Hey everyone, Justin Grammens here, welcoming you to another episode of Conversations on Applied AI. Today’s episode is especially cool because I used an AI Tool called, NotebookLM to help generate! How amazing is that? We’re diving deep into some of the most engaging conversations of the past year, touching on groundbreaking advancements and thought-provoking insights from some incredible guests.

1. John Stanton from Accord discusses how AI is enabling people with disabilities to access social services more effectively by simplifying complex information and implementing AI-based scoring systems for social determinants of health.
2. Kevin Liu, Associate Professor at Ohio State University, explores the nuances of federated and decentralized learning, highlighting their importance in contexts like autonomous driving and low-power device optimization.
3. Lori Ryan, founder of Lorignite.com, emphasizes demystifying AI for the masses and underscores AI’s role in augmenting human capabilities, turning meeting transcripts into training documentation, and making AI accessible to all.
4. Rajeev Bukralia, Professor at Minnesota State Mankato, breaks down the critical importance of explainable AI (XAI) and data quality, advocating for CIOs to invest in robust data management to fully unleash AI's capabilities.
5. Tim Bornhold shares practical applications of AI in software development and healthcare, advocating for the democratization of software development and emphasizing the power of prompt engineering.

The episode then wraps up with reflections on the rapid evolution of AI, its potential to solve significant global challenges, and the importance of responsible AI development. Listeners are encouraged to stay curious, engage, and explore how AI can be integrated into their personal and professional lives.

Join us as we journey through the cutting-edge innovations and ethical considerations in AI, and discover how you can be a part of this revolutionary wave.

Huge thanks to our sponsors, Lab651 and Recursive Awesome for supporting the Applied AI community!

Enjoy!
Justin Grammens 

The conversation this week is with Lukasz Borzecki, the CEO of VM Software House, a company specializing in bespoke IT project implementation using a nearshoring model for the central European countries of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Lucas has a background that combines both sales and IT, starting with selling ERP software before transitioning to development, and eventually management. He emphasizes the importance of understanding business language for developers, as well as the need to move beyond just writing code. He also believes that AI developers will replace those who don't. Lucas is also a husband and father of three and enjoys playing the guitar and the accordion and hiking in the mountains.

Lucas's unique perspective is that AI is a tool that helps with productivity, reduces busy work, and allows for more strategic thinking. He believes that AI is constantly evolving. However, he also stresses the importance of human involvement and decision-making, especially in areas governed by laws such as the EU's AI Act.

When he's not working, Lucas enjoys playing the guitar and accordion and even uses his accordion skills to create a unique and positive work environment by playing "Happy Birthday" for employees on their birthdays.

If you are interested in learning about how AI is being applied across multiple industries, be sure to join us at a future AppliedAI Monthly meetup and help support us so we can make future Emerging Technologies North non-profit events!

• Emerging Technologies North
• AppliedAI Meetup

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• VM Software House
• GitHub Copilot
• Midjourney
• The McKinsey Way
• Story Brand (Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller)
• AI Act

Key Topics Discussed

• The importance of understanding business language for developers and the ability to communicate with clients.
• AI as a tool for increasing productivity, reducing busy work, and focusing on strategic tasks.
• The role of AI in modernizing legacy software and processes.
• The evolving nature of AI and how it is not a 'zero to one' change, but rather a gradual process.
• The need for human involvement in AI processes and decision-making, especially in legal contexts.
• Using AI tools such as Copilot and Midjourney.
• Applying AI to various industries such as semiconductor, automotive, education, industry, and finance.
• The importance of considering the business impact of AI, – increasing revenue, decreasing costs, or decreasing risk.
• How to use AI for learning, and how to apply common sense when using AI tools.

Enjoy!

Your host,
Justin Grammens

The conversation this week is with David Wynn. David is the Principal Solution Architect at EdgeDelta and an enthusiast for all things technology.

With a career spanning 15 years, including a pivotal role at Google Cloud for Games, David has cultivated a deep understanding of technical sales, solution architecture, and the transformative power of cloud services in the gaming industry and beyond. His unique perspective challenges the overreliance on AI, advocating for a balanced approach that leverages human ingenuity alongside technological advancements, especially in areas like observability.

