Israel Squires brings a wealth of knowledge from his diverse background as an M&A/securities lawyer turned AI software investor and entrepreneur. He shares invaluable insights into the practical applications of AI in business, the current landscape of AI technology, and the importance of workforce development. This episode is essential for anyone interested in understanding how AI can drive business innovation and growth.

Key Highlights

1. Midpoint Consulting's AI Strategy: Israel explains how Midpoint Consulting integrates AI to drive business growth and enhance client services.
2. Workforce Development: The importance of upskilling and educating the workforce on AI technologies to prepare for future advancements.
3. AI in Business: Real-world examples of AI applications in business, including challenges and opportunities.
4. Future of AI: Israel's views on the evolving AI market and the hype versus reality of AI technologies.

About Israel Squires

Israel Squires is a co-founder of Midpoint Consulting. He is an M&A/securities lawyer turned AI software entrepreneur. Having created products, sold products and procured venture capital from some of the world’s most advanced markets, he brings a global view to building and scaling businesses.

Israel and cofounder, Devvan Stokes, started Midpoint in 2021 where they began investing and working with early-stage AI founders in a venture studio style deployment. While they were willing the bet everything on AI, they did not expect ChatGPT to be the catalyst for what has become the AI movement today. They shifted to providing AI consulting services in 2022 and have quickly become a leading consulting company in the Midwest. While Midpoint has built industry-changing technologies, they have a unique focus on workforce training as industry 5.0 is about human centricity.

About Midpoint Consulting 

Midpoint Consulting is a leading consulting firm that specializes in AI and technology solutions for businesses. Founded in 2021, Midpoint has quickly established itself as a pioneer in the Midwest, helping companies navigate the complexities of AI integration and workforce development.

About This Podcast Series

"In the Lab: A Spotlight on AI Pioneers in Milwaukee” is a limited series of executive podcast interviews that aims to shine a spotlight on the local pioneers who are at the forefront of AI innovation. AI is reshaping the world, and this series aims to explore future predictions and practical applications from the experts. It sheds light on game-changing innovations happening in Milwaukee, often hidden by Midwestern modesty. By delving into the labs, the podcast uncovers insights beyond the headlines.

“In the Lab” is hosted by Jesse DePinto and sponsored by MKE Tech Hub Coalition and Milwaukee-based Podcast Town. MKE Tech Hub Coalition is a non-profit membership organization whose mission is to grow a vibrant, inclusive ecosystem where tech and innovation create enduring regional prosperity and life-changing jobs. Podcast Town is a full-service B2B podcast company dedicated to helping you build your pipeline, get strategic referrals, and monetize your show.

  Stay Connected:

1. Midpoint Consulting
2. Israel Squires on LinkedIn
3. MKE Tech Hub Coalition
4. Podcast Town

Nathan Lasnoski shares his extensive expertise in AI, discussing the transformative impact of AI on enterprise organizations and how businesses can strategically implement AI to drive operational savings and revenue production. This episode is essential for anyone interested in technology, innovation, and AI ethics. Nathan offers practical insights and real-world examples of AI applications, arising from both his experience serving clients and leading a workforce of 100+ employees.

Key Highlights:

1. Concurrency’s AI Journey: Nathan elaborates on how Concurrency has been at the forefront of AI adoption, helping companies integrate AI into their business strategies.
2. Real-World AI Applications: Examples of AI in action, including one client who saw $50M in savings via supply chain efficiencies and better demand forecasting.
3. AI Ethics and Governance: Discussion on the importance of ethical AI practices and how Concurrency ensures AI serves humanity positively.
4. Future of AI: Insights into the future of AI, including the role of AI agents as co-workers and the ethical considerations in AI development.

About Nathan Lasnoski

Nathan Lasnoski is the Chief Technology Officer of Concurrency, a CIO/CTO advisor, a 14x Microsoft MVP, and a frequent speaker at hundreds of events and conferences. He helps companies view the mission of their organization through the lens of transformative technology. Over the past 21 years, he has advised enterprise organizations on their technology strategy, challenging them to think boldly and with courage. Nathan is on the short-list of Milwaukee/Midwest leaders in IT, contributing both professionally and community-wide to enable tech throughout organizations that promote inclusive impact in tech.

About Concurrency

Concurrency is a multiple-time Microsoft Partner of the Year winner, Microsoft National Solution Provider, and ServiceNow Premier Partner. Concurrency regularly ranks among the top technology service providers nationwide on industry lists such as Redmond Channel Partner's Microsoft's Top 200 U.S. Partners and CRN's Solution Provider 500 and Tech Elite 250 and was recently named a 2021 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Top Workplace.

