AI Today Podcast: Artificial Intelligence Insights, Experts, and Opinion AI & Data Today

Creativity is a uniquely human trait that allows for the expression of individuality and a range of emotions. In this episode of AI Today hosts Kathleen Walch and Ron Schmelzer continue with our soft skills series discussing creativity.








AI, especially generative AI, is transforming personal and professional tasks like writing, report generation, and image creation, making them easier and more accessible. This technology enhances human creativity, unlocking new potentials and augmenting ingenuity. Creativity remains an essential skill in the age of AI, driving innovation and collaboration by enhancing interactions with AI systems and boosting human creative abilities.








Why Creativity is needed for AI systems







Creativity is essential for effectively interacting with AI, especially generative AI, as it enhances the quality and relevance of AI outputs. In this episode we discuss why innovative thinking in crafting specific prompts leads to diverse and compelling results. For instance, a detailed and imaginative prompt can inspire the AI to generate more engaging content or create more detailed images. This interplay between creative ideas and AI demonstrates how creative prompts can unlock the full potential of AI systems.








How does AI help in creativity?







Additionally, AI can help us be more creative beings. Prompt engineering encourages creativity by allowing low-stakes experimentation with various ideas and tools. Studying successful prompts from peers and colleagues and sharing your own within your organization fosters a creative environment, providing diverse inputs that spark innovation. Each prompt interaction should be seen as a learning opportunity. It enables you to refine techniques and discover new uses you may not have otherwise thought of.








Show Notes:










Free Intro to CPMAI course







CPMAI Certification







Subscribe to Cognilytica newsletter on LinkedIn







Why Critical Thinking is Crucial for AI [AI Today Podcast]







Is Critical Thinking A Superpower In The AI Era?

On May 17, 2024, Governor Jared Polis signed SB24-205, a pioneering law to protect Colorado consumers using AI systems. The legislation mandates transparency and accountability, ensuring AI technologies are developed ethically and fairly. In this episode of AI Today hosts Kathleen Walch and Ron Schmelzer interview Rep Manny Rutinel. He is a Colorado State Representative and a Prime Sponsor of the bill in the House.








What is the AI privacy law in Colorado?







It requires AI developers to mitigate biases, conduct regular impact assessments, and disclose system functionalities and risks. As AI becomes more ingrained in our daily lives Rep Rutinel explains what motivated the introduction of this law. He also elaborates on the key provisions of this law and how they aim to ensure transparency and accountability in AI systems.








Are there any laws regulating AI?







When it comes to AI laws, the US does not have any federal laws regulating the use of AI. This leaves states and local governments to set the tone when it comes to laws and regulations around AI. In this episode Rep Rutinel shares how he hopes other states will look to this law to see how it's being adopted and received. He also hopes it will set a national standard for AI governance, aiming to protect consumers and promote trust in AI technologies.








Show Notes:










AI Today Podcast: The EU AI Act – What does it mean for you?







Consumer Protections for Artificial Intelligence







AI Today Podcast: Trustworthy AI Series: The Layers of Trustworthy AI







AI Today Podcast: Trustworthy AI Series: Why are trustworthy, ethical and responsible AI systems necessary?







AI Today Podcast: Trustworthy AI Series: Explainable & Interpretable AI







CPMAI Training and Certification

Generative AI has significantly influenced content creation, data analysis, and interactive communication, but there is a growing need for intelligent systems to perform tasks with minimal human input. In this episode of AI Today hosts Kathleen Walch and Ron Schmelzer dicuss the concept of Agentic AI, including what it is, and why it's becoming popular.








What does Agentic mean in AI?







While limited intelligence approaches for automation have been around for several decades, notably Robotic Process Automation (RPA), which is primarily focused on repetitive user interface automation operations, there has been a desire to use the great capabilities of foundation models and LLMs to perform more intelligent automation tasks.








As defined by OpenAI, it represents a new wave in the AI market, capable of pursuing complex goals with little supervision by leveraging foundation models and LLMs. These systems autonomously execute intricate tasks, adapt to changes, and resolve issues, handling diverse inputs and outputs across various languages and contexts. The self-optimization and advanced reasoning capabilities of Agentic AI mark a major advancement in intelligent process automation, promising to streamline operations across industries.








What are agentic workflows in AI?







In this episode we explain the evolution from RPA to AI. While currently in its infancy, companies are exploring the use of Agentic AI in a wide range of applications. One increasingly common application is to help with IT support and help desk ticketing issues, especially when handling repetitive inquiries such as password resets, software patches, trouble ticketing, and problem diagnosis.








We are also seeing greater use in human resources applications handling routine payroll, employee on-boarding, and benefits management. HR teams are also using agentic AI to handle a wide range of workflows and administrative tasks from handling inbound inquiries on expense reports and travel to providing guidance on benefits and employment related issues.








While Agentic AI is still in its early stages, similar to the nascent phase of fully self-driving vehicles. However, the rapid development of Agentic AI capabilities, coupled with the strong organizational desire for truly intelligent automation, is set to usher in a new era of advanced intelligent automation.








Show Notes:










Free Intro to CPMAI course







CPMAI Certification







Subscribe to Cognilytica newsletter on LinkedIn







Is Critical Thinking A Superpower In The AI Era?







