Merging Minds

In this episode of Merging Minds, host Javi chats with Brian McConnell, founder of Location Technology Partners, about the power of proactive localization and the role of AI in the industry.

Brian shares his journey from Silicon Valley to building a startup and offers insights on how startups can effectively navigate global growth.

Discover the impact of AI, training, and forward-thinking strategies on localization.

#Localization #AI #Startups #BrianMcConnell

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In this episode of Merging Minds, Javi sits down with Naho Inuyama, Principal Program Manager at Atlassian, to explore her dynamic journey from Japan to the U.S. and Amsterdam, navigating the challenges of leadership in the localization industry.

Naho shares insights into how millennials like herself are redefining leadership, embracing flexibility, empathy, and adaptability in today’s globalized, multi-generational workforce.

They also discuss the importance of mentorship, technology's role in modern leadership, and how Naho is inspiring the next generation of women in localization.

If you're curious about thriving in the localization industry or want to hear about millennial leadership, tune in!

#Localization #Leadership #MillennialLeadership #Mentorship #GlobalCareers #MergingMinds #NahoInuyama #Atlassian #CareerGrowth #WomenInTech #TechLeadership #FlexibleWork #CareerAdvice

Podcast powered by Bureau Works, a cloud localization platform that makes complex translation tasks simple and predictable.

www.bureauworks.com

Follow us on YouTube and X @bureau_works for more and don't miss the latest live sessions and offers on LinkedIn:

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In this episode of Merging Minds, we explore the entrepreneurial journey of Kristy Sakai, CEO of We Are Very (formerly Supertext), a top multilingual content creation and localization agency. 

Kristy shares her experiences growing up across three continents, leading the rebranding of her company, and navigating the evolving landscape of AI in content creation and localization. 

From her early life in Japan, the U.S., and Europe, to launching Supertext's U.S. branch, Kristy’s path is full of insightful lessons on leadership, innovation, and adapting to change. 🌍✨

We also discuss the importance of blending creativity with strategy, the future of localization, and how Kristy overcame fears of entrepreneurship while growing a global business. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a localization industry professional, or simply interested in unique career paths, this conversation is packed with inspiration and practical advice.

🎧 In this episode, you'll learn about:

• The story behind We Are Very’s rebranding
• Kristy’s career progression from project manager to CEO
• How AI is reshaping the localization industry
• Overcoming the challenges of entrepreneurship
• The importance of maintaining work-life balance and personal growth

🔔 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell for more engaging stories from leaders in the industry!

https://mergingminds.bureauworks.com/

#Entrepreneurship #Leadership #Localization #ContentCreation #AI #GlobalBusiness  #CareerJourney #HumanSideOfBusiness 

Podcast powered by Bureau Works, a cloud localization platform that makes complex translation tasks simple and predictable.

www.bureauworks.com

Follow us on YouTube and X @bureau_works for more and don't miss the latest live sessions and offers on LinkedIn:

www.linkedin.com/company/bureau-works/

We were thrilled to welcome Carrie Fischer as our guest this week! With an impressive career that includes roles at top companies like Disney, Oracle, and Subway, Carrie shared her incredible journey with us. 

Here’s a glimpse of what we covered:

• Insights into guiding teams and fostering growth. 
• The vital role of empathy in our profession. 
• Tips for leaders and the importance of having a support network. 
• Diversity: What it means for our community and the industry at large. 
• Language Connects Foundation. 

Carrie also reflected on her personal journey, sharing how she naturally stepped into leadership roles and offered her views on the future of the industry with AI and other emerging tools. She expressed optimism about the endless opportunities ahead and encouraged everyone to connect with communities like LocLunch to combat isolation and build networks among fellow professionals. 

Stick around for Carrie's final insights on the future of the localization industry and advice for new voices eager to make an impact. 

This was one conversation you wouldn’t want to miss! You can learn more about Carrie here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrie-livermore-fischer-12046b/ 

P.S. Don't forget to leave a review and subscribe to Merging Minds Podcast powered by Bureau Works for more thought-provoking podcast episodes. 

