AI and the Future of Work: Artificial Intelligence in the Workplace, Business, Ethics, HR, and IT for AI Enthusiasts, Leaders and Academics

We often discuss the technology that is automating the future of work. We perhaps don’t spend enough time talking about the human element - what it’s like being an employee whose career may be at risk or whose employer may not share her values. The future of work is about employers embracing the humanness of every employee and creating safe places. Mark McCrindle is a best-selling author, futurist, demographer, and popular TEDx speaker who is regarded as one of Australia’s foremost social researchers. He works with senior leaders to help them devise strategies for making their products and services future-proof. He’s also the host of The Future Report, a podcast featuring the themes of his social research.Listen and learn...How work culture directly impacts employee productivityHow to measure the quality of employee experiencesHow the mining industry attracts and retains workers... and how AI may replace traditional rolesShould humans feel threatened by AI?Mark's advice to young leadersWhy Mark says "we're made for work"... but that doesn't necessarily require an exchange of time for moneyHow human relationships with machines will always be different than human relationships with each otherWhy the culture in Sydney is uniquely favorable for entrepreneursReferences in this episode...Mark's social researchmccrindle publicationsAI's impact on humanity with Gary F. BengierBryan Talebi, Ahura AI CEO, on AI and the Future of Work

What does it mean to be human when your colleague's a bot? Can AI ever truly understand us? This week, we're thrilled to welcome Gary F Bengier, eBay's first CFO and author of the award-winning novel, Unfettered Journey, as we dive into the future of work and the role of AI. Gary's background in Silicon Valley and his understanding of AI and technology make him the perfect guest to shed light on the ethical implications of AI, the potential impact of large language models on business, and the crucial differences between symbolic software and large language models.As we unpack the World Economic Forum's prediction that AI will generate 97 million new jobs while eliminating 85 million in the next three years, Gary and I contemplate the implications of machines and humans working together. We discuss the possibility that robots could eventually build robot factories, detaching the output of the economic system from labor hours, and explore the question of sentience in the age of advanced technology. Join us for an important conversation and peer into the mind of one of the great philosophers and technologists of our time.Oh, and learn what Gary says is a better definition for the acronym "LLM" :).References in this episode:Tiernan Ray on AI and the Future of WorkWow... ChatGPT is very thirsty!The Santa Fe InstituteGary's book Unfettered Journey

The current Hollywood writers strike is the highest profile example of shifting dynamics in the entertainment industry. Studios are spending less to produce more content. Fees paid to writers have plummeted. Generative AI is only accelerating the trend. This has profound implications for the future of storytelling.Today’s guest is an expert in the entertainment industry having founded Divisadero Pictures in 2011 to advise entertainment companies from Disney to Comcast to Microsoft on strategy and finance topics. Daniel Davila received his MFA from USC and his MBA from Stanford. For historical perspective, today is only the second episode in more than 190 where we’ve discussed AI and the future of the work in the entertainment industry. For long-time listeners the last time was episode 87 back in April 21 with Michael Solomon and Rishon Blumberg, authors of Game Changer: How to be 10x in the Talent Economy, who  managed Bruce Springsteen and John Mayer in a previous life.Thank you to friend of the podcast Matthew Perez for the introduction to Daniel.Listen and learn...The history of media consumption patternsThe economics of the entertainment industryHow AI is changing the entertainment industryHow Daniel used generative AI tools to write a 70-page movie scriptDaniel's pitch to Francis Ford Coppola about the role of AI in movie-makingThe impact of streaming on media production and consumptionThe bias inherent in text to image tools like MidjourneyReferences in this episode...Michael and Rishon, Bruce Springsteen's former managers, on AI and the Future of WorkDivisadero PicturesThe Hollywood writers strike

