Mind the Machine

AI is rapidly transforming how work gets done, but most people are only scratching the surface of what’s possible.

In this episode of Mind the Machine, we sit down with Jay Hack, Head of AI at ClickUp and co-founder of Codegen, to explore how AI is changing productivity, software, and the future of work. Jay shares his journey from studying AI at Stanford to building startups and eventually leading AI strategy at one of the fastest growing work platforms in the world.

We discuss common myths about AI, why hallucinations shouldn’t stop you from using it, and why learning AI today may be as important as learning to use the internet in the 1990s.

If you’re curious about where AI is headed and how it will reshape the way humans work alongside intelligent systems, this conversation offers a thoughtful and optimistic perspective.

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Website: https://findgood.tech/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/findgood-tech/

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction and why AI will shape everything we do

00:18 Meet Jay Hack, Head of AI at ClickUp

01:06 Jay’s background and early interest in AI

03:30 Learning AI as a student and early machine learning work

05:40 What AI looked like before ChatGPT

07:00 The biggest myths people believe about AI

08:30 Why AI hallucinations shouldn’t stop you from using it

12:30 Why AI will transform industries like medicine and law

15:30 What it means to build an AI-native company

18:20 The rise of AI agents and productivity tools

22:00 How ClickUp is integrating AI into work

26:00 AI tools people should explore beyond ChatGPT

29:40 Why the future of work will involve humans collaborating with AI

33:00 “A nation of geniuses in a data center” and what that means

36:00 Final thoughts on learning AI today

Artificial intelligence feels overwhelming for a lot of people right now. The speed is fast, the tools are endless, and the noise can make it hard to know what actually matters.In this keynote-style talk, Cheryl Goodman reframes AI through a different lens: not hype, not fear, and not magic, but understanding. By grounding AI in history, fundamentals, and purpose, this session focuses on how real people and organizations can think clearly, act responsibly, and move forward with confidence.You’ll learn why AI is a general-purpose technology, how to think about risk and cost, what hallucinations really are, and why understanding matters more than speed. Most importantly, this talk centers on the idea that hope in AI is not wishful thinking, but a valid expectation when knowledge replaces fear.This a framework for leading and building in the age of AI.AI Fluent Course: https://findgood.tech/ai-fluent-in-person-course/Book Cheryl to speak at your company or community, she’s trained executives at Fortune 100 companies and has taught practical AI courses at 7 universities and has led a series of Hack-a thons for all levels of learners. You can submit a booking inquiry through FindGood.tech speaking contact page to discuss keynotes, panels, or corporate events. https://findgood.tech/speaking/AAE Speakers Bureau: You can check her availability and request fee information through All American Entertainment (AAE). They handle logistics, offer negotiations, and contractual assistance.Direct Contact: For general inquiries, her team can be reached at [email protected] or via her LinkedIn profile. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ckgoodman00:00 Introduction – What This AI Talk Promises01:23 The “Three Theories” Behind AI03:17 The Hope in AI Framework04:54 What We’ll Cover Today06:20 Where Do You Stand on AI?08:11 The Generative AI Explosion09:41 Why AI Is Not Just Hype12:19 Why Speed Isn’t the Goal14:18 What AI Actually Is15:26 Tokens – The True Cost of AI17:18 Core Concepts: Vectors, Embeddings, Weights18:19 Everything Is Numbers – How Prediction Works22:42 Temperature – Creativity vs Predictability24:10 Context, Meaning & Word Embeddings26:13 Weights & Bias – Why Training Matters31:56 Hallucinations & Error Rates33:32 AI as a Partner (Not a Replacement)35:12 What AI Can Already Do36:05 Prompt Engineering Explained38:42 Jobs, Infrastructure & Investment Implications39:10 The Hope Framework Recap40:48 Final Takeaways

If your marketing isn’t compliant, the risk isn’t theoretical. It can mean lawsuits, fines, or having your ad accounts shut down overnight.

In this episode of the Mind the Machine Podcast, we sit down with the co-founders of Loopholes, an AI-powered marketing compliance platform built to catch risk before it becomes expensive. They explain how a single word or image can trigger massive penalties, why highly regulated industries struggle to scale marketing safely, and how AI can act like an antivirus for your brand’s messaging.

We cover how Loopholes emerged from years running a regulated marketing agency, what Techstars helped unlock for their growth, and why compliance is becoming a core part of modern go-to-market teams. This conversation is essential for marketers, founders, legal teams, and anyone using AI to scale content in a regulated world.