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever else podcasts are found! 

https://mergingminds.ai 

#localization #ai #career #careeradvice

Podcast powered by Bureau Works, a cloud localization platform that makes complex translation tasks simple and predictable.

www.bureauworks.com

Follow us on YouTube and X @bureau_works for more and don't miss the latest live sessions and offers on LinkedIn:

www.linkedin.com/company/bureau-works/

It is the question everyone is asking about AI- Can we handle it? Such a powerful tool requires us to be responsible in the ways we use it, and we are all wondering if we are up to the challenge.

In this episode of Merging Minds, Gabriel speaks with an expert on these questions. Harish Arunachalam is an expert on responsible AI development and is a Principal Data Scientist in Responsible AI at Verizon.

Harish and Gabriel discuss:

• Applied machine learning for discovering tumors
• Responsible vs. Irresponsible AI
• Larger values to guide AI solutions
• Explainability, transparency, privacy, fairness, accountability
• Algorithmic fairness is easy, systemic fairness is hard
• Losing humanity in the algorithm
• Comparing humans to algorithms is apples to oranges
• Quantifying human qualities
• Avoiding hallucinations in AI
• Emulating thought diversity in algorithms
• The sweet spot between diversity and randomness in AI
• Is there fairness in unpredictability?
• Reliability vs. unpredictability
• Company responsibility vs. user responsibility
• Are humans responsible enough?
• Safety vs. speed to market

and more!

Click play to hear a great conversation between Harish and Gabriel!

You can learn more about Harish here.

P.S. Don't forget to leave a review and subscribe to Merging Minds Podcast powered by Bureau Works for more thought-provoking podcast episodes.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever else podcasts are found!

Podcast powered by Bureau Works, a cloud localization platform that makes complex translation tasks simple and predictable.

www.bureauworks.com

Follow us on YouTube and X @bureau_works for more and don't miss the latest live sessions and offers on LinkedIn:

www.linkedin.com/company/bureau-works/

On this week's show, Javi welcomes a true heavy hitter in the world of localization. Chris Dell found his way into localization through writing, publishing, and translation, and he spent the last 15 years building Booking.com into a corporation of over 15,000 people.  

Freshly "retired," Chris is reconnecting with old passions and starting new projects. In the episode, he and Javi discuss:  

- Chris's experience at Booking.com

- Starting out by studying art  

- Non-linear careers  

- Curiosity driving your career

- Over empathizing" as a new manager

- Giving space and giving support as a leader

- Building relationships with international teams  

- The emotional toll of letting employees go

- Vulnerability in leadership

- Good bosses vs. bad bosses

- Top down culture and crowd-sourced values

- Cultivating Ownership  

- Investing in machine translation since 2016

- The value of not burning employees out  

- Making time for what matters

- Recognizing our autonomy

- Re-learning to read

- Coaching  

- Writing about prophecies and omens

and more!  

Click play to hear a great conversation between Chris and Javi!  

You can learn more about Chris here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-dell-69597550/

And feel free to reach out! He welcomes LinkedIn messages.  

P.S. Don't forget to leave a review and subscribe to Merging Minds Podcast powered by Bureau Works for more thought-provoking podcast episodes.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever else podcasts are found!

Podcast powered by Bureau Works, a cloud localization platform that makes complex translation tasks simple and predictable.

www.bureauworks.com

Follow us on YouTube and X @bureau_works for more and don't miss the latest live sessions and offers on LinkedIn:

www.linkedin.com/company/bureau-works/

Can AI translate better than humans? Can I trust AI? Is my data safe?

Christopher Penn, co-founder of truthinsights.ai, answers all of these questions and more on this week's episode of Merging Minds. Gabriel and Chris discuss what is real vs. what is hype in terms of security, AI adoption, LLMs, and the changing landscape of knowledge work in the age of AI.