When he's not steering innovation, David revels in the vibrant geek culture of Atlanta and a regular at DragonCon, the largest multimedia popular culture convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy. His diverse interests span from technology to philosophy

If you are interested in learning about how AI is being applied across multiple industries, be sure to join us at a future AppliedAI Monthly meetup and help support us so we can make future Emerging Technologies North non-profit events!

• Emerging Technologies North
• AppliedAI Meetup

Resources and Topics Mentioned in this Episode

• EdgeDelta
• DragonCon
• Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal by Zach Wiener Smith
• 2024 CrowdStrike-related IT outages
• Antithesis
• Vector database
• K-means clustering

Enjoy!

Your host,
Justin Grammens

The conversation this week is with John Stanton. John's specialties include working with nonprofits, specifically in the areas of organizational development, management, sales, marketing, and branding. He's currently the Vice President of Growth Strategy at Accord. Accord makes it possible for people living with disabilities to achieve their personal and career goals and live a full life. Their services and programs use person centric thinking and are experts in leading the way when it comes to mental health.

If you are interested in learning about how AI is being applied across multiple industries, be sure to join us at a future AppliedAI Monthly meetup and help support us so we can make future Emerging Technologies North non-profit events!

• Emerging Technologies North
• AppliedAI Meetup

Resources and Topics Mentioned in this Episode

• Accord
• Social Determinants of Health
• Lori Ryan on Conversations on Applied AI

Enjoy!

Your host,
Justin Grammens

The conversation this week is with Kevin Liu. Kevin is an associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Ohio State University and an Amazon visiting academic with Amazon.com. From August 2017 to August 2020, he was an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science at Iowa State University. He currently serves as a Managing Director of the NSF AI Institute for Future Edge Networks and Distributed Intelligence at OSU. He received his PhD degree from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech in 2010. And among many awards, he was an NSF Career Award recipient and a winner of the Google Faculty Research Award in 2020.

If you are interested in learning about how AI is being applied across multiple industries, be sure to join us at a future AppliedAI Monthly meetup and help support us so we can make future Emerging Technologies North non-profit events!

• Emerging Technologies North
• AppliedAI Meetup

Resources and Topics Mentioned in this Episode

• NSF AI Institute for Future Edge Networks and Distributed Intelligence
• Google DeepMind
• Multi-armed bandit
• Reinforcement learning
• Federated learning
• MMLS 2024
• Retrieval-Augmented Generation
• AlphaGo

Enjoy!

Your host,
Justin Grammens

The conversation this week is with Satish Muvva. Satish has founded two companies, both harnessing cutting edge technology and focusing on health. His latest company, CarePredict, has a simple goal, making it easier to take care of and look out for seniors. He's invented a wearable device called Tempo, the first designed for the elderly, which lends our activities of daily living and compiles these patterns into an individual's rhythm journal. Prior to CarePredict, he founded ContinuLink, an innovative home care medical staffing and hospice IT SaaS company, which he sold to Pecura in 2011. Innovation and healthcare have been constant themes throughout his career, and he's passionate about exploring and finding new ways to tackle problems.

If you are interested in learning about how AI is being applied across multiple industries, be sure to join us at a future AppliedAI Monthly meetup and help support us so we can make future Emerging Technologies North non-profit events!

• Emerging Technologies North
• AppliedAI Meetup

Resources and Topics Mentioned in this Episode

• CarePredict
• Tempo
• Predictive maintenance
• Geoffrey Hinton
• The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI by Fei-Fei Li 
• Mechanical Turk
• National Association for Home Care & Hospice
• HomeCare100
• 2024 Senior Living Executive Conference
• Leading Edge Conferences

Enjoy!

Your host,
Justin Grammens

The conversation this week is with Nick Roseth. Nick is a visionary technologist positioned at the nexus of business technology and design. His 25 year career spans startups and Fortune 500 companies, where he has driven innovation and sustainable success. Nick leads efforts to harness emerging technologies such as spatial computing, which encompasses augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence, hardware, and SaaS. His work cuts across diverse industries, including healthcare, finance, and construction. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Nick is an influential public speaker and a staunch advocate for emerging technologies. He's done a TEDx talk on bringing tech jobs to rural America and was the creator of DocuMNtary, a forum exploring tech entrepreneurship in Minnesota. And if that wasn't enough, he's the chapter president of VR/AR Minneapolis as he continues to champion the integration of technology in community development.