Why Critical Thinking is Crucial for AI [AI Today Podcast]

Companies of all sizes across the globe in just about every single industry are looking to see how AI can provide them a competitive edge. They want AI to provide efficiencies and improve ROI in today’s competitive landscape. As a result, this creates tremendous opportunity in the field of AI for project professionals who are CPMAI certified and follow the CPMAI methodology. This globally recognized certification helps you stand out from the pack when it comes to scoping, managing, and understanding AI and ML projects. In this episode of the AI Today podcast we interview Laetitia Callegari. She is Managing Director at Primescope Technology Solutions, and is CPMAI certified.








What is the CPMAI Certification?







Staying current with AI developments is crucial. However, there's a big difference between simply reading the news and actually applying AI best practices to projects. In this podcast, Laetitia explains why having a step-by-step framework for successfully running and managing projects is a game-changer. With the recent buzz around GenAI, this has become more important than ever. CPMAI offers the essential framework needed. Laetitia shares how she is applying CPMAI in real-world scenarios and provides advice for others running their data, analytics, and AI projects, including lessons she has learned along the way.








Is CPMAI certification worth it?







Laetitia discusses why she got the CPMAI certification. She also shares how the CPMAI methodology helped grow key skills for herself, including providing you the knowledge, lexicon, and credibility she was seeking. The course and certirication provides a comprehensive overview of how to manage and run AI projects, and how to scope AI projects for success, while also touching upon trustworthy AI issues.








Show Notes:










FREE Intro to CPMAI mini course







CPMAI Training and Certification







Cognilytica newsletter







Applying CPMAI Methodology to AI Projects: Interview with Christina Kucek, CAI [AI Today Podcast]







Applying CPMAI Methodology in the real world: Interview with George Fountain, Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH) [AI Today Podcast]







AI Today Podcast: CPMAI in the Real World, Interview with Dr. Philipp Schlenkhoff, CPMAI







What is the Cognitive Project Management for AI (CPMAI) Methodology?

The widespread adoption and use of generative AI means that folks no longer need to be an expert in "hard" skills such as statistics & probability, calculus, or linear algebra to get value from using Generative AI. Instead, the need to use soft skills such as communication, curiosity, problem solving, and adaptability is becoming more important. In this episode of AI Today hosts Kathleen Walch and Ron Schmelzer discuss the growing need for critical thinking skills.








What it means to have critical thinking







Critical thinking is the skill of obtaining a solid, reliable, and as accurate an understanding of information as possible, and then using that understanding to make sound decisions. This involves carefully examining information, questioning assumptions, and ensuring that conclusions are supported by strong evidence. In this episode we discuss why this is important when using and interacting with AI models.








Improving your skills







When it comes to soft skills, it's a lifelong learning journey. In this episode we discuss how you can continue to improve on these soft skills. Approaching AI interactions with a healthy dose of skepticism is essential. Question your assumptions and evaluate whether the information processed by AI systems makes sense. Identify the assumptions being made and seek evidence to support or refute them.








Show Notes:









Free Intro to CPMAI course







CPMAI Certification







Subscribe to Cognilytica newsletter on LinkedIn







Is Critical Thinking A Superpower In The AI Era?







Basic Elements of Critical Thinking









 

The Four-Part AI-Enabled Vision of the Future







In 2018, when at the time we thought AI hype couldn’t get any more hype-y, we at Cognilytica spent time thinking about what the broad implications of AI would be on our individual lives, our business and work lives, and on society in general. This thinking led us to put together our four-part vision we called the “AI-Enabled Vision of the Future”. In this episode of AI Today hosts Kathleen Walch and Ron Schmelzer review our AI Enabled Vision of the Future and dive deep on the idea of Pervasive Knowledge and what it means that when AI is everywhere we’ll be able to make assumptions that any system that wants or needs to have AI capabilities, will have those capabilities.








Hyperpersonalization and Expectations of Instant Access







With AI at people’s fingertips, people will be able to perform tasks, ask questions, and get instant, hyperpersonalized, tailored responses to their very specific needs. Because the AI models we’ll be interacting with will be building a constant memory of their interactions, as part of their context, they will also be able to craft deeply personalized responses and interactions. In this episode we discuss this deepening of personalization to its extreme will greatly reduce friction and provide a more optimized interaction with the services and organizations we interact with. However, over-personalization might lead to a loss of options, choice, and personal identity.








Changed ideas around privacy







When AI is in everything, this means that there’s always a device watching and listening to you. Big Brother is here! As a result, in many ways, the idea of privacy will seem foreign in the AI-future. In the AI-enabled Future, everyone is a key part of the surveillance state, which means that privacy goes from an expectation to a luxury.








The Great Averaging Applied to Media and Entertainment







In this episode we also discuss how media and entertainment will change. We'll now be provided with uniquely generated content that is only for you. Ironically, since everyone will be getting mass-customized hyperpersonalized content, everyone will get a different version of the same experience. Just as we discussed in our previous newsletter about the Great Averaging, if AI is great at producing what is deemed to be the “best” average, what you get will quickly become entertaining and addictive, but also unbearably bad.








AI and Mental health







Lastly, we discuss the impacts of AI and mental health. In the future, mental health concerns will reach pandemic levels. On one hand, more people will be able to seek treatment for mental health. But on the other hand, people can live in their own echochamber, with the voices in their head becoming realized by the AI systems you interact with.








Listen in to this thought provoking vision of the future around Pervasive Knowledge.








Show Notes:










Free Intro to CPMAI course







CPMAI Certification







Subscribe to Cognilytica newsletter on LinkedIn







Cognilytica’s AI-Enabled Vision of the Future – UPDATED [AI Today Podcast]







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