In this episode of Digitally Curious, host Andrew Grill sits down with Gill Switalski, CEO of Infrared Kinetics, to explore how cutting-edge infrared technology is revolutionising real-time tracking and data precision - not just in motorsport, but across a host of industries.

Gill shares her journey from corporate lawyer to tech innovator, describing how curiosity, intellectual property expertise, and strategic partnerships have driven Infrared Kinetics’ success. 

Together, we dive into:

• The role of digital twins in bridging the physical and virtual worlds
• Why GPS is no longer sufficient and how infrared tech delivers robust, interference-proof data, even under extreme conditions
• How the company’s miniature, powerful tracking emitters are opening motorsport and STEM education to a global audience
• Real-world applications in smart cities, railways, defence, logistics, and the world’s first precision drone delivery
• Ways the business model is transforming revenues for sporting circuits and offering new opportunities in gaming, advertising, and sports betting
• Gill's vision for infrastructure that makes society safer, more efficient, and more inclusive

More information

IRK website

Gill on LinkedIn

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Your Host is Actionable Futurist® Andrew Grill

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Two tech worlds meet to answer a pressing question: if AI can act for us, what should remain meaningfully human? In this episode, We've teamed up with Gareth Mitchell and Ghislaine Boddington from the Somewhere on Earth Podcast to compare notes on practical adoption, cultural nuance, and the messy, beautiful realities of bringing AI into daily life. 

Andrew Grill shares how enterprise leaders move from hype to “aha” moments, including a live case where a 17,000-cell SWOT analysis became actionable strategy in minutes. We dig into why projects stall—broken processes, outdated ROI, and thin literacy—and how smart training and transparent policies shift teams from pilots to outcomes.

The conversation widens beyond boardrooms. Ghislaine traces the arc from early telepresence and immersive art to today’s “body in the digital,” where trust, intimacy, and presence underpin healthy human-machine collaboration. We examine digital human twins, agentic AI that makes decisions on our behalf, and the ethics of agents negotiating with each other. Expect clear takes on governance, transparency, and the line between pattern-matched empathy and the real thing. We also explore global perspectives: AI ethics in the Nordics, smart-city lessons from Singapore, manufacturing in Japan, and the access gaps that keep billions offline.

Media and learning are transforming too. Universities are moving from AI bans to guidance that requires prompt and output documentation, building accountability and critical thinking. On the creator side, we look at AI in podcast production and the next step—personalized listening that adapts to knowledge and time. Along the way, we share recommended episodes, from Karen Jacobsen’s origin as the original Aussie Siri voice to Deborah Humble’s high-wire opera story packed with lessons in resilience and preparation.

If you’re curious about technology but allergic to hype, this co-production brings grounded examples, human-centered design, and a global lens. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs a practical AI playbook, and leave a quick review with your biggest “aha” or open question—what would you never let an AI decide for you?

Resources mentioned
Somewhere on Earth Podcast

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Your Host is Actionable Futurist® Andrew Grill

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In this episode of Digitally Curious, Andrew Grill speaks with Trevor Davis, renowned futurist and pioneer in big data, AI, and digital transformation about the evolving intersection of artificial intelligence and the creative industries. Trevor shares insights drawn from decades of experience at the cutting edge, delving into the opportunities, challenges, and ethical dilemmas facing creative professionals in the age of “Createch.”

Key Topics

• Trevor’s Journey: From material science, through leadership at IBM, to independent AI consultancy focused on creative industries.
• Defining Createch: Understanding where creativity meets technology, and how createch businesses differ from traditional creative firms.
• Industry 4.0 in Creativity: The impact of generative AI, digital twins, extended/virtual reality, blockchain, and 3D printing on artistic and commercial creative fields.
• Generative AI in Practice:
  • How tools like ChatGPT, OpenAI Sora, and others are transforming animation, content creation, and writing.
  • Tensions between democratisation of content and the diminishing role of creative gatekeepers.
• Sustainability & AI:
  • Why most createch startups lack sustainability policies, and the significant environmental costs of digital production and AI.
  • The growing need for responsible energy, water, and e-waste management in creative tech supply chains.
• Ethics & IP in Creative AI:
  • Core dilemmas surrounding data usage, IP, and copyright in AI tools trained on creative works.
  • The legal grey zones and the role of large publishers versus individual artists in rights advocacy.
• AI’s Role in Growth:
  • Predictions for the UK creative sector to reach £300 billion by 2030, with AI and createch as catalysts.
  • The shifting dynamics between brands and agencies as clients use generative tools for early-stage concept work.
• Agentic AI & The Future of Advertising:
  • The emerging paradigm where AI agents transact and consume advertising—what it means for brands, agencies, and human creativity.
• Upskilling & Mindset:
  • Why creative professionals must proactively adopt and experiment with AI tools—or risk obsolescence.
  • Three actionable steps for creatives: deepen tool usage, stay informed via industry and technical sources, and build simple agents for hands-on learning.

