The rapid evolution of technology excites Anthony, especially in AI. User preferences are shifting towards more human-like AI interactions. Empathy in AI is crucial for better customer service experiences. The partnership between Amdocs and NVIDIA emphasizes the importance of software efficiency Software and hardware advancements must progress in parallel to maximize productivity. Physical AI integration will enhance daily life through automation and smart devices. Emergent behavior in AI repres...
May 05, 2025•43 min•Ep. 121
Mica shares the methods behind Augury’s fault testing processes, why they use the highest quality data available, how in-house experts help them filter their data reliably, and their approach to communicating with customers. Our conversation also explores the balance between edge computing and cloud computing, and why both are necessary for optimal performance and monitoring. Key Points From This Episode: Mica’s journey from studying physics at the Weizmann Institute to her current role at Augur...
Mar 20, 2025•32 min•Ep. 120
Srini highlights the importance of integrating these agents into real-world applications, enhancing productivity and user experiences across industries. Srini also delves into the challenges of building reliable, ethical, and secure AI systems while fostering developer innovation. His insights offer a roadmap for harnessing advanced agents to drive meaningful technological progress. Don’t miss this informative conversation. Key Points From This Episode: Introducing today’s guest, Srini Iragavara...
Feb 28, 2025•33 min•Ep. 119
We explore the current trends of AI-based solutions in retail, what has driven its adoption in the industry, and how AI-based customer service technology has improved over time. We also discuss the correct mix of technology and humans, the importance of establishing boundaries for AI, and why it won't replace humans but will augment workflow. Hear examples of AI retail success stories, what companies got AI wrong, and the reasons behind the wins and failures. Gain insights into the value of copi...
Feb 21, 2025•32 min•Ep. 118
We hear about Nitzan’s AI expertise, motivation for joining eBay, and approach to implementing AI into eBay's business model. Gain insights into the impacts of centralizing and federating AI, leveraging generative AI to create personalized content, and why patience is essential to AI development. We also unpack eBay's approach to LLM development, tailoring AI tools for eBay sellers, the pitfalls of generic marketing content, and the future of AI in retail. Join us to discover how AI is revolutio...
Jan 30, 2025•33 min•Ep. 117
Satya unpacks how Unilever utilizes its database to inform its models and how to determine the right amount of data needed to solve complex problems. Dr. Wattamwar explains why contextual problem-solving is vital, the notion of time constraints in data science, the system point of view of modeling, and how Unilever incorporates AI into its models. Gain insights into how AI can increase operational efficiency, exciting trends in the AI space, how AI makes experimentation accessible, and more! Tun...
Jan 24, 2025•25 min•Ep. 116
Jing explains how Vanguard uses machine learning and reinforcement learning to deliver personalized "nudges," helping investors make smarter financial decisions. Jing dives into the importance of aligning AI efforts with Vanguard’s mission and discusses generative AI’s potential for boosting employee productivity while improving customer experiences. She also reveals how generative AI is poised to play a key role in transforming the company's future, all while maintaining strict data privacy sta...
Dec 30, 2024•35 min•Ep. 115
Key Points From This Episode: Ram Venkatesh describes his career journey to founding Sema4.ai. The pain points he was trying to ease with Sema4.ai. How our general approach to big data is becoming more streamlined, albeit rather slowly. The ins and outs of Sema4.ai and how it serves its clients. What Ram means by “agent” and “agent agency” when referring to machine learning copilots. The difference between writing a program to execute versus an agent reasoning with it. Understanding the contextu...
Dec 23, 2024•30 min•Ep. 114
Pascal & Yannick delve into the kind of human involvement SAM-2 needs before discussing the use cases it enables. Hear all about the importance of having realistic expectations of AI, what the cost of SAM-2 looks like, and the the importance of humans in LLMs. Key Points From This Episode: Introducing Pascal Jauffret and Yannick Donnelly to the show. Our guests explain what the SAM-2 model is. A description of what getting information from video entails. What made our guests interested in re...
Dec 18, 2024•50 min•Ep. 113
Today we are joined by Siddhika Nevrekar, an experienced product leader passionate about solving complex problems in ML by bringing people and products together in an environment of trust. We unpack the state of free computing, the challenges of training AI models for edge, what Siddhika hopes to achieve in her role at Qualcomm, and her methods for solving common industry problems that developers face. Key Points From This Episode: Siddhika Nevrekar walks us through her career pivot from cloud t...
