Gen AI is changing life for everyone, even for those creating it, aka developers. In this episode, host Albert Lawrence and IBM Developer Advocate JJ Asghar discuss why “open” is so important, AI security, governance, and how to get started as an AI developer. Should you build your own foundation model? Are open-source AI models more secure? Listen for more advice on how to get the most from AI models. The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the views of IBM or any other organization or entity.

JJ works as a Developer Advocate representing IBM worldwide and based in Austin, TX. Engaged in the IBM watsonx service, the open source AI ecosystem, and the Kubernetes ecosystem with a focus on Red Hat’s OpenShift, his role is to teach enterprises and users how to successfully onboard to the AI and Cloud Native ecosystem. If he isn’t building high-level automation to streamline his work, he’s building the groundwork for it. A self-hoster of open source software for years, JJ is also a husband and father, working to balance his natural nerdiness with family life.

JJ Asghar

Developer Advocate, IBM Research

Listen to IBM Developer Advocate JJ Asghar discuss why developers should use open-source AI models, and how they can be the future of security and governance.

Rewriting the future. How developers are driving what’s next with gen AI

How open-source AI models could be the future of security and governance

There's a vanguard leading the charge to make AI accessible to all, and others are still catching up. Yet, amidst this progress, a concerning reality exists: a gender gap is forming in the field of AI. Listen to Reshma Saujani, Founder &amp; CEO of Girls Who Code, talk about “aspirational AI” and what we can do to close the gap. The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the views of IBM or any other organization or entity

Reshma Saujani is a leading activist, the founder of Girls Who Code, and the founder and CEO of Moms First (formerly Marshall Plan for Moms). She has spent more than a decade building movements to fight for women and girls’ economic empowerment, working to close the gender gap in the tech sector, and most recently fighting for the structural changes moms need and deserve including affordable child care, paid leave, and equal pay. She is a New York TimesBestselling author of several books including PAY UP: The Future of Women and Work (And Why It’s Different Than You Think), Brave, Not Perfect, and the Girls Who Code book series. As a leading voice on women’s empowerment, her 2023 Smith College Commencement speech on imposter syndrome has more than 15 million views, and her influential TED talk, “Teach girls, bravery not perfection,” has more than 54 million views globally.  Reshmabegan her career as an attorney and Democratic organizer. In 2010, she surged onto the political scene as the first Indian American woman to run for U.S. Congress. Reshma lives in New York City with her husband, Nihal, their sons, Shaan and Sai.

Reshma Saujani

Founder of Girls Who Code, Founder and CEO of Moms First

Despite efforts to reduce AI bias and promote AI diversity, there’s a gender gap forming in AI. Listen to see how we can close the gender and wealth gap in AI. 

Leaders v. learners: It all comes down to AI accessibility with Reshma Saujani

Leaders v. learners: It all comes down to AI accessibility

Generative AI is expensive, and it gets even more expensive as you scale. Find out about the hidden costs of AI, like AI integration, data, and AI security with host Albert Lawrence, Rebecca Gott, IBM Distinguished Engineer and CTO of Power Platform, and Penny Madsen, IDC Senior Research Director of Cloud and Edge Services. Listen to see how you can make your AI project returns justify the cost, and how an AI center of excellence can help.&nbsp; The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the views of IBM or any other organization or entity.

Penny Madsen is Senior Research Director within IDC’s worldwide infrastructure research organization and part of the Cloud and Edge Services practice. Madsen is lead analyst for Cloud Pulse, IDC's flagship research service on cloud adoption trends, vendor strategies and investments. Her research – delivered via syndicated, special intelligence services and custom engagements – takes a holistic view of the cloud infrastructure, platform, and software services markets. 

Penny Madsen

Senior Research Director, Cloud and Edge Services, IDC

Dr. Rebecca Gott is an IBM Distinguished Engineer and Chief Technology Officer for IBM Power Platform, responsible for the technology roadmap across silicon, firmware, operating systems, AI strategy and solutions for IBM Power Systems.  Dr. Gott received her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering in 1995 from Tulane University followed by serving in the United States Air Force where she worked in GPS development and test. Dr. Gott joined IBM in 1999 in the area of High Performance Computing and Power processor development before moving to IBM Z where she served in technical leadership roles within hardware development and later developing solutions for the emerging workloads on the platform.  Dr. Gott also enjoys teaching, where she has served as an adjunct faculty member at SUNY New Paltz teaching courses in science and technology.