They discuss:

• LLAMA 3.1: Blowing the doors open on mass adoption
• Hype vs. actual usage
• Informal adoption vs. institutional adoption
• Internalized infrastructure vs. Cloud infrastructure
• The security of local files vs. cloud-based files
• Hybrid approach to data security
• Technological evolution
• Prompting LLMs for better translations
• Humans are still the best translators
• LLMs as "second opinions" for translators
• Sparsity and Risk in translation
• The emergent properties of language
• Language technology influencing the nature of reason
• Language is a symbolic compression
• "We and our machines are more similar than we think"
• Culture begets language- How can technology reflect this?
• Linguistic curators
• Reconstructing the Algonquin language with AI
• Coding in natural language for translators
• Translators are like farmers
• The supply chain of translation after automation

And more!

Click play to hear a great conversation between Christopher and Gabriel!

You can learn more about Christopher Penn here, and trustinsights.ai here.

P.S. Don't forget to leave a review and subscribe to Merging Minds Podcast powered by Bureau Works for more thought-provoking podcast episodes.

Listen here on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever else podcasts are found!

Podcast powered by Bureau Works, a cloud localization platform that makes complex translation tasks simple and predictable.

www.bureauworks.com

Follow us on YouTube and X @bureau_works for more and don't miss the latest live sessions and offers on LinkedIn:

www.linkedin.com/company/bureau-works/

This week, Javi welcomes his good friend Mirko Plitt to the show. Mirko is a computational linguist by trade, but has filled a vast number of roles across the localization industry and in NGOs.

Currently working for the WHO, Mirko is looking to fulfill the dream of localization: Bringing important and impactful content to global audiences in the most relevant way.

Tune in to hear him and Javi discuss:

• Working with the WHO
• Early Machine Translation Development
• The "dodgy business" of early MT
• The difficulty of working internationally
• Translators without borders
• "How Many Languages Do You Speak?"- The toxic question
• The growth of machine translation
• Big Data and Old Algorithms
• "We used to laugh at computational linguists"
• High Stakes Localization with the WHO
• The promise of the localization industry- not JUST translating
• Appreciating when people are better than you at something
• Fostering independence through support
• The cost of ignoring human value
• Replacing ambition with motivation

And much more!

Click play to hear a great conversation between Mirko and Javi!

You can learn more about Mirko Plitt here .

P.S. Don't forget to leave a review and subscribe to Merging Minds Podcast powered by Bureau Works for more thought-provoking podcast episodes.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever else podcasts are found!

Podcast powered by Bureau Works, a cloud localization platform that makes complex translation tasks simple and predictable.

www.bureauworks.com

Follow us on YouTube and X @bureau_works for more and don't miss the latest live sessions and offers on LinkedIn:

www.linkedin.com/company/bureau-works/

Should we be polite to AI tools? After all, they aren't humans. Still, something feels wrong about being rude.

Merging Minds host Gabriel Fairman and Professor Ali Hasan discuss why this is on the latest episode of Merging Minds. They also discuss:

• Applications of philosophy in AI development
• How to know if something is true
• AI hijacking rational perspectives
• How to know that we have consciousness
• The risks of anthropomorphizing AI
• Does AI have consciousness? Will AI develop a consciousness?
• The danger of being passive readers
• The benefits and risks of being nice to AI
• Anthropomorphism vs. Personification
• The difficulty of separating human and machine interactions

And much more!

Listen to the great conversation between Professor Hasan and Gabriel!

You can learn more about Ali Hasan here, and check out his work with BABL.AI here .

P.S. Don't forget to leave a review and subscribe to Merging Minds Podcast powered by Bureau Works for more thought-provoking podcast episodes.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and wherever else podcasts are found!

Podcast powered by Bureau Works, a cloud localization platform that makes complex translation tasks simple and predictable.

www.bureauworks.com

Follow us on YouTube and X @bureau_works for more and don't miss the latest live sessions and offers on LinkedIn:

www.linkedin.com/company/bureau-works/