In 2020 when today's guest founded her company the transformer architecture was relatively new and OpenAI was a science experiment funded by Elon Musk to ensure that AGI benefits all humanity. She and her team commercialized an early version of a co-pilot for writing content long before we appreciated the value of next-word prediction.Since then, May Habib and the team have raised $21M from an exceptional group of investors including Insight Partners and Gradient Ventures. Today, Writer helps company authors comply with style and brand guidelines and also ensure grammatical accuracy. It's used by an amazing list or organizations including Spotify, Intuit, and Uber.Prior to Writer, May co-founded Qordoba and was a Global Shaper for the World Economic Forum after graduating from Harvard with a BA in Economics.Listen and learn...How May got her start in NLPWhat enterprise leaders don't understand about the current state of generative AIHow to speak to your data using LLMs Why Writer uses graph databases instead of vector databases for generative AIHow Writer mitigates the impact of bias, copyright infringement, and halluciations when using LLMsHow AI is being used to replace tasks people hate... without eliminating jobsHow AI helps users with neurodiversity issues like ADHDHow May navigated a tough company pivotReferences in this episode...Mona Akmal, Falkon CEO, on AI and the Future of WorkAlex Capecelatro, Josh.ai CEO, on AI and the Future of WorkMaking the web more accessible with AI for those with disabilities

Today's guest created one of the largest communities for conversational AI and generative AI enthusiasts. Pete Erickson is the founder of Modev which hosts the popular VOICE & AI conference and also others including the GovAI Summit. Pete started the company back in 2009 and has since produced over 150 events across 89 countries that have connected more than 125,000 people. Pete and the team have created communities for tech companies like Samsung and Amazon. Today, we get a glimpse into the mind of a great entrepreneur who is focused on making AI education accessible to everyone.Listen and learn...How Modev went from a few people in a pizza shop... to a conversational AI event with more than  1,000 attendeesHow Modev trained developers to build Alexa skills... in 2009How new AI regulation is impacting the generative AI developer communityHow Pete would regulate generative AIAbout Sam Altman's request to Congress for OpenAI to be regulatedShould we expect AI vendors to regulate themselves?What we can learn from GDPR in Europe about forthcoming AI regulationHow AI will transform the entertainment industryWhich jobs will be replaced by AI... and which ones are future-proofWhat big news Pete will be announcing at the Voice & AI conferenceReferences in this episode...The Voice & AI conferenceHow Goldman Sachs says AI will increase global GDPBradley Metrock, CEO of Project Voice, on AI and the Future of WorkDaniel Davila, movie producer and Hollywood consultant, on AI and the Future of Work

Entrepreneurs wonder what it’s like to be a VC. And VCs without an operating background often don’t understand the grit required to turn an idea into a successful business. The best investors have been successful operators first.Today’s guest is one of those. Nick Adams founded Differential Ventures in 2017 to invest in B2B, data-first seed-stage companies. Since then, Nick and the team have invested in an impressive group of companies including Private AI, Ocrolus, and Agnostiq.Before Differential, Nick helped grow companies like OPower and RAGE Frameworks in sales, marketing, and product leadership roles. Today we get to learn about how to innovate and grow a startup when the product is a venture fund.Listen and learn...How being an investor and entrepreneur are similarThe most outrageous pitch Nick has heard... and how it involved pornHow being a baseball player trained Nick to be a venture capitalistNick's advice for what to do after closing a big sales dealWhere there are opportunities for generative AI entrepreneurs to get fundedHow AI is being used to design circuit boardsNick's most recent investment... and what made him decide to write the checkWhat Nick is telling Congress we need to do to regulate AIReferences in this episode...Why generative AI is desperately in need of regulationMetafold, new Differential investmentDan Grunfeld from Lightspeed on AI and the Future of Work

Vijay Tella is an enterprise software legend having founded unicorn and Cloud100 company Workato nearly a decade ago after an amazing run as the founding SVP of Engineering at TIBCO and CEO of Qik which was acquired by Skype.Vijay is a visionary leader who has raised more than $400M and built a team of nearly 1,000 employees. Workato is a leader in the fast-growing enterprise automation space and the company's customer list reads like the Wall Street Journal including organizations like Adobe, Atlassian, Coca-Cola, and Walmart to name a few.Vijay's latest achievement is his book The New Automation Mindset - launching today on this podcast - in which he and his co-authors put the current generative AI euphoria into historical context and provide timely insights and case studies. Thanks to great former guest Carter Busse, Workato CIO, for the intro to Vijay.Listen and learn...How Vijay got his start as a "digital plumber" at TIBCO and OracleWhat Vijay learned about enterprise software delivering a consumer app at QikHow modern tools democratize access to automating workVijay's advice to leaders about what to automate firstWhy "replacing people with AI is the wrong approach"How Workato is incorporating generative AI into its productHow AI is required to get the full benefit of automationWhat jobs will replace those eliminated by automationReferences in this episode...The New Automation Mindset by Vijay TellaCarter Busse on AI and the Future of WorkGuru Banavar from Viome on AI and the Future of WorkThe Khanmigo AI tutor

Christopher Penn writes one of the few newsletters I read weekly. I have no idea how I ended up on his mailing list but I’ll never opt out despite the rainbow “Unsubscribe here” buttons he prominently displays.Christopher provides well-researched, thought-provoking commentary on all topics related to generative AI. Like recent guests Pradeep Menon and Ken Wenger Christopher doesn’t settle for soundbite-level commentary and he often shares unpopular opinions backed up with data.Christopher is the Co-Founder and Chief Data Scientist at TrustInsights.ai. He’s a six-time IBM Champion in IBM Data and AI, a Brand24 Top 100 Digital Marketer, an Onalytica Top 100 AI in Marketing influencer, and co-host of the award-winning Marketing Over Coffee marketing podcast. He is also the author of two dozen marketing books. His list of accolades and accomplishments goes on for days.Listen and learn...The number one question Christopher asks data-driven marketersWhat has surprised Christopher most about the capabilities of LLMsWhy the letter to pause AI was "dumb"The right way to remove bias and hate speech from LLMsOpen source vs. closed source AI... and how it's related to making pizzaAre we ready for AI vendors to censor content?Christopher's predictions for how all enterprise software will incorporate generative AIWhy Christopher continues to hone his bow and arrow skillsReferences in this episode...Pradeep Menon on AI and the Future of WorkKen Wenger on AI and the Future of WorkTiernan Ray on AI and the Future of WorkChristopher's (entertaining and informative!) newsletterDreamGPT... to glorify LLM hallucinationsThe bots aren't sentient!