PodcastsTechnologyAI and the Future of Work: Artificial Intelligence in the Workplace, Business, Ethics, HR, and IT for AI Enthusiasts, Leaders and Academics
336: What Comes After Code? JAMstack, AI Agents, and the Open Web with Matt Biilmann, Netlify CEO
Matt Biilmann is the CEO and co-founder of Netlify, a platform that has raised over $200M to reshape how websites are built and deployed. A key figure in the open source web development community, Matt helped popularize the JAMstack architecture to improve performance and streamline developer workflows. Before launching Netlify in 2014 with Christian Bach, he built several startups and earned a degree in Musicology from the University of Copenhagen.In this conversation, we discuss:How Matt Biilmann coined the term “JAMstack”, and how it redefined the architecture of the modern webThe evolution of Netlify from a bootstrapped side project to a platform used by 6M+ developersWhy the future of web development includes designing not just for humans but also for AI agents, with a focus on Agent Experience (AX)The rise of low-code creators and “vibe coders” who build sophisticated projects by prompting instead of programmingWhy the open web matters more than ever in the age of AI, and what’s at stake in the battle between open and closed platformsMatt’s reflections on leadership, delegation, and what still drives him after more than a decade of building tools that empower other buildersResources:Subscribe to the AI & The Future of Work NewsletterConnect with Matt on LinkedInRead the new blog from Matt: Biilmann BlogAI fun fact articleOn the future of automation in B2B sales
19/5/2025
37:15
335: How AI is Changing Academia with Dave Marchick, Dean of the Kogod School of Business
Dave Marchick is the Dean of American University’s Kogod School of Business and a seasoned leader with experience across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. He spent over a decade as Managing Director at The Carlyle Group, where he served on the management committee and advanced the firm’s sustainability and diversity efforts. In government, he held senior roles in both the Biden and Clinton administrations, including leadership positions at the State Department, the White House, and the Development Finance Corporation. Dave directed the Center for Presidential Transition during the 2020 cycle and later launched the Transition Lab podcast and co-authored The Peaceful Transition of Power. A dedicated advocate for civil rights and historical preservation, he has served on the boards of the Holocaust Memorial Museum and the National Park Foundation. Dave holds degrees from George Washington University, the LBJ School at UT Austin, and UC San Diego.In this conversation, we discuss:How Dean Dave Marchick is helping to infuse AI across the curriculum at American University’s Kogod School of Business.The resistance and cultural shifts required to get faculty on board with AI adoption.How students are learning to prompt, critique, and collaborate with AI from their first semester (and how it’s reshaping classroom dynamics).Why professionalism, communication, and negotiation are now prioritized as “skills of the future”.How Kogod is thinking about measuring the real-world impact of AI education beyond the classroom.Lessons from U.S. presidential transitions and what they reveal about leadership during critical moments.Resources:Subscribe to the AI & The Future of Work Newsletter: https://aiandwork.beehiiv.com/subscribe Connect with Dave on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-marchick/ AI fun fact article: https://www.psu.edu/news/campus-life/story/cheat-thon-contest-explores-ais-strengths-and-flaws-higher-education On what it was like to co-author a book with ChatGPT: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bob-rogers-ai-expert-physicist-author-and-ceo-of-oii/id1476885647?i=1000606108950 Other episodes mentioned in the show:Episode with George Sivulka [Hebbia CEO]Episode with Tom Wheeler [Former FCC Chairman and author of Techlash]Episode with Chris Caren [Turnitin CEO]Read Dave Marchick’s book: The Peaceful Transfer of Power: An Oral History of America’s Presidential Transitions
12/5/2025
41:58
334: From Special Ops to Cyber AI Warfare: Lessons in Grit, Leadership, and AI Cybersecurity from Snehal Antani, Horizon3 CEO
Snehal Antani is an entrepreneur, technologist, and investor. He is the CEO and Co-founder of Horizon3, a cybersecurity company using AI to deliver Red Teaming and Penetration Testing as a Service. He also serves as a Highly Qualified Expert for the U.S. Department of Defense, supporting digital transformation and data initiatives for Special Operations. Previously, he was CTO and SVP at Splunk, held CIO roles at GE Capital, and began his career as a software engineer at IBM. Snehal holds a master’s in computer science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a bachelor’s from Purdue University, and he is the inventor on 16 patents.In this conversation, we discuss:Snehal Antani’s path from software engineer to CEO, and how his father's quiet example of grit and passion continues to shape his leadership style.How a “LEGO blocks” approach to building skills prepared Snehal to lead, and why he believes leadership must be earned through experience.Why Horizon3 identifies as a data company, and how running more pen tests than the Big Four creates a powerful AI advantage.What “cyber-enabled