Practically Intelligent

We sit down with Katelyn Donnelly, founder & Managing Director of Avalanche VC. A longtime operator in education and social-impact consulting, Katelyn now backs early-stage AI and ed-tech startups reshaping how—and why—we learn.We cover:- Ed-tech vs. learning tech. Why the biggest breakthroughs often skip the classroom and go straight to the consumer.- Motivation over personalization. The real bottleneck isn’t better content—it’s sparking curiosity and keeping learners engaged.- AI’s dual role as both a teacher’s aide and a “homework cheater" and why that might not be a bad thing.- How VR math sims, language-learning avatars, and AI-powered sales floors demonstrate the next wave of learning-by-doing.- What jobs and university majors might look like in an era where the largest school in the world is YouTube.

In this episode of Practically Intelligent, we chat with Mike Dick — designer, builder, and co-founder of Gather — whose career spans from Age of Empires fan sites to leading design at Meta, Twitch, and Brex.Mike shares how AI is transforming the craft of UX, why generalists are making a comeback, and how tools like ChatGPT and Figma are changing the way teams collaborate. Whether you're a designer, PM, or engineer, this episode explores the evolving interface between humans and AI — and what it means for how we build software.

Arian Agrawal, a partner at South Park Commons and a former Y Combinator founder, shares his insights on navigating the startup journey. He discusses the importance of validating ideas and leveraging AI to enhance product-market fit. Arian emphasizes cultivating a culture of curiosity among founders, the necessity of pivotal decision-making, and managing uncertainty in an ever-evolving landscape. He also highlights the value of mentorship and reflection in fostering sustainable growth, providing practical strategies for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Sinan and Akshay sit down with Sudhir Hasbe, Chief Product Officer at Neo4j and a leading expert in graph databases and analytics. Sudhir shares insights from his career, including his time leading Google's analytics product lines and managing multi-million dollar data and ML initiatives.We explore why 2024 is a breakout year for graph databases and their role in Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), diving into topics like:- The history and evolution of graph technology and knowledge graphs- Why knowledge graphs are vital for solving today’s complex AI challenges- The trifecta of cloud computing, LLMs, and big data fueling graph RAG adoption- Practical tips for building scalable, explainable, and secure graph RAG systems

In this insightful episode of Practically Intelligent, we sit down with Professor Philip Treleaven, Director of the UK Financial Computing Centre at UCL, to discuss the complex relationship between AI, finance, and regulation. From the early days of algorithmic trading to today’s pressing cybersecurity concerns, Professor Treleaven offers a unique perspective on how AI innovations are reshaping industries and the critical role of real-time compliance in the battle against cybercrime.We also explore the growing startup ecosystem and how Professor Treleaven has inspired the next generation of entrepreneurs through his hands-on mentorship at UCL. Whether you're an AI enthusiast, a founder, or working in finance, this episode is packed with actionable insights!

In this special episode of Practically Intelligent, we're trying something new! Sinan is opening his doors to answer your burning questions about AI, machine learning, data science, and more during our very first Office Hours episode.Do you wonder if prompt engineering is dying? Or maybe you're curious about what exactly an AI agent is and how it can be useful? Sinan tackles your questions, providing insights drawn from his O'Reilly lectures and real-world experience as an AI entrepreneur and consultant.Head over to practicallyintelligent.com to submit your questions, and we might just answer them in our next Office Hours session.

In this episode of Practically Intelligent, Sinan and Akshay sit down with Rich Skrenta, the Executive Director of the Common Crawl Foundation. Rich shares his extensive experience in data aggregation and AI and how that ties into the history, mission, and future of Common Crawl—a nonprofit organization responsible for one of the largest open-source web data repositories in the world. The three discuss the challenges and opportunities of expanding Common Crawl's global reach, the critical role of curated data in training large language models, and the importance of maintaining open access to the internet in the age of cutting edge AI.Key topics include:The importance of curated data in AI trainingChallenges of expanding Common Crawl globallyThe future of open internet access in the AI era

The advent of Generative AI presents a significant challenge for security in the enterprise. Join us as we deep dive into the common threat vectors with Sanjay Kalra, product leader at Zscaler and former CPO of Lacework. Sanjay offers insights into new threats generative AI creates for data security, access control, compliance, and more.

Dive into the intricate world of AI and open source with Rajiv Shah in the latest episode of "Practically Intelligent." Rajiv, with his extensive experience at DataRobot, Hugging Face, and now Snowflake, offers invaluable insights into how enterprises can leverage AI and data effectively. The conversation explores the current trends in open source LLMs, the dynamics of AI licensing and governance, and the implications for businesses looking to innovate in this space. Join us as we uncover the nuances of open source contributions to AI, predict future trends, and discuss the potential shifts in how AI is utilized across industries. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the crossroads of technology, business, and open-source innovation.Rajiv's Website: https://rajivshah.com

Join us as we talk with Curtis Northcutt, founder and CEO of CleanLab.ai. Curtis shares his expert insights on the crucial role of data preparation and curation in enhancing AI model reliability. Discover how CleanLab.ai is pioneering no-code solutions to streamline data curation, making AI more accessible and effective across various industries. Learn about the challenges and innovative approaches to ensuring data you can trust, directly from a leader reshaping how businesses handle their most critical asset.