Alex LaPlante is VP of Cash Management Technology at RBC, former Interim Head of Borealis AI, co-author in Harvard Business Review, and a member of Canada's federal AI Strategy Task Force. In this conversation, she unpacks what separates organizations that actually ship AI from those stuck in demo mode — and why the answer is less about technology than culture, cross-functional collaboration, and asking the right questions before you build.

What we cover:

• The "can we / should we" framework for every AI project
• Why responsible AI has to be designed in from day one, not bolted on at the end
• How RBC built an enterprise-grade MLOps platform to scale AI safely
• Why "developer productivity" is the wrong frame — and what to measure instead
• Agentic AI in regulated industries: the realistic deployment path
• Canada's AI talent and commercialization gap — and what the Task Force is recommending

Alex LaPlante is VP of Cash Management Technology at RBC, former Interim Head of Borealis AI, co-author in Harvard Business Review, and a member of Canada's federal AI Strategy Task Force. In this conversation, she unpacks what separates organizations that actually ship AI from those stuck in demo mode — and why the answer is less about technology than culture, cross-functional collaboration, and asking the right questions before you build.

What we cover:

• The "can we / should we" framework for every AI project
• Why responsible AI has to be designed in from day one, not bolted on at the end
• How RBC built an enterprise-grade MLOps platform to scale AI safely
• Why "developer productivity" is the wrong frame — and what to measure instead
• Agentic AI in regulated industries: the realistic deployment path
• Canada's AI talent and commercialization gap — and what the Task Force is recommending

manavgup.github.io/shipai

Seven Minutes to Midnight: AGI Is Coming

What is AGI? When is it arriving? And what does it mean for your career, your organization, and humanity?

In this episode of Ship AI, Manav Gupta delivers one of the most comprehensive, honest, and practical breakdowns of artificial general intelligence available today. No hype. No sci-fi. Just the data, the frameworks, and the hard questions.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to AGI and Its Importance

13:56 The AGI Clock: Current Status and Predictions

17:49 The 10-Minute Problem in AGI Development

20:39 AI 2027 Timeline and Predictions

26:48 Agent Levels and Their Implications

30:34 Risk and Safety in AI Development

31:32 The Alignment Challenge in AI

36:34 The Five Walls: What Stands Between Current AI and AGI

41:07 Job Exposure: Technical Automatability vs Actual Displacement

44:03 Human Futures with AI

48:39 Future Scenarios for Humanity and AI

53:28 Navigating Career Paths in an AI World

Bottom line: Significant disruption is coming. The shape of it depends on decisions being made right now — by policymakers, by organizations, and by you.

If your core value is executing against known procedures, you are at risk. If your core value is judgment, trust, or physical presence, you have structural protection.

In this episode, Manav sits down with Mihai Criveti — IBM Distinguished Engineer and the creator of Context Forge, IBM's open-source agentic middleware — for a candid, technical conversation about what it actually takes to ship AI in the enterprise.

00:58 Navigating AI for Students

05:41 Context Forge and Scaling AI Agents

13:24 Understanding Context Forge

18:30 The Role of Middleware in AI

19:47 Evaluating AI Agents

24:10 Scaling AI in Enterprises

29:59 The Evolution of MCP Protocol

33:31 The Future of AI Agents and Workforce Dynamics

39:16 Lessons from Cloud Native to AI Agents

45:35 The State of AI and Future Predictions

The episode explores the rise of AI agents, their evolution from chatbots, and the challenges and opportunities in deploying and scaling AI agents. It delves into the characteristics of AI agents, the React pattern, advanced reasoning patterns, multi-agent orchestration, frameworks and protocols, governance, security implications, and the skills premium in the age of agency.

Takeaways

• AI agents are evolving from chatbots to systems that think, plan, and act on behalf of users.
• The React pattern, advanced reasoning patterns, multi-agent orchestration, and governance are critical components in the deployment and scaling of AI agents.

