DataFramed

With seemingly every organization wanting to enhance their AI capabilities, questions arise about who should be in charge of these initiatives. At the moment, it’s likely a CTO, CIO, or CDO, or a mixture of the three. The gold standard is to have someone in the C-suite whose sole focus is their AI projects: the Chief AI Officer. This role is so new that it's not yet widely understood. In this episode, we explore what the CAIO job entails.

Philipp Herzig is the Chief AI Officer at SAP. He’s held a variety of roles within SAP, most recently SVP Head of Cross Product Engineering & Experience, however his experience covers intelligent enterprise & cross-architecture, head of engineering for cloud-native apps, a software development manager, and product owner. 

In the full episode, Richie and Philipp explore what his day-to-day responsibilities are as a CAIO, the holistic approach to cross-team collaboration, non-technical interdepartmental work, AI strategy and implementation, challenges and success metrics, how to approach high-value AI use cases, insights into current AI developments and the importance of continuous learning, the exciting future of AI and much more. 

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Countless companies invest in their data quality, but often, the effort from their investment is not fully realized in the output. It seems like, despite the critical importance of data quality, data governance might be suffering from a branding issue. Data governance is sometimes looked at as the data police, but this is far from the truth. So, how can we change perspectives and introduce fun into data governance?

Tiankai Feng is a Principal Data Consultant and Data Strategy & Data Governance Lead at Thoughtworks, He also works part-time as the Head of Marketing at DAMA Germany. Tiankai has had many data hats in his career—marketing data analyst, data product owner, analytics capability lead, and data governance leader for the last few years. He has found a passion for the human side of data—how to collaborate, coordinate, and communicate around data. TIankai often uses his music and humor to make data more approachable and fun.

In the episode, Adel and Tiankai explore the importance of data governance in data-driven organizations, the challenges of data governance, how to define success criteria and measure the ROI of governance initiatives, non-invasive and creative approaches to data governance, the implications of generative AI on data governance, regulatory considerations, organizational culture and much more. 

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Databases are ubiquitous, and you don’t need to be a data practitioner to know that all data everywhere is stored in a database—or is it? While the majority of data around the world lives in a database, the data that helps run the heart of our operating systems—the core functions of our computers— is not stored in the same place as everywhere else. This is due to database storage sitting ‘above’ the operating system, requiring the OS to run before the databases can be used. But what if the OS was built ‘on top’ of a database? What difference could this fundamental change make to how we use computers?

Mike Stonebraker is a distinguished computer scientist known for his foundational work in database systems, he is also currently CTO & Co-Founder At DBOS. His extensive career includes significant contributions through academic prototypes and commercial startups, leading to the creation of several pivotal relational database companies such as Ingres Corporation, Illustra, Paradigm4, StreamBase Systems, Tamr, Vertica, and VoltDB. Stonebraker's role as chief technical officer at Informix and his influential research earned him the prestigious 2014 Turing Award.

Stonebraker's professional journey spans two major phases: initially at the University of California, Berkeley, focusing on relational database management systems like Ingres and Postgres, and later, from 2001 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he pioneered advanced data management techniques including C-Store, H-Store, SciDB, and DBOS. He remains a professor emeritus at UC Berkeley and continues to influence as an adjunct professor at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. Stonebraker is also recognized for his editorial work on the book "Readings in Database Systems."

In the episode, Richie and Mike explore the the success of PostgreSQL, the evolution of SQL databases, the shift towards cloud computing and what that means in practice when migrating to the cloud, the impact of disaggregated storage, software and serverless trends, the role of databases in facilitating new data and AI trends, DBOS and it’s advantages for security, and much more. 

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Over the past 199 episodes of DataFramed, we’ve heard from people at the forefront of data and AI, and over the past year we’ve constantly looked ahead to the future AI might bring. But all of the technologies and ways of working we’ve witnessed have been built on foundations that were laid decades ago. For our 200th episode, we’re bringing you a special guest and taking a walk down memory lane—to the creation and development of one of the most popular programming languages in the world.

Don Chamberlin is renowned as the co-inventor of SQL (Structured Query Language), the predominant database language globally, which he developed with Raymond Boyce in the mid-1970s. Chamberlin's professional career began at IBM Research in Yorktown Heights, New York, following a summer internship there during his academic years. His work on IBM's System R project led to the first SQL implementation and significantly advanced IBM’s relational database technology. His contributions were recognized when he was made an IBM Fellow in 2003 and later a Fellow of the Computer History Museum in 2009 for his pioneering work on SQL and database architectures. Chamberlin also contributed to the development of XQuery, an XML query language, as part of the W3C, which became a W3C Recommendation in January 2007. Additionally, he holds fellowships with ACM and IEEE and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

In the episode, Richie and Don explore his early career at IBM and the development of his interest in databases alongside Ray Boyce, the database task group (DBTG), the transition to relational databases and the early development of SQL, the commercialization and adoption of SQL, how it became standardized, how it evolved and spread via open source, the future of SQL through NoSQL and SQL++ and much more. 

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Last year saw the proliferation of countless AI tools and initiatives, many companies looked to find ways where AI could be leveraged to reduce operational costs and pressure wherever possible. 2023 was a year of experimentation for anyone trying to harness AI, but we can’t walk forever. To keep up with the rapidly changing landscape in business, last year’s experiments with AI need to find their feet and allow us to run. But how do we know which initiatives are worth fully investing in? Will your company culture impede the change management that is necessary to fully adopt AI?

Sanjay Srivastava is the Chief Digital Strategist at Genpact. He works exclusively with Genpact’s senior client executives and ecosystem technology leaders to mobilize digital transformation at the intersection of cutting-edge technology, data strategy, operating models, and process design. In his previous role as Chief Digital Officer at Genpact, Sanjay built out the company’s offerings in artificial intelligence, data and analytics, automation, and digital technology services. He leads Genpact’s artificial-intelligence-enabled platform that delivers industry-leading governance, integration, and orchestration capabilities across digital transformations. Before joining Genpact, Sanjay was a Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur and built four high-tech startups, each of which was successfully acquired by Akamai, BMC, FIS, and Genpact, respectively. Sanjay also held operating leadership roles at Hewlett Packard, Akamai, and SunGard (now FIS), where he oversaw product management, global sales, engineering, and services businesses.

In the episode, Sanjay and Richie cover the shift from experimentation to production seen in the AI space over the past 12 months, the importance of corporate culture in the adoption of AI in a business environment, how AI automation is revolutionizing business processes at GENPACT, how change management contributes to how we leverage AI tools at work, adapting skill development pathways to make the most out of AI, how AI implementation changes depending on the size of your organization, future opportunities for AI to change industries and much more. 

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There aren’t many retail giants like Walmart. In fact, there are none. The multinational generates 650bn in revenue, (including 50bn in eCommerce)—the highest revenue of any retailer globally. With over 10,000 stores worldwide and a constantly evolving product line, Walmart’s data & AI function has a lot to contend with when it comes to customer experience, demand forecasting, supply chain optimization and where to use AI effectively. So how do they do it? What can we learn from one of the most successful and well-known organizations on the planet?

Swati Kirti is a Senior Director of Data Science, leading the AI/ML charter for Walmart Global Tech’s international business in Canada, Mexico, Central America, Chile, China, and South Africa. She is responsible for building AI/ML models and products to enable automation and data-driven decisions, powering superior customer experience and realizing value for omnichannel international businesses across e-commerce, stores, supply chain, and merchandising.

In the episode, Swati and Richie explore the role of data and AI at Walmart, how the data and AI teams operate under Swati’s supervision, how Walmart improves customer experience through the use of data, supply chain optimization, demand forecasting, retail-specific data challenges, scaling AI solutions, innovation in retail through AI and much more. 

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Generative AI has had a wide range of uses, but some of its strongest use cases are in coding and programming. One of the companies that has been leading the way in AI-assisted programming has been GitHub with GitHub CoPilot. Many software engineering teams now have tools like CoPilot embedded into their workflows, but what does this mean for the future of programming?

Kyle Daigle is the COO of GitHub, leading the strategic initiatives, operations, and innovation of the world's largest platform for software development and collaboration. With over 10 years of experience at GitHub, Kyle has a deep understanding of the needs and challenges of developers and the ecosystem they work in.

In the episode, Adel and Kyle explore Kyle’s journey into development and AI, how he became the COO at GitHub, GitHub’s approach to AI, the impact of CoPilot on software development, how AI tools are adopted by software developers, the future of programming and AI’s role within it, the risks and challenges associated with the adoption of AI coding tools, the broader implications tools like CoPilot might have and much more. 

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Since the launch of ChatGPT, one of the trending terms outside of ChatGPT itself has been prompt engineering. This act of carefully crafting your instructions is treated as alchemy by some and science by others. So what makes an effective prompt?

Alex Banks has been building and scaling AI products since 2021. He writes Sunday Signal, a newsletter offering a blend of AI advancements and broader thought-provoking insights. His expertise extends to social media platforms on X/Twitter and LinkedIn, where he educates a diverse audience on leveraging AI to enhance productivity and transform daily life.

In the episode, Alex and Adel cover Alex’s journey into AI and what led him to create Sunday Signal, the potential of AI, prompt engineering at its most basic level, strategies for better prompting, chain of thought prompting, prompt engineering as a skill and career path, building your own AI tools rather than using consumer AI products, AI literacy, the future of LLMs and much more. 

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Driving impact with analytics goes beyond numbers and graphs; it's about telling a story that resonates. In this session, Brent Dykes, author of "Effective Data Storytelling" & the Founder & Chief Data Storyteller at AnalyticsHero, Lea Pica, author of "Present Beyond Measure" & the Founder at Story-driven by Data, and Andy Cotgreave, co-author of "The Big Book of Dashboards" and Senior Data Evangelist at Tableau, will unveil how to transform data into compelling narratives. 

They shed light on the art of blending analytics with storytelling, a key to making data-driven insights both understandable and influential within any organization.

You've just invested in licenses for your favorite analytics tool, but now what? In this session, Laura Gent Felker, GTM Analytics Lead at MongoDB, Tiffany Perkins-Munn, Managing Director & Head of Data & Analytics at JPMC and Omar Khawaja, CDAO & Global Head Data & Analytics at Givaudan will explore best practices when it comes to scaling analytics adoption within the wider organization. They will discuss how to approach change management when it comes to driving analytics adoption, the role of data leaders in driving a culture change around analytics tooling, and a lot more. 

Driving trust with data is essential to succeeding with analytics. However, time and time again, data quality remains an issue for most organizations today. In this session, Esther Munyi, Chief Data Officer at Sasfin, Amy Grace, Director, Military Engines Digital Strategy at Pratt & Whitney, Stefaan Verhulst, Chief Research & Development Officer, Director of Data Program at NYU Governance Lab, and Malarvizhi Veerappan, Program Manager and Senior Data Scientist at the World Bank will focus on strategies for improving data quality, fostering a culture of trust around data, and balancing robust governance with the need for accessible, high-quality data.

Creating a culture of continuous learning within analytics functions isn't just beneficial; it's essential. In the session, Russell Johnson, Chief Data Scientist at Marks & Spencer, Denisse Groenendaal-Lopez, Learning & Development Business Partner at Booking Group, and Mark Stern, VP of Business Intelligence & Analytics at BetMGM will address the importance of fostering a learning environment for driving success with analytics. They will provide insights on developing a culture where continuous learning, experimentation, and curiosity are the norms—and strategies leaders can adopt today to drive up excitement around analytics adoption & upskilling. 

Everyone has seen the reach and impact of generative AI, and with countless use-cases across a variety of fields, the question is often not "can we do things with AI?", but rather "what should we do with AI?". What are the key areas where generative AI has had a profound impact already? Which economies, industries, and businesses have taken full advantage of the abilities of GenAI already? It takes a lot of wisdom and experience within the data & AI space to distill high-level insights from such a rapidly changing world, but, luckily we have one of the best people in the world to quiz on the current landscape and future of AI. 

Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling business author, keynote speaker and strategic advisor to companies and governments. He advises many of the world’s best-known organizations such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, IBM, Toyota, and more.

LinkedIn has recently ranked Bernard as one of the top 5 business influencers in the world. He has authored 19 best-selling books, including his new book Generative AI in Practice: 100+ Amazing Ways Generative Artificial Intelligence is Changing Business and Society. Every day Bernard actively engages his over 4 million social media followers. He is one of the world’s most highly respected experts when it comes to future trends, strategy, business performance, digital transformation and the intelligent use of data and AI in business.

In the episode, Richie and Bernard explore how AI will impact society through the augmentation of jobs, the importance of developing skills that won’t be easily replaced by AI, how generative AI is revolutionizing creative fields already, how AI will impact education, AI’s role in coding and software development, use cases of generative AI in business, how personalization is set to improve through AI, concerns and ethical considerations surrounding AI, why we should be optimistic about the future of AI, and much more. 

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There is a concept in software engineering which is called ‘shifting left’, this focuses on testing software a lot earlier in the development lifecycle than you would normally expect it to. This helps teams building the software create better rituals and processes, while also ensuring quality and usability are key aspects to evaluate as the software is being built. We know this works in software development, but what happens when these practices are used when building AI tools?

Saurabh Gupta is a seasoned technology executive and is currently Chief Strategy & Revenue Officer The Modern Data Company. With over 25 years of experience in tech, data and strategy, he has led many strategy and modernization initiatives across industries and disciplines. Through his career, he has worked with various Internation Organizations and NGOs, Public sector and Private sector organizations. Before joining TMDC, he was the Head of Data Strategy & Governance at ThoughtWorks & CDO/Director for Washington DC Gov., where he developed the digital/data modernization strategy for education data. Prior to DCGov he played leadership and strategic roles at organizations including IMF and World Bank where he was responsible for their Data strategy and led the OpenData initiatives. He has also closely worked with African Development Bank, OECD, EuroStat, ECB, UN and FAO as a part of inter-organization working groups on data and development goals. As a part of the taskforce for international data cooperation under the G20 Data Gaps initiative, he chaired the technical working group on data standards and exchange. He also played an advisor role to the African Development Bank on their data democratization efforts under the Africa Information Highway.

In the episode, Adel & Saurabh explore the importance of data quality and how ‘shifting left’ can improve data quality practices, the role of data governance, the emergence of data product managers, operationalizing ‘shift left’ strategies through collaboration and data governance, the challenges faced when implementing data governance, future trends in data quality and governance, and much more. 

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Generative AI has made a mark everywhere, including BI platforms, but how can you combine AI and BI together? What effects can this have across organizations? With constituent aspects such as data quality, your AI strategy, and the specific use-case you’re trying to solve, it’s important to get the full picture and tread with intent. What are the subtleties that we need to get right in order for this marriage to work to its full potential?

Nick Magnuson is the Head of AI at Qlik, executing the organization’s AI strategy, solution development, and innovation. Prior to Qlik, Nick was the CEO of Big Squid, which was acquired by Qlik in 2021. Nick has previously held executive roles in customer success, product, and engineering in the field of machine learning and predictive analytics. As a practitioner in this field for over 20 years, Nick has published original research in these areas, as well as cognitive bias and other quantitative topics. He has also served as an advisor to other analytics platforms and start-ups. A long-time investment professional, Nick continues to hold his Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a past member of the Chicago Quantitative Alliance and Society of Quantitative Analysts. 

In the episode, Richie and Nick explore what Qlik offers, including products like Sense and Staige, how Staige uses AI to enhance customer capabilities, use cases of generative AI, advice on data privacy and security when using AI, data quality and its effect on the success of AI tools, AI strategy and leadership, how data roles are changing and the emergence of new positions, and much more. 