Dec 16, 2024•33 min•Ep. 112
Today we are joined by Developer Advocate at Block, Rizel Scarlett, who is here to explain how to bridge the gap between the technical and non-technical aspects of a business. We also learn about AI hallucinations and how Rizel and Block approach this particular pain point, the burdens of responsibility of AI users, why it’s important to make AI tools accessible to all, and the ins and outs of G{Code} House – a learning community for Indigenous and women of color in tech. To end, Rizel explains ...
Dec 03, 2024•28 min•Ep. 111
Key Points From This Episode: Drew and his co-founders’ background working together at RJ Metrics. The lack of existing data solutions for Amazon Redshift and how they started dbt Labs. Initial adoption of dbt Labs and why it was so well-received from the very beginning. The concept of a semantic layer and how dbt Labs uses it in conjunction with LLMs. Drew’s insights on a recent paper by Apple on the limitations of LLMs’ reasoning. Unpacking examples where LLMs struggle with specific questions,...
Nov 21, 2024•28 min•Ep. 110
In this episode, you’ll hear about Meeri's incredible career, insights from the recent AI Pact conference she attended, her company's involvement, and how we can articulate the reality of holding companies accountable to AI governance practices. We discuss how to know if you have an AI problem, what makes third-party generative AI more risky, and so much more! Meeri even shares how she thinks the Use AI Act will impact AI companies and what companies can do to take stock of their risk factors an...
Oct 31, 2024•25 min•Ep. 109
In this episode, Dr. Zoldi offers insight into the transformative potential of blockchain for ensuring transparency in AI development, the critical need for explainability over mere predictive power, and how FICO maintains trust in its AI systems through rigorous model development standards. We also delve into the essential integration of data science and software engineering teams, emphasizing that collaboration from the outset is key to operationalizing AI effectively. Key Points From This Epi...
Oct 18, 2024•34 min•Ep. 108
Jay breaks down the critical role of software optimizations and how they drive performance gains in AI, highlighting the importance of reducing inefficiencies in hardware. He also discusses the long-term vision for Lemurian Labs and the broader future of AI, pointing to the potential breakthroughs that could redefine industries and accelerate innovation, plus a whole lot more. Key Points From This Episode: Jay’s diverse professional background and his attraction to solving unsolvable problems. H...
Oct 10, 2024•29 min•Ep. 107
Melissa explains the importance of giving developers the choice of working with open source or proprietary options, experimenting with flexible application models, and choosing the size of your model according to the use case you have in mind. Discussing the democratization of technology, we explore common challenges in the context of AI including the potential of generative AI versus the challenge of its implementation, where true innovation lies, and what Melissa is most excited about seeing i...
Sep 30, 2024•35 min•Ep. 106
VP of AI and ML at Synopsys, Thomas Andersen joins us to discuss designing AI chips. Tuning in, you’ll hear all about our guest’s illustrious career, how he became interested in technology, tech in East Germany, what it was like growing up there, and so much more! We delve into his company, Synopsys, and the chips they build before discussing his role in building algorithms. Key Points From This Episode: A warm welcome to today’s guest, Thomas Andersen. How he got into the tech world and his exp...
Sep 27, 2024•42 min•Ep. 105
Developing AI and generative AI initiatives demands significant investment, and without delivering on customer satisfaction, these costs can be tough to justify. Today, SVP of Engineering and General Manager of Xactly India, Kandarp Desai joins us to discuss Xactly's AI initiatives and why customer satisfaction remains their top priority. Key Points From This Episode: An introduction to Kandarp and his transition from hardware to software. How he became SVP of Engineering and General Manager of ...
Sep 24, 2024•25 min•Ep. 104
Srujana is Vice President and Group Director at Walmart’s Machine Learning Center of Excellence and is an experienced and respected AI, machine learning, and data science professional. She has a strong background in developing AI and machine learning models, with expertise in natural language processing, deep learning, and data-driven decision-making. Srujana has worked in various capacities in the tech industry, contributing to advancing AI technologies and their applications in solving complex...
Sep 09, 2024•31 min•Ep. 103
Our guest goes on to share the different kinds of research they use for machine learning development before explaining why he is more conservative when it comes to driving generative AI use cases. He even shares some examples of generative use cases he feels are worthwhile. We hear about how these changes will benefit all UPS customers and how they avoid sharing private and non-compliant information with chatbots. Finally, Sunzay shares some advice for anyone wanting to become a leader in the te...