About This Podcast Series

"In the Lab: A Spotlight on AI Pioneers in Milwaukee” is a limited series of executive podcast interviews that aims to shine a spotlight on the local pioneers who are at the forefront of AI innovation. AI is reshaping the world, and this series aims to explore future predictions and practical applications from the experts. It sheds light on game-changing innovations happening in Milwaukee, often hidden by Midwestern modesty. By delving into the labs, the podcast uncovers insights beyond the headlines.

“In the Lab” is hosted by Jesse DePinto and sponsored by MKE Tech Hub Coalition and Milwaukee-based Podcast Town. MKE Tech Hub Coalition is a non-profit membership organization whose mission is to grow a vibrant, inclusive ecosystem where tech and innovation create enduring regional prosperity and life-changing jobs. Podcast Town is a full-service B2B podcast company dedicated to helping you build your pipeline, get strategic referrals, and monetize your show.

Stay Connected:

1. Nathan Lasnoski on LinkedIn
2. Concurrency
3. MKE Tech Hub Coalition
4. Podcast Town

Nitin Ranjan shares his deep technical expertise and first-hand knowledge of manufacturing challenges, discussing how AI can revolutionize the industry. This episode is essential for anyone interested in technology, innovation, and manufacturing. Nitin offers compelling insights and practical examples of AI applications in manufacturing, making it a must-listen for tech enthusiasts and industry professionals alike.

Key Highlights:

1. Manufacturing Insights: Nitin elaborates on how Golgix helps manufacturers leverage existing machine data to predict and prevent equipment failures, enhancing productivity and reducing downtime.
2. AI-Driven Solutions: Discussion on Golgix's software-only approach to AI, eliminating the need for additional hardware and making advanced technology more accessible to mid-market manufacturers.
3. Future of Manufacturing: Exploration of how AI is set to transform manufacturing, with a focus on proactive problem-solving and upskilling the workforce.
4. Real-World Applications: Examples of AI in action, including a case study of a local food and beverage manufacturer using AI to predict equipment failures and optimize production processes.

About Nitin Ranjan

Nitin Ranjan is the Founder & CEO of Golgix. With manufacturing in his blood and executive experience building global teams and enterprise products, Nitin leads with deep technical expertise, first-hand knowledge of manufacturing challenges, and a clear vision for how manufacturers can monetize Artificial Intelligence today and into the future.

About Golgix

Golgix is a Manufacturing AI company that empowers manufacturers to prevent their machines and processes from breaking, and their lines from grinding to an unexpected halt. This problem costs manufacturers hundreds of production hours and 6% of their revenue every year, and we're solving it with manufacturers' existing plant data, and our turnkey AI software. Golgix is on our journey to make US manufacturing competitive.

About This Podcast Series

"In the Lab: A Spotlight on AI Pioneers in Milwaukee” is a limited series of executive podcast interviews that aims to shine a spotlight on the local pioneers who are at the forefront of AI innovation. AI is reshaping the world, and this series aims to explore future predictions and practical applications from the experts. It sheds light on game-changing innovations happening in Milwaukee, often hidden by Midwestern modesty. By delving into the labs, the podcast uncovers insights beyond the headlines.

“In the Lab” is hosted by Jesse DePinto and sponsored by MKE Tech Hub Coalition and Milwaukee-based Podcast Town. MKE Tech Hub Coalition is a non-profit membership organization whose mission is to grow a vibrant, inclusive ecosystem where tech and innovation create enduring regional prosperity and life-changing jobs. Podcast Town is a full-service B2B podcast company dedicated to helping you build your pipeline, get strategic referrals, and monetize your show.

Stay Connected:

1. Nitin Ranjan on LinkedIn
2. Golgix
3. MKE Tech Hub Coalition
4. Podcast Town

John Young shares his extensive expertise in AI and data science, discussing how Databricks is revolutionizing the way enterprises manage and leverage data for AI applications. This episode is essential for anyone interested in technology, data management, and AI innovation. John offers practical insights and real-world examples of AI applications, making this episode a must-listen for tech enthusiasts and business leaders alike.

Key Highlights:

1. Databricks Overview: John explains the role of Databricks in the AI ecosystem and how it enables enterprises to build and deploy AI models using their proprietary data.
2. Data Governance and Security: Discussion on the importance of data governance and how Databricks ensures data privacy and security through technologies like Unity Catalog.
3. Real-World AI Applications: Examples of AI in action, including automating document summarization and enhancing risk assessment processes in financial services.
4. AI Education: Insights into how MSOE's AI program is preparing the next generation of AI talent and the importance of staying ahead in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.

