The AI CEO: Trust Issues — Building AI That Won't Break the Business | Jess Szmajda (Amazon, Axios, Capital One)

Can you really trust AI? In this episode of The AI CEO Podcast, we sit down with Jess Szmajda—former CTO of Axios, General Manager at Amazon, and current VP of Engineering at Capital One—to explore how forward-thinking leaders can adopt AI safely without sacrificing security, privacy, or public trust.

Jess shares lessons from her real-world experience building and deploying AI at scale, including:

• How to build trusted AI systems from the ground up
• The difference between bias in AI and bias in prompts
• Reducing hallucinations with guardrails and system prompts
• Why she only trusts AWS Bedrock for enterprise-grade privacy
• How to leverage AI agents in workflows without risking your business

Whether you're a CEO, founder, or product leader, this conversation will reshape how you think about trust, safety, governance, and AI's role in business transformation.

🔒 Don't let AI break your business—learn how to build it responsibly.

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:00 Can We Trust AI? 04:00 Guardrails, Bias & System Prompts 12:00 Lessons from Axios HQ & Smart Brevity

21:00 Reducing Hallucinations in AI Agents

29:00 Privacy, Data, and Enterprise Guardrails 35:00 AI Agents vs. Interns: Why It's a Trust Problem

44:00 What CEOs Need to Know NOW

54:00 Final Thoughts — 🎙️ Hosted by Seema Alexander, Founder of Virgent AI & Co-Chair of DC Startup & Tech Week

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📍 Podcast Studio: Legacy Sessions (Adams Morgan, DC) 🔗 Explore more: https://www.virgent.ai

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Website: https://www.virgent.ai / https://www.disruptive.ceo —

🎬 Watch More Episodes AI in Business: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjR5vKgcTW0 Shark Tank Insider Tips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aagh7YKHnsg Disruptive Brands with Maha Abouelenein: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIx5TaADMk8

🎥 Playlists Full Podcast Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLohO9RT6Hiy8xpJS79KIrlZJeKc2EblYT Shorts: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLohO9RT6Hiy9dvWDaDsr6LFckxZ3CiLOt —

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