Sidecar Sync

Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias
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  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Welcome to Sidecar Sync: Your Weekly Dose of Innovation for Associations. Hosted by Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias, this podcast is your definitive source for the latest news, insights, and trends in the association world with a special emphasis on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its pivotal role in shaping the future. Each week, we delve into the most pressing topics, spotlighting the transformative role of emerging technologies and their profound impact on associations. With a commitment to cutting through the noise, Sidecar Sync offers listeners clear, informed discussions, expert perspectives, and a deep dive into the challenges and opportunities facing associations today. Whether you're an association professional, tech enthusiast, or just keen on staying updated, Sidecar Sync ensures you're always ahead of the curve. Join us for enlightening conversations and a fresh take on the ever-evolving world of associations. 

  1. Agent Tollgates & MCP Mayhem: Who Really Owns Your Data? | 123

    13 HR AGO

    Agent Tollgates & MCP Mayhem: Who Really Owns Your Data? | 123

    Send a text In this episode of the Sidecar Sync, Mallory and Amith dive deep into two seismic shifts rocking the AI landscape for associations: the rise of “agent tollgates” in SaaS platforms and the growing security concerns around Model Context Protocol (MCP). Sparked by comments from HubSpot’s CEO about monitoring and monetizing agent access to customer data, the conversation explores what happens when vendors start charging for AI agents to access “your” data—and why this may signal a broader shift in the software business model. Amith unpacks why true data ownership matters more than ever and explains how AI data platforms eliminate traditional ETL bottlenecks while preserving control. Then, the duo pivots to MCP security risks, breaking down real-world attack vectors—from prompt injection to supply chain compromises—and offering practical guardrails for safe experimentation. The message is clear: embrace AI boldly, but build with governance, ownership, and security top of mind.   🤖 Join the AI Mastermind: https://sidecar.ai/association-ai-mastermind 📕 Download the New 3rd Edition of ‘Ascend’: https://sidecar.ai/ai 📅 Register for digitalNow2026: https://digitalnow.sidecar.ai 🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Agent Tolls ➔ https://shorturl.at/7e8MA MCP Security Issues ➔ https://shorturl.at/7xWKZ HubSpot ➔ https://www.hubspot.com Claude ➔ https://claude.ai ChatGPT ➔ https://chat.openai.com Gemini ➔ https://gemini.google.com Hugging Face ➔ https://huggingface.co 🎀 Use code AIPOD50 for $50 off your Association AI Professional (AAiP) certification at https://sidecar.ai/aaip 🚀 Help Us Grow Our Reach - Share With a Friend or Colleague! 👍 Like & Subscribe! https://x.com/sidecarglobal https://www.youtube.com/@SidecarSync https://sidecar.ai/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/sidecar-global/ Amith Nagarajan is the Chairman of Blue Cypress, a family of purpose-driven companies and proud practitioners of Conscious Capitalism. The Blue Cypress companies focus on helping associations, non-profits, and other purpose-driven organizations achieve long-term success. Amith is also an active early-stage investor in B2B SaaS companies. He’s had the good fortune of nearly three decades of success as an entrepreneur and enjoys helping others in their journey. https://linkedin.com/amithnagarajan Mallory Mejias is passionate about creating opportunities for association professionals to learn, grow, and better serve their members using artificial intelligence. She enjoys blending creativity and innovation to produce fresh, meaningful content for the association space. Mallory co-hosts and produces the Sidecar Sync podcast, where she delves into the latest trends in AI and technology, translating them into actionable insights. https://linkedin.com/mallorymejias

    54 min
  2. The Maia 200 Breakthrough, Project Genie’s Living Worlds, & The New Rules of Work | 122

    19 FEB

    The Maia 200 Breakthrough, Project Genie’s Living Worlds, & The New Rules of Work | 122

    Send a text In this episode of Sidecar Sync, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias zoom out to explore the AI infrastructure quietly reshaping everything beneath the surface—from Microsoft’s new Maia 200 custom AI chip and the race to lower inference costs, to Google’s Project Genie and the rise of interactive world models that could transform everything from credentialing simulations to digital twins of annual conferences. They also unpack bold predictions about the future of work, including AI-driven performance measurement, shrinking workforces, gig workers armed with better tools than enterprise teams, and the shift from hyper-specialization to adaptable generalists. The throughline? Infrastructure, experiences, and workforce dynamics are all evolving at once—and association leaders don’t need to understand transistor counts to recognize that AI is getting cheaper, faster, and more capable by the day.   🤖 Join the AI Mastermind: https://sidecar.ai/association-ai-mastermind 📕 Download the New 3rd Edition of ‘Ascend’: https://sidecar.ai/ai 📅 Register for digitalNow2026: https://digitalnow.sidecar.ai 🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Claude ➔ https://claude.ai Microsoft Maia 200 ➔ https://shorturl.at/MVtAU Microsoft 365 Copilot ➔ https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/copilot Azure AI ➔ https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/ai-services OpenAI GPT Models ➔ https://openai.com Google Project Genie ➔ https://shorturl.at/ULiof WSJ article ➔ https://shorturl.at/2jGSO 🎀 Use code AIPOD50 for $50 off your Association AI Professional (AAiP) certification at https://sidecar.ai/aaip 🚀 Help Us Grow Our Reach - Share With a Friend or Colleague! 👍 Like & Subscribe! https://x.com/sidecarglobal https://www.youtube.com/@SidecarSync https://sidecar.ai/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/sidecar-global/ Amith Nagarajan is the Chairman of Blue Cypress, a family of purpose-driven companies and proud practitioners of Conscious Capitalism. The Blue Cypress companies focus on helping associations, non-profits, and other purpose-driven organizations achieve long-term success. Amith is also an active early-stage investor in B2B SaaS companies. He’s had the good fortune of nearly three decades of success as an entrepreneur and enjoys helping others in their journey. https://linkedin.com/amithnagarajan Mallory Mejias is passionate about creating opportunities for association professionals to learn, grow, and better serve their members using artificial intelligence. She enjoys blending creativity and innovation to produce fresh, meaningful content for the association space. Mallory co-hosts and produces the Sidecar Sync podcast, where she delves into the latest trends in AI and technology, translating them into actionable insights. https://linkedin.com/mallorymejias