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Despite the critical role of analytics in guiding business decisions, organizations continue to face significant challenges in harnessing its full potential. As data sets expand and deadlines shrink, the urgency to scale analytics processes becomes paramount. What data leaders now need to focus on are essential strategies for analytics at scale, including fostering a culture of continuous learning, prioritizing data governance, and leveraging generative AI.

Libby Duane Adams is the Chief Advocacy Officer and co-founder of Alteryx. She is responsible for strengthening upskilling and reskilling efforts for Alteryx customers to enable a culture of analytics, scaling the presence of the Alteryx SparkED education program and furthering diversity and inclusion in the workplace. As the former Chief Customer Officer, Libby has helped many Fortune 100 executives to identify and seize market opportunities, outsmart their competitors, and drive more revenue from their current businesses using analytics. 

In the episode, Richie and Libby explore the differences between analytics and business intelligence, analytics as a team sport, the importance of speed in analytics, generative AI and its implications in analytics, the role of data quality and governance, Alteryx’s AI platform, data skills as a workplace necessity, using AI to automate documentation and insights, success stories and mistakes within analytics, and much more. 

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Generative AI is fantastic but has a major problem: sometimes it "hallucinates", meaning it makes things up. In a business product like a chatbot, this can be disastrous. Vector databases like Pinecone are one of the solutions to mitigating the problem.

Vector databases are a key component to any AI application, as well as things like enterprise search and document search. They have become an essential tool for every business, and with the rise in interest in AI in the last couple of years, the space is moving quickly. In this episode, you'll find out how to make use of vector databases, and find out about the latest developments at Pinecone.

Elan Dekel is the VP of Product at Pinecone, where he oversees the development of the Pinecone vector database. He was previously Product Lead for Core Data Serving at Google, where he led teams working on the indexing systems to serve data for Google search, YouTube search, and Google Maps. Before that, he was Founder and CEO of Medico, which was acquired by Everyday Health.

In the episode, RIchie and Elan explore LLMs, hallucination in generative models, vector databases and the best use-cases for them, semantic search, business applications of vector databases and semantic search, the tech stack for AI applications, cost considerations when investing in AI projects, emerging roles within the AI space, the future of vector databases and AI, and much more.  

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One of the most immediate needs to come out of the generative AI boom has been the need for guardrails and governmental regulation of AI technologies. Most of the work already completed in the AI space has been industry-led, with large organizations pushing AI forward to improve their efficiency as businesses and to create new avenues for revenue. This focus on industry and revenue can potentially create more inequality in the world, with companies not interested in the negative effects of AI being driven by profit, towards profit. To combat this, the UN has set up an AI Advisory Board, with members from different nationalities, backgrounds and expertises to ensure that AI is for all, and not just for profit. In this episode, we speak to two members of the board. 

Ian Bremmer is a political scientist who helps business leaders, policy makers, and the general public make sense of the world around them. He is president and founder of Eurasia Group, the world's leading political risk research and consulting firm, and GZERO Media, a company dedicated to providing intelligent and engaging coverage of international affairs.

Ian is credited with bringing the craft of political risk to financial markets, creating Wall Street's first global political risk index (GPRI), and for establishing political risk as an academic discipline. His definition of emerging markets— "those countries where politics matters at least as much as economics for market outcomes”—has become an industry standard. “G-Zero,” his term for a global power vacuum in which no country is willing and able to set the international agenda, is widely used by policymakers and thought leaders.

A prolific writer, Ian is the author of eleven books, including two New York Times bestsellers, “Us vs Them: The Failure of Globalism” which examines the rise of populism across the world, and his latest book “The Power of Crisis: How Three Threats—and Our Response—Will Change the World” which details a trio of looming global crises (health emergencies, climate change, and technological revolution) and outlines how governments, corporations, and concerned citizens can use these crises to create global prosperity and opportunity.

Jimena Viveros currently serves as the Chief of Staff and Head Legal Advisor to Justice Loretta Ortiz at the Mexican Supreme Court. Her prior roles include national leadership positions at the Federal Judicial Council, the Ministry of Security, and the Ministry of Finance, where she held the position of Director General. Jimena is a lawyer and AI expert, and possesses a broad and diverse international background. She is in the final stages of completing her Doctoral thesis, which focuses on the impact of AI and autonomous weapons on international peace and security law and policy, providing concrete propositions to achieve global governance from diverse legal perspectives. Her extensive work in AI and other legal domains has been widely published and recognized.

In the episode, Richie, Ian and Jimena cover what the UN's AI Advisory Body was set up for, the opportunities and risks of AI, how AI impacts global inequality, key principles of AI governance, the implementation of that governance, the future of AI in politics and global society, and much more. 

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Remarkable people walk among us. Some of us may be remarkable ourselves. But none of us start out remarkable. The journey to becoming a person that makes a difference in the world is never easy, as with any story that includes a hero, there are struggles, tests and moments of self-doubt. Remarkable people overcome these feats, and when they are in a position to, they give back. But what kind of mindset do these people have, how do they make decisions? What keeps them on their path towards becoming remarkable. 

Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist of Canva and the creator of Guy Kawasaki’s Remarkable People podcast. He is an executive fellow of the Haas School of Business (UC Berkeley), and adjunct professor of the University of New South Wales. He was the chief evangelist of Apple and a trustee of the Wikimedia Foundation. He has written Wise Guy, The Art of the Start 2.0, The Art of Social Media, Enchantment, and eleven other books. Kawasaki has a BA from Stanford University, an MBA from UCLA, and an honorary doctorate from Babson College.

In the episode, Richie and Guy explore the concept of being remarkable, growth, grit and grace, the importance of experiential learning, imposter syndrome, finding your passion, how to network and find remarkable people, dealing with failure, management and encouraging growth, work-life balance, measuring success through benevolent impact and much more. 

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We’ve heard so much about the value and capabilities of generative AI over the past year, and we’ve all become accustomed to the chat interfaces of our preferred models. One of the main concerns many of us have had has been privacy. Is OpenAI keeping the data and information I give to ChatGPT secure? One of the touted solutions to this problem is running LLMs locally on your own machine, but with the hardware cost that comes with it, running LLMs locally has not been possible for many of us. That might now be starting to change.

Nuri Canyaka is VP of AI Marketing at Intel. Prior to Intel, Nuri spent 16 years at Microsoft, starting out as a Technical Evangelist, and leaving the organization as the Senior Director of Product Marketing. He ran the GTM team that helped generate adoption of GPT in Microsoft Azure products.

La Tiffaney Santucci is Intel’s AI Marketing Director, specializing in their Edge and Client products. La Tiffaney has spent over a decade at Intel, focussing on partnerships with Dell, Google Amazon and Microsoft. 

In the episode, Richie, Nuri and La Tiffaney explore AI’s impact on marketing analytics, the adoptions of AI in the enterprise, how AI is being integrated into existing products, the workflow for implementing AI into business processes and the challenges that come with it, the importance of edge AI for instant decision-making in uses-cases like self-driving cars, the emergence of AI engineering as a distinct field of work, the democratization of AI, what the state of AGI might look like in the near future and much more. 

About the AI and the Modern Data Stack DataFramed Series

This week we’re releasing 4 episodes focused on how AI is changing the modern data stack and the analytics profession at large. The modern data stack is often an ambiguous and all-encompassing term, so we intentionally wanted to cover the impact of AI on the modern data stack from different angles. Here’s what you can expect:

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Snowflake has been foundational in the data space for years. In the mid-2010s, the platform was a major driver of moving data to the cloud. More recently, it's become apparent that combining data and AI in the cloud is key to accelerating innovation. Snowflake has been rapidly adding AI features to provide value to the modern data stack, but what’s really been going on under the hood?

At the time of recording, Sridhar Ramaswamy was the SVP of AI at Snowflake, being appointed CEO at Snowflake in February 2024. Sridhar was formerly Co-Founder of Neeva, acquired in 2023 by Snowflake. Before founding Neeva, Ramaswamy oversaw Google's advertising products, including search, display, video advertising, analytics, shopping, payments, and travel. He joined Google in 2003 and was part of the growth of AdWords and Google's overall advertising business. He spent more than 15 years at Google, where he started as a software engineer and rose to SVP of Ads & Commerce. 

In the episode, Richie and Sridhar explore Snowflake and its uses, how generative AI is changing the attitudes of leaders towards data, how NLP and AI have impacted enterprise business operations as well as new applications of AI in an enterprise environment, the challenges of enterprise search, the importance of data quality, management and the role of semantic layers in the effective use of AI, a look into Snowflakes products including Snowpilot and Cortex, the collaboration required for successful data and AI projects, advice for organizations looking to improve their data management and much more.    

About the AI and the Modern Data Stack DataFramed Series

This week we’re releasing 4 episodes focused on how AI is changing the modern data stack and the analytics profession at large. The modern data stack is often an ambiguous and all-encompassing term, so we intentionally wanted to cover the impact of AI on the modern data stack from different angles. Here’s what you can expect:

Links Mentioned in the Show:

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Databricks started out as a platform for using Spark, a big data analytics engine, but it's grown a lot since then. Databricks now allows users to leverage their data and AI projects in the same place, ensuring ease of use and consistency across operations. The Databricks platform is converging on the idea of data intelligence, but what does this mean, how will it help data teams and organizations, and where does AI fit in the picture?

Ari is Databricks’ Head of Evangelism and "The Real Moneyball Guy" - the popular movie was partly based on his analytical innovations in Major League Baseball. He is a leading influencer in analytics, artificial intelligence, data science, and high-growth business innovation. Ari was previously the Global AI Evangelist at DataRobot, Nielsen’s regional VP of Analytics, Caltech Alumni of the Decade, President Emeritus of the worldwide Independent Oracle Users Group, on Intel’s AI Board of Advisors, Sports Illustrated Top Ten GM Candidate, an IBM Watson Celebrity Data Scientist, and on the Crain’s Chicago 40 Under 40. He's also written 5 books on analytics, databases, and baseball.

Robin is the Field CTO at Databricks. She has consulted with hundreds of organizations on data strategy, data culture, and building diverse data teams. Robin has had an eclectic career path in technical and business functions with more than two decades in tech companies, including Microsoft and Databricks. She also has achieved multiple academic accomplishments from her juris doctorate to a masters in law to engineering leadership. From her first technical role as an entry-level consumer support engineer to her current role in the C-Suite, Robin supports creating an inclusive workplace and is the current co-chair of Women in Data Safety Committee. She was also recognized in 2023 as a Top 20 Women in Data and Tech, as well as DataIQ 100 Most Influential People in Data.

In the episode, Richie, Ari, and Robin explore Databricks, the application of generative AI in improving services operations and providing data insights, data intelligence, and lakehouse technology, the wide-ranging applications of generative AI, how AI tools are changing data democratization, the challenges of data governance and management and how tools like Databricks can help, how jobs in data and AI are changing and much more. 

About the AI and the Modern Data Stack DataFramed Series

This week we’re releasing 4 episodes focused on how AI is changing the modern data stack and the analytics profession at large. The modern data stack is often an ambiguous and all-encompassing term, so we intentionally wanted to cover the impact of AI on the modern data stack from different angles. Here’s what you can expect:

Links Mentioned in the Show:

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One of the biggest surprises of the generative AI revolution over the past 2 years lies in the counter-intuitiveness of its most successful use cases. Counter to most predictions made about AI years ago, AI-assisted coding, specifically AI-assisted data work, has been surprisingly one of the biggest killer apps of generative AI tools and copilots. However, what happens when we take this notion even further? How will analytics workflows look like when generative AI tools can also assist us in problem-solving? What type of analytics use cases can we expect to operationalize, and what tools can we expect to work with when AI systems can provide scalable qualitative data instead of relying on imperfect quantitative proxies? Today’s guest calls this future “weird”. 

Benn Stancil is the Field CTO at ThoughtSpot. He joined ThoughtSpot in 2023 as part of its acquisition of Mode, where he was a Co-Founder and CTO. While at Mode, Benn held roles leading Mode’s data, product, marketing, and executive teams. He regularly writes about data and technology at benn.substack.com. Prior to founding Mode, Benn worked on analytics teams at Microsoft and Yammer.

Throughout the episode, Benn and Adel talk about the nature of AI-assisted analytics workflows, the potential for generative AI in assisting problem-solving, how he imagines analytics workflows to look in the future, and a lot more. 

About the AI and the Modern Data Stack DataFramed Series

This week we’re releasing 4 episodes focused on how AI is changing the modern data stack and the analytics profession at large. The modern data stack is often an ambiguous and all-encompassing term, so we intentionally wanted to cover the impact of AI on the modern data stack from different angles. Here’s what you can expect:

Links Mentioned in the Show:

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Just as many of us have been using generative AI tools to make us more productive at work, so have bad actors. Generative AI makes it much easier to create fake yet convincing text and images that can be used to deceive and harm. We’ve already seen lots of high-profile attempts to leverage AI in phishing campaigns, and this is putting more pressure on cybersecurity teams to get ahead of the curve and combat these new forms of threats. However, AI is also helping those that work in cybersec to be more productive and better equip themselves to create new forms of defense and offense. 

Brian Murphy is a founder, CEO, entrepreneur and investor. He founded and leads ReliaQuest, the force multiplier of security operations and one of the largest and fastest-growing companies in the global cybersecurity market. ReliaQuest increases visibility, reduces complexity, and manages risk with its cloud-native security operations platform, GreyMatter. Murphy grew ReliaQuest from a boot-strapped startup to a high-growth unicorn with a valuation of over $1 billion, more than 1,000 team members, and more than $350 million in growth equity with firms such as FTV Capital and KKR Growth. 

In the full episode, Adel and Brian cover the evolution of cybersecurity tools, the challenges faced by cybersecurity teams, types of cyber threats, how generative AI can be used both defensively and offensively in cybersecurity, how generative AI tools are making cybersecurity professionals more productive, the evolving role of cybersecurity professionals, the security implications of deploying AI models, the regulatory landscape for AI in cybersecurity and much more. 

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We are in a Generative AI hype cycle. Every executive looking at the potential generative AI today is probably thinking about how they can allocate their department's budget to building some AI use cases. However, many of these use cases won't make it into production.

In a similar vein, the hype around machine learning in the early 2010s led to lots of hype around the technology, but a lot of the value did not pan out. Four years ago, VentureBeat showed that 87% of data science projects did not make it into production. And in a lot of ways, things haven’t gotten much better. And if we don't learn why that is the case, generative AI could be destined to a similar fate. 

Eric Siegel, Ph.D., is a leading consultant and former Columbia University professor who helps companies deploy machine learning. He is the founder of the long-running Machine Learning Week conference series and its new sister, Generative AI World, the instructor of the acclaimed online course “Machine Learning Leadership and Practice – End-to-End Mastery,” executive editor of The Machine Learning Times, and a frequent keynote speaker. He wrote the bestselling Predictive Analytics: The Power to Predict Who Will Click, Buy, Lie, or Die, as well as The AI Playbook: Mastering the Rare Art of Machine Learning Deployment. Eric’s interdisciplinary work bridges the stubborn technology/business gap. At Columbia, he won the Distinguished Faculty award when teaching graduate computer science courses in ML and AI. Later, he served as a business school professor at UVA Darden. Eric also publishes op-eds on analytics and social justice.

