

Eye On A.I.
Craig S. Smith
Eye on A.I. is a biweekly podcast, hosted by longtime New York Times correspondent Craig S. Smith. In each episode, Craig will talk to people making a difference in artificial intelligence. The podcast aims to put incremental advances into a broader context and consider the global implications of the developing technology. AI is about to change your world, so pay attention.
Episodes
Mentioned books

14 snips
Oct 30, 2025 • 48min
#297 Jeff Lunsford: How Agentic AI Will Redefine Every Digital Interaction
 In this discussion, Jeff Lunsford, CEO of Tealium and an expert in customer data, delves into how agentic AI will revolutionize digital interactions. He highlights the importance of real-time first-party data for AI models, emphasizing privacy and consent across channels. Lunsford explains the concept of agentic commerce, predicting a dramatic increase in digital engagements by 2030. He also discusses the need for businesses to build 'agentic front doors,' embedding governance and compliance into AI processes to ensure safe and effective transactions. 

9 snips
Oct 26, 2025 • 43min
#296 Yeop Lee: How Coxwave is Redefining AI Evaluation
 Yeop Lee, Head of Product at Coxwave, shares insights on the Align analytics platform that evaluates conversational AI. He discusses moving beyond traditional accuracy metrics to focus on user satisfaction and task completion. Yeop explains how Align combines LLM-based judgments with human reviews and highlights the importance of continuous evaluation across high-volume conversations. He also talks about the platform's flexibility with deployment options and how it differentiates itself through personalized analytics and market adaptability. 

15 snips
Oct 19, 2025 • 44min
#295 Fergal Reid: Why Your Bots Fail and How Agents Fix Your Customer Support
 In this engaging conversation, Fergal Reid, Chief AI Officer at Intercom and a PhD in machine learning, discusses the challenges of traditional chatbots and introduces Finn, an advanced AI agent designed for customer support. He explains how Finn handles complex tasks like refunds and returns while seamlessly integrating with existing systems. Fergal also highlights the importance of metrics like resolution rate and offers insights on effectively onboarding AI solutions. Their approach balances configuration with a standardized core, ensuring reliability across multiple communication channels. 

33 snips
Oct 16, 2025 • 57min
#294 Bhaskar Roy: How Workato Is Building the Rise of the Agentic Enterprise
 Bhaskar Roy, a seasoned product leader at Workato, discusses the evolution of the agentic enterprise. He reveals how organizations can shift from AI experiments to effective implementations, emphasizing governance and security. The conversation dives into Workato's solutions, like Workato Go, which integrates AI agents seamlessly into daily operations. Bhaskar shares insights on defining KPIs for agents, preventing sprawl, and optimizing software usage. He predicts rapid adoption of these technologies, urging businesses to prioritize long-term strategies for success. 

29 snips
Oct 13, 2025 • 43min
#293 Greg Shewmaker: How Enterprises Can Implement and Scale with Agentic AI
 In this discussion, Greg Shewmaker, CEO of R.Potential and a pioneer in digital workforce solutions, shares insights on integrating agentic AI into enterprises. He emphasizes the importance of a partnership between humans and AI, detailing how to avoid common pitfalls in AI adoption. Greg advocates for agile experimentation through spin-outs to quickly adapt to evolving technologies. He also introduces the concept of a Chief Potential Officer to enhance workforce profiling, highlighting that successful AI implementation hinges on C-suite leadership and strategic planning. 

10 snips
Oct 9, 2025 • 45min
#292 Peeyush Ranjan: How Nurix Is Redefining Voice AI for the Enterprise
 Peeyush Ranjan, a former Google technologist and co-founder of Neurix, dives into the cutting-edge world of voice AI. He explains why voice technology is the toughest challenge in AI, addressing latency issues and the need for human-like interaction. Peeyush highlights Neurix's proprietary models that support seamless dialogue and multilingual capabilities. He discusses the integration of voice agents into enterprise systems, trust challenges in replacing IVRs, and the future of customer support with intelligent conversations. 

Oct 6, 2025 • 53min
#291 Naveen Jain: How AI Predicts Cancer, Diabetes & Chronic Illness
 Naveen Jain, a serial entrepreneur and CEO of Viome, discusses his journey into healthcare after a family loss to pancreatic cancer. He reveals how AI and RNA sequencing are being harnessed to predict chronic diseases like cancer and diabetes. Jain explains why RNA is a superior health indicator compared to DNA and describes Viome’s innovative approach to analyzing microbiomes for early disease detection. He emphasizes the potential of asking the right questions to drive innovation and shares insights on personalized health interventions. 

15 snips
Sep 29, 2025 • 60min
#290 Joel Hron: How Thomson Reuters is Approaching The Next Era of AI
 Joel Hron, Chief Technology Officer at Thomson Reuters, shares insights on the evolution of AI, focusing on agentic systems. He distinguishes between simple prompt-based tools and advanced agentic workflows capable of planning and executing complex tasks. Hron explains the importance of human verification in high-stakes sectors and discusses the infrastructure needed for multi-agent collaboration. He also highlights how Thomson Reuters is leveraging generative AI across legal and tax domains while ensuring trust through expert oversight. 

22 snips
Sep 24, 2025 • 54min
#289 Eiso Kant: How Reinforcement Learning and Coding Could Unlock Human-Level AI
 Eiso Kant, Co-founder of Poolside, is an entrepreneur dedicated to developing AI systems that leverage reinforcement learning for software development. He reveals why coding serves as a perfect training ground for achieving human-level intelligence. Eiso dives into how Poolside uses reinforcement learning from code execution to improve AI capabilities and shares insights on building foundation models that focus on reasoning. He discusses the exciting evolution of agentic AI and its role in transforming enterprise software development. 

18 snips
Sep 21, 2025 • 55min
#288 Florian Douetteau: How Enterprises Can Scale and Adopt Agentic AI
 Florian Douetteau, CEO and co-founder of Dataiku, shares insights on scaling agentic AI in enterprises. He discusses the importance of democratizing AI and how to prevent agent sprawl through governance frameworks. The conversation highlights Dataiku's partnership with NVIDIA and real-world applications in various industries, focusing on collaboration models that mix no-code and code-friendly approaches. Florian also emphasizes the need for businesses to prepare for future AI challenges while breaking down organizational silos. 


