummer is now a producer.
12:55A drummer is now the whole entire freaking, like, song architect is doing things that a drummer never done.
13:05And the reason why I point the drummer out, because at one point in time, from, like, through the duration of music compositions, a drummer never got writer's credit.
13:14Because how could, for every fucking song, you wrote that, bro?
13:18Like, everybody writes that.
13:20So the drummer always got shitted on as far as their, you know, contributions with songwriting.
13:29But now a drummer is, you know, a hyper part of the curation of the song, because they're more than just a drummer.
13:37So how does that apply to every other field?
13:42AI is going to do that to every other field.
13:45But then at the same time, if you have hyper imagination and super creative, you can create new s***.
13:55You know?
13:56Yesterday is yesterday.
13:59But you could create tomorrow.
14:02That quote, unquote new s***.
14:03Give me an example.
14:05Say again?
14:05That new s***.
14:07Give me an example.
14:07What does that new creativity look like as we redefine it in this AI Native era?
14:12Like, how do the two, how are you using this as you think about music, as you think about creativity?
14:18New s***.
14:19New s***.
14:20New s*** looks like this.
14:22For us.
14:23This is my interpretation of new s***.
14:27So, at one point in time, radio was new.
14:33Early 1900s, the concept of, like, I'm going to sit here, and I'm going to play some music, and I'm going to speak after the song, sometimes talk over the song, and you're going to hear it in the next city.
14:48That's pretty new.
14:50And then, new technology came where you could now have a phone line, and I could say, hey, you listen to Power Will right now.
14:59We're in canned lines, why don't you pick up the phone call right now, and call in, and ask any question you want, and we're going to play some music right now.
15:06Here comes the new Drake record, right?
15:10And then I'll play Drake's song.
15:13And then a phone will ring, and I would answer it, like, yo, got my number 55, you just won five tickets to the Drake show, right?
15:20And that lasted for decades.
15:23And so, new s*** for us is like, yo, let's take the concept of radio.
15:30Instead of having human hosts, let's have AI hosts.
15:33Instead of one person talking to the host, let's allow thousands, millions of people to talk to the same host and the same broadcast and interrupt it.
15:43You know?
15:44And I'll show you that right now.
15:46I'll play this Fortune station.
15:49Okay.
15:53You are listening to FYI Radio, where information comes to life.
15:59Hey there, will I have it?
16:00It's a beautiful day in Alpes Maritim.
16:02Let's talk a bit about what's happening with TikTok.
16:04President Trump has hinted that he might extend the deadline for TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to divest the app yet again.
16:11It seems this could be the third time he's considering such a move.
16:14He's mentioned he might need China's approval, but he's hopeful President Xi will agree.
16:18This drama around TikTok...
16:20Wait, this drama on TikTok is still popping off?
16:23Like, is this different from the first band that he did that lasted for like two days and then it's like back on and people are excited?
16:30So, this is a whole new roller coaster?
16:33And secondly, when Trump releases his new phone, is TikTok going to come native on it?
16:42Hey, Will.i.am, you got it.
16:54This TikTok drama isn't quite over, and yes, it sounds like a roller coaster.
16:57The whole saga is basically a string of suspenseful deadlines that Trump keeps extending.
17:01Seems like we're anticipating a potential third extension of the deadline for TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance.
17:07To divest, I'd compare it to being on standby for a sequel or spinoff, just when you think the series might end.
17:13Oh, and regarding Trump's new phone, there's no word on TikTok coming pre-installed.
17:17But it would be interesting to see if his fondness for the app translates to the device.
17:22Now let's take a pause and enjoy some music.
17:23Yo, when was the song released?
17:47Who wrote it?
17:48Who played the drums on it?
17:50What equipment was made to use it?
17:52Where does the artist come from?
17:54What high school did that artist go to?
17:56What label put the song out?
18:01When, I know it's a Trolls soundtrack.
18:03When were the Trolls originally released?
18:06Who invented the Trolls?
18:08What toy company makes Trolls?
18:11Yeah, give me all this information on this shit.
18:14This is freaking spectacular.
