The AI in Business Podcast

Manny Medina, CEO and co-founder of unicorn startup Outreach.io, shares wisdom from the trenches of AI adoption. We're excited to have him on for many reasons - to celebrate his success (Outreach's valuation recently surpassed $1 billion), exemplify how AI early adopters are disrupting Industry, and learn from his real-life journey of AI adoption. He shares how he thought about potential leverage points for AI, the kinds of experiments necessary to test these opportunities, what Outreach learned the hard way, and what they feel like they're getting right. Before Outreach, Manny was employee number three on Amazon's AWS team and led the Microsoft mobile division from launch to $50M in annual revenue. He holds an MBA from Harvard and a Masters in Computer Science from the University of Pennsylvania. Outreach is a sales engagement platform that accelerates revenue growth by optimizing every interaction throughout the customer lifecycle. The platform manages all customer interactions across email, voice and social, and leverages machine learning to guide reps to take the right actions. Customers include Cloudera, Glassdoor, Pandora, Zillow. This episode was inspired by Emerj's community, requesting more tales and lessons learned from successful AI implementations. What else do you want to hear? We'd love your feedback and ideas. Get engaged with Emerj Plus: emerj.com/p1.

Nicholas Pilkington, CTO and Co-Founder of DroneDeploy, breaks down drone technology trends and dives into some powerful use cases in heavy industry. Notably, drones are transforming best practices for equipment maintenance monitoring by using computer vision. Nick goes into great detail about the process improvement opportunities in this space and shares valuable insights about the trajectory of drone technology capabilities. To date, DroneDeploy has raised 90+ million dollars for its cloud-based drone mapping and analytics platform, which enables capabilities such as automated flight safety checks, workflows, and real-time mapping and data processing. Industries adopting this technology include: agriculture, real estate, mining, construction, and many other commercial and consumer arenas. DroneDeploy is compatible with any drone. Want to learn 3 ways to find AI trends in any sector? Download Emerj's free pdf: emerj.com/t3

Ben Garfinkel is a Research Fellow at Oxford's Future of Humanity Insitute (FHI). In this episode, he breaks down key issues central to the near-term formation of good AI governance, such as: the comparative advantages of centralized vs decentralized governance structures, the influence of big tech on governance, etc. He does a great job of presenting the possibilities in clear and objective terms for consideration. We're grateful for Ben and FHI's seminal and leading contributions to AI governance, and - writ large - we suggest that our listeners and clients take heed and engage with the important work manifesting from FHI's brilliant minds. Ben is a DPhil student at Oxford's Department of Politics and International Relations. He previously earned a degree in Physics and in Mathematics and Philosophy from Yale University. FHI is a multidisciplinary research institute at the University of Oxford. Academics at FHI bring the tools of mathematics, philosophy and social sciences to bear on big-picture questions about humanity and its prospects. The Institute is led by Founding Director Professor Nick Bostrom, author of "Superintelligence".

Today's discussion is with Brett Beranek of Nuance Communications, arguably the best-known NLP company in the world. Nuance has been selling AI to enterprises for decades, earning billions of revenue in this mature space. In this episode, Brett shares valuable insights and predictions about how technology priorities might and should transform in the post-Covid world. Learn more with Emerj's Pandemic Response - Business Continuity Playbook: emerj.com/p1

Glen de Vries cofounded Medidata in 1999, offering SaaS-based clinical development solutions addressing the functioning of customers' clinical trials, and 20 years later the company - which he still leads - sold to Dassault Systemes for almost $6 billion. What a triumph, Glen! Thank you for joining the podcast. Listen in as Glen shares his unique and valuable perspective on the current state and potential futures for the data ecosystem in Life Sciences. Want to stay on the cutting edge of emerging data-driven technologies? Try out Emerj Plus: emerj.com/p1