Get a free trial: https://www.loopholes.com

Timestamps:

00:00 Why non-compliant marketing is dangerous

02:00 The real problem with marketing compliance

03:36 A full AI platform

07:12 Why compliance slows companies down

09:34 How one word can trigger massive fines

11:25 Who actually needs marketing compliance

14:02 The future of AI compliance agents

18:35 Cutting weeks of review down to seconds

25:20 Why GPT alone isn’t enough

30:28 Staying creative without getting fined

Doug Harrison breaks down the 10 mind traps he’s seen repeatedly while working with over a thousand brands and businesses. These traps are subtle, common patterns that work against people’s best interests without them realizing it: the Over-Explainer, the Copycat, the Day Jobber, the Tactician, the Pillar Pitcher, the Glorifier, the Defender, the Interrogator, and the Schmoozer. Doug explains why they happen, how they create risk in the buyer’s mind, and why clarity is the real advantage.Then the conversation shifts into Doug’s next chapter: the Keep Rising platform, built to solve what happens between appointments for advisors like therapists, coaches, case managers, and clinicians. The platform focuses on behavior change through systems instead of willpower, using “extreme humanness,” specificity, and a whole-brain approach to help people follow through on the habits they want to build.Get the book: https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Framework-Business-Distinctly-Matter/dp/1631959514Follow Mind the Machine:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindthemachinepodcastTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mindthemachinepodcastWebsite: https://findgood.tech/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/findgood-tech/0:00 Intro0:30 Episode overview and guest intro1:07 Setting up the mind traps concept1:57 Overexplainer3:09 Copycat4:00 Day Job5:42 Tactician8:02 Pillar Picture21:41 Glorifier26:24 Defender27:07 Interrogator28:18 Schmoozer29:36 Reflecting on all mind traps32:36 Transition to the Rise / Keep Rising framework37:50 Whole-brain approach to behavior change45:21 Why good intentions fail52:57 Closing remarks

CES 2026 made one thing clear: AI is no longer something we open in a browser. It is becoming the interface for everything around us. From humanoid robots and autonomous vehicles to edge AI, cooling breakthroughs, and voice-first homes, this episode explores how artificial intelligence is moving out of the cloud and into the physical world.

Recorded on the show floor and inside CES’s new “Foundry” experience, this recap covers NVIDIA’s compute platforms, Agility Robotics’ Digit humanoid, AI-powered vehicles, Qualcomm’s edge strategy, and a deep dive into Frore Systems’ solid-state AirJet cooling technology. The common thread is simple but massive: performance, intelligence, and autonomy are now constrained less by software and more by hardware, thermals, and form factor.

We also zoom out to the bigger question CES raised this year: if AI is becoming a medium rather than a feature, what does that mean for our homes, devices, and daily lives? From robotics skepticism to voice-controlled AI hubs, this episode breaks down what is real, what is hype, and what is coming sooner than most people expect.

00:00 CES 2026 recap and first impressions

00:52 AI is no longer a tool, it is the new UI

01:06 Inside CES’s new Foundry and NVIDIA compute

01:50 Robotics, generative AI, and the future of household labor

02:07 Are we actually ready for robots in our homes?

02:19 Sponsor message

02:31 Meet Digit and the rise of humanoid robotics

03:29 Why CES has quietly become a car show

04:10 AI cars, edge compute, and on-device intelligence

05:01 NVIDIA-powered vehicles and Jensen Huang’s keynote moment

05:46 NVIDIA Blackwell, Rubin, and Piper explained

06:09 Where real CES business actually happens

06:31 Frore Systems and the AirJet cooling breakthrough

07:25 How solid-state cooling changes device design

08:47 Qualcomm reference designs and thin-form AI devices

09:35 Why AI moving to the edge changes everything

10:39 Thermal limits as the new performance bottleneck

10:59 Qualcomm’s AI hardware strategy

11:45 Who AirJet is actually built for

12:22 CES reflections and industry relationships

12:42 Voice, AI hubs, and a future with fewer screens

13:21 AI as a medium and final CES 2026 takeaways

In this episode of Mind the Machine Podcast, we sit down with Stephanie Sylvester, CEO of Avatar Buddy, to explore what human-centered AI actually looks like in practice.

Stephanie explains why the real power of AI lives at the intersection between humans and machines, and how small language models can deliver more accurate, secure, and aligned outcomes than massive general-purpose models. She shares clear analogies for understanding LLMs versus SLMs, explains how “managed AI as a service” helps organizations maintain consistency and control, and outlines how AI can increase self-agency rather than replace people.

The conversation also dives into jobs of the future, the skills that will matter most in an AI-driven world, and how thoughtful AI design can reduce bias, support marginalized communities, and create real win-win-win outcomes for workers, companies, and society.