Aug 29, 2024•25 min•Ep. 102
Martin shares what reinforcement learning does differently in executing complex tasks, overcoming feedback loops in reinforcement learning, the pitfalls of typical agent-based learning methods, and how being a robotic soccer champion exposed the value of deep learning. We unpack the advantages of deep learning over modeling agent approaches, how finding a solution can inspire a solution in an unrelated field, and why he is currently focusing on data efficiency. Gain insights into the trade-offs ...
Aug 23, 2024•26 min•Ep. 101
Jia shares the kinds of AI courses she teaches at Stanford, how students are receiving machine learning education, and the impact of AI agents, as well as understanding technical boundaries, being realistic about the limitations of AI agents, and the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration. We also delve into how Jia prioritizes latency at LiveX before finding out how machine learning has changed the way people interact with agents; both human and AI. Key Points From This Episode: The AI c...
Jul 25, 2024•30 min•Ep. 100
Key Points From This Episode: Reid Robinson's professional background, and how he ended up at Zapier. What he learned during his year as an NFT founder, and how it serves him in his work today. How he gained his diverse array of professional skills. Whether one can differentiate between AI and mere automation. How Reid knew that partnering with OpenAI and ChatGPT would be the perfect fit. The way the Zapier team understands and approaches ML accuracy and generative data. Why real-world data is b...
Jul 22, 2024•31 min•Ep. 99
In this episode of How AI Happens, Justin explains how his project, Wondr Search, injects creativity into AI in a way that doesn’t alienate creators. You’ll learn how this new form of AI uses evolutionary algorithms (EAs) and differential evolution (DE) to generate music without learning from or imitating existing creative work. We also touch on the success of the six songs created by Wondr Search, why AI will never fully replace artists, and so much more. For a fascinating conversation at the i...
Jun 28, 2024•28 min•Ep. 98
Jacob shares how Gong uses AI, how it empowers its customers to build their own models, and how this ease of access for users holds the promise of a brighter future. We also learn more about the inner workings of Gong and how it trains its own models, why it’s not too interested in tracking soft skills right now, what we need to be doing more of to build more trust in chatbots, and our guest’s summation of why technology is advancing like a runaway train. Key Points From This Episode: Jacob Ecke...
Jun 26, 2024•27 min•Ep. 97
Bobak further opines on the pros and cons of Perplexity and GPT 4.0, why the technology uses both models, the differences, and the pros and cons. Finally, our guest tells us why Brilliant Labs is open-source and reminds us why public participation is so important. Key Points From This Episode: Introducing Bobak Tavangar to today’s episode of How AI Happens. Bobak tells us about his background and what led him to start his company, Brilliant Labs. Our guest shares his interesting Lord of the Ring...
Jun 14, 2024•32 min•Ep. 96
Andrew shares how generative AI is used by academic institutions, why employers and educators need to curb their fear of AI, what we need to consider for using AI responsibly, and the ins and outs of Andrew’s podcast, Insight x Design. Key Points From This Episode: Andrew Madson explains what a tech evangelist is and what his role at Dremio entails. The ins and outs of Dremio. Understanding the pain points that Andrew wanted to alleviate by joining Dremio. How Andrew became a tech evangelist, an...
May 30, 2024•29 min•Ep. 95
Tom shares further thoughts on financing AI tech venture capital and whether or not data centers pose a threat to the relevance of the Cloud, as well as his predictions for the future of GPUs and much more. Key Points From This Episode: Introducing Tomasz Tunguz, General Partner at Theory Ventures. What he is currently working on including AI research and growing the team at Theory. How he goes about researching the present to predict the future. Why professionals often work in both academia and...
May 22, 2024•30 min•Ep. 94
Kordel is the CTO and Founder of Theta Diagnostics, and today he joins us to discuss the work he is doing to develop a sense of smell in AI. We discuss the current and future use cases they’ve been working on, the advancements they’ve made, and how to answer the question “What is smell?” in the context of AI. Kordel also provides a breakdown of their software program Alchemy, their approach to collecting and interpreting data on scents, and how he plans to help machines recognize the context for...
May 15, 2024•34 min•Ep. 93
After describing the work done at StoneX and her role at the organization, Elettra explains what drew her to neural networks, defines data science and how she overcame the challenges of learning something new on the job, breaks down what a data scientist needs to succeed, and shares her thoughts on why many still don’t fully understand the industry. Our guest also tells us how she identifies an inadequate data set, the recent innovations that are under construction at StoneX, how to ensure that ...
Mar 28, 2024•29 min•Ep. 92
