Navigating AI's Hidden Risks: Lessons from the Nova Bridge Chatbot Failure

Dec 23, 2025

Join Bhavesh Mehta and Mahesh Kumar, tech leaders and co-authors of AI-First Leader, as they unpack the lessons from the Nova Bridge chatbot failure. They discuss how missing governance and oversight can jeopardize AI initiatives. With insights on aligning C-suite and engineering teams, they emphasize the importance of a strategic AI roadmap and fostering an AI-ready culture. Learn how human judgment and reliability are vital in AI systems, and discover effective practices for small businesses to harness AI confidently and safely.

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ANECDOTE

Chatbot Failure Sparks Trust Overhaul

The NovaBridge health chatbot gave a confident but unsafe medical answer that sent a patient to the ER.
The team fixed it by applying the CRAFT framework and RAG to ground answers in verified medical content.

INSIGHT

Trust Is An Economic Asset

Trust is a form of economics that AI can create or erode quickly in high-stakes domains.
Rebuilding trust requires product vision, governance, and explicit safeguards like dual product paths.

ADVICE

Treat AI As An Operating Paradigm

Do treat AI as an operating paradigm, not a bolt-on feature, and sponsor a change blueprint.
Build leadership fluency through hands-on experimentation and an AI Academy to manage real business risks.

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Bhavesh Mehta and Mahesh Kumar—senior technology leaders at Uber and co-authors of the practical guide AI-First Leader—discuss the lessons learned from Nova Bridge's collapse, and share best practices for mitigating hidden risks that can derail ambitious AI projects. They also share specific ways that small businesses and Fortune 500 companies can embrace AI from a place of empowerment rather than fear.

Key Takeaways:

Ways to align C-suite leaders and engineering teams around a unified AI roadmap
The most underestimated human factor that determines whether an AI transformation succeeds
How overlooked vulnerabilities, insufficient oversight, and the rush to deploy led to unexpected fallout of the Nova Bridge Chat
The unforeseen dangers lurking within AI systems

Guest Bio:

Bhavesh Mehta is a technology leader and co-author of AI-First Leader, a practical guide for executives navigating enterprise AI adoption. With over 20 years of experience across Cisco, Uber, and VMware, Bhavesh has architected large-scale conversational and generative AI systems that support millions of users daily. His work bridges deep technical design and executive strategy, helping organizations deploy AI responsibly and at scale.

Mahesh Kumar is a seasoned product executive and co-author of AI-First Leader, a practical guide for executives navigating enterprise AI adoption. With over 20 years of experience across Uber, Veritas, and VMware, Mahesh has led the development of multi-billion-dollar product portfolios and enterprise AI strategies. Known for bridging deep technology with strategic vision, he helps organizations move from experimentation to large-scale AI transformation. His work focuses on responsible innovation, combining business storytelling with technical fluency to make AI both accessible and actionable for leaders.

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The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

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Produced by: Sam Laliberte