Today's interview is with, Konstantinos Karachalios, Managing Director of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standards Association (ieee.org). Konstantinos earned a Ph.D. in Energy Engineering (nuclear reactor safety) from the University of Stuttgart. Before IEEE, Konstantinos played a crucial role in international scenario simulation for large-scale nuclear reactor accidents. And with the European Patent Office, his experience included establishing EPO's patent academy. For 100+ years, the IEEE has developed global standards for bleeding-edge technologies like nuclear power, blockchain, nanotech, systems engineering, and many more. Emerj is a big supporter of the IEEE's AI standards for "Ethically Aligned Design", and in this talk, we speak about what's happening in the early stages of AI standards and policy formation around the world.

In this podcast Joel Minnick, AI & ML Strategy Leader at Amazon Web Services (now VP at Databricks), shares his valuable perspective on what defines "AI Readiness" for large enterprises. Want to discover how to pick high-ROI projects? Explore Emerj's flagship Research and Strategy Services: emerj.com/aiol

Today, Peter Durlach, Senior Vice President of Nuance Communications, joins the podcast to discuss important and timely opportunities for AI in Healthcare. Peter shares how enhancing and automating key elements of physician workflows with intelligent solutions can ease the workload and reduce burnout among physicians. Want to discover more AI trends? Explore Emerj's 4-page Guide: emerj.com/t3

In June 2019, the G20 adopted human-centered AI Principles that draw from the OECD Principles on AI. Emerj was invited to Paris to collaborate with the OECD's AI Governance efforts, and today we're excited to share this interview with Karine Perset, Economist and Policy Analyst at the OECD's AI Policy Observatory. She speaks about the role of principles in the formation of national legislation, international governance, and shares how leaders can nudge the evolution of powerful technologies like artificial intelligence, to steward a safe and abundant world.

Today's guest is Sankar Narayanan, Chief Practice Officer at Fractal Analytics, a unicorn company in Bangalore. Sankar's last interview with Emerj was last year's most popular episode: "How to measure the ROI of AI". We're excited to share more of Sankar's insights in this episode, with a special focus on how to deploy and position AI pilot projects for momentum that leads to bigger and better projects. For more insights gathered's from global AI leaders like Nick Bostrom, Stuart Russell, and Ben Goertzel, check out Emerj Plus - emerj.com/p1

Today we kick off the first in a series of discussions about AI in Europe with Martin Musiol, Sr. Data Scientist at IBM. Martin is a member of IBM's Technical Expert Counsel, and in this episode he speaks about what makes the European ecosystem different, providing what may be a peak ahead for other nations following Europe's leadership regarding regulation and data-sharing. Learn more with Emerj's Beginning with AI Guide: emerj.com/beg1

In this first episode in our 12-part Saturday "AI Futures" series, UC Berkeley Professor and renown AI expert Stuart Russell shares his perspectives on the near and long-term considerations of AI governance. https://emerj.com/ai-podcast-interviews/stuart-russell-ai-governance/ Visit the blog post for this article, and subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast platform. From June 27th to September 12th, we'll be covering a new "AI Futures" episode about AI governance every Saturday. This is an experimental series designed to extend current AI trends to long-term AI consequences. We hope you'll enjoy.

Today we interview Babak Hodjat, VP of Evolutionary AI at Cognizant, one of world's largest IT integration & service firms. Babak has 20+ years of AI experience, starting his first AI startup in 1998 in the SF Bay area, and later founding Sentient Technologies which raised $174 million to innovate with AI in trading. In this episode, Babak says "AI should be disruptive.", and leaders should "go big". Want to learn more about how to make the business case for AI? Check out Emerj Plus: emerj.com/p1

Today's guest is Jim Barnebee, VP of AI and Infrastructure at GetSwift, a public company that has raised $143 million to bring AI to the world of Delivery - with a smart platform enabling driver management, dispatch tasks, and tracking in real-time. Jim highlights the 2 areas where he thinks logistics will be impacted the most, breaks down hurdles to successful AI deployment, and discusses multiple promising use cases. Emerj has assessed over 80 AI vendors in the logistics and supply chain space. Learn more about Emerj's AI Opportunity Landscape here: emerj.com/aiol

