Join Nancy Ridge, Founder of Ridge Innovative, and Cortney Harding for an insightful conversation on how AI and ambient technology will change how we work and live. Cortney Harding is an in-demand expert in helping businesses harness the power of smartglasses, artificial intelligence, spatial computing, and virtual reality. She has created AI-powered conversational avatars for companies like Amazon, Delta, and McDonalds, and virtual reality training scenarios around topics like child abuse, workplace exclusion, mental health, Black maternal mortality, and racial bias for companies like Lowe’s, Walmart, PWC, Target, and more. She routinely leads workshops for Fortune 100 companies and universities on how to use AI and VR in education and training. Her work as been honored on numerous occasions. As an executive producer on JFK Memento, she was nominated for an Emmy and the piece won the audience award for best XR at SXSW and Best in the World at the QLD XR Festival. Her work has also been honored as the Best VR/AR of 2019 at Mobile World Congress, a SXSW Innovation Award Finalist, and a Top HR Product by HR Executive. She is currently a member of the Fast Future Executive faculty and a co-author the "Fast Future Blur" (Wiley, 2024). She has taught at CalTech, NYU, Barnard, North Carolina State University, and New Mexico State University, as well as co-writing and co-teaching the Coursera course "What is the Metaverse?" on behalf of Meta. Index • 01:19– Cortney Harding’s Background • 03:41 – The Spatial Shift: The First Signs of a Meta-Physical Era • 09:59 – Lean-Forward Strategies for the AI Era • 16:19 – Teaching AI How to Work for Us • 21:46 – Designing the Spatial Era for Everyone: Access, Safety, and Trust • 33:05 – Small Moves, Big Readiness • 36:50 – The Innovation Cortney would most like to see gain adoption Links – • Friends with Holograms – https://www.friendswithholograms.com • “The Spatial Race” - The Spatial Race: How to Prepare for Our Future in the Meta-Physical World: Harding, Cortney: 9798294004132: Amazon.com: Books • Cortney Harding LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/cortneyharding/ If you enjoyed this podcast, be sure to subscribe to us on Soundcloud for more episodes and write us a review! Share this episode with anyone interested in unconventional ideas. Do you have questions, comments, insight on the topics discussed today? Send an email to support@ridgeinnovative.com with Subject: “Culture of Innovation E36”! Follow Us On: iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/culture-of-innovation/id1537650821 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/ce61f5ea-6e14-4056-bcf4-bdb2717eb9ca/culture-of-innovation Website: https://ridgeinnovative.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/nancy_ridge LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancy-ridge-085988a YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjEMawW6iUoDcQDjvtKTBzA Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/culture-of-innovation