Guru Banavar is the founding CTO of Viome where he helped raise $150M from a list of top-tier investors including Khosla Ventures and Bold Capital Group. Viome offers insights into health and disease using host and microbiome gene expression. Guru led the development of a first-of-a-kind saliva-based early detection system for oral and throat cancers which won the FDA’s designation as a breakthrough device.Prior to Viome, Guru was a global VP & Chief Science Officer at IBM and the founding VP of the Watson AI Research team.Guru has received many awards including a Leadership in Technology Management Award and a National Innovation Award from the President of India. He has published extensively and holds more than 35 US patents. His work has been featured in media outlets including the New York Times, the Economist, the Wall Street Journal, BBC, and NPR.Listen and learn… Why our healthspan is more important than our lifespan How DNA to RNA transcription determines your health state How to sequence your mRNA to understand how to optimize your diet and predict disease risk What AI techniques can be used to develop personalized treatments How to use data that varies across patients to make automated decisions for all patients How Guru thinks about false positive prescriptions as a scientist when health and safety are at stake Where the FDA is regulating how AI is used to make healthcare recommendations Why it’s impossible to know the best diet for you without first understanding the composition of your microbiome How to use biomarkers to turn your biological fingerprint into a data problem Guru’s perspective on the ethical and philosophical implications of extending the healthspan How digital twins will help perfect the ability to engineer biology References in this episode… What it means to practice responsible AIThe KEGG ontology of biological pathways The Viome blog Dr. Shiv Rao, CEO of Abridge, on AI and the Future of Work

Today’s guests are using machine learning to turn real world data from past interactions into insights. Dr. Hyde is the co-founder and CEO of Atropos Health which has commercialized the insights exchange for healthcare. Dr. Hyde raised a $14M series in August 2022 from an exceptional group of investors including Breyer Capital and Emerson Capital. Dr. Hyde is joined by an early user of Atropos, Dr. John Halamka, President of the Mayo Clinic Platform. Dr. Halamka has been developing and implementing healthcare information strategy and policy for more than 25 years. He specializes in artificial intelligence, the adoption of electronic health records and the secure sharing of healthcare data for care coordination, population health, and quality improvement. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2020.For AI and the Future of Work trivia buffs this is one of only three episodes we’ve recorded with multiple guests. The last one with Tooso founders Ciro Greco and Jacopo Tagliabue was one of our most memorable.Listen and learn...Why ChatGPT shouldn't be used for medical diagnosesHow Atropos uses healthcare data from the Mayo Clinic Platform combined with AI to assist caregiversHow to use AI to automate the research that can otherwise takes weeks or monthsHow the lack of access to data-driven recommendations leads to dangerous patient outcomesWho is responsible when AI makes a bad decision that adversely impacts a patientHow to use NLP to remove PII to make it usable by AI (and certify data hygiene)The challenges of managing patient data at scale in a way that complies with HIPAA regulationsReferences in this episode...ChatGPT's phenomenal adoption rate... by the numbersCiro and Jacopo from Tooso (acquired by Coveo) on AI and the Future of WorkPaddy Padmanabhan on AI and the Future of WorkDipanwita Das, Sorcero CEO, on AI and the Future of WorkThe Mayo Clinic PlatformAtropos Health

Dr. Shiv Rao is a cardiologist, teacher, former corporate VC, and the CEO of an exciting company that is changing how doctors help patients. Dr. Rao started Abridge in March 2018 to solve one of the biggest problems in healthcare. He has since raised $27M most recently in a $12.5M series A extension last August from leading investors including Bessemer, Union Square, Wittington Ventures, and legendary AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio.Today we explore what happens when AI automates the error-prone task of doctors taking notes during patient visits. It’s easy to imagine a world where quality of ilife improves because doctors are present, focused on patient outcomes, and able to develop more genuine, human relationships while AI automates everything else.Listen and learn… How much of a doctor’s time is spent not focused on patient care How AI can replace “pajama time” for doctors… and reduce burnout Why doctors require a 27-hour work day to deliver the quality of care patients expect How to use generative AI to assist doctors to capture better notes Who is responsible when AI makes mistakes that lead to incorrect diagnoses for patients Why AI won’t replace doctors… but doctors using AI may replace doctors not using it How Abridge reduces the risk of generative AI hallucinations How a design thinking lecture changed Dr. Rao’s life References in this episode… Paddy Padmabhan discusses the future of healthcare on AI and the Future of Work The Abridge homepage The open letter from Musk, Wozniak, and others to “slow down” the pace of AI development

