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Sarah Aerni is a data scientist Salesforce. In this conversation, Sarah leads off by talking about what that even means. First, she gives a brief history of the expectation in customer experience and how it's evolved with the introduction of AI. Then she describes her role in this way: "My role is to lead a team of really brilliant individuals that are focused on how to make it possible for Salesforce customers to build models, add predictions and intelligence without building out an entire data science team." Sarah comes from a deep science background, having spent six years becoming the expert on automated labeling of C. elegans—a worm cell. How does that relate to forward-facing data science on modern platforms? Building a model is building a model, as Sarah explains. While she shirks the term "unicorn," it is easy to understand why she's been described that way after listening to this episode.

Martin Felder is the head process automation center at Linde Global Services. He discusses his role with Linde as well as their journey into RPA. Instead of taking the typical low-hanging-fruit approach, Martin tackled Linde's impending future when deciding where to implement RPA first. He explains the whys and hows of this, including how he got the C-suite to sign off—and fund—such a huge initiative. As Linde is a global enterprise, Michael next discusses the pain points, mistakes, and happy accidents that occurred during the pilot and roll-out of RPA solutions. Perhaps most important, Martin wraps up with his thoughts on human talent, relationships, and how to move into the future of automation by appreciating the people side of things.

Dr. Ayanna Howard is a chair of the School of Interactive computing at Georgia Tech, an academic, and a startup founder. While her talents are as vast as her pursuits, she sums up their common thread in this way: "Interactive computing is really this theme that the human is center to everything that we do when we think about computing and artificial intelligence." Dr. Howard pursues interactive computing for the greater good, including robotics in healthcare and education. She shares some exciting, innovative uses for the robotics she's working on. She also discusses ethics in computing, including privacy and security. Finally, Dr. Howard discusses the importance of diversity in the interactive computing landscape.

Dario Izzo joins us from the World Summit AI to talk space. As the scientific coordinator the Advanced Concepts Team out of the European Space Agency, Dario is tasked with some serious undertakings. First, Dario summarizes ESA's mission for us. He humbly describes some of his accomplishments since 2003—such as swarming missions—but, as Dario says, his goal is to stay focused on the future. Currently, energy efficiency is a major area of focus for Dario. He also discusses asteroid deflectors and cube satellites. The remainder of this sci-fi-meets-reality conversation covers AI's contribution to space endeavors and why they're worth our time, money, and cooperation.

Helenio Gilabert is the senior director for digital transformation with Schneider Electric. Right out of the gate, Helenio stresses that word "transformation" over "digital." While technology is the enabler, meaningful implementation can't happen without a process and cultural change. This process must include all enterprise verticals and every individual within an organization. As Helenio puts it, "You have to offer [employees] a clear view of the path that they can take as an individual to contribute to the organization. And that will require some investment from companies in training and professional development." Lastly, Helenio defines edge solutions as a hybrid approach to cloud and AI. After all, data is only as good as what we do with it.

AI strategist for the Volvo Group, Jair Riberio, discusses Volvo's decision to develop the AI and machine learning Center of Excellence. His interest in AI stems from his time at IBM, which he sentimentally outlines before moving on. Next, Jair talks about the difference between a company who is solely IT-based and a company like Volvo who is implementing those technologies into a product that isn't inherently tech. As reliability and safety is and has always been Volvo's number one concern, Jair explains how technology and regulations play into the modern innovations at Volvo. Finally, Jair closes with his thoughts on fully autonomous vehicles and what it means for our future.

Michael Xiao starts this conversation a little off topic with Daoism. Or is it? As the conversation goes on, the philosophies behind Daoism get compared to the way humans navigate technology in an almost primal way. Programs like Facebook are designed to be addictive, giving those types of platforms a negative connotation. But at Blue Cross Blue Shield, where Michael works, their approach to AI is for the greater good. However, in order to move any legacy company in the direction of digital transformation, a mindset shift must take place. Michael details three different techniques for change management: process engineering, relationships, and changing the narrative around AI.

Maneesh Kumar Verma is the team leader and head of operations at Lunar Zebro. He's also a lead robotics at Stellar Space Industries. In this conversation, Maneesh talks about the future of space exploration. In order to thoroughly explore places like Mars, a high level of autonomy must be given to the devices sent there. On top of that, the devices must be agile, plentiful, and inexpensive—compared to a Rover, for example. Maneesh calls these futuristic devices "artificial ants." He then gets into the nitty-gritty of the moon's role as home base in the future of space exploration, diagnostic technologies, and pilot programs for future missions.

Joining us again is Tony Saldanha, president of Transformant, to discuss the role of the CIO and IT in organization transformation. Tony first talks about the legacy role of the CIO and whether or not it's still relevant. Traditionally, CIOs have excelled at their number one task: scaling. However, with Industry 4.0 on the horizon, scaling is replaced by transformation. Next, Tony outlines the ideal mentality and vision of a CIO for today's enterprise landscape. Tony's solution for IT's new place in enterprise involves injecting some creativity and business savviness into the department. He then explains the hows and whys.

Barbara Hodge opens this discussion with why the world needs more English majors. She makes the point that, while STEM majors are on the rise, data is nothing without a story behind it. Today's workforce needs to be adaptable, well-rounded, and, yes, technologically savvy. What gets overlooked is the importance of building a narrative. As our world becomes increasingly automated, our jobs as humans will be to influence. We must know the data, interpret it in a way that makes sense, and communicating it in a way that is influential. Finally, Barbara gets excited about where technology is taking the workforce—not scared. Listen to her explain why we can learn from the past to help us transition into the next golden age of mankind.