Quick Fire Round

• Favourite travel seat: aisle
• AI wish: automate laundry
• Most-used app: Things (for daily and long-term planning)
• Book recommendation: “Helm” by Sarah Hall
• Actionable tip: Don’t fear AI—explore, experiment, and keep learning.

Resources Mentioned

Guest website: curiousdemon.com

Connect: Trevor Davis on LinkedIn

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Your Host is Actionable Futurist® Andrew Grill

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How does a particle physicist end up shaping the UK Government’s approach to artificial intelligence? In this thought‑provoking episode, Andrew Grill sits down with Dr Laura Gilbert CBE, former Director of Data Science at 10 Downing Street and now the Senior Director of AI at the Tony Blair Institute.

Laura’s unique career path, from academic research in physics to the heart of policymaking, gives her a rare perspective on how governments can use emerging technologies not just efficiently, but humanely. 

She shares candid insights into how policy teams think about digital transformation, why the public sector faces very different challenges to private industry, and how to avoid technology that dehumanises decision‑making.

Drawing on examples from her work in Whitehall, Laura discusses the realities of forecasting in AI, the danger of “buzzword chasing”, and why the next breakthrough in Artificial General Intelligence might well come from an unexpected player, possibly from within government itself.

This is a conversation for anyone curious about the intersection of science, policy, ethics, and technology, and how they can combine to make government more responsive, transparent, and human-centred.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• How Laura Gilbert moved from particle physics research into government AI leadership
• The strategic role of AI in shaping modern policy and public services
• Why forecasting in AI is harder than it looks—and how this impacts decision‑makers
• The balance between technical capability and human‑centred governance
• Why governments must look beyond the tech giants for innovative solutions
• Lessons from the Evidence House and AI for Public Good programmes

Resources

Tony Blair Global Institute Website
UK Government AI Incubator
Laura on LinkedIn
Raindrop.io bookmarking app

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Your Host is Actionable Futurist® Andrew Grill

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In this episode of Digitally Curious, host Andrew Grill, renowned futurist and author, sits down with Shannon Scott, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Product at Airwallex, one of the world’s fastest-growing FinTech innovators.

Key Topics Covered:

• Shannon’s Journey:
  From rural Victoria to leading global product strategy at Airwallex, Shannon shares how his background in computer science and mechatronic engineering shapes his approach to building next-generation financial products.
• Engineering Mindset in Product Leadership:
  Discover how thinking from first principles and understanding technology “under the hood” enables Airwallex to deliver seamless, global financial services and challenge industry assumptions.
• AI’s Transformative Role in Financial Services:
  Explore how AI is not just automating traditional tasks like fraud detection and compliance, but fundamentally transforming business workflows, onboarding, and financial operations — turning hours of manual work into minutes.
• Agentic AI Explained:
  Shannon demystifies agentic AI, describing how autonomous AI agents can handle complex, multi-step financial processes, from vendor onboarding to payment reconciliation, and what this means for both large and small businesses.
• Trust, Explainability & Regulation:
  The episode delves into the importance of maintaining trust and explainability in AI-driven finance, the role of human feedback, and why robust regulation gives financial services a head start in adopting AI responsibly.
• Data as a Strategic Asset:
  Learn why proprietary, high-quality data is the new competitive edge in the AI era, and how modular, adaptable data infrastructure is critical for future-proofing financial services.
• The Future of Decision-Making:
  Andrew and Shannon discuss the evolution of AI from an operational tool to a strategic decision partner, capable of suggesting best practices, optimising approval flows, and proactively managing risk.
• Actionable Insights:
  Shannon shares three practical steps for listeners to better understand and leverage agentic AI in finance:
  • Embrace podcasts and diverse learning sources
  • Experiment with new AI tools and services
  • Continuously question and seek better ways of working

Resources

Airwallex Website
Shannon on LinkedIn

Thanks for listening to Digitally Curious. You can buy the book that showcases these episodes at curious.click/order

Your Host is Actionable Futurist® Andrew Grill

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In this episode, Andrew Grill welcomes back Chris Juneau from SAP Concur to discuss the latest findings from the 2025 CFO Insights report, “Action for Growth.” The conversation explores the evolving role of CFOs, the growing impact of AI and automation in finance, and the introduction of new agentic AI capabilities within SAP Concur’s platform.

