The Agentic Insider

Join Phillip and Alistair as they dive into a conversation with two experienced industry leaders from General Motors: Brian Ames, Senior Manager of Transformation and Enablement and Bob Rapp, AI Data Scientist. They discuss the transformative role of AI in industries, from enhancing everyday operations to revolutionizing data science. Highlights include the 'Gutenberg moment' in AI, the importance of responsible AI innovation, the distinction between agents and chatbots, and the benefits of upskilling over headcount reduction. The episode wraps up with a rapid-fire Q&A on tools, industry terms, KPIs, and recommended readings. Tune in to hear firsthand insights from the front lines of AI innovation at a Fortune 500 company!

Takeaways:

• Explore and Adopt Agentic AI: Take advantage of agentic AI technologies to improve workflow efficiency and reduce time spent on repetitive tasks.
• Upskill and Augment Human Potential: Invest in training and upskilling your team rather than reducing headcount. Use AI to augment your capabilities and give employees more time to focus on creative and high-value tasks.
• Learn Continuously: Stay updated with the latest trends and developments in AI. Follow influential figures and resources in the AI community to get valuable insights.
• Evaluate Demo Effectiveness: When assessing new AI solutions, focus on their real-world applications and how they can integrate with your existing systems. Prioritize solutions that offer clear, practical benefits and can be procured within existing contracts easily.
• Embrace AI for Creativity: Recognize that AI hallucinations (unexpected or innovative outputs) can lead to creative breakthroughs. Encourage a balance of structure and innovation in AI applications.
• Leverage Personal AI Assistants: Utilize AI agents to manage personal and professional tasks, such as meeting preparation and task coordination. Ensure these agents can effectively streamline your workflow.

Quote of the Show:

• “ That's the agent I want. That gives me the superpower with the cape to be kind and to collaborate and to mentor and to get the best of everyone in the conversation.” - Bob Rapp

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianshawames/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobrapp/ 
• Website: https://www.gm.com/ 

Resources Mentioned:

• The Hidden Technical Debt in Machine Learning Systems https://proceedings.neurips.cc/paper/2015/file/86df7dcfd896fcaf2674f757a2463eba-Paper.pdf 
• Matt Wolfe https://www.youtube.com/@mreflow 
• Andrew Ng https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewyng/ 
• Andreessen Horowitz https://a16z.com/ 

Ways to Tune In:

• Transistor: https://agenticinsider.show/ 
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2fCCuVl6tL5p2kEAwFCQNJ 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-agentic-insider/id1807346381 
• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9fe0482d-d798-4420-a93a-fc6653bce437 
• Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-agentic-insider-6057241 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@iridiusAI 

Dive into discussing the complexities and opportunities of AI implementation with Peter Larsen, the Chief Technical Officer at Iridius. Him, Phillip, and Alistair explore the challenges organizations face in AI adoption, such as governance, mitigation of bias, and model transparency. Peter shares insights into the importance of integrating AI while maintaining control and compliance, emphasizing the role of agents in bridging legacy systems and new technologies. The conversation also touches on the democratization of development, the future of developer roles, the importance of safe and responsible AI, and the need for scalable and manageable AI architectures in enterprises.

Takeaways:

• Embrace AI Integration: Understand the significance of integrating AI within your enterprise to improve operational efficiency and innovation. Start exploring applications and solutions that fit your business needs.
• Utilize Existing Systems: Leverage and integrate legacy systems instead of discarding them. Use AI to extract and repurpose valuable data from these systems to drive new insights and efficiencies.
• Adopt Agent-Based Solutions: Explore the use of agent-based systems to automate tasks and processes. Agents can help in bridging departmental silos, offering cohesive solutions across different parts of your organization.
• Stay Adaptable: Prepare for rapid changes in AI technology. Keep your architecture flexible and scalable to integrate new advancements with minimal disruptions.
• Foster Cross-Functional Collaboration: Encourage collaboration between different departments through AI solutions. This can help in sharing data, improving decision-making, and enhancing overall organizational efficiency.
• Evaluate Business Impact: Regularly assess how AI solutions are impacting your business processes. Use these insights to fine-tune and optimize your AI strategies.

