The AI in Business Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Today's guest is Emily Nguyen, Head of Industrials and Warp Speed at Palantir Technologies. Emily joins Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello on the show to discuss the realities of AI adoption on the factory floor. Despite rapid advances in AI, many manufacturers still rely on legacy systems, siloed data, and even pen-and-paper processes. Emily shares insights from her 12 years at Palantir on how to bridge these gaps, connect critical functions, and build organizational readiness for AI. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/expert2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on the 'AI in Business' podcast!

Today's guest is Dag Liodden, Chief Product Officer and Co-founder at Crisp. Crisp combines the power of agentic AI with deep retail expertise. Over 7,000 brands leverage Crisp to manage and enrich their retail data to surface valuable insights and drive sales and supply chain performance. Dag joins Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello to discuss why vertical expertise in CPG is essential for unlocking AI's potential, and how creating an AI-ready foundation through data harmonization transforms workflows – from category and promotion management to supply chain optimization. He also explains how this foundation allows teams to focus on strategic work, while AI-powered agents improve real-time performance, reduce human error, and drive measurable ROI across product portfolios. This episode is sponsored by Crisp. Discover how leading brands partner with Emerj to grow their profile and drive impact. Explore partnership opportunities at emerj.com/ad1. Share your insights, grow your profile, and join an elite circle of AI leaders. Apply to be a future' AI in Business' podcast guest at emerj.com/expert2. 

Today's guest is Steve Taczala, VP of Service Operations at Impact Networking. Impact Networking is a managed service provider founded in 1999, with more than 20 US offices, supporting organizations in IT, cybersecurity, and applying AI to business operations. Taczala brings extensive experience in managing MSP service operations and improving IT workflows. Steve joins Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello to discuss how enterprise teams can reduce ticket noise, prioritize actionable incidents, and prepare service desks for AI-driven operations. Steve also shares practical strategies for staging platform migrations, implementing intelligent ticket routing, and using AI to enhance team efficiency and the overall customer experience. This episode is sponsored by Xurrent. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at emerj.com/ad1.

As enterprises double down on generative AI initiatives, the intersection of data security, privacy, and unstructured data is quickly becoming mission-critical. In this episode, Dimitri Sirota, Co-founder and CEO of BigID, joins the podcast to explore how AI transformation is reshaping enterprise data governance, security, and compliance—and why understanding your "crown jewel" data is essential to building trustworthy AI systems. Dimitri outlines the three major forces driving today's enterprise data challenges: accelerated cloud migration, a rising tide of global data privacy regulations, and the explosion of generative AI tools that rely on sensitive, unstructured data. He explains how enterprises can gain visibility into their AI programs and the data fueling them, mitigate shadow AI risks, and prepare for the next wave of agentic systems by adopting zero-trust models and real-time monitoring strategies. This episode is sponsored by BigID. Learn how BigID helps enterprises govern AI, mitigate data risk, and stay compliant here.

Dan Bacher is a Senior Research and Development Engineer at Brown University. He is also the Founder of the Speak Your Mind Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization that emerged out of the BrainGate lab at Brown University and Massachusetts General Hospital.

In this interview, Dan speaks about the synthesis of electrical engineering and neuroscience, which ultimately led to the creation of Brown's BrainGate Group & the Speak Your Mind Foundation. Bacher discusses the future of assistive technologies & the new technologies that BrainGate is currently developing.

For More Information, Visit the HUB of Startups / Business in Emerging Technology. From Robotic Limbs to Getting Angel Investment, from Biotech to Intellectual Property:

http://www.TechEmergence.com

Interested in the Future of Humanity and the Ramifications of Emerging Tech? Sentient Potential Covers the Ethical Considerations and Future Projections at the Crossroads of Technology and Consciousness:

http://www.SentientPotential.com

Josh Maher started off in Microsoft, and since has become engaged in nearly every level of the startup ecosystem in Seattle. His blog at www.JoshMaher.com covers his musings in investing, networking, and more.