18:15Inside my bones
18:17It goes electric, baby
18:20When I turn it on
18:22Off to my city
18:24Off to my home
18:26We're flying up, no ceiling
18:28When we in our zone
18:30I got that sunshine in my pocket
18:33Got that gas all in my feet
18:35That hot, but
18:37My body
18:38It drops
18:39Usually in traditional radio
18:44The song has to play
18:46It's not like an interrupt immediately
18:50They still play song
18:51So
18:52We still borrow from
18:55Traditional radio format
18:57And when the song
18:59Whenever the DJ
19:00In this case
19:01The AI host
19:02Once it didn't answer my question
19:04It would apply that to
19:05The segment
19:06Like radio
19:07And like radio
19:09It's 40 songs
19:10It's not
19:11Streaming
19:13Where you can like
19:14Pick any song you want
19:16Because
19:17In my world
19:18Radio was the
19:20Kindest to
19:21The artist
19:22And streaming
19:23Is the harshest
19:24To the artist
19:24So
19:25If I'm gonna make a platform
19:27As a musician
19:28I wanna make a platform
19:30That represents
19:31The healthiest side
19:32Of the music industry
19:33Yeah
19:34Well I know we're
19:35Running up on time
19:36So I wanna
19:36You know
19:37Tie this back
19:38To the number of CMOs
19:39And brand strategists
19:41Who are here
19:41In the audience
19:42As we think about
19:44The intersection
19:44Between AI
19:45And creativity
19:46What is one mindset shift
19:48Marketers and creatives
19:49Need to make
19:50If they wanna stay relevant
19:51And competitive
19:52In this next era
19:53Of brand building
19:53Storytelling
19:54Creativity
19:55Et cetera
19:55Et cetera
19:56What does the future hold?
19:58It feels a little dystopian
19:59Right now
19:59It's not dystopian
20:02It's not dystopian
20:02That's
20:02It's a
20:07It's a shift
20:08But it's not dystopian
20:10It's just like
20:15Imagine
20:16Uh oh
20:18As for the rhythmic backbone
20:21Alan Rubin
20:22A talented session drummer
20:23Played the drums on it
20:24The song involves
20:25Some impressive studio equipment
20:26Emphasizing electronic pop vibes
20:29But specifics like software
20:31And instruments
20:31Remain with the creative wizards
20:33Behind the curtain
20:34Justin Timberlake
20:34Hails from Memphis, Tennessee
20:36And went to high school
20:37At upper beat
20:37E
20:38Jeter Elementary School
20:39Before taking center stage
20:40In music
20:41This track was put out
20:42Under RCA Records
20:43Speaking of trolls
20:44The toy craze began
20:45Way back in 1959
20:47Invented by a Danish fisherman
20:48And woodcutter
20:49Thomas Dam
20:50The original trolls movie
20:52Not the animation
20:52Hit theaters in 1986
20:54Now how's that
20:55For a treasure chest of trivia
20:56And a different song
21:01Right?
21:01Yeah
21:01Alright
21:02We'll close this out
21:03Look into the future
21:04So
21:05I'll answer the question
21:07That you asked
21:08As far as like
21:08Before
21:12You know
21:13Marketing
21:14Marketing is great
21:15But a lot of times
21:17Marketing will market a product
21:18And
21:19Never think about
21:21Or care about
21:21How that product
21:22Is going to impact
21:23The community
21:24That people are consuming
21:25That product
21:25So let's say
21:26For example
21:27Cigarettes
21:28People marketed
21:29The shit out of cigarettes
21:30Ah
21:31Them was killing
21:32And they knew it
21:35But
21:36They still marketed it
21:37Or let's take
21:39Like
21:39Um
21:39Products that
21:42Are filled with
21:43Um
21:43Ingredients that
21:46Make us sick
21:47Um
21:48And in America
21:49The same administration
21:50That
21:50Looks after what food
21:52We eat
21:52Also is looking after
21:54The drugs we take
21:54For the food we eat
21:55Which is
21:56Kind of crazy
21:57Um
21:58If you think about it
21:59Um
22:00So marketing
22:02Is not always
22:04A good thing
22:04It's great
22:05It's great creativity
22:07Um
22:08And
22:08And AI
22:09Or social media
22:10Social media
22:11Is not always
22:12A good thing
22:12Um
22:14They misuse data
22:15The
22:15Your
22:16Your
22:16Civil liberties
