AI Today Podcast

In this episode of AI Today, host Kathleen Walch welcomes Ketan Karkhanis, CEO of ThoughtSpot, to discuss what it takes for organizations to succeed with AI. Drawing on his experience leading an AI-driven analytics company, Ketan shares insights on building trust, driving adoption, and delivering measurable business outcomes.

Kathleen and Ketan explore why AI transformation requires more than technology, highlighting the importance of change management, workforce readiness, and leadership commitment. Ketan explains why organizations should focus on outcomes rather than technology metrics and discusses how governance enables innovation while maintaining accountability.

Key insights include:

• Learn why trust is the foundation of successful AI adoption.
• Discover how organizations can focus on outcomes instead of technology metrics.
• Understand the importance of AI literacy, change management, and workforce readiness.
• Explore how governance can accelerate innovation while maintaining accountability and control.
• Learn how leaders can create the culture and operating model needed to realize AI's full potential.

In this episode of AI Today, host Kathleen Walch welcomes Samia Waqar, founder of Role Agnostic Project Leadership (RAPL), CEO of SNS Coaching Consulting Services, and PMI Authorized Instructor with nine PMI certifications including PMI-CPMAI. Samia shares her journey from enterprise transformation to AI education, and how her experiences across global projects inspired her vision of the Leadership Economy. 

Kathleen and Samia discuss why many AI initiatives fail when managed like traditional software projects, and how the CPMAI methodology helps leaders avoid costly mistakes. Samia reflects on her first AI project misstep—skipping data readiness—and explains how sequence, governance, and leadership accountability drive success. 

They highlight how role-agnostic leadership equips professionals across roles to define work, govern it, protect investments, and deliver value. Samia emphasizes the importance of active executive sponsorship, trustworthy AI controls, and continuous monitoring, stressing that AI is not “set it and forget it” but a business transformation requiring oversight. 

Key insights include: 

• Learn why AI success is a leadership challenge, not just a technology problem. 
• Discover how data readiness and governance determine whether AI initiatives succeed or fail. 
• Understand why executive sponsorship must be active, visible, and engaged. 
• Explore Samia’s four guiding questions: define the work, govern the work, protect the investment, and land the value. 

This episode is sponsored by SnS Coaching Consulting Services, a PMI Authorized Training Partner.  

Samia Waqar, CEO of SnS Coaching Consulting Services, is the founder of Role Agnostic Project Leadership™ (RAPL) and author of the upcoming book The Leadership Economy.  

She is also a PMI Authorized Instructor holding nine major PMI certifications, including PMI‑CPMAI. Samia helps professionals move beyond exam preparation toward workplace performance, career advancement, and future‑ready leadership.  

To learn more about her work, visit snsccs.com, raplleadership.com, samiawaqar.com, and Samia Waqar on LinkedIn  

In this episode of AI Today, host Kathleen Walch welcomes Bryan McAnulty, founder of Latchloop and host of the Creators Adventure podcast. Bryan shares his entrepreneurial journey from design agency work to building SaaS products like Heights Platform, and now Latchloop, an AI agent platform designed to accelerate product development and collaboration. 

Kathleen and Bryan explore how AI is reshaping entrepreneurship, content creation, and community building. Bryan explains why execution is no longer the differentiator and how it’s unique ideas and human perspective now set creators apart. Communities, whether PMI’s global volunteer network or creator-driven platforms, remain the strongest moat in an era of abundant AI-generated content. 

They highlight how small businesses can adopt AI faster than large organizations, but caution against treating it as a simple checkbox. Bryan introduces a framework of automation loops, goal loops, and feedback loops to help teams rethink workflows and deliver better outcomes. Kathleen connects this to project management practices, stressing the importance of documenting processes and building scalable collaboration models. 

Key insights include: 

• Learn how AI shifts value from execution to ideas, and why human perspective drives differentiation. 
• Discover how authentic communities provide a moat in an AI‑saturated world. 
• Understand how small businesses can move faster than large organizations to rethink customer outcomes. 
• Explore how automation, goal, and feedback loops create effective AI collaboration. 
• Recognize why documenting processes and SOPs are essential to harness AI agents successfully. 

Bryan concludes with optimism about the future of AI, predicting that individuals and organizations alike will soon solve problems once thought unimaginable.