Now he runs TechCafe (a startup networking event), and is involved in a number of other events in the Seattle startup scene.

In this interview, Josh talks about the way HE likes to be approached by founders (as an investor himself), and goes into detail about WHERE and HOW to meet investors, and a few simple "no-no"s of contacting networkers (maybe you've done a few of these yourself).

For More Information, Visit the HUB of Startups / Business in Emerging Technology. From Robotic Limbs to Getting Angel Investment, from Biotech to Intellectual Property:

http://www.TechEmergence.com

Interested in the Future of Humanity and the Ramifications of Emerging Tech? Sentient Potential Covers the Ethical Considerations and Future Projections at the Crossroads of Technology and Consciousness:

http://www.SentientPotential.com

Anyone awarded 30 honorary degrees is likely to be enough of an expert to have on the podcast here at TechEmergence.

Dr. Susan Greenfield of Oxford University is not only one of the world's best known psychologists, she's also a member of England's House of Lords. In 2000 she was elected to an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians and in 2007 to an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. She was appointed Chancellor of Heriot Watt University in 2005.

She is the author Outspoken about many issues related to emerging technology, this in this interview, we hone in on her thoughts on the ammeliorative and potentially post-human potential of drugs and brain-machine interfaces.

For More Information, Visit the HUB of Startups / Business in Emerging Technology. From Robotic Limbs to Getting Angel Investment, from Biotech to Intellectual Property:

http://www.TechEmergence.com

Interested in the Future of Humanity and the Ramifications of Emerging Tech? Sentient Potential Covers the Ethical Considerations and Future Projections at the Crossroads of Technology and Consciousness:

http://www.SentientPotential.com

Emerson Spartz is a middle school dropout. Not because he was forced to work on a family farm, or because he moved to a foreign country, but because he wanted to homeschool himself - and his parents permitted the transition. In addition, the 12-year old was already in business and didn't want to wait any longer. 

In 2009, the 22-year-old Spartz founded Spartz Media, creator of - among dozens of other successful websites - www.OMG-Facts.com, which by itself receives 30 pageviews per month. Virality became Emerson's focus, and his company of content creators and data scientists continue to pump out successful site after successful site, all based on psychological and empirical notions of "virality."

In this episode, Emerson goes through a number of quick and immediately useful tips for any startup or organization looking to add "virality" into their marketing efforts.

For More Information, Visit the HUB of Startups / Business in Emerging Technology. From Robotic Limbs to Getting Angel Investment, from Biotech to Intellectual Property:

http://www.TechEmergence.com

Interested in the Future of Humanity and the Ramifications of Emerging Tech? Sentient Potential Covers the Ethical Considerations and Future Projections at the Crossroads of Technology and Consciousness:

http://www.SentientPotential.com

In this episode, my business partner Edmond Lowell hosts an "Investor's Perspective" interview with Emerging Markets investor Dean van Drasek.

For More Information, Visit the HUB of Startups / Business in Emerging Technology. From Robotic Limbs to Getting Angel Investment, from Biotech to Intellectual Property:

http://www.TechEmergence.com

Interested in the Future of Humanity and the Ramifications of Emerging Tech? Sentient Potential Covers the Ethical Considerations and Future Projections at the Crossroads of Technology and Consciousness:

http://www.SentientPotential.com

Why does raising money from family sometimes make Angel investors believe even more in a startup founder? How do Angel "funds" and independent Angel groups differ in their dynamics for funding startups? In this episode, get the investor perspective with Sammy Abdullah from the Dallas Angel Network.

For More Information, Visit the HUB of Startups / Business in Emerging Technology. From Robotic Limbs to Getting Angel Investment, from Biotech to Intellectual Property:

http://www.TechEmergence.com

Interested in the Future of Humanity and the Ramifications of Emerging Tech? Sentient Potential Covers the Ethical Considerations and Future Projections at the Crossroads of Technology and Consciousness:

http://www.SentientPotential.com