In the episode, Adel and Eric explore the reasons why machine learning projects don't make it into production, the BizML Framework or how to bring business stakeholders into the room when building machine learning use cases, the skill gap between business stakeholders and data practitioners, use cases of organizations have leveraged machine learning for operational improvements, what the previous machine learning hype cycle can teach us about generative AI and a lot more. 

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We don’t think about every decision we make. Some decisions are easy and intuitive, others can be riddled with doubt. In a business setting, decision-making is often crucial, and with that comes pressure to ensure we’re making the right decisions in the best way possible. We can often accompany decision-making with context, providing a narrative for how we might approach a decision, citing what data and insights have had significant input into our choices. But how do we approach storytelling and decision-making to breed success? There’s probably no better person to guide us through the ins and outs of decision-making than the co-author of Business Storytelling For Dummies.

Lori L. Silverman is the owner of Partners for Progress, a management consulting firm. As a business strategist, she has consulted with organizations in fifteen industries including financial services, insurance, manufacturing and petroleum companies, government entities, and professional associations. As a keynote speaker, Lori has positively impacted the lives of thousands of people. She has appeared on over fifty radio and television shows to speak about using stories in the workplace and is the co-author of Critical SHIFT and Stories Trainers Tell. 

She’s a pioneer in the business storytelling field, author of five books, and is known worldwide for her work in collaborative data-informed decision-making.

In the episode, Richie and Lori cover common problems in business decision-making, connecting decision-making to business processes, analytics and decision-making, integrating data practitioners and decision-makers, the role of data visualization and narrative storytelling, the SMARTER decision-making methodology, the importance of intuition, challenges faced when applying decision-making methodologies and much more. 

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Arianna Huffington, co-founder of The Huffington Post, woke up in a pool of blood nursing a broken cheekbone after collapsing at her desk in 2007. Various stresses and pressures in her life had manifested themself into an episode of extreme mental exhaustion. This event was the catalyst for her to write a book on well-being as well as start the behavioral-change company Thrive Global. Many of us have, or will, experience burnout at some point. The build-up of stress, negative emotions, and internal tension may not result in the same shocking scene Huffington found herself in, but its effects are serious and permeate not just through our profession but into our home life as well. Stress and burnout are especially prevalent in working environments where there is an emphasis on urgency, and with the constant advancements we’ve seen in the data & AI sphere in the past year, leaders and practitioners working in the data space will need to know how to recognize the symptoms of burnout and create workplace cultures that prevent burnout in the first place.

Jen Fisher is Deloitte’s human sustainability leader. Previously, Fisher served as Deloitte’s first-ever chief well-being officer. She’s also a TEDx speaker, coauthor of the book, Work Better Together: How to Cultivate Strong Relationships to Maximize Well-Being and Boost Bottom Lines, editor-at-large for Thrive Global, and host of the “WorkWell” podcast series.

In the episode, Jen and Adel cover Jen’s own personal experience with burnout, the role of a Chief Wellbeing Officer, the impact of work on our overall well-being, the patterns that lead to burnout, defining well-being in the workplace, technology’s impact on our well-being, psychological safety in the workplace, how managers and leaders can looking after themselves and their teams, the future of human sustainability in the workplace and much more. 

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2023 was a huge year for data and AI. Everyone who didn't live under a rock started using generative AI, and much was teased by companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, Google and Meta. We saw the millions of different use cases generative AI could be applied to, as well as the iterations we could expect from the AI space, such as connected multi-modal models, LLMs in mobile devices and formal legislation. But what has this meant for DataCamp? What will we do to facilitate learners and organizations around the world in staying ahead of the curve?

In this special episode of DataFramed, we sit down with DataCamp Co-Founders Jo Cornelissen, Chief Executive Officer, and Martijn Theuwissen, Chief Operating Officer, to discuss their expectations for data & AI in 2024.

In the episode, Richie, Jo and Martijn discuss generative AI's mainstream impact in 2023, the broad use cases of generative AI and skills required to utilize it effectively, trends in AI and software development, how the programming languages for data are evolving, new roles in data & AI, the job market and skill development in data science and their predictions for 2024.

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In January 2024, six activists were identified by British Police in London, suspected of planning to disrupt the London Stock Exchange through a lock-in. In an attempt to prevent the building from opening for trading. Despite the foiled attempt, the strategy for this protest was inherently flawed. Trading no longer requires a busy exchange with raucous shouting and phone calls to facilitate the flow of investment around the world. Nowadays, machines can trade at a fraction of a second, ingesting huge amounts of real-time data to execute finely tuned-trading strategies. But who programs these trading machines, how do we assess risk when trading at such a high volume and in such short periods of time?

Anthony Markham is Vice President, Quantitative Developer at Deutsche Bank. With a background in Aerospace and Software Engineering, Anthony has experience in Data Science, facial recognition research, tertiary education, and Quantitative Finance, developing mostly in Python, Julia, and C++. When not working, Anthony enjoys working on personal projects, flying aircraft, and playing sports.

In the episode, Richie and Anthony cover what algorithmic trading is, the use of machine learning techniques in trading strategies, the challenges of handling large datasets with low latency, risk management in algorithmic trading, data analysis techniques for handling time series data, the challenges of deep neural networks in trading, the diverse roles and skills of those who work in algorithmic trading and much more. 

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Cookies were invented to help online shoppers, simply as an identifier so that online carts weren’t lost to the ether. Marketers quickly saw the power of using cookies for more than just maintaining session states, and moved to use them as part of their targeted advertising. Before we knew it, our online habits were being tracked, without our clear consent. The unregulated cookie-boom lasted until 2018 with the advent of GDPR and the CCPA. Since then marketers have been evolving their practices, looking for alternatives to cookie-tracking that will perform comparatively, and with the cookie being phased out in 2024, technologies like fingerprinting and new privacy-centric marketing strategies will play a huge role in how products meet users in the future. 

Cory Munchbach has spent her career on the cutting edge of marketing technology and brings years working with Fortune 500 clients from various industries to BlueConic. Prior to BluConic, she was an analyst at Forrester Research where she covered business and consumer technology trends and the fast-moving marketing tech landscape. A sought-after speaker and industry voice, Cory’s work has been featured in Financial Times, Forbes, Raconteur, AdExchanger, The Drum, Venture Beat, Wired, AdAge, and Adweek. A life-long Bostonian, Cory has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Boston College and spends a considerable amount of her non-work hours on various volunteer and philanthropic initiatives in the greater Boston community. 

In the episode, Richie and Cory cover successful marketing strategies and their use of data, the types of data used in marketing, how data is leveraged during different stages of the customer life cycle, the impact of privacy laws on data collection and marketing strategies, tips on how to use customer data while protecting privacy and adhering to regulations, the importance of data skills in marketing, the future of marketing analytics and much more.

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We’ve never been more aware of the word ‘hallucinate’ in a professional setting. Generative AI has taught us that we need to work in tandem with personal AI tools when we want accurate and reliable information. We’ve also seen the impacts of bias in AI systems, and why trusting outputs at face value can be a dangerous game, even for the largest tech organizations in the world. It seems we could be both very close and very far away from being able to fully trust AI in a work setting. To really find out what trustworthy AI is, and what causes us to lose trust in an AI system, we need to hear from someone who’s been at the forefront of the policy and tech around the issue. 

Alexandra Ebert is an expert in data privacy and responsible AI. She works on public policy issues in the emerging field of synthetic data and ethical AI. Alexandra is on Forbes ‘30 Under 30’ list and has an upcoming course on DataCamp! In addition to her role as Chief Trust Officer at MOSTLY AI, Alexandra is the chair of the IEEE Synthetic Data IC expert group and the host of the Data Democratization podcast.

In the episode, Richie and Alexandra explore the importance of trust in AI, what causes us to lose trust in AI systems and the impacts of a lack of trust, AI regulation and adoption, AI decision accuracy and fairness, privacy concerns in AI, handling sensitive data in AI systems, the benefits of synthetic data, explainability and transparency in AI, skills for using AI in a trustworthy fashion and much more. 

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Your data project doesn't end once you have results. In order to have impact, you need to communicate those results to others. Presentations filled with endless tables and technical jargon can easily become tedious, leading your audience to lose interest or misunderstand your point.

Data storytelling provides a solution to this: by creating a narrative around your results you can increase engagement and understanding from your audience. This is an art, and there are so many factors that contribute to visualizing data and creating a compelling story, it can be overwhelming. However, with the right approach, creating data stories can become second nature. In this special episode of DataFramed, we join forces with the Present Beyond Measure podcast to glean the best data presentation practices from one of the leading voices in the space.

Lea Pica host of the Founder and Host of the Present Beyond Measure podcast and is a seasoned digital analytics practitioner, social media marketer and blogger with over 11 years of experience building search marketing and digital analytics practices for companies like Scholastic, Victoria’s Secret and Prudential.

Present Beyond Measure’s mission is to bring their teachings to the digital marketing and web analytics communities, and empower anyone responsible for presenting data to an audience.

In the full episode, Richie and Lea cover the full picture of data presentation, how to understand your audience, leverage hollywood storytelling, data storyboarding and visualization, the use of imagery in presentations, cognitive load management, the use of throughlines in presentations, how to improve your speaking and engagement skills, data visualization techniques in business setting and much more. 

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Data used to be the exhaust of our work activities, until we started seeing the value it can provide. Today, data is a strategic asset, used to gain a competitive advantage and well guarded from those that might use it to harm others. With this change in attitude, how we access and safeguard our data has improved massively. However, data breaches are not a thing of the past, and with the advent of AI, many new techniques for maliciously accessing data are being created. With the extra importance of data security, it is always pertinent to iterate on how we keep our data safe, and how we manage who has access to it. 

Bart Vandekerckhove is the co-founder and CEO at Raito. Raito is on a mission to bring back balance in data democratization and data security. Bart helps data teams save time on data access management, so they can focus on innovation. As the former PM Privacy at Collibra, Bart has seen first hand how slow data access management processes can harm progress. 

In the full episode, Richie and Bart explore the importance of data access management, the roles involved in data access including senior management’s role in data access, data security and privacy tools, the impact of AI on data security, how culture feeds into data security, the challenges of a creating a good data access management culture, common mistakes organizations make, advice for improving data security and much more. 

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We learned so much about generative AI and its impact for people and organizations in 2023, we must anticipate many more innovations in the data and AI space 2024. One of the best places to look for this information is through the wisdom of those that spend their time with the Fortune 1000 leaders that are helping shape data and AI practices. Wavestone’s annual Data and AI Executive Leadership Survey is a great way to gain insight into thoughts in current practices, as well as understand what to expect from business leaders and organizations in the near future. In this episode, we speak to the author of the survey. 

Randy Bean is a start-up business founder, CEO, industry thought leader, author, and speaker in the field of data-driven business leadership.  He serves as Innovation Fellow, Data Strategy for Paris-based consultancy Wavestone. Randy is the creator of the Data and AI Leadership Executive Survey discussed in today's episode. He is the author of the bestselling "Fail Fast, Learn Faster: Lessons in Data-Driven Leadership in an Age of Disruption, Big Data, and AI", and a current contributor to Forbes, Harvard Business Review, and MIT Sloan Management Review.  

In the episode, Richie and Randy explore the 2024 Data and AI Leadership Executive Survey, the impact of generative AI in 2023 and what to expect from it in 2024, the state of generative AI implementation in organizations, healthcare and AI, including examples of generative AI outperforming human doctors, the evolving responsibilities of CDOs, the increasing importance of data-driven decision-making in organizations, the barriers to becoming data-driven, insights on data skills and the generational shift towards more data-savvy business leaders, as well as much more. 

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Regardless of profession, the work we do leaves behind a trace of actions that help us achieve our goals. This is especially true for those that work with data. For large enterprises where there are seemingly countless processes happening at any one time, keeping track of these processes is crucial. Given the scale of these processes, one small efficiency gain can leads to a staggering amount of time and money saved. Process mining is a data-driven approach to process analysis that uses event logs to extract process-related information. It can separate inferred facts, from exact truths, and uncover what really happens in a variety of operations. 

Wil van der Aalst is a full professor at RWTH Aachen University, leading the Process and Data Science (PADS) group. He is also the Chief Scientist at Celonis, part-time affiliated with the Fraunhofer FIT, and a member of the Board of Governors of Tilburg University. 

His research interests include process mining, Petri nets, business process management, workflow management, process modeling, and process analysis. Wil van der Aalst has published over 275 journal papers, 35 books (as author or editor), 630 refereed conference/workshop publications, and 85 book chapters.

Cong Yu leads the CeloAI group at Celonis focusing on bringing advanced AI technologies to EMS products, building up capabilities for their knowledge platform, and ultimately helping enterprises in reducing process inefficiencies and achieving operational excellence.

Previously, Cong was Principal (Research) Scientist / Research Director at Google Research NYC from September 2010 to July 2022, leading the NYSD/Beacon Research Group, and also taught at NYU Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. 

In the episode, Wil, Cong, and Richie explore process mining and its development over the past 25 years, the differences between process mining and ML, AI, and data mining, popular use cases of process mining, adoption from large enterprises like BMW, HP, and Dell, the requirements for an effective process mining system, the role of predictive analytics and data engineering in process mining, how to scale process mining systems, prospects within the field and much more.

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There are a few caveats to using generative AI tools, those caveats have led to a few tips that have quickly become second nature to those that use LLMs like ChatGPT. The main one being: have the domain knowledge to validate the output in order to avoid hallucinations. Hallucinations are one of the weak spots for LLMs due to the nature of the way they are built, as they are trained to correlate data in order to predict what might come next in an incomplete sequence. Does this mean that we’ll always have to be wary of the output of AI products, with the expectation that there is no intelligent decision-making going on under the hood? Far from it. Causal AI is bound by reason—rather than looking at correlation, these exciting systems are able to focus on the underlying causal mechanisms and relationships. As the AI field rapidly evolves, Causal AI is an area of research that is likely to have a huge impact on a huge number of industries and problems. 

Paul Hünermund is an Assistant Professor of Strategy and Innovation at Copenhagen Business School. In his research, Dr. Hünermund studies how firms can leverage new technologies in the space of machine learning and artificial intelligence such as Causal AI for value creation and competitive advantage. His work explores the potential for biases in organizational decision-making and ways for managers to counter them. It thereby sheds light on the origins of effective business strategies in markets characterized by a high degree of technological competition and the resulting implications for economic growth and environmental sustainability. 

His work has been published in The Journal of Management Studies, the Econometrics Journal, Research Policy, Journal of Product Innovation Management, International Journal of Industrial Organization, MIT Sloan Management Review, and Harvard Business Review, among others. 

In the full episode, Richie and Paul explore Causal AI, its differences when compared to other forms of AI, use cases of Causal AI in fields like drug development, marketing, manufacturing, and defense. They also discuss how Causal AI contributes to better decision-making, the role of domain experts in getting accurate results, what happens in the early stages of Causal AI adoption, exciting new developments within the Causal AI space and much more. 

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Over the past year, we’ve seen a full hype cycle of hysteria and discourse surrounding generative AI. It almost seems difficult to think back to a time when no one had used ChatGPT. We are in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution, and technology is moving rapidly. Better performing and more capable models are being released at a stunning rate, and with the growing presence of multimodal AI, can we expect another whirlwind year that vastly changes the state of play within AI again? Who might be able to provide insight into what is to come in 2024?

Craig S. Smith is an American journalist, former executive of The New York Times, and host of the podcast Eye on AI. Until January 2000, he wrote for The Wall Street Journal, most notably covering the rise of the religious movement Falun Gong in China. He has reported for the Times from more than 40 countries and has covered several conflicts, including the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, the 2003 war in Iraq, and the 2006 Israeli-Lebanese war. He retired from the Times in 2018 and now writes about artificial intelligence for the Times and other publications. He was a special Government employee for the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence until the commission's end in October 2021. 