Key Topics Covered

• Evolution of CFO Mindset:
  The shift from “repositioning for growth” to “action for growth” reflects CFOs moving from reactive strategies to actively driving business expansion. 
  
  
• Expanded Research Scope:
  This year’s report surveyed not only 350 CFOs but also 115 HR and 150 IT leaders, providing a more holistic understanding of business pressures and cross-functional collaboration.
  
  
• Top Challenges for CFOs in 2025:
  • Geopolitical tensions cited as the top external challenge by 37% of CFOs 
  • Concern over worsening economic conditions has declined
  • A dramatic rise in manual processes as a pain point 
• AI’s Transformational Role in Finance:
  • Adoption of generative AI is now mission-critical for managing data overload and driving efficiency.
  • AI is being used for forecasting, closing the books, fraud monitoring and creating new pricing models.
  • SAP Concur’s “Verify” tool now automatically audits 100% of expense reports, with 97% requiring no human intervention.
• Agentic AI & SAP Joule:
  • Introduction of “Joule,” SAP’s generative AI copilot, embedded across SAP applications.
  • Joule automates mundane tasks, pre-audits expense reports, and provides real-time policy compliance checks.
  • Joule acts as an agentic AI, orchestrating decisions and actions across multiple business processes, not just within finance.
• Integration and Real-Time Data:
  • SAP Concur now integrates with payment providers like MasterCard and American Express to capture real-time authorisation data, streamlining expense reporting and improving categorisation.
• Data Privacy & Security:
  • All financial data processed by Joule is contained within the customer’s environment and is not exposed to external AI sources.
  • Data is anonymised when used for model training, ensuring compliance with strict privacy standards.
• Customisation & Future-Proofing:
  • SAP’s Business Data Cloud enables organisations to unify and govern all SAP and third-party data, supporting custom AI queries across previously siloed data sets.

Resources & Further Reading

SAP Concur CFO Insights Report

SAP Concur Blog

Chris Juneau on LinkedIn

Upcoming Events
Catch Andrew Grill and Chris Juneau on stage at Fusion Exchange in London on June 12.
 

Thanks for listening to Digitally Curious. You can buy the book that showcases these episodes at curious.click/order

Your Host is Actionable Futurist® Andrew Grill

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What happens when we prioritise innovation over ethics in AI development? For the 100th episode of the Digitally Curious Podcast, Kerry Sheehan, a machine learning specialist with a fascinating journey from journalism to AI policy, explores this critical question as she shares powerful insights on responsible AI implementation.

Kerry takes us on a compelling exploration of AI guardrails, comparing them to bowling alley bumpers that prevent technologies from causing harm. Her work with the British Standards Institute has helped establish frameworks rooted in fairness, transparency, and human oversight – creating what she calls "shared language for responsible development" without stifling innovation.

The conversation reveals profound insights about diversity in AI development teams. "If the teams building AI systems don't represent those that the end results will serve, it's not ethical," Kerry asserts. She compares bias to bad seasoning that ruins an otherwise excellent recipe, highlighting how diverse perspectives throughout the development lifecycle are essential for creating fair, beneficial systems.

Kerry's expertise shines as she discusses emerging ethical challenges in AI, from foundation models to synthetic data and agentic systems. She advocates for guardrails that function as supportive scaffolding rather than restrictive handcuffs – principle-driven frameworks with room for context that allow developers to be agile while maintaining ethical boundaries.

What makes this episode particularly valuable are the actionable takeaways: audit your existing AI systems for fairness, develop clear governance frameworks you could confidently explain to others, add ethical reviews to project boards, and include people with diverse lived experiences in your design meetings. These practical steps can help organisations build AI systems that truly work for everyone, not just the privileged few.

This is an important conversation about making AI work for humanity rather than against it. Kerry's perspective will transform how you think about responsible technology implementation in your organisation.

More information
Kerry on LinkedIn

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Your Host is Actionable Futurist® Andrew Grill

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A phone call that changes everything. A seemingly impossible challenge. Hours instead of months to prepare. When mezzo-soprano Deborah Humble received that unexpected call from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, she faced a career-defining decision: step onto the stage of the Sydney Opera House that very evening to perform Gustav Mahler's Second Symphony—a piece she had never fully sung before—or walk away from the opportunity of a lifetime.

What followed was a whirlwind day of frantic preparation, from retrieving a discarded concert dress from a garbage bag in her car trunk to a 45-minute crash course with her vocal coach. With barely enough time to warm up, Deborah found herself standing before a sold-out audience at the Sydney Opera House, performing in a concert that was not only being live-streamed globally but also recorded by Deutsche Grammophon for worldwide release.