economic warfare” looks like in practice, and how a small disruption in a supply chain can create massive global impact.How Horizon3 built an AI engine that hacked a bank in under 60 seconds, showing what's possible when algorithms replace manual testing.What the future of work looks like in the AI era, with a growing divide between those with specialized expertise and trade skills and those without.Resources:Subscribe to the AI & The Future of Work Newsletter: https://aiandwork.beehiiv.com/subscribe Connect with Snehal on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/snehalantani/ AI fun fact article: https://venturebeat.com/security/ai-vs-endpoint-attacks-what-security-leaders-must-know-to-stay-ahead/ On the New Definition of Work: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dr-john-boudreau-future-of-work-pioneer-and/id1476885647?i=1000633854079
05/5/2025
43:44
333: How AI Is Transforming On-Call Life — The Future of SREs and IT Ops with Gou Rao, Co-Founder of NeuBird.ai
Gou Rao is a serial entrepreneur and the co-founder of NeuBird, where he's building Hawkeye—an AI-powered site reliability engineer designed to identify, diagnose, and resolve IT infrastructure issues. He previously co-founded Portworx, which was acquired by Pure Storage for $370 million in 2020. In 2024, NeuBird raised a $22.5 million seed extension from M12, Microsoft’s venture arm, following a $22 million seed round led by Mayfield, Stepstone Group, and Prosperity7 Ventures. Gou holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from Bangalore University and a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.In this conversation, we discuss:Gou Rao’s journey from late-night support calls to co-founding NeuBird and building Hawkeye, an AI-powered site reliability engineer.Why diagnosing IT issues is 99% of the problem—and how Hawkeye helps SREs move from noise to actionable insight in minutes.The shift from chatbots to agentic systems—and why reasoning, not just automation, is the next frontier for enterprise AI.How AI can reduce burnout by eliminating repetitive incident response tasks, freeing teams to focus on creativity and automation.The importance of transparency, explainability, and human oversight in deploying AI systems with agency.Gou’s reflections on entrepreneurship, including why “mistakes are an asset” and how jumping into the unknown can lead to your biggest breakthroughs.Resources:Subscribe to the AI & The Future of Work Newsletter: https://aiandwork.beehiiv.com/subscribe Connect with Gou on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gouthamrao/ AI fun fact article: https://www.hrdive.com/news/anthropic-report-AI-software-engineers-automation-augmentation/739833/ On becoming an investor and discovering amazing companies: https://www.buzzsprout.com/520474/episodes/7446373
28/4/2025
40:47
332: Why Every Problem Doesn't Need an App: Using AI to Make Space for Creativity and Purpose with Ravi Malick, Global CIO at Box
Ravi Malick is the Global CIO at Box, where he leads IT strategy, compliance, and customer advocacy for the enterprise content management platform. Before joining Box, he served as SVP & CIO at Vistra Corp., where he oversaw the integration of three major acquisitions that more than doubled the company’s size. Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles at Energy Future Holdings, including VP of Business Technology at TXU Energy. Ravi earned a BA in Political Science from Brown University and remains active in philanthropic efforts outside of work.In this conversation, we discuss:Ravi Malick’s nonlinear path from investment banking and consulting to becoming Global CIO at Box—and how each chapter shaped his leadership style.What makes Box’s “people-first” culture stand out in Silicon Valley and why Ravi believes authenticity and inclusion are key to long-term success.The challenges of leading IT at a company with 3,000 tech-savvy employees—and how Ravi balances innovation with governance.How he’s approaching AI adoption internally, from quick wins to long-term strategy, while keeping a sharp focus on business outcomes.What the “agentic workforce” could mean for scalability, productivity, and the structure of tomorrow’s teams.How Ravi sees the future of work: multi-role careers, voice-first workflows, and AI-powered teams built around passion and outcomes.Resources:Subscribe to the AI & The Future of Work Newsletter: https://aiandwork.beehiiv.com/subscribe Connect with Ravi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ravimalick/ AI fun fact article: https://www.engineering.com/rip-saas-long-live-ai-as-a-service/ On how AI supports thousands of employees at a rapidly growing global company: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/parul-saini-ubers-global-head-of-enterprise-apps/id1476885647?i=1000599377300
About AI and the Future of Work: Artificial Intelligence in the Workplace, Business, Ethics, HR, and IT for AI Enthusiasts, Leaders and Academics
Host Dan Turchin, PeopleReign CEO, explores how AI is changing the workplace. He interviews thought leaders and technologists from industry and academia who share their experiences and insights about artificial intelligence and what it means to be human in the era of AI-driven automation. Learn more about PeopleReign, the system of intelligence for IT and HR employee service: http://www.peoplereign.io.
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