Quote of the Show:

• “ The efficiencies are real, but they come with a fear of a loss of control. So I think that understanding the opportunity and then retaining control are the two biggest items.” - Peter Larsen

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phillip-swan/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alistaln/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterskjottlarsen/ 
• Website: https://iridius.ai/ 

Ways to Tune In:

• Transistor: https://agenticinsider.show/ 
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2fCCuVl6tL5p2kEAwFCQNJ 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-agentic-insider/id1807346381 
• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9fe0482d-d798-4420-a93a-fc6653bce437 
• Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-agentic-insider-6057241 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@iridiusAI 

Spencer Bentley, AI Technical Fellow at Iridius, joins the show today to provide Phillip and Alistair with an AI reality check of their very own! The three of them discuss emerging AI trends and the complexities of AI integration, highlighting the importance of vigilance, context, and responsible use. Other crucial points include the growing significance of AI agents, the need for a clear, narrow project focus, and the integration of safe and ethical AI practices. The episode concludes with a discussion of future trends and practical strategies for successfully implementing AI in business operations. This episode is packed with industry-wide information that you can’t afford to miss in the age of AI!

Takeaways:

• Maintain Vigilance: Always closely supervise AI outputs and avoid blindly accepting responses. Constantly check and validate the AI's work as you would with any new employee.
• Adopt AI Properly: Ensure that your company integrates AI in suitable areas. Evaluate if AI is genuinely necessary for a project. Start with a specific use case and build upon it gradually to achieve better results.
• Learn and Adapt: Embrace AI technologies and learn how to utilize them effectively in your job. This will increase your value to the employer and ensure your role evolves rather than becoming obsolete.
• Utilize Context Effectively: Use context to guide AI and reduce errors or hallucinations. AI should get smarter with more context, requiring less specific instruction as it understands the environment and previous interactions.
• Experiment Systematically: When experimenting with AI, narrow the focus and decompose the project into manageable parts. Start with small, achievable goals and expand upon them once they are successfully implemented.
• Understand Agentic Systems: Accept that AI agents will increasingly act in the real world and learn how to define and utilize them effectively within your organization. Make sure these systems adhere to your company's rules and standards.

Quote of the Show:

• “Laser focus down, get that bit right, then build on top of that. If you try and create ten things at once, you’ll fail all of them.” - Spencer Bentley

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phillip-swan/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alistaln/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-bentley-ai/ 
• Website: https://iridius.ai/ 

Ways to Tune In:

• Transistor: https://agenticinsider.show/ 
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2fCCuVl6tL5p2kEAwFCQNJ 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-agentic-insider/id1807346381 
• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9fe0482d-d798-4420-a93a-fc6653bce437 
• Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-agentic-insider-6057241 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@iridiusAI 

Welcome to The Agentic Insider! Our first episode provides valuable insights from two of Iridius’ Co-Founders: Phillip Swan and Alistair Lowe-Norris. Together, they discuss the opportunity of AI today. They address the significant gaps in the AI industry regarding safety, responsibility, and trustworthiness. They discuss the challenges of implementing AI systems, including the importance of selecting the right use cases, ensuring data quality, and leveraging autonomous intelligent agents. Emphasizing the need for ethical, safe, and compliant AI, the duo shares insights on how organizations can innovate confidently while adhering to privacy and data protection standards. They also hint at future episodes featuring industry experts and real-world AI applications - something you won’t want to miss!

Takeaways:

• Understand the AI Gap: Recognize the gap in how AI systems are implemented and whether they are safe and responsible. Companies need to ensure their AI systems are transparent, unbiased, and using data responsibly.
• Choosing the Right Use Case: Identify the correct business outcomes that align with AI capabilities. Ensure that AI is truly suited for the intended use case and that the ROI is tangible.
• Managing Data Quality: Ensure data is clean and structured properly before deploying AI systems. Poor data quality can significantly hinder the effectiveness of AI solutions.
• Importance of Governance: Emphasize the need for corporate culture alignment in AI implementations to avoid "rogue" AI behavior. Agents must be programmed to understand and adhere to the organization's code of conduct.
• Security and Compliance by Design: Implement AI with built-in compliance and security measures. This includes adherence to global standards like ISO, GDPR, and other privacy and security regulations.
• Ethics in AI: Develop AI that is fair, accountable, transparent, and interpretable. Companies should actively disclose how AI decisions are made and ensure ethical principles are embedded in AI systems.

Quote of the Show:

• “AI is built on data. If you've got garbage going in, you get garbage coming out.” - Alistair Lowe-Norris

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phillip-swan/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alistaln/ 
• Website: https://iridius.ai/ 

Ways to Tune In:

• Transistor: https://agenticinsider.show/ 
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2fCCuVl6tL5p2kEAwFCQNJ 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-agentic-insider/id1807346381 
• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9fe0482d-d798-4420-a93a-fc6653bce437 
• Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-agentic-insider-6057241 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@iridiusAI 

Welcome to The Agentic Insider. Join host, Phillip Swan, each week to explore cutting-edge ideas and trends in AI and Data as well as hear from other industry thought leaders in the AI space. This podcast is brought to you by Iridius.AI —committed to Safe and Responsible AI innovation.