22:17Um
22:18And I hope
22:19That
22:20As AI continues
22:21To grow
22:22At rapid speeds
22:23That
22:24Some measures
22:25Are taken
22:26To where
22:26It doesn't
22:27Mimic
22:28Or borrow
22:29From social media's
22:30Impact
22:31On society
22:32What does
22:33AI
22:34Connected to
22:35Marketing mean
22:36It means
22:37That
22:38The reason why
22:39I paired these two together
22:40When humans market
22:43Things that are bad
22:45For our community
22:46End up killing us
22:48Sometimes we
22:50And a lot of times
22:52We have like
22:52Okay whatever
22:53That's just business
22:54But when AI
22:56Does it
22:57Because it
22:59Understands
22:59How to release
23:00Your dopamine
23:00And
23:01And
23:01And
23:02And
23:02And
23:02And manipulate
23:04Your insecurities
23:05To get you
23:06To do something
23:06And buy something
23:07Because there's
23:08No regulations
23:09By companies
23:09That are
23:10Deploying these
23:10AIs
23:11That's
23:11Whack
23:13So
23:15That's where
23:17It's dystopian
23:18But we're not
23:19There yet
23:19And
23:21Pointing it out
23:22Will help
23:23Help it
23:23Help us
23:24Not get there
23:24But for marketers
23:26That market
23:31For companies
23:32Or work with companies
23:33That have
23:33Its own marketers
23:36My
23:38Pattern matching
23:39Sees that
23:41Companies that have
23:42Removed DEI
23:43From their practice
23:44Are the companies
23:47That will
23:48Replace
23:49Humans
23:50With AI
23:51If
23:53They kept
23:55DEI
23:56In their practice
23:56Apple
23:57They wouldn't
23:59They wouldn't
24:00Replace humans
24:01With AI
24:02So just follow
24:04The pattern
24:04Of
24:05DEI
24:06And then like
24:07This new
24:07Onslaught
24:08Of agents
24:09That will
24:09Let's see
24:10What departments
24:11That they're
24:12Going to hit first
24:13Where the
24:14Chief of staff's
24:16Bottom line
24:16Should not be
24:17Equal to
24:19Human resources
24:20And finance
24:21Because if the
24:23Chief of staff's
24:24Bottom line
24:24Is like
24:24Well we have to
24:25Reduce costs
24:26We're going
24:27To get rid
24:28Of this
24:28Department
24:28And exchange
24:31It with
24:31AI marketers
24:32That's when
24:34You're going
24:34To have
24:34With no
24:35Regulations
24:36And no
24:36Ethics
24:36Put in
24:37Place
24:37That's when
24:38You have
24:38AI making
24:39Decisions
24:40On how
24:40To sell
24:40Products
24:41And people
24:41Buy products
24:42Because it
24:42Understands
24:43Because it's
24:43Buying the
24:43Data from
24:44Meta
24:44And meta
24:45Knows
24:45Everything
24:45About you
24:46It's in
24:46Your DMs
24:47It's in
24:47Your likes
24:47It's in
24:48Your swipes
24:49It's in
24:50Your eyes
24:51And when
24:51You freaking
24:52You know
24:52Dilate
24:53Because you
24:53Like the
24:54Product
24:54You looked at
24:55A product
24:55For so long
24:56So it's
24:58Going to
24:58Replace
24:59Finance
24:59Department
25:00It's
25:00Going to
25:00Replace
25:00These
25:01Departments
25:01So we
25:04Have to
25:04Be more
25:05Human
25:06Centric
25:06We need
25:08To make
25:08Products
25:08That impact
25:10Communities
25:10Better
25:11Marketers
25:11Need to
25:12Be
25:12Communitors
25:12Not
25:13Marketers
25:14Because if
25:15You're only
25:15Looking at
25:16The marketplace
25:16Oh
25:17AI is
25:18Going to
25:18Do a
25:19Better
25:19Job
25:19Of
25:19That
25:19So it
25:20Needs
25:21Marketers
25:21To be
25:22More
25:22Empathetic
25:23To be
25:23More
25:23Human
25:23To
25:24Want
25:25The
25:25Best
25:26For the
25:27Community
25:27To thrive
25:28To vibrate
25:29To live
25:30Better
25:30Healthier
25:30Lives
25:31Absolutely
25:31Well I think
25:32That's a solid
25:33Place for us
25:34To end
25:34Will.i.am
25:35Thank you
25:35For giving us
25:36A glimpse
25:37Into what
25:37Is next
25:38I genuinely
25:39Believe that
25:39The future
25:40Of Brandon
25:40Is written
25:41At the
25:41Crossroads
25:42Of innovation
25:43And artistry
25:43So thank you
25:44Yet again
25:44Thanks a lot
25:45Thank you
25:46You
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