The Irish Tech News Podcast

In this episode, Theodora Lau interviews Jennifer White, Senior Director, Global Banking & Payments Intelligence at J.D. Power, about consumer behavior, financial resilience, AI in finance, and future trends. They explore how consumers are navigating financial challenges and the affordability crisis, against the backdrop of “an era of resilience” — with two-thirds of Americans being financially unhealthy. They also discuss AI's role in financial literacy, MrBeast’s move into fintech, why Chime is leading new account acquisition, and implications for existing players.
Looking to understand the current and future landscape of consumer finance? Hint: Fundamentals in customer experience are more important than ever. 

00:00 Welcome Back Jennifer
01:24 Consumer Resilience Snapshot
06:26 Holiday Reality Check
16:21 MrBeast Meets Fintech
23:46 Chime and New Account Churn
28:41 Consumer Trust and AI Tools
41:31 Back to Service Fundamentals

Hot take: "Basics of customer experience still matter."

Keywords: AI, fintech, Buy Now Pay Later, Trust, MrBeast, Chime, Financial Resilience, Financial Literacy, Fraud, Affordability 

More about our guest 
🌐Jennifer White on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-white-57257424/  
More about our host and One Vision Podcast 
🌐Theodora Lau on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theodoralau/ 
🌐Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence (book): https://www.bankingonaibook.com/ 
🌐Unconventional Ventures (company): https://www.unconventionalventures.com/ 
🌐Listen to all One Vision Podcast episodes by visiting: https://shows.acast.com/one-vision

The Irish Tech News Podcast is now 10 years old ,and over the years we have covered a wide variety of tech topics over 1700 episodes. To celebrate this milestone I have a very special guest, Alexia Cambon appearing on the podcast. Alexia, is a senior director of research at Microsoft and I caught up with her at the recent Microsoft AI Summit in Dublin.
Alexia talks about her background, AI in the work place, intelligence work, writing for AI, copilot, and more.
More about Alexia Cambon:
Alexia leads research for the Future of Work & M365 team as a Senior Director at Microsoft, working to identify emerging research opportunities and delving into customers’ most pressing workforce challenges. She co-leads Microsoft’s cross-company research initiative examining AI’s impact on productivity and performance, and is a seasoned presenter and speaker with a passion for storytelling and creative thinking. Alexia's areas of focus include AI, hybrid work design, and organisational culture. She has written for HBR and The Guardian, and has been featured in NPR, Forbes and The Times (UK).

In this new episode One Vision podcast, Theodora Lau welcomes back Christopher Mims, Technology Columnist for the Wall Street Journal, to discuss his 2026 book “How to AI,” a practical guide aimed at the 90% who aren’t early adopters. They discuss the book’s “24 Laws of AI”, the evolving role of AI in the workplace, and how to prepare for the new future (without the hype). 

Who will win the AI race? And what might Christopher be writing about next year? Stay till the end of the conversation for the hint … and it is not what you’d expect! 

You can order a copy of Mims’ new book, “How to AI”, on bookshop.org and Amazon. And you can find my recent review of the book here on LinkedIn. 

#AI #FutureOfWork #Agents #Automation 

00:00 Welcome 
01:46 Why This AI Book
04:13 Durable AI Principles
06:22 Competition between Firms
08:58 Agents as Assembly Robots
14:43 Trust and Delegation Lines
16:37 Kaizen and How the Principle Applies
24:05 Key Takeaways

Hot take: “ We're in this early DIY phase of AI.”
Hot take: “It's just as important to figure out what AI can't do for you as it is to figure out what it can do … The opportunity cost for pursuing AI for the wrong types of tasks is bigger than ever.” 

Keywords 
AI, generative AI, future of work, automation, trust

More about our guest 
Christopher Mims is a tech columnist for the Wall Street Journal, where he covers AI, technology, and their implications on society. His latest book, "How to AI," breaks down complex concepts into actionable insights, making AI accessible to everyone. Mims has interviewed experts across various fields, providing a comprehensive view of how AI is being integrated into different sectors.
🌐Christopher Mims on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-mims-club/ 
🌐How to AI (book): https://a.co/d/079cJso1 

More about our host and One Vision Podcast 
🌐Theodora Lau on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theodoralau/ 
🌐Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence (book): https://www.bankingonaibook.com/ 
🌐Unconventional Ventures (company): https://www.unconventionalventures.com/ 
🌐Listen to all One Vision Podcast episodes by visiting: https://shows.acast.com/one-vision

Are we moving too fast in the world of agentic commerce — a new paradigm in online shopping where AI agents act on behalf of consumers, facilitating transactions and product discovery? Unlike traditional e-commerce, where consumers interact directly with platforms, agentic commerce leverages advanced technologies to streamline the purchasing process.
In this episode of One Vision — FinTech Fuse, we dive deep into the rapidly shifting landscape of agentic commerce and the alphabet soup. With the technology landscape changing at an unprecedented pace, we explore the challenges and opportunities that arise in the new world.
Joining us in the discussion are industry experts, Dr. Efi Pylarinou and Jas Shah, who offer their insights on the rise of different protocols like ACP and UCP, identity verification, and the importance of a level-playing field in the future of commerce.
What’s your take on this fast-paced evolution? Let’s keep the conversation going!

#FinTech #AI #AgenticCommerce #AIAgents

00:00 Welcome and Setup: The Agentic Commerce Alphabet Soup
02:53 The Reality: Are We Moving Too Fast?
07:35 Who Writes The Rules? 
10:03 Which Protocol Will Win?
16:20 Staying Visible: Banks Brand in Bot Era
21:04 Trust Data and Curation
25:44 The Economics and Gatekeepers
33:57 Predictions: Who Will Emerge as The Likely Winner
41:56 What Banks Should Do Next

Hot take: The real battle is about protocols, not models.
Hot take: The future belongs to those who can optimize for AI.

Keywords 
AI, agentic AI, commerce protocols, fintech, banking, digital transformation, identity, trust, UCP, ACP

More about our guests 
🌐Dr. Efi Pylarinou on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/efipylarinou/ 
🌐Jas Shah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jas-shah/ 

More about our host and One Vision Podcast 
🌐Theodora Lau on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theodoralau/ 
🌐Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence (book): https://www.bankingonaibook.com/ 
🌐Unconventional Ventures (company): https://www.unconventionalventures.com/ 
🌐Listen to all One Vision Podcast episodes by visiting: https://shows.acast.com/one-vision

Alan Jones is a serial entrepreneur who has been on the Irish Tech News twice before. He is now involved with Mascotte.AI as their Strategic Executive Partner. Mascotte.AI are building the next interface for human-AI interaction. To find out more about this I caught up with Alan and Mao Lao Lin the founder and CEO of Mascotte.AI.
Alan and Mao talk about their backgrounds, what Mascotte.AI does, AI companions, AI ethics, holo boxes and more.
More about Moscotte.AI:
Mascotte.AI was born out of a simple observation: The most critical business skills are the hardest to practice. For years, their team at Reblika built the world's most sophisticated digital humans for global icons like LVMH, Adidas, and David Guetta. They mastered the art of "High-Fidelity Identity."  and they realised that photorealism shouldn't just be for fashion and entertainment, it should be for growth.
They saw sales teams stumbling through high-stakes negotiations, healthcare providers struggling with bedside manner, and managers dreading difficult conversations. They were all practicing on the one thing they couldn't afford to lose: their people.
So, Mascotte.AI was built.