Rebecca Gott

IBM Distinguished Engineer, CTO IBM Power Platform

Can you afford gen AI? Learn about the hidden costs like AI integration and AI infrastructure and how a Center of Excellence can help. 

Can you afford gen AI? How AI infrastructure, integration, data and other hidden costs make AI expensive

Virtual agents have been part of our lives for a long time, but can they replace humans as they become faster and more accurate with generative AI? Listen to host Albert Lawrence discuss the evolution of AI agents with Susan Emerson, Vice President of Product, AI and Data at Salesforce and Nick Renotte, Chief AI Engineer at IBM Client Engineering. The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the views of IBM or any other organization or entity.

Nicholas Renotte, Chief AI Engineer - Client Engineering, started coding in VBA when he was eight years old but gave it all up for a life in finance. He finally came to his senses, and has since built machine learning models for Fortune 500 companies, founded an EdTech startup and currently leads over 500 AI engineers across the globe at IBM. Over the past 5 years, he has built a following of over 265,000 AI engineers and data scientists on YouTube, created hundreds of machine learning models and shared over 50,000 lines of code on GitHub, which has helped thousands of organisations and individuals take their first steps into the field of AI to build better, faster, more efficient businesses.

Nicholas Renotte

Chief AI Engineer, IBM Client Engineering

Susan Emerson, SVP AI Product, is a foundational team member that launched and brought CRM Analytics (previously known as Einstein Analytics/Wave) and Einstein AI products to market. She has held a number of global leadership positions in distribution, product, marketing, and industry solutions for CRM Analytics, Data and AI, and works with customers and partners on strategies to leverage and gain value from Salesforce analytics and AI technologies. Susan leads Salesforce’s Generative AI global GTM and customer engagement. Prior to Salesforce, Susan had 30+ years of experience growing early-stage companies through successful IPOs and acquisitions, including Commerce One, Infinity Financial Technology, Zuora, and Workbrain. Susan is a frequent speaker at Salesforce and industry conference events on the opportunities for digital transformation and AI.

Susan Emerson

SVP AI Product, Salesforce 

Artificial Intelligence is helping AI agents become faster and more accurate, with all the necessary guardrails. Listen to see how chatbots have evolved with generative AI. 

Not just a chatbot: Build virtual agents that are actually helpful with gen AI

Data driven decision making exceeds any intuition in fantasy football (or any other sport). When you get your data ready the right way, you can use AI model so gain powerful insights. Insights that can help you drive growth—or win at fantasy football. In this episode, ESPN host Mike Greenberg joins podcast host Albert Lawrence and Elizabeth O'Brien, Senior Executive of Sports and Entertainment Sponsorship Marketing at IBM, to discuss the importance of making game decisions based on data and how generative AI is changing the game in the fantasy football space. Learn about the powerful AI models co-created by IBM and ESPN that transform football data into insights to help fantasy team owners set their lineups. The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the views of IBM or any other organization or entity.

Elizabeth O'Brien manages the strategy and marketing that drive IBM's global partnerships, including the Masters, ESPN fantasy football, US Open, Wimbledon and the Grammy Awards. Elizabeth is passionate about bringing IBM's technology innovation and solutions to bear, creating world class experiences for fans, media and players while driving measurable business results for IBM and their partners. Elizabeth received her BA from Middlebury College where she was a member of the ski patrol and later got her MPS from New York University’s Interactive Telecommunications Program. Originally from New York, she has also lived in Paris and Colorado. Elizabeth truly loves all sports and participates in many with varying levels of mastery.

Elizabeth O'Brien

Senior Executive of Sports and Entertainment Sponsorship Marketing, IBM

Mike Greenberg hosts the ESPN morning show Get Up, which features a rotating group of analysts opining about the latest news in the world of sports. Greenberg made his highly anticipated return to ESPN Radio as the host of Greeny, which is his expanded take on trending topics from that morning’s Get Up. He also brings to life true stories of unforgettable adventures in sports betting in the ESPN+ show Bettor Days with Mike Greenberg. 

