Ryan Kurt, CEO & Founder of The AI Lab, advises middle-market CEOs on how to turn AI from hype into measurable operational advantage. A 13-year veteran of generative AI, he’s helped leaders move beyond “AI strategy decks” to real workflow transformation — including a healthcare network that used computer vision to improve care quality and performance-based pay with 99% accuracy. His perspective is clear: the technology isn’t the hard part — leadership ownership is.

You’ll Learn

• Why most AI initiatives fail because CEOs delegate ownership instead of leading transformation themselves
• How to rebuild workflows from first principles instead of layering AI onto broken processes
• What “total ownership” actually means — and why third-party vendors can’t carry your AI strategy
• How agentic workflows unlock capacity by automating repetitive work before it hits your desk
• A behind-the-scenes case study of using computer vision and human-in-the-loop systems to improve care quality, culture, and compensation

Chapters

00:00 Intro
01:00 Ryan’s path from early AI startup to founding The AI Lab
04:15 Why “AI strategy” is the wrong starting point
08:10 The leadership readiness test most companies fail
12:00 What total ownership actually looks like
18:00 Why agentic workflows change the economics of work
23:00 Case study: Using AI to improve caregiver performance
27:30 Human-in-the-loop systems and hybrid AI architecture
30:00 Cultural and operational impact
31:45 How to sequence AI adoption the right way
34:25 Who The AI Lab works with

Links

• Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/bdSq4S2_PZU
• Connect with Ryan Kurt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryankurt/
• Explore more interviews: https://www.justcurious.io/articles/how-ai-caught-what-bonuses-training-and-pay-raises-couldnt-fix"

Just Curious is the content and podcast brand of Pluris, helping leading operators and investors cut through a noisy AI market and find the right partners — from strategy and assessments to full-stack AI development. Our network of applied AI experts spans generative and agentic AI, workflow automation, and custom AI-powered software, helping teams turn curiosity into measurable value.

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