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Website: https://findgood.tech/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/findgood-tech/

Timestamps

00:00 – The human-AI continuum and why AI should amplify people

00:30 – Introduction to Stephanie Sylvester and Avatar Buddy

01:38 – What Avatar Buddy does and why “everyone needs a buddy”

03:00 – The human-digital handshake explained

04:25 – Why AI can be a true win-win-win solution

05:30 – Large language models vs small language models

06:30 – The library analogy for understanding SLMs

08:00 – Reducing hallucinations and validating AI outputs

09:00 – Privacy, security, and ecological benefits of small models

10:00 – How businesses win with managed AI and consistent data

11:30 – Brand consistency, compliance, and AI as institutional memory

13:40 – Jobs of the future and the skills that matter most

15:00 – Resiliency, creativity, and learning in an AI world

17:30 – Critical thinking, problem solving, and managing AI output

18:30 – Hiring for humble, hungry, and smart

20:00 – AI-powered recruiting with dignity

22:30 – Using AI to practice interviews and build confidence

23:30 – Fears, concerns, and misinformation around AI and jobs

25:00 – AI, equity, and empowering marginalized communities

26:00 – What excites Stephanie most about the future of AI

26:52 – Closing thoughts and where to find Avatar Buddy

In this episode of Mind the Machine, we sit down with executive coach Renita Kolhorn to explore why emotional intelligence is becoming more important than raw IQ for founders, leaders, and decision-makers navigating AI-driven change.

Renita shares insights from her work with entrepreneurs, military special forces, and high-performing executives, breaking down how emotions influence behavior, decision-making, and leadership under pressure. She explains why emotions are often misunderstood, how survival triggers shape our reactions, and why discipline, awareness, and practice are essential leadership skills.

We also dig into how AI changes the leadership landscape. As machines take over more analytical tasks, the uniquely human skills of emotional mastery, intuition, observation, and self-awareness become even more critical. This conversation challenges leaders to slow down, notice what is happening around them, and strengthen their sense of self in an increasingly automated world.

If you are building, leading, or investing in the future of technology, this episode offers a grounded, practical look at how mastering emotions can unlock better decisions, stronger relationships, and more resilient leadership.

Follow Mind the Machine:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindthemachinepodcast

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mindthemachinepodcast

Website: https://findgood.tech/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/findgood-tech/

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction and opening clip on emotions

00:45 Why emotional intelligence matters for modern leadership

01:43 Renita’s background: Juilliard, martial arts, and executive coaching

05:41 Discipline, focus, and deliberate practice

08:29 Emotional mastery and performance under pressure

10:30 “Emotions are just chemicals” explained

12:04 Managing emotions versus suppressing them

14:33 The FAST framework: survival triggers that drive behavior

17:30 Do you need to dig into the past to change behavior?

19:10 Practicing new leadership behaviors

22:00 Why EQ matters more than IQ in an AI-driven world

25:35 AI, decision-making, and the limits of data

28:11 Intuition versus ego and how to tell the difference

32:24 Slowing down to access intuition

35:18 Pattern recognition and discernment in leadership

38:07 AI, identity, and the need for a strong sense of self

41:20 Feedback, self-worth, and AI as a mirror

44:07 One practical habit leaders can start today

47:24 Closing thoughts and wrap-up

Today we’re talking with Ryan Fox, CTO of Super.com, about what it really looks like to rebuild a company around AI. Ryan walks through why they literally shut down their old systems, why AI is both opportunity and constraint, and what leaders get wrong about adoption. He also breaks down how Super.com scaled from hotel booking to a financial super-app serving everyday Americans.We cover the shift to AI-first thinking, change management inside large teams, credit-building opportunities for underserved users, and why many AI pilots fail. Ryan also shares his personal journey from Google SRE to CTO, and why he eventually wants to bring AI back into the medical world.Follow Mind the Machine:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindthemachinepodcastTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mindthemachinepodcastWebsite: https://findgood.tech/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/findgood-tech/⸻TIMESTAMPS00:00 AI mindset shift and breaking old habits00:16 Today’s guest: Ryan Fox, CTO of Super.com00:50 How Super.com started as a hotel chatbot01:19 The early NLP era and why it was too soon02:11 Pivoting into a full super-app03:03 Revisiting old tech after the 2022 AI explosion03:40 Why they shut down their old systems entirely05:01 Building an “AI-first” product workflow06:08 Rethinking designers, engineers, and team workflows07:41 Solopreneurs, MVPs, and why scaling is different09:11 Why AI lets them execute more of their backlog10:49 What makes Super.com’s membership valuable12:02 The shocking debit-card discovery13:06 Credit access, demographics, and opportunity14:06 Financial literacy plus opportunity15:38 Bespoke financial coaching with AI16:57 How they use AI in pricing and backend systems17:44 “Spot”: an AI savings agent concept18:51 Macro AI trends Ryan is watching19:21 Shifting to an AI-first mindset across a company20:54 Training non-technical staff to use AI tools22:26 Fear, indifference, and adoption challenges23:47 AI failures, hype, and real timelines24:40 Why many orgs aren’t data-ready26:21 Legacy leaders misreading AI signals27:06 The reality: most experiments won’t work (and that’s OK)28:36 Ryan’s personal journey: engineering, Google, startups30:18 Growing with Super.com from early days to CTO31:03 Why the journey matters more than the destination31:41 Future hopes: bringing AI into medical fields32:50 Closing reflections and thanks