In this episode of AI Today, host Kathleen Walch welcomes Jennifer Tharp, president of Mastodon Consulting, former PMI Board chair, PMI Fellow, and also PMP and PMI-CPMAI certified. Jennifer discusses how AI is transforming project management, not just as a tool but by reshaping the work itself. 

She highlights three forces as the new bottleneck: collapsed estimation, distributed authorship, and quality assurance. Traditional artifacts like Gantt charts and risk registers risk irrelevance, requiring project managers to evolve into decision governors who make choices visible, accountable, and aligned with organizational goals. 

Key insights include: 

• Learn how AI makes delivery unpredictable and how PMs can adapt estimation practices. 
• Discover how responsibility for AI‑driven decisions is moving, and how PMs can claim it to stay relevant. 
• Grasp how human review lags behind machine speed, and how new QA approaches can close the gap. 
• Explore how PMs move beyond artifacts to frameworks that make choices visible and auditable. 
• Learn how skills such as critical thinking, judgment, and communication keep PMs indispensable in the AI age. 

Jennifer stresses that passive observers who do not embrace AI risk losing relevance and why PMs must claim accountability before it shifts elsewhere. She emphasizes that AI will soon be embedded in projects by default, but success depends on durable frameworks, rigorous governance, and enduring leadership to ensure ethical, measurable outcomes. 

In this episode of AI Today, host Kathleen Walch welcomes Cheryl Howard, principal consultant at Howard Consulting, PMI standards volunteer, and PMI‑CPMAI certified. Cheryl shares how CPMAI’s structured, iterative framework, combining CRISP‑DM and Agile, helps organizations move beyond hype to deliver governed, human-centered AI outcomes.

She explains that AI project success starts with business understanding and clean, well-prepared data, not rushing into model development. Together, Kathleen and Cheryl highlight how CPMAI ensures ethical, explainable, and auditable outcomes, especially in regulated industries. Cheryl emphasizes enduring human skills such as critical thinking, governance, trust, and accountability are essential for project leaders navigating AI adoption.

Key insights include:

• AI success requires data that is clean, accessible, and properly prepared.
• Progress depends on clear accountability to prevent stalled pilots.
• Leaders must ask not only what AI can do but whether it should be done at all.
• Adoption fails when fatigue and overload outweigh readiness.
• Confidence grows when stakeholders are involved early, and outputs are explainable.

Cheryl discusses how AI will soon be embedded in projects by default, but readiness requires durable frameworks like CPMAI and enduring human leadership to ensure measurable, ethical outcomes.

In this episode of AI Today, host Kathleen Walch welcomes Islam Tanas, who is a PMI Authorized Training Partner, founder of PASS‑PM Academy, an AI ambassador at PMI, and PMI-CPMAI certified. With 20+ years of experience, Islam enthusiastically shares how the CPMAI methodology reshaped his approach to AI projects, moving from traditional project management to structured, business‑first strategies. 

He explains that AI projects introduce unique challenges, such as data quality, model validation, ethics, bias, and governance, that demand a disciplined methodology. CPMAI helps project managers start with the business problem, ask the right questions, and validate outcomes before making technology decisions. A case study from his learning platform illustrates how AI can personalize exam preparation responsibly when guided by CPMAI. 

Key insights include: 

• Understand AI limits: what it can and cannot do 
• Update skills through practice and professional communities 
• Avoid stalled pilots with governance and ownership 
• Build confidence through transparency, not just accuracy 
• Scale AI responsibly with project managers at the center 

Islam’s message is clear: AI is not magic—it’s a decision support system. Project managers remain essential in bridging business, data, and technology, ensuring AI delivers measurable outcomes. 

Kathleen Walch welcomes Mouhsine Kabbaj, a seasoned Senior Program Manager with 25+ years in transformation, business process engineering, and AI integration. With PMP, PGMP, PFMP, and PMI-CPMAI certifications, Mouhsine passionately shares how CPMAI reshaped his approach to AI projects, moving beyond traditional software methods to a methodology built on business understanding, data quality, and iterative experimentation that unlock real business value.

He explains why AI projects require fresh mindsets: embracing uncertainty, fostering cross-functional collaboration, and shifting activity metrics to measurable outcomes. A vivid case study illustrates how an AI assistant reduced call center times by 40%, boosted advisor efficiency, and advanced organizational readiness for AI adoption.

