The AI in Business Podcast

Nina Edwards, Vice President of Emerging Technology and Innovation at Prudential Insurance, shares her expertise in AI compliance and governance. She highlights the risks posed by employee behavior with AI tools, advocating for structured licensing and provenance to safeguard against IP issues. Nina introduces the concept of instrumented sandboxes for safe experimentation, balancing speed with compliance through phased discovery. Her insights reveal how fostering a culture of awareness and regular audits can empower enterprises to innovate responsibly and effectively.

Thomas Holmes, Chief Actuary at Akur8, dives into the crucial intersection of AI, governance, and insurance analytics. He discusses how to shift from AI experiments to effective enterprise deployment while balancing the needs of regulators and business leaders. Holmes contrasts U.S. and European regulatory approaches to pricing and emphasizes the importance of transparency in model decisions. He also advocates for streamlined governance through a single source of truth to enhance collaboration and reduce errors, all while focusing on ROI and strategic differentiation.

Emma Vitalini, Head of Global Digital Health Technology Innovation at Amgen, dives into the future of clinical trials and AI. She discusses the challenges of data delays and how AI can streamline site performance by identifying high-capacity locations. Emma highlights the potential of AI tools for enhancing patient engagement and monitoring through real-time capabilities. She also explains the concept of digital health twins for personalized medicine, providing practical guidance for leaders on building diverse datasets and ensuring regulatory trust. A fascinating exploration of technology's impact on healthcare!

Vasili Triant, CEO of UJET, shares insights on transforming customer service through AI. He discusses the shift from reactive to proactive engagement, emphasizing how this change enhances customer lifetime value. Triant highlights the challenges posed by fragmented data systems and stresses the importance of real-time information in providing seamless experiences. He also advocates for viewing contact centers as strategic hubs rather than mere cost centers, with AI serving as a co-pilot to enhance human empathy and streamline operations.

Rommel Ong, Regional Service Director at Belimed, provides insight into sterilization solutions for healthcare. He discusses how AI can tackle staffing shortages and the need for adaptable technicians. Rommel highlights the burden of paperwork, emphasizing prefilled data for efficiency. He also shares methods for capturing tribal knowledge through team chats and measuring client sentiments using NPS. Additionally, he explores the benefits of remote monitoring to facilitate proactive service and reduce technician visits, offering practical strategies for field service challenges.

In this enlightening discussion, Thomas Holmes, Chief Actuary for North America at Akur8, shares insights on modernizing insurance pricing. He explains the challenges of inertia and governance that make change difficult. Skepticism around generic AI is addressed, emphasizing the need for an opinionated AI framework with proper oversight. Holmes advises starting small with clear problem statements and improving data foundations. He also highlights the importance of building trust across teams to ensure successful AI adoption in the insurance industry.

Prukalpa Sankar, Co-founder and CEO of Atlan, leads a platform for data and AI governance. In their conversation, he reveals why 75-95% of enterprise AI pilots fail, attributing it to context gaps rather than just data complexity. He discusses the importance of a dynamic context layer that integrates data, business meaning, and governance. Prukalpa also shares insights on improving accuracy and ROI through context-ready practices, and emphasizes that businesses must co-own AI adoption to remain relevant in the rapidly evolving landscape.

In this discussion, Vaithi Bharath, Associate Director of Data Science & AI Solutions at Bayer, shares insights on streamlining clinical R&D processes in the pharmaceutical industry. He highlights how fragmented systems cause delays that impact timelines, reveals the complexities of regulatory validation, and introduces AI-guided workflows to improve compliance. Vaithi discusses the benefits of reusable macros and the advantages of building workflow layers over existing systems, all aimed at accelerating drug development while ensuring regulatory safeguards are met.

Tami Craig Schilling, Vice President of Agronomic Digital Innovation at Bayer Crop Science, leverages her extensive experience in agricultural sales and R&D to discuss the transformative impact of generative AI on farming. She explains how localized data can optimize the agronomic support throughout the crop cycle, addressing unique regional challenges. Tami introduces the ELI tool for tailored recommendations and emphasizes the collaborative role of farmers in data sharing, ensuring precise and actionable insights to support both smallholder and commercial farming.

In a captivating discussion, Baker Johnson, Chief Business Officer at UJET, shares insights on transforming customer experiences through AI. He emphasizes that many conversational AI solutions fail because they automate flawed processes. Baker argues for prioritizing seamless interactions over delight and highlights the crucial role of data management in effective CX. He advises leaders to redesign workflows from the ground up and view AI as a collaborative partner rather than just an automation tool.