Paint & Pipette: The Art & Science of Innovation

S3E22: Think Fast Talk Smart Explores GenAI @ Portland Trail Blazers

Oct 28, 2024

51:40

How can AI transform the way we work and innovate? In this special episode of The Paint and Pipette Podcast, we team up with Matt Abrahams, a lecturer of Strategic Communication at Stanford Graduate School of Business and host of the Think Fast, Talk Smart podcast. We dive into the world of generative AI in the sports industry, focusing on the groundbreaking work being done by the Portland Trail Blazers. Joining us are David Long, VP of Digital Innovation for The Portland Trail Blazers @ the Rose Quarter, and Christa Stout, their Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer. Together, we explore how AI is driving improvements across three key areas: revenue generation, customer experience, and operational efficiency. Christa and David share how they’ve empowered employees to experiment with AI, encouraging creativity and innovation across their organization. From automating routine tasks like customer feedback analysis to using AI for creative problem-solving, the Trail Blazers have created a supportive environment where AI is seen as a co-worker rather than a replacement. We also examine the importance of active leadership in normalizing AI adoption, ethical considerations, and best practices for helping teams embrace this technology. Whether you’re curious about AI’s potential in sports or looking for ways to introduce AI in your own business, this episode offers practical insights and real-world examples!

Key Points From This Episode:

Introducing Christa Stout and David Long from the Portland Trail Blazers.
Details on Jeremy’s new podcast, Beyond the Prompt.
An overview of the NBA team, the Portland Trail Blazers.
Christa and David’s roles within the organization.
Three key areas where they are using AI to improve: revenue generation, customer experience, and operational efficiency.
Jeremy’s collaboration with Christa and David.
How they created a space for employees to experiment and share how they use AI.
The benefits of framing AI as a co-worker for your team internally.
How AI can empower workers: the impressive demo that one employee built using AI.
Key takeaways for helping workers learn to use generative AI more effectively.
Effective strategies for encouraging people who are skeptical about generative AI.
Their approach to ethics, rules, standards, and instituting guardrails.
Creative uses of AI from production to broadcasting to support the Portland Trail Blazers.
How to vote for Think Fast, Talk Smart to win the Signal Award.
Best practices and advice for anyone wanting to innovate with AI.