You will gain insights on:

• Why CPMAI matters — structuring AI initiatives to avoid costly failures
• How to set expectations — starting with business problems, not technology hype
• Shifting mindsets in the AI era — collaboration across disciplines, comfort with uncertainty, focus on value
• Where AI is heading — seamless integration into daily work, with project managers at the center of transformation

Mouhsine also reflects on why many AI projects fail, how the CPMAI methodology helps organizations reset instead of waste resources, and why project managers must bridge business, data, and technology. Practical and inspiring, this episode is essential for project managers, AI practitioners, and leaders ready to turn AI hype into measurable value.

As AI Today enters its 10th season, host Kathleen Walch takes a step back to reflect on nearly a decade of conversations about artificial intelligence and the lessons that remain just as relevant today as they were when the podcast launched in 2017. 

In this special anniversary episode, Kathleen explores how AI has evolved from predictive analytics and machine learning initiatives led by specialized teams to today's era of generative AI and agentic AI, where powerful tools are available to virtually everyone. She examines what changed, what didn't, and why many of the biggest challenges organizations face with AI are still rooted in data, governance, expectations, and business alignment.  

You'll hear reflections on: 

• The AI fundamentals that have stood the test of time, including the 7 patterns of AI and 6 phases of CPMAI 
• Why use cases and business value matter more than the underlying technology 
• How large language models (LLMs) transformed AI accessibility and adoption 
• The continuing importance of data quality, governance, and responsible AI 
• Why AI works best as a human-machine partnership (augmented intelligence) 
• How project professionals are becoming critical to successful AI initiatives 
• What organizations need to do to move from AI experimentation to sustainable, scalable value 

Drawing on insights from more than 540 episodes and hundreds of conversations with practitioners across industries, Kathleen revisits some of AI Today's earliest questions: Why does AI matter? Should we be afraid of AI? And what does the future of AI mean for organizations and the people who lead change within them?  

Whether you've been listening since Season 1 or are discovering AI Today for the first time, this episode offers a thoughtful look at how far AI has come and what will continue to matter as we enter the next decade of AI adoption. 

In this episode of AI Today, host Kathleen Walch speaks with Dave Prior, project management consultant, longtime PMI volunteer, host of DrunkenPM Radio, and PMI-CPMAI certified practitioner. 

Dave shares his journey from resisting Agile to embracing it and now confronting AI with similar skepticism before finding clarity through the PMI-CPMAI certification. He explains how the methodology helps overcome fear by grounding AI projects in business value, data discipline, and iterative reassessment. 

Listeners will hear how the PMI-CPMAI certification helps align stakeholders, why retraining prevents model drift, and how augmented intelligence enables storytelling, creativity, and stakeholder trust. 

You’ll gain insights on:  

• How continuous reassessment manages drift and fast changing conditions 
• What mindset shifts help project managers see AI as a partner 
• How Agile + CPMAI blend iteration with structure for success 

Practical, honest, and rich with real-world lessons, this episode is valuable for project managers, AI practitioners, and leaders navigating the ambiguity of AI transformation while striving to create humane, creative workplaces.

Kathleen Walch speaks with Jürgen Eckhart, Engineering Program Manager at Google in Munich, lecturer in project management, and PMI-CPMAI certified practitioner. Jürgen shares how CPMAI expanded his “toolbox” for managing AI projects, grounding them in business value, quality data, and realistic stakeholder expectations.

He explains why AI must be treated as iterative and probabilistic, not deterministic “magic,” and how project managers can shift from delivery to discovery—offloading routine tasks to AI while focusing on orchestration, collaboration, and trust. Jürgen likens today’s AI era to the “fax machine state,” a transitional phase in which AI is already relieving administrative burdens, yet its ultimate potential is still unfolding.

You’ll gain insights on: 

• Why project management foundations matter for AI success
• How CPMAI enables continuous reassessment in fast-changing environments
• What practical methods integrate AI into daily workflows, from meeting notes to coding support
• How to balance automation and creativity in stakeholder management
• How ethical standards and frameworks build trust in AI adoption

Jürgen also reflects on misconceptions fueled by hype, shares real-world use cases like AI-assisted SQL scripting and portfolio reporting, and emphasizes the importance of ethics as AI accelerates global problem-solving. Practical and inspiring, this episode is a must-listen for project managers, AI practitioners, and leaders ready to strengthen their foundations and harness AI responsibly.