Omri Lifshitz and Ido Bronstein, co-founders of Upriver, delve into the challenges of bridging the gap between AI's demand for quality data and current organizational practices. They highlight the importance of the middle layer of data curation and semantics, presenting a three-part framework: collect, curate, and serve. The duo discusses scaling from proof of concepts to production, the significance of context in AI responses, and innovative methods for automating data documentation. They envision an AI-first future where data engineers focus on strategic roles and oversee business semantics.