Chapters

• 00:00 The Age of Agency
• 15:33 Frameworks and Protocols
• 30:17 Multi-Agent Orchestration
• 47:47 Security Implications

The conversation with Ozge Yeloglu covers her journey to becoming the VP of Advanced Analytics and AI at CIBC, her approach to deploying AI at scale, and the framework she built for success. It also delves into the concept of AI governance by design and the unique model of balancing AI governance and delivery, as well as leveraging the approach to change management for a large organization. 

Chapters:

• 00:00 Introduction to Ozge Yeloglu and Her Journey
• 08:53 AI Governance and Trustworthy AI Approach
• 16:40 Building a Framework for AI Deployment
• 29:49 People Change Management in AI
• 38:20 Attracting and Retaining AI Talent
• 43:17 The Future of AI: Hype vs. Reality
• 49:38 Advice for Aspiring Engineers in AI

Episode Summary: When AI Gets a Body

This episode explores the paradigm shift from digital AI to physical AI—what happens when chatbots become robots. We trace the evolution from Karel Čapek's 1920 coining of "robot" to today's Cambrian explosion of humanoids, autonomous vehicles, drones, and brain-computer interfaces.

Chapters:
00:00 The Dawn of Physical AI

1. 11:32 The $50 Trillion Opportunity
2. 15:54 Basics of Robotics
3. 28:07 Humanoids
4. 37:56 Autonomous Vehicles
5. 45:13 Defense AI
6. 54:17 Space AI
7. 57:22 Brain Computer Interface
8. 01:07:42 The Human Dimension
9. 01:11:15 Key Takeaways

Episode Overview

Lawrence Wan, Chief Architect and Innovation Officer at Bank of Montreal, shares insights on how one of Canada's largest financial institutions approaches technology transformation, AI adoption, and the future of agentic systems in a heavily regulated industry.

00:00 Introduction to Lawrence Van and BMO

05:01 The Role of Technology in Banking

11:19 Designing for Scale and Future Technologies

16:57 AI in Banking: Current Applications and Future Prospects

21:50 Generative AI: Productivity Gains and Challenges

28:22 The Future of AI Agents in Banking

33:34 The Evolving Role of Technologists in Banking

AI In Banking - Vinh Tran, VP Data & AI, RBC

In this episode, Vinh Tran—VP of Data and AI Platforms at RBC and an RBC Fellow—shares how one of the world's largest banks is approaching AI at enterprise scale.

Key Takeaways

"You have to control AI in order to scale it." Vinh explains that governance isn't about going slow—it's about building confidence. RBC invests heavily upfront in platforms, guardrails, and standardization so they can then open the doors and scale with assurance.

The Control Plane Approach: RBC has built a comprehensive AI control plane that includes:

• A centralized LLM gateway controlling which models can be used (currently 6-8 rigorously validated models)
• An MCP gateway for managing agent-to-tool connections with proper authentication
• A controlled runtime environment for monitoring agent behavior at the transport level
• An agent registry for inventory management and lifecycle control

00:00 Introduction to AI in Banking

02:01 The Role of AI in Enhancing Customer Experience

04:03 Governance and Compliance in AI Models

08:53 Control Plane: Ensuring Safe AI Deployment

14:53 Control Plane for Scaling AI

20:47 AI Guardrails

26:05 AI Agents and Standards

32:20 Predictions for the future

36:34 Advice for Aspiring Technologists

The conversation explores the impact of AI adoption on the labor market, job tasks, disruption, and fluency. It delves into the Jevons Paradox, AI maturity gap, CEO mandates, labor market divergence, and productivity evidence, highlighting the reshaping of the labor market and the baseline expectation of AI proficiency at organizations.

Slides can be found at: https://manavgup.github.io/shipai/state-of-ai/ep04/1

Takeaways

• AI adoption is reshaping the labor market
• AI proficiency is now a baseline expectation at many organizations

Chapters

• 00:00 The State of AI in the Labor Market
• 00:00 Introduction to AI's Impact on the Job Market
• 10:51 CEO Mandates for AI Proficiency
• 15:58 The AI Maturity Gap in Companies
• 21:14 The Reality of AI Adoption and Worker Sentiment
• 28:40 Week-Long Action Plan for AI Adoption
• 29:56 Wrapping Up
• 31:45 Preview of Next Episode