Guillermo Corea is the Managing Director of the SHRM Workplace Innovation Lab and Venture Capital initiatives. He joined SHRM in 2015. He and his team are focused on finding and cultivating technologies that will impact the future of work. Guillermo’s team organizes the SHRM Better Workplaces Challenge Cup and Workplace Tech Accelerator plus they lead the organization’s impact investing program. Guillermo is a vocal leader in the HRTech community.  This was a fun one because we got to record in person at SHRMTech 2023 in San Francisco. Only our fifth live recording in more than 190 episodes!Listen and learn...How HR teams should drive workplace innovation Which Shark Tank shark is judging the Better Workplaces Challenge CupHow SHRM Labs connects tech entrepreneurs with HR leaders Why the CHRO is the most strategic exec in the C-suite How the pandemic and an aging employee population are creating opportunities for HRTech The technology Guillermo says will change work most in the next decade How to confront the problem of biased algorithms making HR decisions Why the HR blockchain will replace background check vendors The HRTech company Guillermo is ready to fund! References in this episode...Reza Nazeman, former CIO of SAP Concur, on AI and the Future of WorkKamal Ahluwalia, Eightfold President, on AI and the Future of WorkJason Corsello, VA at Acadia Ventures, on AI and the Future of WorkSHRM Labs

Daniel Marcous comes to fintech from an unconventional background. Before co-founding April he was the CTO for the Waze product at Google, the social traffic app originally called FreeMap Israel that was acquired by Google in 2013 for $1.3B. Daniel started his career as a data scientist in the Israeli Defense Force and actively gives back to the Israeli Data Science community through involvement with DataHack, DataLearn, and KaggleIL.Listen and learn...What Daniel learned at Google and Waze about scaling AIWhy an Israeli data scientist left Google to start a company automating tax filing for AmericansWhy doing taxes is like finding the best route on a mapWhy continuous tax planning is the future of personal financeHow to manage consumer data responsibly... and still use it to train AI modelsWhy the U.S. tax code is so complicatedWhy ChatGPT will never do your taxesWhen AI will replace CPAsDaniel's favorite cocktailReferences in this episode...Why you shouldn't trust search results from LLMsThe April blogDaniel's gallery of home-made cocktailsArvind Jain, Glean CEO, on AI and the Future of Work

Artem Koren, co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Sembly AI, started the company in January 2019 to bring the power of AI to online meetings. Artem and his team developed an app that listens in on virtual meetings and does all the note-taking for you including recommending action items and suggesting the most important topics. These are hard AI problems to solve and Sembly’s success is an indication they’re off to a great start.Before Sembly, Artem was an executive and co-founder at companies including Neusana and Visual Trading Systems and he spent time as a manager in big company land at Ernst & Young.Listen and learn...Why Artem and his co-founder decided to fix the problem of broken meetings Why the evolution of online meetings… is like the evolution of airplanes Why we’ll soon send AI agents to attend meetings on our behalf When meetings are required… and how to make them more efficient How neural nets are solving traditional voice transcription problems related to accents and background noise How to solve the problem of automatically determining who said what in a conversation How Sembly uses generative AI to summarize meetings What are the risks of having AI decide what tasks to assign to meeting participants How to prevent sensitive information from being passed to large language models as training data References in this episode... Safety and ethics are being compromised in the rush to get new generative AI products to marketKrish Ramineni from Fireflies on AI and the Future of WorkRich White from Fathom on AI and the Future of WorkSembly AI

Today’s guest is one of the most recognized investors and thought leaders in the conversational AI community. Bradley Metrock is the CEO of Project Voice, author of the popular Substack newsletter This Week in Voice with more than 30,000 subscribers, and a General Partner at Project Voice Capital Partners. Congrats to Bradley and the team on their recent announcement of their new rolling fund. Bradley’s a proud citizen of the Volunteer State of Tennessee. Fair warning: you may be ready to move to Chattanooga after today’s conversation. Oh, and he’s also an ironman in the world of podcasting having just launched season eight of This Week in Voice, a podcast he launched in 2017. We’re on about episode 180 of this podcast going back to 2019 so I admire Bradley’s stamina.Listen and learn… Where there’s opportunity for entrepreneurs to innovate in conversational AI How conversational AI is changing quick serve restaurants, contact centers, banking, and hospitality How Bradley evaluates new pitches at Project Voice Capital Partners How Bradley defines voice technology in his market map Is voice the new app… or perhaps the “original app” Why generative AI is so disruptive Should we be concerned about voice assistants like Siri and Alexa listening in on our conversations What jobs will AI create over the next decade Bradley sells the great state of Tennessee to entrepreneurs establishing roots outside a coastal state References in this episode... Dr. Lance Eliot describes the risk of sharing your data with ChatGPTApplied Brain Research, a Project Voice Capital Partners investment Bradley’s voice technology market map The Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights Project Voice 2023