Today we interview Scott Nowson, AI Lead at PwC Middle East. Scott has a Ph.D. in Informatics, with a focus in NLP. Also check out Emerj's guide: Practical Steps to AI Deployment at emerj.com/beg1

In this episode, we interview Yaron Lavie, VP of Products at Earnix. Yaron breaks shares powerful insights about how AI can be leveraged for customizing financial service products, as well as for other use cases in insurance and banking. For quick and valuable insights, download Emerj's AI in Insurance Cheat Sheet: emerj.com/ins1

What's next for AI in logistics? Listen as we break down prescient trends with Tim Gagnon, VP of Analytics & Data Science at CH Robinson, a $16+ Billion logistics & supply chain company based in the USA. Want to implement AI but you're not sure where to start? Discover 3 Key Insights for Non-Technical Professionals to Deploy AI: emerj.com/beg1

Today our guest is Nayeem Islam, CEO of Blue Hexagon, a bay-area cybersecurity firm that has raised $37 million+ for innovation in expansion. This episode focuses on AI applications for cybersecurity in Retail. For a quick breakdown, check out Emerj's AI in Retail Cheat Sheet: emerj.com/ret1

Discover how to nurture alignment that closes AI deals, as we interview Tim Estes, Founder & CEO of Digital Reasoning, an American AI company that raised over $130 million to bring cognitive computing services to intelligence agencies, financial institutions, and healthcare organizations. Whether selling or buying, technology leaders need to ask the right questions before purchasing or implementing AI solutions. In this episode, Tim offers his valuable perspective on how to match AI solutions with real business problems, how to estimate and quickly calibrate ROI, and how to effectively communicate with decision-makers. Discover our full range of high-ROI use cases for AI with Emerj Plus: emerj.com/p1

This week we interview Gary Swart, Partner at VC firm Polaris Partners, former CEO of oDesk (now UpWork, NASDAQ;UPWK), the world's largest online service marketplace. Gary's portfolio includes investments in innovative medtech and pharmaceutical companies. And in this episode, he shares his valuable perspective on how the pandemic may transform the opportunity landscape, at the intersection between AI and Healthcare technology. Discover our full range of high-ROI use cases for AI with Emerj Plus: emerj.com/p1

Discover how to leverage the learning capabilities of AI for strategic advantage, as we interview H.P. Bunaes, former Chief Data Officer at Suntrust, now Director of Banking for Data Robot, a Boston-based startup which has raised over $400 million to innovate enterprise AI solutions. H.P. shares his valuable perspective on how strategic leaders can outmatch competition by enhancing the speed at which the organization can learn, with AI-driven technology. What will separate winners from losers in the new economy? Discover 3 keys with Emerj's Guide here: emerj.com/k3

Discover how AI is transforming procurement as we interview Edmund Zagorin, founder of a bay-area, venture-backed startup called BidOps. Edmund shares his valuable perspective about what the future of AI in procurement looks like and how it ties into the broader landscape of logistics and supply chains. Learn more about how to make the business case for AI in the enterprise: emerj.com/p1

This week we interview Stephan Pawlowski, VP of Advanced Computing Solutions at Micron, a $20 billion computing company based in America's Midwest. Stephan breaks down the necessary components for AI readiness, sharing pragmatic insights about the AI hype cycle and its relationship to real value for businesses. Download our PDF guide "3 Ways to Discover AI Trends" at: emerj.com/t3

Discover how AI may shift the workflows and approaches to trading as we interview Ash Fontana, managing director at Zetta Venture Partners, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm focused on AI-first companies with B2B business models. Ash shares his valuable perspective on the present and future of AI in trading. Access Emerj's AI in Financial Services Vendor Landscape Brief here: emerj.com/vl1