In the episode, Richie and Craig explore the 2023 advancements in generative AI, such as GPT-4, and the evolving roles of companies like Anthropic and Meta, practical AI applications for research and image generation, challenges in large language models, the promising future of world models and AI agents, the societal impacts of AI, the issue of misinformation, computational constraints, and the importance of AI literacy in the job market, the transformative potential of AI in various sectors and much more. 

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Effective data management has become a cornerstone of success in our digital era. It involves not just collecting and storing information but also organizing, securing, and leveraging data to drive progress and innovation. Many organizations turn to tools like Snowflake for advanced data warehousing capabilities. However, while Snowflake enhances data storage and access, it's not a complete solution for all data management challenges. To address this, tools like Capital One’s Slingshot can be used alongside Snowflake, helping to optimize costs and refine data management strategies.

Salim Syed is a VP, Head of engineering for Capital One Slingshot product. He led Capital One’s data warehouse migration to AWS and is a specialist in deploying Snowflake to a large enterprise. Salim’s expertise lies in developing Big Data (Lake) and Data Warehouse strategy on the public cloud. He leads an organization of more than 100 data engineers, support engineers, DBAs and full stack developers in driving enterprise data lake, data warehouse, data management and visualization platform services.

Salim has more than 25 years of experience in the data ecosystem. His career started in data engineering where he built data pipelines and then moved into maintenance and administration of large database servers using multi-tier replication architecture in various remote locations. He then worked at CodeRye as a database architect and at 3M Health Information Systems as an enterprise data architect. Salim has been at Capital One for the past six years.

In this episode, Adel and Salim explore cloud data management and the evolution of Slingshot into a major multi-tenant SaaS platform, the shift from on-premise to cloud-based data governance, the role of centralized tooling, strategies for effective cloud data management, including data governance, cost optimization, and waste reduction as well as insights into navigating the complexities of data infrastructure, security, and scalability in the modern digital era.

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There's often a debate in technology ethics on whether technology is neutral or not. On one hand, critics have rightfully pointed out examples of technology exacerbating the climate crisis, amplifying bias as we've seen in our recent episode with Dr. Joy Buolamwini, or contributing to the spread of misinformation and disinformation. Conversely, we cannot deny the many wonderful things technology has given us, from better healthcare outcomes, to the ability to communicate wherever we are in the world, or to elevate the quality of life of everyone on the planet.

It is this duality, that today's guest, Marga Hoek, points to as to why technology is neutral, and why it is in our hands to use it for good.

Marga Hoek is a true visionary on sustainable business, capital, and technology and a successful business leader. As a three-time CEO, Board Member, Chair, and Founder of Business for Good, she applies her vision on how business can be a true force for good in practice. As a bestselling and multi-award-winning author, member of Thinkers50, and one of the most in-demand speakers on sustainable business and ESG investment, Marga Hoek has inspired many companies and leaders worldwide. She is also appreciated as a global voice for G20 and G7 Intergovernmental forums, international climate meetings and COPs, and many other prestigious global conferences. 

In the episode, Adel and Marga explore the fourth industrial revolution and the eight technologies that combine to build it, the ethical application of technology and how it can be the biggest lever to combating climate change and building a sustainable society, how data and AI enable real-time information sharing leading to better early warning systems related to the environment, use cases of tech for good initiatives, how collaboration can bridge the gap in investment for sustainable business ventures and a lot more. 

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The consequences of data not being easily accessible within an organization are profound. Good decision-making often relies on good information, and with crucial insights locked behind closed doors, decision-makers may have to rely on incomplete information, stifling their ability to innovate through a lack of comprehensive data access or an inability to leverage data to its full potential. The ramifications of this are not merely operational – they extend to the core of an organization's ability to thrive in the data-driven era. However, democratizing access to data is only the first hurdle in driving a data led organization, employees need to feel confident in their ability to use data, try new tools and adopt new processes. But who is best to show us the benefits of accessing and utilizing data currently, and the cultural benefits it can bring. 

Lilac Schoenbeck is the Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Rocket Software. Lilac has two decades of experience in enterprise software, data center technology and cloud, with wider experience in product marketing, pricing and packaging, corporate strategy, M&A integrations and product management. Lilac is passionate about delivering exceptional technology to IT teams that helps them drive value for their businesses. 

In the episode, Richie and Lilac explore data democratization and the importance of having widespread data capabilities across an organization, common data problems that data democratization can solve, tooling to facilitate better access and use of data, tool and process adoption, confidence with data, good data culture, processes to encourage good data usage and much more. 

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We are all guilty of getting excited about shiny new toys in whatever guise they present themselves to us. For many of us, lots of the recent shiny new toys have been ways of utilizing AI to update and iterate on the ways that we work. Leadership teams have been looking for ways that their organizations can incorporate AI solutions into their products, regardless of whether they might be the most valuable use of the company's time. A company that fails to incorporate new tools and technology will stagnate and fail altogether right? A failure to adapt to the new state of play will surely stop the company from becoming a high performer? Or will it? What sets apart high-performing organizations from their non high-performing counterparts?

It’s not shiny new toys. It’s culture. Counter to conventional wisdom, the norms and beliefs of an organization, and not the technology and tools it uses, is what drives its performance.

Andrew McAfee is a Principal Research Scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management, co-founder and co-director of MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy, and the inaugural Visiting Fellow at the Technology and Society organization at Google. He studies how technological progress changes the world. His book, The Geek Way, reveals a new way to get big things done. His previous books include More from Less and, with Erik Brynjolfsson, The Second Machine Age.

McAfee has written for publications including Foreign Affairs, Harvard Business Review, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. He's talked about his work on CNN and 60 Minutes, at the World Economic Forum, TED, and the Aspen Ideas Festival, with Tom Friedman and Fareed Zakaria, and in front of many international and domestic audiences. He’s also advised many of the world’s largest corporations and organizations ranging from the IMF to the Boston Red Sox to the US Intelligence Community.

Throughout the episode, Adel and Andrew explore the four cultural norms of the Geek way, the evolutionary biological underpinnings of the traits high performing organizations exhibit, case studies in adapting organizational culture, the role of data in driving high performance teams, useful frameworks leaders can adopt to build high performing organizations, and a lot more.

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Poor data engineering is like building a shaky foundation for a house—it leads to unreliable information, wasted time and money, and even legal problems, making everything less dependable and more troublesome in our digital world. In the retail industry specifically, data engineering is particularly important for managing and analyzing large volumes of sales, inventory, and customer data, enabling better demand forecasting, inventory optimization, and personalized customer experiences. It helps retailers make informed decisions, streamline operations, and remain competitive in a rapidly evolving market. Insight and frameworks learned from data engineering practices can be applied to a multitude of people and problems, and in turn, learning from someone who has been at the forefront of data engineering is invaluable.  

Mohammad Sabah is SVP of Engineering and Data at Thrive Market, and was appointed to this role in 2018. He joined the company from The Honest Company where he served as VP of Engineering & Chief Data Scientist. Sabah joined The Honest Company following its acquisition of Insnap, which he co-founded in 2015. Over the course of his career, Sabah has held various data science and engineering roles at companies including Facebook, Workday, Netflix, and Yahoo!

In the episode, Richie and Mo explore the importance of using AI to identify patterns and proactively address common errors, the use of tools like dbt and SODA for data pipeline abstraction and stakeholder involvement in data quality, data governance and data quality as foundations for strong data engineering, validation layers at each step of the data pipeline to ensure data quality, collaboration between data analysts and data engineers for holistic problem-solving and reusability of patterns, ownership mentality in data engineering and much more. 

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In 2015 an MIT Researcher set out to build a mirror that would augment their face to look like those of their idols. The execution of this went well, until it came to testing. When the researcher came to use the mirror, no face was detected. The researcher was not detected in the mirror, until that is, she put on a white mask, at which point, the mirror worked as expected. 

Three years later, a paper named ‘Gender Shades: Intersectional Accuracy Disparities in Commercial Gender Classification’ was published by the same researcher. Its release started a wider conversation about bias within AI-based facial recognition systems, and about bias within AI in general. Work to fight against algorithmic bias, or ‘The Coded-Gaze’, has been ongoing since. But who spearheaded this work and highlighted these issues to the AI and tech community? 

Dr. Joy Buolamwini is an AI researcher, artist, and advocate. In 2023, she is one of Time’s top 100 most influential people in AI. Joy founded the Algorithmic Justice League to create a world with more equitable and accountable technology. Her TED Featured Talk on algorithmic bias has over 1.5 million views and in 2020 Netflix released the documentary ‘Coded Bias’ following Joy’s research into the flaws of facial recognition systems. Her MIT thesis methodology uncovered large racial and gender bias in AI services from companies like Microsoft, IBM, and Amazon. Her research has been covered in over 40 countries, and as a renowned international speaker she has championed the need for algorithmic justice at the World Economic Forum and the United Nations. She serves on the Global Tech Panel convened by the vice president of European Commission to advise world leaders and technology executives on ways to reduce the harms of A.I.

As a creative science communicator, she has written op-eds on the impact of artificial intelligence for publications like TIME Magazine and New York Times. Her spoken word visual audit "AI, Ain't I A Woman?" which shows AI failures on the faces of iconic women like Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, and Serena Williams as well as the Coded Gaze short have been part of exhibitions ranging from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston to the Barbican Centre, UK. A Rhodes Scholar and Fulbright Fellow, Joy has been named to notable lists including Bloomberg 50, Tech Review 35 under 35, , Forbes Top 50 Women in Tech (youngest), and Forbes 30 under 30. She holds two masters degrees from Oxford University and MIT; and a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Fortune Magazine named her to their 2019 list of world's greatest leaders describing her as "the conscience of the A.I. Revolution."

In the episode, Richie and Joy discuss her journey into AI, the ethics of AI, the inception of Joy’s interest in AI bias, the Aspire Mirror and Gender Shades projects, The Algorithmic Justice League, consequences of biased facial recognition systems, highlights from Joy’s book (Unmasking AI), challenges in AI research such as misleading datasets and the importance of context, balancing working in AI and data while being an artist, and much more. 

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I think it's safe to say that we are in the peak of the hype cycle with generative AI. Almost every week now, we see new startups with exciting new GenAI use-cases and products. However, exciting doesn't necessarily translate to useful. And now more than ever, it's important for leaders, whether at incumbents or startups, to adapt and drive value with generative AI and focus on useful use-cases. So how can they adapt well to these tectonic changes?

Jason Feifer is the editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine and host of the podcast Problem Solvers. Outside of Entrepreneur, he is the author of the book Build For Tomorrow, which helps readers find new opportunities in times of change, and co-hosts the podcast Help Wanted, where he helps solve listeners' work problems. He also writes a newsletter called One Thing Better, which each week gives you one better way to build a career or company you love.

In the episode, Jason and Adel explore AI’s role in entrepreneurship, use cases and applications of AI, the effectiveness of certain AI tools, AI’s impact on established business models, frameworks for navigating change, advice for leaders and individuals on using AI in their work and much more. 

Links Mentioned in the Show:

Throughout the past year, we've seen AI go from a nice-to-have, to a must-have in almost every large organization’s boardroom. There’s been more and more focus deploy AI  by leadership teams, and as a result, there's never been more pressure on the data team to deliver with AI. However, as the pressure to deliver with AI grows, the need to build safe and trustworthy experiences has also never been more important. But how do we balance between innovation and building these trustworthy experiences? How do you make responsible AI practical? Who should we get into the room when scoping safe AI use-cases? 

Beena Ammanath is an award- winning senior technology executive with extensive experience in AI and digital transformation. Her career has spanned leadership roles in e-commerce, finance, marketing, telecom, retail, software products, service, and industrial domains. She is also the author of the ground breaking book, Trustworthy AI.

Beena currently leads the Global Deloitte AI Institute and Trustworthy AI/ Ethical Technology at Deloitte. Prior to this, she was the CTO-AI at Hewlett Packard Enterprise. A champion for women and multicultural inclusion in technology and business, Beena founded Humans for AI, a 501c3b non-profit promoting diversity and inclusion in AI. Her work and contributions have been acknowledged with numerous awards and recognition such as 2016 Women Super Achiever Award from World Women’s Leadership Congress and induction into WITI’s 2017 Women in Technology Hall of Fame.

Beena was honored by UC Berkeley as 2018 Woman of the Year for Business Analytics, by the San Francisco Business Times as one of the 2017 Most Influential Women in Bay Area and by the National Diversity Council as one of the Top 50 Multicultural Leaders in Tech.

In the episode, Beena and Adel delve into the core principles of trustworthy AI, the interplay of ethics and AI in various industries, how to make trustworthy AI practical, who are the primary stakeholders for ensuring trustworthy AI, the importance of AI literacy when promoting responsible and trustworthy AI, and a lot more.

Links mentioned in the Show

In today's AI landscape, organizations are actively exploring how to seamlessly embed AI into their products, systems, processes, and workflows. The success of ChatGPT stands as a testament to this. Its success is not solely due to the performance of the underlying model; a significant part of its appeal lies in its human-centered user experience, particularly its chat interface. Beyond the foundational skills, infrastructure, and tools, it's clear that great design is a crucial ingredient in building memorable AI experiences.

How do you build human-centered AI experiences? What is the role of design in driving successful AI implementations? How can data leaders and practitioners adopt a design lens when building with AI?

Here to answer these questions is Haris Butt, Head of Product Design at ClickUp. ClickUp is a project management tool that's been making a big bet on AI, and Haris plays a key role in shaping how AI is embedded within the platform.

Throughout the episode, Adel & Haris spoke about the role of design in driving human-centered AI experiences, the iterative process of designing with large language models, how to design AI experiences that promote trust, how designing for AI differs from traditional software, whether good design will ultimately end up killing prompt engineering, and a lot more.

It's been almost a year since ChatGPT was released, mainstreaming AI into the collective consciousness in the process. Since that moment, we've seen a really spirited debate emerge within the data & AI communities, and really public discourse at large. The focal point of this debate is whether AI is or will lead to existential risk for the human species at large.

We've seen thinkers such as Elizier Yudkowski, Yuval Noah Harari, and others sound the alarm bell on how AI is as dangerous, if not more dangerous than nuclear weapons. We've also seen AI researchers and business leaders sign petitions and lobby government for strict regulation on AI. 

On the flip side, we've also seen luminaries within the field such as Andrew Ng and Yan Lecun, calling for, and not against, the proliferation of open-source AI. So how do we maneuver this debate, and where does the risk spectrum actually lie with AI? More importantly, how can we contextualize the risk of AI with other systemic risks humankind faces? Such as climate change, risk of nuclear war, and so on and so forth? How can we regulate AI without falling into the trap of regulatory capture—where a select and mighty few benefit from regulation, drowning out the competition in the meantime?

Trond Arne Undheim is a Research scholar in Global Systemic Risk, Innovation, and Policy at Stanford University, Venture Partner at Antler, and CEO and co-founder of Yegii, an insight network with experts and knowledge assets on disruption. He is a nonresident Fellow at the Atlantic Council with a portfolio in artificial intelligence, future of work, data ethics, emerging technologies, and entrepreneurship. He is a former director of MIT Startup Exchange and has helped launch over 50 startups. In a previous life, he was an MIT Sloan School of Management Senior Lecturer, WPP Oracle Executive, and EU National Expert.