Paul Adams, Chief Product Officer and CMO at Intercom, joins Mind the Machine to break down how AI is reshaping customer service, product development, and the future of work. He explains how Intercom rebuilt its entire strategy in a matter of days after ChatGPT arrived, why he believes we are still at the very beginning of the AI cycle, and what second and third order effects will change the world in ways most people don’t yet see.Paul also shares practical advice for startup founders, students, and career-builders. He talks through why proximity and relationship capital still matter, why companies should rethink their entire operating model instead of piloting isolated AI projects, and how AI is creating new roles instead of simply replacing old ones.This conversation covers AI transformation, product strategy, future hardware, personal AI, workplace change, education, and how to prepare yourself for the next decade of innovation.

Follow Mind the Machine:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindthemachinepodcastTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mindthemachinepodcastWebsite: https://findgood.tech/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/findgood-tech/

00:00 Intercom’s rapid shift after ChatGPT01:50 Why customer service is fundamentally broken03:32 How Intercom invented modern business messaging04:47 What Fin is and why AI excels at customer service08:13 Is AI underhyped? Paul’s view from Google and Facebook11:07 Why AI is a bigger wave than mobile13:22 Where we are in the AI timeline (Paul’s “1999 internet” analogy)15:01 Second- and third-order effects that will transform society18:24 Personal AI and how daily life will change20:36 How hardware will evolve in an AI-first world23:43 Why young people have a massive advantage in the AI era27:11 How to use AI like a powerful tool instead of Google31:34 Why proximity, trust, and human relationships still matter40:57 Practical guidance for companies starting an AI strategy43:18 Why isolated AI projects fail without whole-company adoption

What does it truly mean to be human in an age of intelligent machines? Michael Arena, Dean of the Crowell School of Business at Biola University and former executive at AWS and General Motors, joins Cheryl Goodman to explore the intersection of faith, technology, and human dignity in the AI era.

He shares his personal journey from the fast-paced world of Amazon to Christian higher education, how Biola is shaping future leaders to think ethically first, and why “building the humans that build AI” may be the most important mission of our time.

Sponsor: https://Perseverance.ac

Follow Mind the Machine:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindthemachinepodcast

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mindthemachinepodcast

Website: https://findgood.tech/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/findgood-tech/

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction — “We’re not just a set of outputs”

00:23 Sponsor: Perseverance.ac

00:41 Welcome and guest introduction: Dr. Michael Arena, Dean at Biola University

01:34 Ethics-first approach to AI education

03:17 From General Motors to AWS — Michael’s career journey

04:06 How faith and human dynamics guided his transition to academia

06:15 The meaning of being human in an AI-driven world

08:19 Fear, dignity, and the pace of technological change

09:54 Knowledge vs. wisdom — the essence of true learning

12:02 Protecting the inner human experience

14:04 Hearing God’s call and leaving Amazon

17:11 Finding balance in a distracted, tech-driven world

19:09 Teaching discernment and ethics to future AI leaders

21:12 Stewardship, not advocacy, of technology

22:28 Human skills that endure in the age of AI

24:40 Building empathy and trust in fast-paced teams

25:20 The power of ethical leadership in innovation

26:07 Accountability, truth, and faith in AI systems

29:18 Can AI ever truly understand the Word of God?

30:23 Why Christians must engage with AI, not retreat from it

33:07 AI’s dual nature — both dystopian and redemptive potential

34:50 “We build the humans that build AI”

36:14 What gives Dr. Arena hope about the future

38:06 Biola’s AI Lab, Studio, and adaptive MBA

39:22 Bringing industry leaders into the classroom

40:57 Final reflections — shaping the future with ethics and grace