The stakes couldn't have been higher. The pressure more intense. Yet amid the chaos, Deborah found clarity in a simple thought: "Simone wouldn't have asked you to step up if she didn't think you could do it." With the support of conductor Simone Young and drawing on decades of professional experience, Deborah delivered a performance that earned her a standing ovation and secured her place in Sydney Opera House history.

This remarkable story transcends the world of classical music, offering powerful insights about preparation meeting opportunity, managing self-doubt, and having the courage to take calculated risks. As Deborah reflects, "We are capable of doing what we have spent our whole lives working towards." Her experience reminds us that behind every "overnight success" lies years of dedication, discipline, and determination—qualities that prepare us to seize extraordinary moments when they unexpectedly arrive.

Ready to be inspired by a tale of remarkable courage under pressure? Listen as Deborah reveals what it truly takes to rise to an impossible occasion when everything is on the line.

Find out more about Deborah Humble on her website.

Listen to the recording here. 

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Your Host is Actionable Futurist® Andrew Grill

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Welcome to Season 7 of the Digitally Curious Podcast. This show is a perfect compendium if you’ve bought the book of the same name, and if you haven’t grabbed yourself a copy, may I suggest that’s something you should consider investing in - just  click here or ask for it by name wherever great books are sold.

In today’s episode, we’re going back in time to an interview I conducted with David Shrier in late 2021 - well before ChatGPT hit the headlines. We discuss his book Augmenting Your Career: How to Win at Work In the Age of AI, and the book and our discussion are as relevant as ever, three years on.

What I found interesting while editing the episode on New Year’s Day 2025 is that it’s an excellent discussion about the fundamentals of AI without the hype of ChatGPT and Generative AI

David Shrier, a trailblazer in technology and educational innovation, joins us in dissecting the future of work in the age of artificial intelligence. His perspective on AI as "augmented intelligence" challenges us to rethink the relationship between humans and machines.

With examples from around the globe, David advocates for AI literacy as a cornerstone of modern education, highlighting how nations like Denmark, China, and Singapore are setting benchmarks.

This episode promises to enhance your understanding of how AI can be integrated into educational ecosystems and professional life, guided by insights from David's book, "Augmenting Your Career."

Navigating the ethical landscape of AI is more important than ever, and we bring focus to the critical role of government regulators in this space. We dive into real-world examples, such as Google's image recognition failures, to underscore the importance of diverse data and ethical diligence. The conversation praises initiatives like those of the UK government and challenges the pitfalls of overregulation, drawing lessons from New York's BitLicense situation. ]

Our discussion is a must-listen for anyone interested in how regulatory frameworks can either propel or stifle technological innovation.

As AI reshapes the job market, we explore the shifting roles and opportunities emerging across various industries. From philosophy majors finding their niche in AI development to the resilience of healthcare and creative arts, there's a world of possibility awaiting those prepared to adapt. We also touch on corporate responsibility, using Accenture's workforce reskilling as a model for sustaining company culture amidst AI-driven changes.

Discover practical strategies for staying ahead in this rapidly evolving landscape, emphasizing cognitive flexibility and continuous learning as keys to thriving in the digital age.

More on David
David on LinkedIn
David's books

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Your Host is Actionable Futurist® Andrew Grill

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In this episode, we speak to Australia's first official astronaut, Katherine Bennell-Pegg, about her lifelong passion for space exploration and how she pursued her dream of becoming an astronaut.

We also covered:

• The importance of international experience and cultural adaptability in the astronaut selection process and training
  
  
• The rigorous and diverse nature of astronaut training, including spacecraft systems, robotics, survival techniques, and more
  
  
• The exciting future of space exploration, including missions to the Moon and the scientific research opportunities on the International Space Station
  
  
• Advice for those interested in space-related careers, emphasizing the need for purpose-driven work and a willingness to step outside one's comfort zone

We last covered space on the podcast in Season 4, Episode 3 -  Space Based Solar Power.

Quotable Quotes:

"Working in an international environment from a project basis as well as from a life basis really made me say that there's lots of different kinds of engineers, lots of ways to culturally come to solutions."

"Being an astronaut is bigger than the space sector. It's for many kinds of researchers, as well as raising the aspirations of the public as well."

Resources:

Katherine on LinkedIn
Katherine on Instagram
Katherine on Twitter

Learn more about Katherine Bennell-Pegg and the Australian Space Agency at space.gov.au

Explore the International Space Station and its scientific research here.

Thank you to Katherine, Engineers Australia and Frank Gallagher for contributing to this episode.

Thanks for listening to Digitally Curious. You can buy the book that showcases these episodes at curious.click/order

Your Host is Actionable Futurist® Andrew Grill

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