In this episode, Trond and Adel explore the multifaceted risks associated with AI, the cascading risks lens and the debate over the likelihood of runaway AI. Trond shares the role of governments and organizations in shaping AI's future, the need for both global and regional regulatory frameworks, as well as the importance of educating decision-makers on AI's complexities. Trond also shares his opinion on the contrasting philosophies behind open and closed-source AI technologies, the risk of regulatory capture, and more. 

Links mentioned in the show:

From the dawn of humanity, decisions, both big and small, have shaped our trajectory. Decisions have built civilizations, forged alliances, and even charted the course of our very evolution. And now, as data & AI become more widespread, the potential upside for better decision making is massive. Yet, like any technology, the true value of data & AI is realized by how we wield it. 

We're often drawn to the allure of the latest tools and techniques, but it's crucial to remember that these tools are only as effective as the decisions we make with them. ChatGPT is only as good as the prompt you decide to feed it and what you decide to do with the output. A dashboard is only as good as the decisions that it influences. Even a data science team is only as effective as the value they deliver to the organization. 

So in this vast landscape of data and AI, how can we master the art of better decision making? How can we bridge data & AI with better decision intelligence?

​​Cassie Kozyrkov founded the field of Decision Intelligence at Google where, until recently, she served as Chief Decision Scientist, advising leadership on decision process, AI strategy, and building data-driven organizations. Upon leaving Google, Cassie started her own company of which she is the CEO, Data Scientific. In almost 10 years at the company, Cassie personally trained over 20,000 Googlers in data-driven decision-making and AI and has helped over 500 projects implement decision intelligence best practices. Cassie also previously served in Google's Office of the CTO as Chief Data Scientist, and the rest of her 20 years of experience was split between consulting, data science, lecturing, and academia. 

Cassie is a top keynote speaker and a beloved personality in the data leadership community, followed by over half a million tech professionals. If you've ever went on a reading spree about AI, statistics, or decision-making, chances are you've encountered her writing, which has reached millions of readers. 

In the episode Cassie and Richie explore misconceptions around data science, stereotypes associated with being a data scientist, what the reality of working in data science is, advice for those starting their career in data science, and the challenges of being a data ‘jack-of-all-trades’. 

Cassie also shares what decision-science and decision intelligence are, what questions to ask future employers in any data science interview, the importance of collaboration between decision-makers and domain experts, the differences between data science models and their real-world implementations, the pros and cons of generative AI in data science, and much more. 

Links mentioned in the Show:

In data science, the push for unbiased machine learning models is evident. So much effort is made into ensuring the products we create are done thoughtfully and correctly, but are we investing the same effort in ensuring our teams, the very architects of these models, are diverse and inclusive? Bias in data can lead to skewed results, and similarly, a lack of diversity in teams can result in narrow perspectives. As we prioritize building diversity and inclusion into our data, it's equally crucial to embed these principles within our teams. So, who is best equipped to guide us in integrating DEI from a data perspective?

Tracy Daniels is the Chief Data Officer for Truist Financial Corporation. She leads the team responsible for Truist’s enterprise data capabilities, including strategy, governance, data platform delivery, client, master & reference data, and the centers of excellence for business intelligence visualization and artificial intelligence & machine learning. She is also

the executive sponsor for Truist’s Enterprise Technology & Operations Diversity Council. Daniels joined Truist in 2018. She has more than 25 years of banking and technology experience leading high performing technology portfolio, development, infrastructure and global operations organizations. Tracy enjoys participating in civic and philanthropic endeavors including serving on the Georgia State University Foundation Board of Trustees. She has been recognized as a National 2013 WOC STEM Rising Star award recipient, the 2017 Working Mother magazine Mother of the Year recipient, and a 2021 Women In Technology (WIT) Women of the Year in STEAM finalist.

In the episode Tracy and Richie discuss Truist's approach to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and its alignment with the company's purpose and values, the distinction between diversity and inclusion, the positive outcomes of implementing DEI correctly, the importance of not missing opportunities both externally with customers and internally with talent, the significance of aligning diversity programs with business metrics and hiring to promote DEI, considerations for job advertisements that appeal to a diverse audience, and much more. 

Links mentioned in the show:

It's been a year since ChatGPT burst onto the scene. It has given many of us a sense of the power and potential that LLMs hold in revolutionizing the global economy. But the power that generative AI brings also comes with inherent risks that need to be mitigated. 

For those working in AI, the task at hand is monumental: to chart a safe and ethical course for the deployment and use of artificial intelligence. This isn't just a challenge; it's potentially one of the most important collective efforts of this decade. The stakes are high, involving not just technical and business considerations, but ethical and societal ones as well.

How do we ensure that AI systems are designed responsibly? How do we mitigate risks such as bias, privacy violations, and the potential for misuse? How do we assemble the right multidisciplinary mindset and expertise for addressing AI safety? 

Reid Blackman, Ph.D., is the author of “Ethical Machines” (Harvard Business Review Press), creator and host of the podcast “Ethical Machines,” and Founder and CEO of Virtue, a digital ethical risk consultancy. He is also an advisor to the Canadian government on their federal AI regulations, was a founding member of EY’s AI Advisory Board, and a Senior Advisor to the Deloitte AI Institute. His work, which includes advising and speaking to organizations including AWS, US Bank, the FBI, NASA, and the World Economic Forum, has been profiled by The Wall Street Journal, the BBC, and Forbes. His written work appears in The Harvard Business Review and The New York Times. Prior to founding Virtue, Reid was a professor of philosophy at Colgate University and UNC-Chapel Hill.

In the episode, Reid and Richie discuss the dominant concerns in AI ethics, from biased AI and privacy violations to the challenges introduced by generative AI, such as manipulative agents and IP issues. They delve into the existential threats posed by AI, including shifts in the job market and disinformation. Reid also shares examples where unethical AI has led to AI projects being scrapped, the difficulty in mitigating bias, preemptive measures for ethical AI and much more. 

Links mentioned in the show:

For the past few years, we've seen the importance of data literacy and why organizations must invest in a data-driven culture, mindset, and skillset. However, as generative AI tools like ChatGPT have risen to prominence in the past year, AI literacy has never been more important. But how do we begin to approach AI literacy? Is it an extension of data literacy, a complement, or a new paradigm altogether? How should you get started on your AI literacy ambitions? 

Cindi Howson is the Chief Data Strategy Officer at ThoughtSpot and host of The Data Chief podcast. Cindi is a data analytics, AI, and BI thought leader and an expert with a flair for bridging business needs with technology. As Chief Data Strategy Officer at ThoughtSpot, she advises top clients on data strategy and best practices to become data-driven, speaks internationally on top trends such as AI ethics, and influences ThoughtSpot’s product strategy.

Cindi was previously a Gartner Research Vice President, the lead author for the data and analytics maturity model and analytics and BI Magic Quadrant, and a popular keynote speaker. She introduced new research in data and AI for good, NLP/BI Search, and augmented analytics, bringing both BI bake-offs and innovation panels to Gartner globally. She’s frequently quoted in MIT, Harvard Business Review, and Information Week. She is rated a top 12 influencer in big data and analytics by Analytics Insight, Onalytca, Solutions Review, and Humans of Data.

In the episode, Cindi and Adel discuss how generative AI accelerates an organization’s data literacy, how leaders can think beyond data literacy and start to think about AI literacy, the importance of responsible use of AI, how to best communicate the value of AI within your organization, what generative AI means for data teams, AI use-cases in the data space, the psychological barriers blocking AI adoption, and much more. 

Links Mentioned in the Show:

The Data Chief Podcast 

ThoughtSpot Sage 

BloombergGPT 

Radar: Data & AI Literacy

Course: AI Ethics 

Course: Generative AI Concepts

Course: Implementing AI Solutions in Business 

With September and International Literacy Day (September 8th) upon us, we’re dedicating the entire month to cover the ins and outs of data & AI literacy. Make sure to sign up for the events we have in store, and to tune in for this month’s episodes.

The mainstreaming of data & AI is fundamentally altering the way we work and operate. But with rising innovation, comes rising ambiguity and complexity. How can leaders effectively navigate the path ahead? How can leaders adopt data-driven decision-making and learn from their mistakes? How can leaders use data to look inward, and become what today’s guest describes as “meta-leaders”? 

Constance Dierickx is an internationally recognized expert in high-stakes decision-making who has advised leaders and delivered speeches in more than 20 countries. Founder and president of CD Consulting Group, her clients include Fortune 20 companies, private equity firms, and large not-for-profits around the globe. She is a contributor to Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Chief Executive, and others, and has taught strategic decision-making at Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Moscow, Russia. 

In the episode, Richie and Constance delve into what meta-leadership is, the nuances of meta-leadership, the pivotal role of data in leadership, the importance of recognizing subtle behavioral cues, the implications of cognitive biases (particularly overconfidence), and the essence of wisdom in decision-making. Constance also shares insights from her clinical psychology background, highlighting the application of biofeedback mechanisms in managing chronic pain and much more. 

Links From the Show:

Meta-Leadership by Constance Dierickx

High-Stakes Leadership by Constance Dierickx

The Merger Mindset by Constance Dierickx

Design the Life You Love: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Meaningful Future

Book by Ayse Birsel

Introducing The State of Data Literacy Report 2023

Data-Driven Decision Making for Business

Throughout history, small businesses have consistently played a pivotal role in the global economy, serving as its foundational backbone. As we navigate the digital age, the emergence of large corporations and rapid technological advancements present new challenges. Now, more than ever, it's imperative for small businesses to adapt, embracing a data-driven approach to remain competitive and sustainable. In this evolving landscape, we need champions dedicated to guiding these businesses, ensuring they harness the full potential of modern tools and insights to ensure a fair and varied marketplace of goods and services for all. 

Dr Kendra Vant, Executive General Manager of Data & AI Products at Xero, is an industry leader in building data-driven products that harness AI and machine learning to solve complex problems for the small-business economy. Working across Australia, Asia and the US, Kendra has led data and technology teams at companies such as Seek, Telstra, Deloitte and now Xero where she leads the company's global efforts using emerging practices and technologies to help small businesses and their advisors benefit from the power of data and insights. Starting with doctoral research in experimental quantum physics at MIT and a stint building quantum computers at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Kendra has made a career of solving hard problems and pushing the boundaries of what's possible.

In the episode, Kendra and Richie delve into the transformative impact of data science on small businesses, use-cases of data science for small businesses, how Xero has supported numerous small businesses with data science. They also cover the integration of AI in product development, the unexpected depth of data in seemingly low-tech sectors, the pivotal role of software platforms in data analysis and much more. 

Links Mentioned in The Show:

Xero

Analyzing Business Data in SQL

Financial Modeling in Spreadsheets

Implementing AI Solutions in Business

Generative AI Concepts

As companies scale and become more successful, new horizons open, but with them come unexpected challenges. The influx of revenue and expansion of operations often reveal hidden complexities that can hinder efficiency and inflate costs. In this tricky situation, data teams can find themselves entangled in a web of obstacles that slow down their ability to innovate and respond to ever-changing business needs. Enter cloud analytics—a transformative solution that promises to break down barriers and unleash potential. By migrating analytics to the cloud, organizations can navigate the growing pains of success, cutting costs, enhancing flexibility, and empowering data teams to work with agility and precision.

John Knieriemen is the Regional Business Lead for North America at Exasol, the market-leading high-performance analytics database. Prior to joining Exasol, he served as Vice President and General Manager at Teradata during an 11-year tenure with the company. John is responsible for strategically scaling Exasol’s North America business presence across industries and expanding the organization’s partner network. 

Solongo Erdenekhuyag is the former Customer Success and Data Strategy Leader at Exasol. Solongo is skilled in strategy, business development, program management, leadership, strategic partnerships, and management.

In the episode, Richie, Solongo, and John cover the motivation for moving analytics to the cloud, economic triggers for migration, success stories from organizations who have migrated to the cloud, the challenges and potential roadblocks in migration, the importance of flexibility and open-mindedness and much more. 

Links from the Show

Generative AI is here to stay—even in the 8 months since the public release of ChatGPT, there are an abundance of AI tools to help make us more productive at work and ease the stress of planning and execution of our daily lives among other things. 

Already, many of us are wondering what is to come in the next 8 months, the next year, and the next decade of AI’s evolution. In the grand scheme of things, this really is just the beginning. But what should we expect in this Cambrian explosion of technology? What are the use cases being developed behind the scenes? What do we need to be mindful of when training the next generations of AI? Can we combine multiple LLMs to get better results?

Bal Heroor is CEO and Principal at Mactores and has led over 150 business transformations driven by analytics and cutting-edge technology. His team at Mactores are researching and building AI, AR/VR, and Quantum computing solutions for business to gain a competitive advantage. Bal is also the Co-Founder of Aedeon—the first hyper-scale Marketplace for Data Analytics and AI talent.

In the episode, Richie and Bal explore common use cases for generative AI, how it's evolving to solve enterprise problems, challenges of data governance and the importance of explainable AI, the challenges of tracking the lineage of AI and data in large organizations. Bal also touches on the shift from general-purpose generative AI models to more specialized models, fascinating use cases in the manufacturing industry, what to consider when adopting AI solutions in business, and much more.

Links mentioned in the show:

'Software is eating the world’ is a truism coined by Mark Andreesen, General Partner at Andreesen Horowitz. This was especially evident during the shift from analog mediums to digital at the turn of the century. Software companies have essentially usurped and replaced their non-digital predecessors. Amazon was the largest bookseller, Netflix was the largest movie "rental" service, Spotify or Apple were the largest music providers.

Today, AI is starting to eat the world. However, we are still at the early start of the AI revolution, with AI set to become embedded in almost every piece of software we interact with. An AI ecosystem that touches every aspect of our lives is what today’s guest describes as ‘Ambient AI’. But what can we expect from this ramp up to Ambient AI? How will it change the way we work? What do we need to be mindful of as we develop this technology?

Daniel Jeffries is the Managing Director of the AI Infrastructure Alliance and former CIO at Stability AI, the company responsible for Stable Diffusion, the popular open-source image generation model. He’s also an author, engineer, futurist, pro blogger and he’s given talks all over the world on AI and cryptographic platforms.

In the episode, Adel and Daniel discuss how to define ambient AI, how our relationship with work will evolve as we become more reliant on AI, what the AI ecosystem is missing to rapidly scale adoption, why we need to accelerate the maturity of the open source AI ecosystem, how AI existential risk discourse takes away focus from real AI risk, and a lot lot more.

Links Mentioned in the Show

In a time when AI is evolving at breakneck speeds, taking a step back and gaining a bird's-eye view of the evolving AI ecosystem is paramount to understanding where the field is headed.

With this bird's-eye view come a series of questions. Which trends will dominate generative AI in the foreseeable future? What are the truly transformative use-cases that will reshape our business landscape? What does the skills economy look like in an age of hyper intelligence?

Enter Joanne Chen, General Partner at Foundation Capital. Joanne invests in early-stage AI-first B2B applications and data platforms that are the building blocks of the automated enterprise. She has shared her learnings as a featured speaker at conferences, including CES, SXSW, WebSummit, and has spoken about the impact of AI on society in her TED talk titled "Confessions of an AI Investor." Joanne began her career as an engineer at Cisco Systems and later co-founded a mobile gaming company. She also spent many years working on Wall Street at Jefferies & Company, helping tech companies go through the IPO and M&A processes, and at Probitas Partners, advising venture firms on their fundraising process.