About John Young

John Young is Managing Director at Databricks, a leading global data platform powering AI. High-energy leader who seeks to continuously learn and build interesting products through data. Deep experience building and leading teams to deliver technology and data solutions in financial services and insurance on many platforms. A hands-on leader with the technical ability to build and deploy models with engineers and data scientists while also working effectively with business leaders at all levels to assist with use cases. Platform of choice is unquestionably Spark and the Databricks Unified Analytic Platform which greatly expedites the ability for data science and engineering teams to collaborate and deploy models to production.

About Databricks

Databricks is the data and AI company. More than 10,000 organizations worldwide — including Comcast, Condé Nast, Grammarly, and over 50% of the Fortune 500 — rely on the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform to unify and democratize data, analytics and AI. Databricks is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices around the globe and was founded by the original creators of Lakehouse, Apache Spark™, Delta Lake and MLflow.

About This Podcast Series

"In the Lab: A Spotlight on AI Pioneers in Milwaukee” is a limited series of executive podcast interviews that aims to shine a spotlight on the local pioneers who are at the forefront of AI innovation. AI is reshaping the world, and this series aims to explore future predictions and practical applications from the experts. It sheds light on game-changing innovations happening in Milwaukee, often hidden by Midwestern modesty. By delving into the labs, the podcast uncovers insights beyond the headlines.

“In the Lab” is hosted by Jesse DePinto and sponsored by MKE Tech Hub Coalition and Milwaukee-based Podcast Town. MKE Tech Hub Coalition is a non-profit membership organization whose mission is to grow a vibrant, inclusive ecosystem where tech and innovation create enduring regional prosperity and life-changing jobs. Podcast Town is a full-service B2B podcast company dedicated to helping you build your pipeline, get strategic referrals, and monetize your show.

Stay Connected:

1. John Young on LinkedIn
2. Databricks
3. MKE Tech Hub Coalition
4. Podcast Town

Sarah Alt shares her extensive expertise in ethical AI, discussing the transformative impact of AI in various sectors, particularly within the legal sector. She offers practical insights and real-world examples of AI applications, making this episode essential for anyone interested in technology, ethics, and innovation. Sarah offers touching stories of tough conversations and moments that impacted her technology career and inspired her to make a commitment to responsible AI.  

Key Highlights:

Michael Best's AI Strategy: Sarah elaborates on how Michael Best integrates AI to drive innovation and enhance client services.

Ethical AI Consortium: The founding story and mission of the Ethical AI Consortium, aiming to promote responsible AI practices.

Real-World AI Applications: Examples of AI in action, including a heartwarming story of AI-powered real-time translation improving workplace communication and morale.

Future Jobs: Discussion on the evolving job market and essential skills for thriving alongside AI, including AI in the future workplace.

About Sarah Alt

Sarah Alt is the Chief Process & AI Officer at Michael Best, and the Founder and CEO of the Ethical AI Consortium. Sarah is an accomplished professional in ethical artificial intelligence with extensive expertise in information technology, working for and consulting with companies, professional services firms, institutions of higher education, startups, and nonprofits. Since joining Michael Best in 2021, Sarah has spearheaded the adoption of AI strategy and technologies to drive innovation, excellence, and client value. In 2023, recognizing her contributions to the legal technology profession, Relativity Software Company named Sarah Alt to its list of AI Visionaries.

About Michael Best & Friedrich LLP 

Michael Best is a 175-year-old full-service law firm with a unique strategy and consulting practice. Operating in multiple states, the firm offers comprehensive services to its clients, reflecting its innovative and forward-thinking approach.

About This Podcast Series

"In the Lab: A Spotlight on AI Pioneers in Milwaukee” is a limited series of executive podcast interviews that aims to shine a spotlight on the local pioneers who are at the forefront of AI innovation. AI is reshaping the world, and this series aims to explore future predictions and practical applications from the experts. It sheds light on game-changing innovations happening in Milwaukee, often hidden by Midwestern modesty. By delving into the labs, the podcast uncovers insights beyond the headlines.

“In the Lab” is hosted by Jesse DePinto and sponsored by MKE Tech Hub Coalition and Milwaukee-based Podcast Town. MKE Tech Hub Coalition is a non-profit membership organization whose mission is to grow a vibrant, inclusive ecosystem where tech and innovation create enduring regional prosperity and life-changing jobs. Podcast Town is a full-service B2B podcast company dedicated to helping you build your pipeline, get strategic referrals, and monetize your show.

Stay Connected:

1. Michael Best & Friedrich LLP
2. Ethical AI Consortium
3. Sarah Alt on LinkedIn
4. MKE Tech Hub Coalition
5. Podcast Town