If you are interested in learning about how AI is being applied across multiple industries, be sure to join us at a future AppliedAI Monthly meetup and help support us so we can make future Emerging Technologies North non-profit events!

• Emerging Technologies North
• AppliedAI Meetup

Resources and Topics Mentioned in this Episode

• Nick Roseth’s Ted Talk
• DocuMNtary
• VR/AR Minneapolis
• Microsoft HoloLens
• Explore Design
• Diffusion of Innovations by Everett Rogers
• Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore
• Human Factors Psychology
• A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence by Jeff Hawkins
• Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
• The Coming Wave by Mustafa Suleyman
• Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI
• Action Research Collaborative - Cornell University

Enjoy!

Your host,
Justin Grammens

The conversation this week is with Zach Hatch. Zach is an AI and automation engineer at Gemini, an advanced marketing solutions company in Edina, Minnesota. He specializes in building custom AI automation systems for businesses, marketing agencies, and anyone in need of optimizing through automated efficiencies. Additionally, he has real-world experience in building automated project management systems, social media accounts, note-taking transcribers, content generators, and much, much more. Before his current role, he was at Dream Home Furniture and Mattress, where he led and managed all aspects of marketing and technology.

If you are interested in learning about how AI is being applied across multiple industries, be sure to join us at a future AppliedAI Monthly meetup and help support us so we can make future Emerging Technologies North non-profit events!

• Emerging Technologies North
• AppliedAI Meetup

Resources and Topics Mentioned in this Episode

• Gemini: Advanced Marketing Solutions
• Zapier
• Visual Studio Code
• TLDR Newsletter
• Northlandtackle.com

Enjoy!

Your host,
Justin Grammens

The conversation this week is with Lori Ryan. Lori is the creator of Lorignite.com an artificial intelligence hub aimed at making AI more accessible. Additionally, with more than 20 years of experience in local TV news production, she's honed her skills in identifying and conveying what people care about in an easy to understand manner. And this skill set has allowed her to curate content on Laurie Ignite and help people navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of AI. Her extensive background in IT project management includes working with Fortune 100 companies across the globe, Implementing technology solutions and managing complex projects.

If you are interested in learning about how AI is being applied across multiple industries, be sure to join us at a future AppliedAI Monthly meetup and help support us so we can make future Emerging Technologies North non-profit events!

• Emerging Technologies North
• AppliedAI Meetup

Resources and Topics Mentioned in this Episode

• Lorignite.com
• The Mel Robbins Podcast
• The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins
• AISALON
• Lab651
• AI Futures An Anthology by Kyle Shannon

Enjoy!

Your host,
Justin Grammens

The conversation this week is with Rajeev Bukralia. Rajeev holds the position of a tenured associate professor and the graduate coordinator in the Department of Computer Information Science at Minnesota State University, Mankato.He specializes in AI data science and IT strategies and serves as the founding director for the MS Data Science program. He's also currently focused on investigating responsible AI including the ethical implications and XAI Otherwise known as explainable AI. He is the founder and advisor of Dream, a prominent student organization focused on AI and data science, which has over 300 members. His commitment to student success and professional contributions have been recognized through various fellowships and awards. including the Minnesota State Outstanding Educator Award.

If you are interested in learning about how AI is being applied across multiple industries, be sure to join us at a future AppliedAI Monthly meetup and help support us so we can make future Emerging Technologies North non-profit events!

• Emerging Technologies North
• AppliedAI Meetup

Resources and Topics Mentioned in this Episode

• DREAM
• Explainable Artificial Intelligence
• ACID framework
• Base Framework
• Hadoop Ecosystem
• Spark
• The Coming Wave by Mustafa Suleyman 
• Midwest Undergraduate Data Analytics Competition

Enjoy!

Your host,
Justin Grammens