Throughout the episode, Richie and Joanne cover emerging trends in generative AI, business use cases that have emerged in the past year since the advent of tools like ChatGPT, the role of AI in augmenting work, the ever-changing job market and AI's impact on it, as well as actionable insights for individuals and organizations wanting to adopt AI.

Links mentioned in the show:

Spreadsheets have been the unsung heroes of the data world for many decades now. Yet, despite their ubiquity and importance, they've seen little disruption or evolution. The grid of cells we interact with today isn't far removed from the ones our predecessors used in the 1980s.

However, the winds of change have started to blow. As we stand on the cusp of a new era in data and AI, the humble spreadsheet is poised for transformation. The coming changes could redefine how we interact with data, derive insights, and how we make decisions. The implications are vast given the popularity and dependence we have on spreadsheets, and the potential impacts could ripple through every corner of the professional world. 

Hjalmar Gislason is the founder and CEO of GRID, with their main product being a smart spreadsheet with an interactive data visualization layer and integrated AI assistance. Hjalmar previously served as VP of Product Management at Qlik. He was the founder and CEO of DataMarket, founded in 2008 and sold to Qlik in 2014. A career data nerd and entrepreneur, GRID is Hjalmar’s fifth software startup as a founder. 

In the episode, Richie and Hjalmar explore the integral role of spreadsheets in today's data-driven world, the limitations of traditional Business Intelligence tools, and the transformative potential of generative AI in the realm of spreadsheets.

Data and AI are advancing at an unprecedented rate—and while the jury is still out on achieving superintelligent AI systems, the idea of artificial intelligence that can understand and learn anything—an “artificial general intelligence”—is becoming more likely. What does the rise of AI mean for the future of software and work as we know it? How will AI help reinvent most of the ways we interact with the digital and physical world?

Bob Muglia is a data technology investor and business executive, former CEO of Snowflake, and past president of Microsoft's Server and Tools Division. As a leader in data & AI, Bob focuses on how innovation and ethical values can merge to shape the data economy's future in the era of AI. He serves as a board director for emerging companies that seek to maximize the power of data to help solve some of the world's most challenging problems.

In the episode, Richie and Bob explore the current era of AI and what it means for the future of software. Throughout the episode, they discuss how to approach driving value with large language models, the main challenges organizations face when deploying AI systems, the risks, and rewards of fine-tuning LLMs for specific use cases, what the next 12 to 18 months hold for the burgeoning AI ecosystem, the likelihood of superintelligence within our lifetimes, and more.

Links from the show:

Today's government agencies face unprecedented complexities, and when thinking about the role of government in driving positive change for society at large, data & AI stand out as key levers to empower government agencies to do more with less. However, the road to government data & AI transformation is fraught with risk, and is full with opportunity. So how can government data leaders succeed in their transformation endeavors? 

Steve Orrin is Intel’s Federal Chief Technology Officer. He leads Public Sector Solution Architecture, Strategy, and Technology Engagements and has held technology leadership positions at Intel where he has led cybersecurity programs, products, and strategy. Steve was previously CSO for Sarvega, CTO of Sanctum, CTO and co-founder of LockStar, and CTO at SynData Technologies. He was named one of InfoWorld's Top 25 CTO's, received Executive Mosaic’s Top CTO Executives Award, is a Washington Exec Top Chief Technology Officers to Watch in 2023, was the Vice-Chair of the NSITC/IDESG Security Committee and was a Guest Researcher at NIST’s National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE). He is a fellow at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies and the chair of the INSA Cyber Committee.

Throughout the episode, we talked about the unique challenges government face when driving value with data & AI, how agencies need to align their data ambitions with their actual mission, the nuances between data privacy laws between the united states, Europe, and China, how to best approach launching pilot projects if you are in government, and a lot more.

Every year we become increasingly aware of the urgency of the climate crisis, and with that, the need to usher in renewable energies and scale their adoption has never been more important. However, as we look at the ways to scale the adoption of renewable energy, data stands out as a key lever to accelerate a greener future. 

Today’s guest is Jean-Pierre Pélicier, CDO at ENGIE. ENGIE is one of the largest energy producers in the world and definitely one of the largest in Europe. They operate in more than 48 countries and have committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2045. Data plays a crucial part in these plans.

In the episode, Jean-Pierre shares his unique perspective on how data is not just transforming the renewable energy industry but also redefining the way we approach the climate crisis. From harnessing the power of data to optimize energy production and distribution to leveraging advanced analytics to predict and mitigate environmental impacts, Jean-Pierre highlights the ways data continues to be an invaluable tool in our quest for a sustainable future.

Also discussed in the episode are the challenges of data collection and quality in the energy sector, the importance of fostering a data culture within an organization, and aligning data strategy with a company's strategic objectives.

About 10 years ago, Thomas Davenport & DJ Patil published the article "Data Scientist: The Sexiest Job of the 21st Century" in the Harvard Business Review. In this piece, they described the bourgeoning role of the data scientist and what it will mean for organizations and individuals in the coming decade.

As time has passed, data science has become increasingly institutionalized. Once seen as a luxury, it is now deemed a necessity in every modern boardroom. Moreover as technologies like AI and systems like ChatGPT keep astonishing us with their capabilities in handling data science tasks, it raises a pertinent question: Is Data Science Still the Sexiest Job of the 21st Century?

In this episode, we invited Thomas Davenport on the show to share his perspective on where data science & AI are at today, and where they are headed. Thomas Davenport is the President’s Distinguished Professor of Information Technology and Management at Babson College, the co-founder of the International Institute for Analytics, a Fellow of the MIT Initiative for the Digital Economy, and a Senior Advisor to Deloitte Analytics. He has written or edited twenty books and over 250 print or digital articles for Harvard Business Review (HBR), Sloan Management Review, the Financial Times, and many other publications. One of HBR’s most frequently published authors, Thomas has been at the forefront of the Process Innovation, Knowledge Management, and Analytics and Big Data movements. He pioneered the concept of “competing on analytics” with his 2006 Harvard Business Review article and his 2007 book by the same name. Since then, he has continued to provide cutting-edge insights on how companies can use analytics and big data to their advantage, and then on artificial intelligence.

Throughout the episode, we discuss how data science has changed since he first published his article, how it has become more institutionalized, how data leaders can drive value with data science, the importance of data culture, his views on AI and where he thinks its going, and a lot more.

Links from the Show:

Working with AI by Thomas Davenport

The AI Advantage: How to Put the Artificial Intelligence Revolution to Work by Thomas Davenport

Harvard Business Review

New Vantage Partners

CCC Intelligent Solutions

Radar AI

Historically in elite team sports, there has often been a dynamic between players and their inherent abilities, and the vision of the coach. In many sports, we’ve seen coaching strategies influence the future of how the game is played.

As the era of professionalism swept across many elite sports in the 90s, we saw the highest-level sports teams achieve a competitive edge by looking at the data, with sports fans often noticing a difference in the ‘feel’ of the way their team plays. In Basketball specifically, we have recently seen the rise of the 3-pointer, a riskier and much more difficult shot to accurately hit, even for professional players. But what has driven the rise of the 3-pointer? Is it another trend among coaches, or does the answer lie with data-based insights and the analysts producing these insights?

Seth Partnow is the Director of North American Sports at StatsBomb, where he previously served as their Director of Basketball Analytics. Prior to joining StatsBomb in 2021, Seth was the Director of Basketball Research for the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team. Seth is also an accomplished Analyst and Author, having worked as an NBA Analyst for The Athletic since 2019 and having published his own book on basketball analytics, The Midrange Theory. Seth’s knowledge and insight bridges the gap between data analytics and elite US sport. 

In the episode, Seth and Richie look into the intricate dynamics of elite basketball. Seth explores the challenges of attributing individual contributions in a sport where the outcome is significantly influenced by the complex interplay between players.

Drawing from his extensive experience in the field, Seth discusses the complexities of analyzing player performance, the nuances of determining why certain players get easier or harder shots, and the difficulty of attributing credit for defensive achievements to individual players.

Seth provides a comprehensive overview of the various roles within sports analytics, from data engineers to analysts, and highlights the importance of finding one's niche within these roles, particularly in the context of elite basketball.

Seth also shares his personal journey into basketball analytics, offering valuable insights and advice for those interested in pursuing a career in this field, stressing the importance of introspection and understanding the unique lifestyle associated with working for a sports team, while also offering industry-agnostic advice on how to approach analyzing and using data in any context.

In the realm of Applied Intelligence, Accenture leads the way in harnessing the power of data and AI to transform industries. From consumer products to life sciences, retail, and aerospace, Accenture's influence is far-reaching. But what drives the organization? How does it navigate the complex landscape of data modernization and transformation? And more importantly, how does it leverage technology not just as an enabler, but as a catalyst for innovation? 

Tracy Ring leads Accenture’s Applied Intelligence Products Category Group, in this role she has leadership across Consumer and Industrial Products, Automotive, Life Sciences, Retail and Aerospace and Defense. As the CDO and Global Generative AI lead for Life Sciences, she personally anchors the NA Applied Intelligence Life Sciences practice of more than 500 practitioners. Tracy has created solutions for Generative AI, Data led transformation, Artificial Intelligence, Data and Cloud Modernization, Analytics, and the organization and operating model strategies for next-generation adoption and AI fluency. 

In the episode, Tracy initially clarifies the difference between data modernization and data transformation, highlighting their distinct meanings and why the terms aren’t interchangeable. 

Tracy also emphasizes the importance of involving business end-users from the outset of data projects as well as advocating for a product-oriented approach to data.

The discussion also covers the topic of team diversity and inclusivity. Tracy shares practical advice on how to build diverse teams and create an environment that encourages curiosity and open dialogue. Tracy also shares her perspective on the future of work and the importance of fostering meaningful conversations in the workplace. She advocates for an attitude of infinite curiosity within teams.

In the context of life sciences, Tracy highlights the high stakes involved and underscores the need for responsible AI, data sharing, and data privacy. She also points out that the challenges in this field are more similar than dissimilar to those in other industries.

Tune in for a wealth of insights from a seasoned leader in the field of Applied Intelligence.

A lot of the times when we walk into a supermarket, we don't necessarily think about the impact data science had in getting these products on shelves. However, as you’ll learn in today's episode, it's safe to say there's a myriad of applications for data science in the FMCG industry. Whether be that supply chain use-cases that leverage time-series forecasting techniques, to computer vision use-cases for on-shelf optimization—the use-cases are endless here. So how can data scientists and data leaders maximize value in this space?

Enter Anastasia Zygmantovich. Anastasia is a Global Data Science Director at Reckitt, which is most known for products like Airwick, Lysol, Detol, and Durex. Throughout the episode, we discuss how data science can be used in the FMCG industry, how data leaders can hire impactful data teams in this space, why FMCG is a great place to work in for data scientists, some awesome use-cases she's worked on, how data scientists can best maximize their value in this space, what generative AI means for organizations, and a lot more.

When we think about video games like Call of Duty, Fifa, or Fortnite, our minds often turn to creative artists, software developers, designers, and producers. These are the people who make our favorite games a reality. But behind the scenes, data & AI actively shape our experience with our favorite video games. From the quality of video games, the accessibility of maps and worlds, even the go to market, data & AI play an impactul role in making or breaking the success of a video game.

Marie de Léséleuc is an accomplished game industry professional with over a decade of experience. Marie started her career as a data analyst, and has since risen through the ranks to a data leader in the gaming industry. She's worked at companies such as Ubisoft, Warner Brothers, and most recently at Eidos, the company most well known for games such as Guardians of the Galaxy and Tomb Raider.

Throughout the episode, we discuss how data science can be used in gaming, the unique challenges data teams face in gaming from really low data volumes to massive changes to production schedules and game vision. We also spoke about the difference between "AI" as we know it in data science, and AI in gaming, which informs how NPCs behave in a video game world—and a lot more.

Imagine making parenting choices not just based on instinct and through the lived experiences of others, but instead using data-driven techniques garnered through a career in data and economics. 

Emily Fair Oster is a Professor of Economics and International and Public Affairs at Brown University. Her work is unique, blending economics, health, and research in new ways. In her books "Expecting Better," "The Family Firm," and "Cribsheet," she's shown how data can help guide us through pregnancy and parenting.

In the episode, Emily shows how she used her knowledge of data and economics when she was pregnant, and how this way of thinking can change how we make decisions.

We look at the tension between what we feel and what the data tells us when we're making parenting choices, and why many of us lean on personal experiences. Emily tells us why it's important to use quality data when making decisions and how to make sense of all the information out there.

Emily talks about the ins and outs of using data to make parenting decisions, discussing the big milestones in a child's life, the role of sleep, and how these can impact a person's future as well as the nuance in applying data-driven decision-making to your parenting. 

Emily also touches on how having two working parents and traditional gender roles can shape how we parent.

Finally, Emily gives some helpful tips on finding and understanding good-quality data. This will help you make better decisions as a parent. Tune in for a thought-provoking look at parenting, data, and economics.

Although many have been cognizant of AI’s value in recent months, the further back we look, the more exclusive this group of people becomes. In our latest AI-series episodes of DataFramed, we gain insight from an expert who has been part of the industry for 40 years.

Joaquin Marques, Founder and Principal Data Scientist at Kanayma LLC has been working in AI since 1983. With experience at major tech companies like IBM, Verizon, and Oracle, Joaquin's knowledge of AI is vast. Today, he leads an AI consultancy, Kanayma, where he creates innovative AI products.

Throughout the episode, Joaquin shares his insights on AI's development over the years, its current state, and future possibilities. Joaquin also shares the exciting projects they've worked on at Kanayma as well as what to consider when building AI products, and how ChatGPT is making chatbots better.

Joaquin goes beyond providing insight into the space, encouraging listeners to think about the practical consequences of implementing AI, with Joaquin sharing the finer technical details of many of the solutions he’s helped build. Joaquin also shares many of the thought processes that have helped him move forward when building AI products, providing context on many practical applications of AI, both from his past and the bleeding edge of today.  

The discussion examines the complexities of artificial intelligence, from the perspective of someone that has been focused on this technology for more than most. Tune in for guidance on how to build AI into your own company's products.

With the advances in AI products and the explosion of ChatGPT in recent months, it is becoming easier to imagine a world where AI and humans work seamlessly together—revolutionizing how we solve complex problems and transform our daily lives. This is especially the case for data professionals.

In this episode of our AI series, we speak to Sarah Schlobohm, Head of AI at Kubrick Group. Dr. Schlobohm leads the training of the next generation of machine learning engineers. With a background in finance and consulting, Sarah has a deep understanding of the intersection between business strategy, data science, and AI. Prior to her work in finance, Sarah became a chartered accountant, where she honed her skills in financial analysis and strategy. Sarah worked for one of the world's largest banks, where she used data science to fight financial crime, making significant contributions to the industry's efforts to combat money laundering and other illicit activities. Sarah shares her extensive knowledge on incorporating AI within data teams for maximum impact, covering a wide array of AI-related topics, including upskilling, productivity, and communication, to help data professionals understand how to integrate generative AI effectively in their daily work.

Throughout the episode, Sarah explores the challenges and risks of AI integration, touching on the balance between privacy and utility. She highlights the risks data teams can avoid when using AI products and how to approach using AI products the right way. She also covers how different roles within a data team might make use of generative AI, as well as how it might effect coding ability going forward.

Sarah also shares use cases for those in non-data teams, such as marketing, while also highlighting what to consider when using outputs from GPT models. Sarah shares the impact chatbots might have on education calling attention to the power of AI tutors in schools.