This week we interview Gary Swart, Partner at VC firm Polaris Partners, former CEO of oDesk (now UpWork, NASDAQ;UPWK), the world's largest online service marketplace. In this episode, he offers a pragmatic perspective about opportunities and challenges for AI adoption in the current economic climate. Discover our full range of high-ROI use cases for AI with Emerj Plus: emerj.com/p1

Logistics is behind the time when it comes to data maturity, and it's nearly impossible to get predictive value from disjointed data. This week, Priya Rajagopalan or FourKites shares critical lessons for finding value in logistics data - as well as AI use-cases already making their way into the supply chain. Learn more about Emerj Plus (emerj.com/p1), and discover our complete AI White Paper Library - including our latest PDF brief: "AI and the Future of the Supply Chain - 3 Critical Trends".

When it comes to AI, the EU is known more for its regulation than its innovation, but it might not have to be that way. This week, Cedric O, French Secretary of State of the Digital Economy, shares his thoughts about balancing the preservation of values and rights with the prosperity and opportunity of new technology. If you sell AI-related produces or services, and want to find opportunities to sell into the US government, learn more about our "Public Sector AI Opportunity Report" at emerj.com/gov1. This interview took place in Paris at OECD headquarters. Thank you to the OECD for arranging this interview and providing a recording room.

Every six months, the landscape of AI vendors and enterprise use-cases is shifting. This week, Gary Hagmueller of Clara Analytics shares his perspective on the kinds of tasks and processes most rip for AI transformation in insurance - with examples and explanations that any businessperson can understand. Stay ahead of insurance AI innovation with our PDF white paper "AI in Insurance Executive Cheat Sheet" - download your copy: emerj.com/ins1

Ryan Smithright is a Research Fellow at Emerj Artificial Intelligence Research, and the lead author in our latest "US Public Sector AI Opportunity Report" (learn more at emerj.com/gov1). Ryan spent months investigating and documenting the various AI initiatives, budgets, and strategies for different branches of the US government, and in this interview he breaks down some surprising trends and data snapshots from the complete report. Anyone with an interest in selling AI to the US government should get a lot out of this unique episode.

Chatbots are a hot topic, but it's just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the broader evolution of the customer experience. This week we're joined by Suhas Uliyar, VP of Digital Assistant AI & Integration at Oracle. Suhas breaks down key areas of user experience change, and how AI is helping (or could help) to usher in that transformation. If you're new to chatbots and NLP applications, download our "Unlocking the Business Value of NLP" PDF guide: www.emerj.com/nlp1

Emerj CEO Daniel Faggella recently spoke at the OECD headquarters in Paris for the creation of their AI Policy Observatory. At the event, we spoke with this week's guest: Lynne Parker, Deputy Chief Technology Officer at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Lynne talks to us about what the US is doing with AI currently at a national level and what the country's priorities are when it comes to AI. This interview is made all the more relevant by the fact that the private sector is freezing up due to the coronavirus. Meanwhile, the public sector is still spending money on AI and innovation. If you want to learn what the opportunities are for vendors and service providers that want to work with the US government, get our US Public Sector AI Opportunity Report at emerj.com/gov1.

Small companies and enterprises alike are drastically changing their AI strategies in response to the coronavirus. This week, we talk about what it looks like to develop an AI strategy the right way during these disruptive times. We interview Joel Minnick, Head of Marketing for AI at Amazon Web Services. Joel breaks down his take on how AI can be used to competitive advantage and why an AI strategy is the foundation of that advantage. If your company is just getting started with AI strategy, be sure to download our Beginning With AI guide at emerj.com/beg1.

In this episode, we focus on digital twins and how AI will impact the future of manufacturing. Our guest is Laurent Laporte, CEO of Braincube, a company focused on AI In manufacturing. This episode is sponsored by Braincube. For more information on sponsorship opportunities, visit emerj.com/advertise.