Greenberg is also a writer with two bestsellers: Why My Wife Thinks I’m an Idiot and Mike & Mike’s Rules for Sports and Life. Greenberg is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

Mike Greenberg

Host, ESPN

ESPN host Mike Greenberg tells why we should ignore our gut when playing fantasy football and how data artificial intelligence can help you win.

Data for the win. How AI helps you win Fantasy Football with ESPN's Greeny

When you are expected to modernize millions of lines of code fast, AI code generation may seem like a great idea. But to effectively use generative AI, developers need a fundamental understanding of code and programming principles. Listen to host Albert Lawrence, Miha Kralj,&nbsp;Global Senior Partner of IBM Hybrid Cloud Services, and&nbsp;David Levy, Advisory Technology Engineer at IBM Client Engineering, as they explore the use of AI models in application development and application modernization as well as the potential pitfalls to avoid. The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the views of IBM or any other organization or entity.

Miha Kralj is a technical executive and cloud engineering practice leader, with over three decades of IT strategy experience. He specializes in maximizing cloud adoption value through strategic roadmaps and enabling organizational transformation for cloud-centric business models. Currently, he leads offerings in cloud application build and modernization, assisting clients in designing and developing digital products. Miha has previously spearheaded cloud strategy and architecture at EPAM and Accenture, and held impactful positions at Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Corp. Recognized for his expertise in product engineering and application modernization, Miha consistently guides senior IT executives in harmonizing business and technology strategies.

Miha Kralj

Global Senior Partner - Hybrid Cloud Services

David Levy is a Technology Engineer at IBM’s Client Engineering, specializing in solving complex business problems through iterative software development. With three years at IBM, David combines his love for solving puzzles with creativity in his work. Passionate about new technology, he is dedicated to sharing his knowledge through tutorials and projects

David Levy

Advisory Technology Engineer, FSM IBM Client Engineering

You can use Generative AI for code generation, but we’re nowhere near replacing developers with generative AI or artificial intelligence in general. Code generation with generative AI still needs a human in the loop to update accurately.

Level up your code. Modernizing code with AI code assistants

Code modernization: Making sure it doesn’t break

Can using generative AI and natural language processing make AI agents really be empathetic, personal and proactive? Can they answer the questions that we have without human agent intervention? Listen to host Albert Lawrence, Jeannie Walters, customer experience speaker and trainer, and Morgan Carroll, senior AI engineer at IBM, as they discuss the use of virtual agents, artificial intelligence and generative AI in customer service. Learn why transparency and honesty are important when using AI assistants and chatbots, and how best you can use data and AI to predict and prevent customer issues. The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the views of IBM or any other organization or entity.

Client Engineering and AI Ethics Focal Point, is an experienced engineer with IBM. She has worked extensively in the public sector to build customer care solutions for a variety of platforms. As a former NASA intern, she has experience with critical software development as well as experience with customer retention and growth from her time as a Customer Success Manager. In her free time she enjoys working on home projects, gaming, reading sci-fi, and spending time with her senior dog Mr. Hubble.

Morgan Carroll

Senior AI Engineer, IBM

Jeannie Walters, CCXP, CSP is an award-winning customer experience expert, international keynote speaker, and Founder of Experience Investigators, a firm focused on trailblazing the movement from “Reactive Customer Service” to “Proactive Customer Experience.” Jeannie is a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP), Certified Speaking Professional and a charter member of the Customer Experience Professionals Association. She has served as a trusted advisor with numerous Fortune 500 companies, including Orangetheory Fitness, SAP, Comcast, and JPMorgan Chase; and her LinkedIn Learning courses have been viewed by more than 500,000 learners. She is a Professional Member of the National Speakers Association and has presented to tens of thousands of people around the world.

Jeannie Walters

Customer Experience Speaker, Trainer, Podcast Host, and Consultant, Influencer

How to use generative AI to deliver fast, empathetic, personalized and proactive customer service with virtual agents and when to bring a human into the process. 

Person or AI agents? Virtual agents that save people from screaming representation

Virtual agents that save people from screaming representation

Website

Watch it on Youtube

AI in Action explores what it takes to put artificial intelligence into action across a rapidly evolving business and tech landscape. Each episode focuses on responsible AI implementation and real-world business challenges, examined through a practical use case lens.

Rewriting the future. How developers are driving what’s next with gen AI

DESCRIPTION

Today's Host

Albert Lawrence

Today's Guests

JJ Asghar

Recent Episodes