Sarah encourages people to start using AI now, considering the barrier to entry is so low, and how that might not be the case going forward. From automating mundane tasks to enabling human-AI collaboration that makes work more enjoyable, Sarah underscores the transformative power of AI in shaping the future of humanity.

Whether you're an AI enthusiast, data professional, or someoone with an interest in either this episode will provide you with a deeper understanding of the practical aspects of AI implementation.

With the advent of any new technology that promises to make humans lives easier, replacing concious actions with automation, there is always backlash. People are often aware of the displacement of jobs, and often, it is viewed in a negative light. But how do we try to change the collective understanding to one of hope and excitement? What use cases can be shared that will change the opinion of those that are weary of AI? 

Noelle Silver Russell is the Global AI Solutions & Generative AI & LLM Industry Lead at Accenture, responsible for enterprise-scale industry playbooks for generative AI and LLMs. In this episode of our AI series, Noelle discusses how to prioritize ChatGPT use cases by focusing on the different aspects of value creation that GPT models can bring to individuals and organizations. She addresses common misconceptions surrounding ChatGPT and AI in general, emphasizing the importance of understanding their potential benefits and selecting use cases that maximize positive impact, foster innovation, and contribute to job creation.

Noelle draws parallels between the fast-moving AI projects today and the launch of Amazon Alexa, which she worked on, and points out that many of the discussions being raised today were also talked about 10 years ago. She discusses how companies can now use AI to focus both on business efficiencies and customer experience, no longer having to settle for a trade-off between the two.

Noelle explains the best way for companies to approach adding GPT tools into their processes, which focusses on taking a holistic view to implementation. She also recommends use-cases for companies that are just beginning to use AI, as well as the challenges they might face when deploying models into production, and how they can mitigate them. 

On the topic of the displacement of jobs, Noelle draws parallels from when Alexa was launched, and how it faced similar criticisms, digging into the fear that people have around new technology, which could be transformed into enthusiasm. Noelle suggests that there is a burden on leadership within organizations to create a culture where people are excited to use AI tools, rather than feeling threatened by them.

ChatGPT has leaped into the forefront of our lives—everyone from students to multinational organizations are seeing value in adding a chat interface to an LLM. But OpenAI has been concentrating on this for years, steadily developing one of the most viral digital products this century. In this episode of our AI series, we sit down with Logan Kilpatrick. Logan currently leads developer relations at OpenAI, supporting developers building with DALL-E, the OpenAI API, and ChatGPT. Logan takes us through OpenAI’s products, API, and models, and provides insights into the many use cases of ChatGPT. 

Logan provides fascinating information on ChatGPT’s plugins and how they can be used to build agents that help us in a variety of contexts. He also discusses the future integration of LLMs into our daily lives and how it will add structure to the unstructured nature and difficult-to-leverage data we generate and interact with on a daily basis. Logan also touches on the powerful image input features in GPT4, how it can help those with partial sight to improve their quality of life, and how it can be used for various other use cases.

Throughout the episode, we unpack the need for collaboration and innovation, due to ChatGPT becoming more powerful when integrated with other pieces of software. Covering key discussion points with regard to AI tools currently, in particular, what could be built in-house by OpenAI and what could be built in the public domain. Logan also discusses the ecosystem forming around ChatGPT and how it will all become connected going forward. Finally, Logan shares tips for getting better responses from ChatGPT and the things to consider when integrating it into your organization’s product. 

This episode provides a deep dive into the world of GPT models from within the eye of the storm, providing valuable insights to those interested in AI and its practical applications in our daily lives.

From May 8-11, discover expert insights from four industry leaders from OpenAI, Accenture, Kubrick Group, and Kanayma LLC on how to navigate the era of AI.

Ten years ago, Salesforce was trying to generate $1Bn of revenue in a quarter. Today, they create over $30Bn of revenue in year. Simultaneously, over the last decade we have seen huge advances in the world of data and data science.

In this episode, Laura Gent Felker, Director of Data Insights and Scalability at Salesforce, talks about her experience in building and leading data teams within the organization over the last ten years. Laura shares her insights on how to create a learning culture within a team, how to prioritize projects while accounting for long-term strategy, and the importance of setting aside time for innovation.

Laura also discusses how to ensure that the projects the team works on genuinely provide business value. She suggests creating a two-way street with executive leadership and understanding the collective value across a variety of stakeholders also citing that some of the best innovation she has seen come from her team is when they have had to solve high-priority short-term business problems. 

In addition, Laura shares a multi-layered approach to building a learning community within a data team. She explains that a culture of collaboration and trust is important in the direct data team, and the wider community within organizations. 

Laura also talks about the frameworks and mental models that can help develop business acumen. She highlights the importance of dedicating time to this area and being able to communicate insights effectively.

Throughout the episode, Laura's insights provide valuable guidance for both junior and experienced data professionals, consumers and leaders in creating a learning culture, prioritizing projects, and building a strong data community within organizations.

Data literacy is becoming increasingly recognized as a valuable skill in today's workforce. We all interact with data on a daily basis, and organizations are now realizing the tremendous benefits of having a workforce that is well-versed in data, from interacting with dashboards to data analysis and data science. But, it all starts with data literacy. 

In this episode, we speak with Valerie Logan, CEO and Founder of The Data Lodge. Valerie is committed to data literacy, she believes that in today's digital society, data literacy is a life skill. With advisory services, bootcamps, a resource library and community services at The Data Lodge, Valerie is certifying the world’s first Data Literacy Program Leads and pioneering the path forward in cracking the data culture code. Valerie is also known for helping popularize the term "Data Literacy." In this episode, she shares insights on what a successful data literacy journey looks like, best practices for evangelizing data literacy programs, how to avoid siloed efforts between departments and much more.

Valerie sheds light on the difficulties organizations face when trying to prioritize data literacy and data culture. She suggests that this is because humans are still at the center of organizations, and changing their behaviour is a challenge. She also talks about what data literacy means, and how the definition adapts to use cases. 

Valerie offers guidance on how to secure executive buy-in for data upskilling programs, explaining that finding a sponsor for the program is the first step. She also talks about the importance of extending buy-in to people who are less directly involved with data and upskilling, emphasizing how the program will help strategic objectives.

Valerie also provides insights on the hallmarks of an effective pilot program for data literacy, suggesting that organizations go where there's already interest and that a good pilot is one where before and after effects can be measured. She also shares tips on how organizations can ensure that their data literacy program helps them achieve their strategic business goals.

Throughout the episode, Valerie outlines the benefit and scope data literacy can have on an organization, with one of the most pertinent pieces of wisdom being a warning to organisations that risk ignoring upskilling and investing in data.

Links mentioned in the show:

Building machine learning systems with high predictive accuracy is inherently hard, and embedding these systems into great product experiences is doubly so. To build truly great machine learning products that reach millions of users, organizations need to marry great data science expertise, with strong attention to user experience, design thinking, and a deep consideration for the impacts of your prediction on users and stakeholders. So how do you do that?

Today’s guest is Sam Stone, Director of Product Management, Pricing & Data at Opendoor, a real-estate technology company that leverages machine learning to streamline the home buying and selling process. Sam played an integral part in developing AI/ML products related to home pricing including the Opendoor Valuation Model (OVM), market liquidity forecasting, portfolio optimization, and resale decision tooling. Prior to Opendoor, he was a co-founder and product manager at Ansaro, a SaaS startup using data science and machine learning to help companies improve hiring decisions. Sam holds degrees in Math and International Relations from Stanford and an MBA from Harvard.

Throughout the episode, we spoke about his principles for great ML product design, how to think about data collection for these types of products, how to package outputs from a model within a slick user interface, what interpretability means in the eyes of customers, how to be proactive about monitoring failure points, and much more.

Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. It plays a vital role in ensuring TV, radio and telecoms work as they should. With vast swathes of information from a wide range of sources, data plays a huge role in the way Ofcom operates - in this episode, we learn the key drivers of Ofcom’s data strategy. 

Richard Davis is the Chief Data Officer at Ofcom, responsible for enabling data and analytics capabilities across the organisation. Prior to Ofcom, Richard worked as a Quantitative Analyst as well as being the former Head of Analytics and Innovation at LLoyds Bank, proving he has a wealth of experience across a variety of data roles. 

After joining Ofcom in 2022, Richard describes his experience of joining Ofcom, his ambition to bring in new processes, and how he leverages the community of data professionals. Richard also shares his advice for a new data leader, which includes understanding the pain points of the team, making insights more efficient, and keeping data teams aligned with the business's needs. He also elaborates on the key components of the data strategy at Ofcom, including aligning to good data, good people, and good decisions.

Also discussed is the importance of cultural change in an organization and how to upskill data experts and train non-data specialists in data literacy, the difference between technical experts and people managers, and how organizations can enable people to grow to become technical leaders.

Finally, Richard emphasizes the importance of evidence-based regulation, and how data literacy supports effective output. Richard provides excellent insight into the world of regulatory data, the challenges faced by Ofcom, and the solutions they can implement to overcome them.

The concept of literate programming, or the idea of programming in a document, was first introduced in 1984 by Donald Knuth. And as of today, notebooks are now the defacto tool for doing data science work. So as the data tooling space continues to evolve at breakneck speed, what are the possible directions the data science notebook can take? 

In this episode of DataFramed, we talk with Dr. Jodie Burchell, Data Science Developer Advocate at JetBrains, to find out how data science notebooks evolved into what they are today, what her predictions are for the future of notebooks and data science, and how generative AI will impact data teams going forward. 

Jodie completed a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and a postdoc in biostatistics before transitioning into data science. She has since worked for 7 years as a data scientist, developing products ranging from recommendation systems to audience profiling. She is also a prolific content creator in the data science community.

Throughout the episode, Jodie discusses the evolution of data science notebooks over the last few years, noting how the move to remote-based notebooks has allowed for the seamless development of more complex models straight from the notebook environment.

Jodie and Adel’s conversation also covers tooling challenges that have led to modern IDEs and notebooks, with Jodie highlighting the importance of good database tooling and visibility. She shares how data science notebooks have evolved to help democratize data for the wider organization, the tradeoffs between engineering-led approaches to tooling compared to data science approaches, what generative AI means for the data profession, her predictions for data science, and more.

Tune in to this episode to learn more about the evolution of data science notebooks and the challenges and opportunities facing the data science community today.

Links to mentioned in the show:

More on the topic:

In 2023, businesses are relying more heavily on data science and analytics teams than ever before. However, simply having a team of talented individuals is not enough to guarantee success. 

In the last of our RADAR 2023 sessions, Vijay Yadav and Vanessa Gonzalez will outline the keys to building high-impact data teams in 2023. They will discuss what are the hallmarks of a high-performing data team, the importance of diversity of background and skillset needed to build impactful data teams, setting up career pathways for data scientists, and more.

Vijay Yadav is a highly respected data and analytics thought leader with over 20 years of experience in data product development, data engineering, and advanced analytics. As Director of Quantitative Sciences - Digital, Data, and Analytics at Merck, he leads data & analytics teams in creating AI/ML-driven data products to drive digital transformation. Vijay has held numerous leadership positions at various companies and is known for his ability to lead global teams to achieve high-impact results. 

Vanessa Gonzalez is the Sr. Director of Data Science and Innovation at Businessolver where she leads the Computational Linguistics, Machine Learning Engineering, Data Science, BI Analytics, and BI Engineering teams. She is experienced in leading data transformations, performing analytical and management functions that contribute to the goals and growth objectives of organizations and divisions. 

Listen in as Vanessa and Vijay share how to enable data teams to flourish in an ever-evolving data landscape. 

An effective data strategy is one that combines a variety of levers such as infrastructure, tools, organization, processes, and more. Arguably however, the most important aspect of a vibrant data strategy is culture and people.

In the third of our four RADAR 2023 sessions, Cindi Howson and Valerie Logan discuss how data leaders can create a data strategy that puts their people at the center. Learn key insights into how to drive effective change management for data culture, how to drive adoption of data within the organization, common pitfalls when executing on a data strategy, and more. 

Cindi Howson is the Chief Data Strategy Officer at ThoughtSpot and host of The Data Chief podcast. Cindi is an analytics and BI thought leader and expert with a flair for bridging business needs with technology.  As Chief Data Strategy Officer at ThoughtSpot, she advises top clients on data strategy and best practices to become data-driven, speaks internationally on top trends such as AI ethics, and influences ThoughtSpot’s product strategy. 

Valerie Logan is the Founder and CEO of The Data Lodge. Valerie is committed to data literacy, she believes that in today's digital society, data literacy is a life skill. With advisory services, bootcamps, a resource library and community services at The Data Lodge, Valerie is certifying the world’s first Data Literacy Program Leads and pioneering the path forward in cracking the data culture code. In 2018, she was awarded Gartner’s Top Thought Leadership Award for her leadership in the area of Data Literacy.

Listen in as Cindi and Valerie share how to build a data strategy that puts people first in an enterprise organization.

As organizations and the economy at large look to weather the challenges of 2023, data literacy is one of the keys to empowering organizations to navigate the decade's most significant challenges with confidence. 

In the second of our four RADAR 2023 sessions, Jordan Morrow shares how to navigate the future with data literacy, and how organizations can thrive as data becomes ever more prominent.

Jordan is known as the "Godfather of Data Literacy", having helped pioneer the field by building one of the world's first data literacy programs and driving thought leadership on the subject. Jordan is Vice President and Head of Data And Analytics at BrainStorm, Inc., and a global trailblazer in the world of data literacy, building the world's first full scale data literacy program. He served as the Chair of the Advisory Board for The Data Literacy Project, has spoken at numerous conferences around the world and is an active voice in the data and analytics community. He has also helped companies and organizations around the world, including the United Nations, build and understand data literacy.

Listen in as Jordan outlines how and why data literacy can help build individual and organizational resilience, how to scale data literacy within your organization, and more.

As organizations of all sizes continuously look to drive value out of data, the modern data stack has emerged as a clear solution for getting insights into the hands of the organization. With the rapid pace of innovation not slowing down, the tools within the modern data stack have enabled data teams to drive faster insights, collaborate at scale, and democratize data knowledge. However, are tools just enough to drive business value with data? 

In the first of our four RADAR 2023 sessions, we look at the key drivers of value within the modern data stack through the minds of Yali Sassoon and Barr Moses. 

Yali Sassoon is the Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Snowplow Analytics, a behavioral data platform that empowers data teams to solve complex data challenges. At Snowplow, Yali gets to combine his love of building things with his fascination of the ways in which people use data to reason.

Barr Moses is CEO & Co-Founder of Monte Carlo. Previously, she was VP Customer Operations at customer success company Gainsight, where she helped scale the company 10x in revenue and, among other functions, built the data/analytics team. 

Listen in as Yali and Barr outline how data leaders can drive value creation with data in 2023.

Data leaders play a critical role in driving innovation and growth in various industries, and this is particularly true in highly regulated industries such as aviation. In such industries, data leaders face unique challenges and opportunities, working to balance the need for innovation with strict regulatory requirements. This week’s guest is Derek Cedillo, who has 27 years of experience working in Data and Analytics at GE Aerospace. Derek currently works as a Senior Manager for GE Aerospace’s Remote Monitoring and Diagnostics division, having previously worked as the Senior Director for Data Science and Analytics.

In the episode, Derek shares the key components to successfully managing a Data Science program within a large and highly regulated organization. He also shares his insights on how to standardize data science planning across various projects and how to get a Data Scientists to think and work in an agile manner. We hear about ideal data team structures, how to approach hiring, and what skills to look for in new hires. 