Although the insurance industry doesn't get as much press about its use of AI as banking, the AI applications large insurance carriers are developing are no less transformative to core processes. This week, we speak with Tom Harrington, the head of the insurance wing at Pegasystems. Tom talks about how automation and AI are making their way into different insurance processes today and how they will change the way employees at large insurance carriers work. If you're interested in discovering best practices for AI adoption and deployment, consider joining our Emerj Plus membership at emerj.com/plus.

Supply chains are frozen, teams are working remote, and sales cycles are unpredictable. This week, we interview Paul Noble, CEO of Verusen, an AI-enabled logistics company. Paul discusses the impact of AI on supply chain and logistics and the new AI capabilities that will be all the more relevant in a post-coronavirus world. Paul also reviews some of the key themes from our AI Business Continuity Action Plan, which comes complimentary with Emerj Plus, including critical ideas about how business leaders can make their business disaster proof. Learn more about the report and Emerj Plus at emerj.com/ap1.

This week, we speak with Liga Semane, Policy Advisor at the European Banking Federation, about how tech priorities for business leaders in financial services are shifting right now because of the coronavirus crisis. Liga shares some of her best ideas about business continuity and risk, as well as some of her experience witnessing the reaction from global European banks and their priority shifts in AI projects and initiatives. This is one of dozens of interviews we've put together for our latest report, the AI Business Continuity Action Plan. It will eventually be offered for sale, but we are currently giving it away free with a subscription to Emerj Plus. Learn more and get the report at emerj.com/ap1.

In this episode, we speak to Saurabh Suri, CIO and managing partner at CerraCap Ventures, about building AI products for the enterprise. Saurabh discusses what he's seen work and not work across his portfolio of AI investments when it comes to their interface with the enterprise. We talk about the challenges that come with not only building a product but actually deploying it in the enterprise. If you want to learn more about how we discover which you can do so at emerj.com/aiol

When it comes to applying AI in the enterprise, it's useful to get the perspectives of companies that have bought AI products before. But it's also useful to get the perspective of companies that have sold AI. They have an idea of what it's like when a company buys AI for the wrong reasons and when a company buys AI for the right reasons. This week we speak with Don Vadakan, Head of Sales at Fractal Analytics. He gives his advice for vendors and service providers that are selling AI in the enterprise, including how to attract attention from potential buyers the right way. His advice is also applicable to enterprise leaders thinking about working with vendors. If you're selling AI into the enterprise, be sure to download our B2B AI Lead Generation Guide at emerj.com/b2b1

This week, we interview Marsal Gavalda, Head of Machine Learning at Square. Marsal gives his take on how to leverage AI for competitive advantage. Specifically, he talks about the elements of culture and teams. If you want to to build a company culture in which teams can leverage AI in a nimble fashion and wield it in different areas of the business, Marsal's advice will be useful. If you're looking to get started with AI at your company, download our Beginning With AI Guide at emerj.com/beg1.

This week on the newly rebranded AI in Business Podcast, we speak with Rashida Hodge, VP, Insurance Industry at IBM, about buying and selling AI in the enterprise. If you are someone at a big company looking to buy AI, you're going to learn a lot about what to do and what not to do in this episode. If you're looking to sell AI to the enterprise, you will learn how to avoid wasting time and money without gaining traction in the enterptise. If you are selling AI, be sure to download our B2B AI Lead Generation Guide, a 7-page PDF put together for vendors at emerj.com/b2b1.

We are changing the name of our podcast to AI in Business. In this episode, Dan explains why, talks about what's new at Emerj, and discusses some of the feedback we've received from our listeners.

This week, we dive into how AI is evolving personalization as we now know it. Brian Walker is Chief Strategy Officer at Bloomreach. He speaks with us about how Personalization works today in retail and how it will work tomorrow. He also discusses how AI can add additional context to the user's experience and how it can allow companies to make stronger calls to action. If you're interested in more AI use-cases in retail, be sure to download our AI in Retail Executive Cheat Sheet at emerj.com/ret1.