The conversation also touches on what responsibility Data Leaders have within organizations, championing data-driven decisions and strategy, as well as the complexity Data Leaders face in highly regulated industries. When it comes to solving problems that provide value for the business, engagement and transparency are key aspects. Derek shares how to ensure that expectations are met through clear and frank conversations with executives that try to align expectations between management and Data Science teams. 

Finally, you'll learn about validation frameworks, best practices for teams in less regulated industries, what trends to look out for in 2023 and how ChatGPT is changing how executives define their expectations from Data Science teams. 

Links to mentioned in the show:

The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande

Team of Teams by General Stanley McChrystal

The Harvard Data Science Review Podcast

Relevant Links from DataCamp:

Article: Storytelling for More Impactful Data Science

Course: Data Communication Concepts

Course: Data-Driven Decision-Making for Business

Oftentimes, Kaggle competitions are looked at as an excellent way for data scientists to sharpen their machine learning skills and become technically excellent. This begs the question, what are the hallmarks of high-performing Kaggle competitors? What makes a Kaggle Grand Master?

Today’s guest, Jean-Francois Puget PhD, distinguished engineer at NVIDIA, has achieved this impressive feat three times. 

Throughout the episode, Richie and Jean-Francois discuss his background and how he became a Kaggle Grandmaster. He shares his scientific approach to machine learning and how he uses this to consistently achieve high results in Kaggle competitions.

Jean-Francois also discusses how NVIDIA employs nine Kaggle Grandmasters and how they use Kaggle experiments to breed innovation in solving their machine learning challenges. He expands on the toolkit he employs in solving Kaggle competitions, and how he has achieved 50X improvements in efficiencies using tools like RAPIDS. 

Richie and Jean-Francois also delve into the difference between competitive data science on Kaggle and machine learning work in a real-world setting. They deep dive into the challenges of real-world machine learning, and how to resolve the ambiguities of using machine learning in production that data scientists don’t encounter in Kaggle competitions.

Studies have shown that companies lacking in racial diversity also have a corresponding lack in their ability to innovate as a whole, which makes it important for any organization to prioritize an inclusive workplace culture and welcome more women and underrepresented groups in data.

This is why Nikiska Alcindor's work is so vital to the future of the data science industry. Nikisha is the President and Founder of the STEM Educational Institute (SEI), a nonprofit corporation that equips underrepresented high school students with the technological skills needed to build generational wealth and be effective in the workforce. 

Nikisha is a strategic management leader with expertise in organizational change, investing, and fundraising. She is a  recipient of the 2021 Dean Huss Teaching Award, a board member of the Upper Manhatten Empowerment Zone, and has taught a master class at Columbia Business School as well as several guest lectures at Columbia University.

Throughout the episode, we discuss SEI’s three-pillar approach to education,  the rising importance of STEM-based careers, why financial literacy is crucial to a student’s success, SEI’s partnership with DataCamp, contextualizing educational and upskilling programs to your organization’s specific population, how data leaders can positively communicate upskilling initiatives, and much more.

In order for any data team to move from reactive to proactive and drive revenue for the business, they must make sure the basics are in place and that the team and data culture is mature enough to allow for scalable return on investment. 

Without these elements, data teams find themselves unable to make meaningful progress because they are stuck reacting to problems and responding to rudimentary questions from stakeholders across the organization. This quickly takes up bandwidth and keeps them from achieving meaningful ROI.

In today’s episode, we have invited Shane Murray to break down how to effectively structure a data team, how data leaders can lead efficient decentralization, and how teams can scale their ROI in 2023.

Shane is the Field CTO at Monte Carlo, a data reliability company that created the industry's first end-to-end Data Observability platform. Shane’s career has taken him through a successful 9-year tenure at The New York Times, where he grew the data analytics team from 12 to 150 people and managed all core data products. Shane is an expert when it comes to data observability, enabling effective ROI for data initiatives, scaling high-impact data teams, and more.

Throughout the episode we discuss how to structure a data team for maximum efficiency, how data leaders can balance long-term and short-term data initiatives, how data maturity correlates to a team’s forward-thinking ability, data democratization with data insights and reporting ROI, best practices for change management, and much more.

The most common application for data science is to solve problems within your own organization, and as professionals become more data literate, they rely less and less on others to solve their problems and unlock professional growth and career advancement.

But in the world of consulting, data science is used to solve other people’s problems, which adds an additional layer of complexity since consultants aren’t always given all of the tools they need to do the job right.

Enter Pratik Agrawal, a Partner at Kearney Analytics leading the automotive and industrial transportation sector. In this episode, we are taking a look at how data science is applied in the consulting industry and what skills are critical to be a successful data science consultant. 

As a software engineer and data scientist with over a decade of experience in the consulting world at companies like Boston Consulting Group and IRI, Pratik has a deep understanding of how to navigate the industry and how data science can be leveraged in it, as well as expertise in digital transformation projects and strategy.

Throughout the episode, we discuss common problems that consultants encounter, the skills needed to be successful as a consultant, the different approaches to analytics in consulting versus in an organization, how to handle context switching when juggling multiple projects, what makes consulting feel exciting and challenging, and much more.

One of the toughest parts of any data project is experimentation, not just because you need to choose the right testing method to confirm the project’s effectiveness, but because you also need to make sure you are testing the right hypothesis and measuring the right KPIs to ensure you receive accurate results.

One of the most effective methods for data experimentation is A/B testing, and Anjali Mehra, Senior Director of Product Analytics, Data Science, Experimentation, and Instrumentation at DocuSign, is no stranger to how A/B testing can impact multiple parts of any organization. Throughout her career, she has also worked in marketing analytics and customer analytics at companies like Shutterfly, Wayfair, and Constant Contact.

Throughout the episode, we discuss DocuSign’s analytics goals, how A/B testing works, how to gamify data experimentation, how A/B testing helps with new initiative validation, examples of A/B testing with data projects, how organizations can get started with data experimentation, and much more.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle to establishing a data culture is building trust in the data itself, making it vital for organizations to have a robust approach to data governance to ensure data quality is as high as possible.

Enter Laurent Dresse, Data Governance Evangelist and Director of Professional Services at DataGalaxy. Throughout his career, Laurent has served as a bridge between IT and the rest of the business as an expert in data governance, quality, data management, and more.

Throughout the episode, we discuss the state of data governance today, how data leaders and organizations can start their data governance journey, how to evangelize for data governance and gain buy-in across your organization, data governance tooling, and much more.

A special announcement from the DataFramed team. Join us for RADAR, a free two-day digital event curated to equip businesses and individuals with the insights to thrive in the era data, coming to you March 22-23, 2023! 

Register here to secure your spot!

Data quality can make or break any data initiative or product. If you aren’t able to collect data that is accurate, or you have data sets that have varying structures, or are filled with typos and other issues caused by human error, then the chances drop drastically that your data models will be accurate, or even helpful.

When it comes to healthcare, data quality can be an absolute nightmare. With so many different data sources, high data churn rates, and a lack of standardization in many different healthcare categories, it can seem impossible to make quality healthcare more easily accessible to people when they need it.

Ribbon Health seeks to change that by using AI to improve the quality of healthcare data and create a data platform with actionable provider information including insurance coverage, prices, and performance.

Today’s guests are Nate Fox, the CTO, Co-Founder, and President of Ribbon Health, and Sunna Jo, a former pediatrician who is now a data scientist at Ribbon Health.

Throughout the episode, we talk about why data quality in healthcare is messy, why having context around data is necessary to interpret and utilize it properly, how healthcare providers are improving their services because of platforms like Ribbon Health, how to tackle common data cleaning problems, and much more

When working with data, it’s easy for us to think about it as a mechanistic process, where data comes in and products come out. But as we’ve explored throughout the show, succeeding in data, whether you’re a data leader looking to build a data culture, a data scientist ascending the ranks, or even a policy maker looking to have an impact with data, the human side is crucial.

At the heart of the “human side” is empathy— whether it’s for your stakeholders if you’re a data scientist developing a dashboard for them, empathy for your workforce if you’re a data or learning leader, or empathy for the planet and your citizens if you’re a policy maker. 

So how can we all practice better empathy? Specifically, can we all practice better data empathy? Luckily, empathy is a muscle that can be built. It’s not a “you have it, or you don’t” type of skill. So how can individuals and organizations utilize data empathy to improve how they work with data and the success rate of their projects?  

Enter Phil Harvey, an Industrial Metaverse Architect in the Industrial Metaverse Core group at Microsoft. He is an expert in Data & AI Technical and Business Strategy & Philosophy. Harvey is also co-author of the bookData: A Guide to Humans,which explores the concept of Data Empathy, and how it can power better use of data through better communication and understanding of stakeholders in the value chain of data. 

Something we talk about alot on DataFramed is the importance of data literacy and data skills — and how they help both individuals and organizations succeed with data. Oftentimes, when organizations engage in upskilling programs on data literacy, one of the common pushbacks people have is, “I am not a numbers person”. 

So how do you move past that? How can leaders help their people bridge the data literacy gap, and in turn create a data culture?

That’s where Dr. Selena Fisk comes in. Fisk is a data storyteller, coach, and thought leader in the data industry. She works in both the corporate sector and in education to develop data-led strategies that can help organizations grow. Fisk mainly specializes in the areas of data literacy, data visualization, and data storytelling, and is the author of three books, “Using and Analysing Data in Australian Schools,” “Leading Data-Informed Change in Schools,” and “I’m Not a Numbers Person: How to Make Good Decisions in a Data-Rich World.”

Throughout our conversation, we discuss the difference between being data-informed and data-driven, the different levels of data literacy, why change management is crucial to the success of any data literacy program, how to democratize data skills, how to approach data upskilling as a leader, and much more.

Throughout 2022, there was an explosion in generative AI for images and text. GPT-3, DALLE-2, pointed us towards an AI-driven future. Recently, ChatGPT has taken the (data) world by storm — prompting many questions over how generative AI can be used in day to day activities. With the incredible amount of hype surrounding these new tools, we wanted to have a discussion grounded in how these tools are being operationalized today.

Enter Scott Downes. Scott is the CTO of Invisible Technologies, a process automation platform that uses GPT-3 and other generative text technologies. Scott joins the show to talk about how organizations and data professionals can maximize the potential of these tools and how AI and humans can work together in a complementary fashion to optimize workflows, reduce time-intensive, tedious tasks, and do higher quality work.

Scott has a decade of experience in technology, product engineering, and technical leadership, making a veteran in training and mentoring employees across the organization, whether their roles are more creative or more technical.

Throughout the conversation, we talk about what Invisible Technologies uses GPT-3 to optimize workflows, a brief overview of GPT-3 and its use cases for working with text, how GPT-3 helps companies scale their operations, the promises of tools ChatGPT, how AI analysis and human review can work together to save lives, and much more.

In 2022, we saw significant developments in the field of data. From the emergence of generative AI to the growth of low-code data tools and AI assistants—these advancements signal an upcoming paradigm shift, where data-powered tools and machine learning systems will radically transform workflows across various professions.

2022 also saw digital transformation remain a major theme for organizations across industries as they sought to embrace new ways of working, reaching customers, and providing value. As 2023’s looming economic uncertainty puts pressure on organizations to maximize ROI from their investments, digital and data transformation will continue to be one of the key levers by which organizations can cut costs and scale value for their stakeholders.

So we’ve invited DataCamp’s co-founders, CEO Jonathan Cornelissen and COO Martijn Theuwissen to break down the top data trends they are seeing in the data space today, as well as their predictions for the future of the data industry.

Jonathan Cornelissen is the CEO and co-founder of DataCamp. As the CEO of DataCamp, he helped grow DataCamp to upskill over 10M+ learners and 2800+ teams and enterprise clients. He is interested in everything related to data science, education and entrepreneurship. He holds a PhD in financial econometrics, and was the original author of an R package for quantitative finance.

Martijn Theuwissen is the COO and co-founder of DataCamp. As the COO of DataCamp, he helps DataCamp’s enterprise clients on their data and digital transformation strategies, enabling them to make the most of DataCamp for Business’s offering, and helping them transform how their workforce uses data. 

Just as data is used to help businesses determine new directions, set new goals, and measure progress, data can be used in everyday life to help people do the same as they seek to improve themselves.

As the new year arrives, many people are thinking about new goals and new ways to improve their lives, so we have invited Gary Wolf to the show to explore how you can use data-driven thinking to drive meaningful changes in yourself.

Gary Wolf is the Co-Founder of The Quantified Self, an international community of makers and users of self-tracking tools. Prior to co-founding The Quantified Self, Wolf was a contributing editor for Wired Magazine, where he spent two decades covering the intersection of technology and culture, and his cover story in the New York Timesis what introduced the general public to self-tracking as an emerging trend.

In this episode, we talk about what The Quantified Self is, why self-tracking projects can be life-changing, how to get started with self-tracking, how to connect with others in the self-tracking community, and much more.

In programming, collaboration and experimentation can be very stressful, since sharing code and making it visible to others can be tedious, time-consuming, and nerve-wracking.Tools like Power BI are changing that entirely, by opening up new ways to collaborate between team members, add layers of customized and complex security to the data teams are working with, and making data much more accessible across organizations.

Ginger Grant joins the show to talk about how organizations can utilize Power BI, Dax, and M to their fullest potential and create new opportunities for experimentation, innovation, and collaboration.

Ginger is the Principal Consultant at the Desert Isle Group, working as an expert in advanced analytic solutions, including machine learning, data warehousing, ETL, reporting and cube development, Power BI, Excel Automation, Data Visualization and training. In addition to her consultant work, she is also a blogger at and global keynote speaker on developments and trends in data. Microsoft has also recognized her technical contributions by awarding her a MVP in Data Platform.

In this episode, we talk about what Power BI is, the common mistakes organizations make when implementing Power BI, advanced use cases, and much more.

The insurance industry thrives on data from utilizing data and analytics to determine policy rates for customers to working with relevant partners in the industry to improve their products and services, data is embedded in everything that insurance companies do.

But insurance companies also have a number of hurdles to overcome, whether it’s transitioning legacy data into new processes and technology, balancing new projects and models with ever-changing regulatory standards, and balancing the ethical considerations of how to best utilize data without resulting in unintended consequences for the end user.

That’s why we’ve brought Rob Reynolds onto the show. Rob is the VP and Chief Data & Analytics Officer at W. R. Berkley, a multinational insurance holding company specializing in property and casualty insurance. Rob brings over two decades of experience in Data Science, IT, and technology leadership, with a particular expertise in building departments and establishing highly functioning teams, especially in highly dynamic environments.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how insurance companies utilize data, the most important skills for anyone looking for data science jobs in the insurance industry, why the need for thoughtful criticism is growing in data science, and how an expertise in communication will put you ahead of the pack.

With the increasing rate at which new data tools and platforms are being created, the modern data stack risks becoming just another buzzword data leaders use when talking about how they solve problems.

Alongside the arrival of new data tools is the need for leaders to see beyond just the modern data stack and think deeply about how their data work can align with business outcomes, otherwise, they risk falling behind trying to create value from innovative, but irrelevant technology.

In this episode, Yali Sassoon joins the show to explore what the modern data stack really means, how to rethink the modern data stack in terms of value creation, data collection versus data creation, and the right way businesses should approach data ingestion, and much more.

Yali is the Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Snowplow Analytics, a behavioral data platform that empowers data teams to solve complex data challenges. Yali is an expert in data with a background in both strategy and operations consulting teaching companies how to use data properly to evolve their operations and improve their results.