In this special bonus episode of the podcast, Emerj spoke with Dileep George, co-founder of AI company Vicarious, which has raised over $100 million in venture funding, for Kisaco Research's Brain Inspired Computing Congress 2020, which takes place April 21 – 22 in Milpitas, California We spoke with Dileep about the unique requirements and considerations for adopting AI in robotics use-cases, as well as where AI-enabled robotics will play a role in business in the new decade.

This week, we explore a novel use-case of AI in marketing: copywriting. Can AI write a better email subject line or social media post than a human being? Sometimes, the answer is yes. We interview Parry Malm, CEO of Phrasee, an AI company that got its start optimizing email subject lines with AI. Parry speaks with us about this particular AI capability and how it will impact the future of marketing. If you have an interest in discovering more about the AI use-cases in your industry, watch the 2-minute video about our AI Opportunity Landscape Service at emerj.com/aiol.

On this special bonus episode of the podcast, we spoke with Victoria Rege, Director of Alliances & Strategic Partnerships and Graphcore, for Kisaco Research's AI Hardware Summit in Europe, which takes place October 29 - 30th in Munich, Germany. We discuss the current challenges enterprises are facing in adopting and using AI hardware. We then project where AI hardware may find a home in business in the new decade.

Personalization is an area that is going to move fastest in retail and will spin out into other industries from there. This week, we interview the CTO of a company that does exactly that: Tyler Foster of Evolv.ai. Tyler gives his perspective on what personalization can do today and where AI will make its way into the future of retail. Download our AI in Retail Executive Cheat Sheet, a short collection of AI use-cases in retail and a rundown of AI-related terms in retail at emerj.com/ret1.

This week, we're continuing our month-long focus on AI use-cases in retail and eCommerce. Our guest this week is Mahmoud Arram, CTO and Founder of Bluecore. Mahmoud's focus is on the marketing and advertising side of retail. He provides an interesting perspective on how AI could evolve marketing processes in terms of getting the right message in front of the right person at the right time. Be sure to download our AI in Retail Executive Cheat Sheet, where we lay out the basic use-cases of AI in retail in eCommerce and define key AI-related terms in the industry at emerj.com/ret1.

This month on AI in Industry, we focus on AI in retail and eCommerce. Our first guest is Guru Hariharan, CEO of CommerceIQ. Guru shares his thoughts on the current impact of AI on retail and eCommerce today, including in sales, marketing, and supply chain. We've recently put together our AI in Retail Executive Cheat Sheet, an overview of prominent AI use-cases in retail and eCommerce. Also included is a glossary of key terms businesspeople in retail need to know to navigate the AI conversation in their industry. Download it at emerj.com/ret1.

Our guest this week is Dr. Charles Martin of Calculation Consulting, a bit of a mentor of mine when it comes to AI in the enterprise. He understands a lot of the ups and downs of what it takes to apply AI in business. He speaks with us this week about how to determine your vendor needs. Are you looking for a consultant? A specific vendor? Are you looking to partner with a vendor? Figuring this out right off the bat might be the easiest way to save money and time. If you're picking a vendor for your company or for your clients, be sure to download our free pdf guide on the topic: 5 Ways to Select the Right AI Vendor

Our guest this week is Gaurav Srivastava, CTO at Fareye, an AI company in the logistics space. Gaurav talks about which elements of the existing procurement procedures in the enterprise can stick around and which need to be different when it comes to shopping for AI and looking for new AI solutions. He talks about demos, pilots, social proof, and troubleshooting some of the potential issues that come up when looking for the right AI vendor. If you haven't already downloaded our PDF guide, 5 Ways to Select the Right AI vendor, you can do so at emerj.com/buy1