    43 min
  3. From Deep Learning Indaba to Algorithmic Sovereignty with Benjamin Rosman | 121

    12 FEB

    From Deep Learning Indaba to Algorithmic Sovereignty with Benjamin Rosman | 121

    Send a text If you think the future of AI is being decided only in Silicon Valley or Beijing, this conversation will stretch your perspective. Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias sit down with Benjamin “Benji” Rosman—Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand, Founder of the Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery (MIND) Institute, and recently named to the Time 100 Most Influential People in AI for 2025—to explore how Africa is building its AI ecosystem from the ground up. From the origin story of Deep Learning Indaba (now the largest machine learning summer school in the world) to the concept of algorithmic sovereignty, Benji explains why diversity of thinking fuels scientific breakthroughs, how constraints drive innovation, and why leaders must balance exploration and exploitation in an era of exponential change.   🤖 Join the AI Mastermind: https://sidecar.ai/association-ai-mastermind 📕 Download the New 3rd Edition of ‘Ascend’: https://sidecar.ai/ai 📅 Register for digitalNow2026: https://digitalnow.sidecar.ai 📧 Test out our customer service agent Izzy by emailing help@sidecar.ai 🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: ChatGPT ➔ https://chat.openai.com TIME Article ➔ https://time.com/collections/time100-ai-2025/7305865/benjamin-rosman Deep Learning Indaba ➔ https://deeplearningindaba.com/2025 Lelapa AI ➔ https://lelapa.ai MIND ➔ https://www.wits.ac.za/mind 🎀 Use code AIPOD50 for $50 off your Association AI Professional (AAiP) certification at https://sidecar.ai/aaip 🚀 Help Us Grow Our Reach - Share With a Friend or Colleague! 👍 Like & Subscribe! https://x.com/sidecarglobal https://www.youtube.com/@SidecarSync https://sidecar.ai/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/sidecar-global/ Amith Nagarajan is the Chairman of Blue Cypress, a family of purpose-driven companies and proud practitioners of Conscious Capitalism. The Blue Cypress companies focus on helping associations, non-profits, and other purpose-driven organizations achieve long-term success. Amith is also an active early-stage investor in B2B SaaS companies. He’s had the good fortune of nearly three decades of success as an entrepreneur and enjoys helping others in their journey. https://linkedin.com/amithnagarajan Mallory Mejias is passionate about creating opportunities for association professionals to learn, grow, and better serve their members using artificial intelligence. She enjoys blending creativity and innovation to produce fresh, meaningful content for the association space. Mallory co-hosts and produces the Sidecar Sync podcast, where she delves into the latest trends in AI and technology, translating them into actionable insights. https://linkedin.com/mallorymejias

    53 min
  4. Kimi K2.5’s Swarm of Agents, Claude Goes Vertical, and AI Data Centers in Space | 120

    5 FEB

    Kimi K2.5’s Swarm of Agents, Claude Goes Vertical, and AI Data Centers in Space | 120

    Send a text In this high-octane episode of Sidecar Sync, Amith and Mallory cover an ambitious trio of AI developments with massive implications for associations. They dive into Kimi K2.5, a Chinese open-source model built for multimodal agent swarms that rival GPT-5.2 at a fraction of the cost. Then, they explore Claude’s new domain-specific plugins for Cowork and what it means for associations when Big AI moves into vertical markets like legal and finance. Finally, they unpack Elon Musk’s latest megamerger: SpaceX and xAI joining forces to launch AI data centers into orbit. Whether it’s AI agents that run teams of themselves or compute infrastructure leaving Earth altogether, this episode challenges assumptions and encourages leaders to rethink what’s possible.    🤖 Join the AI Mastermind: https://sidecar.ai/association-ai-mastermind 📕 Download the New 3rd Edition of ‘Ascend’: https://sidecar.ai/ai 📅 Register for digitalNow2026: https://digitalnow.sidecar.ai 📧 Test out our customer service agent Izzy by emailing help@sidecar.ai 🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Kimi K2.5 ➔ https://moonshot-ai.com Claude Cowork ➔ https://www.anthropic.com OpenRouter ➔ https://openrouter.ai Open Source AI Data Platform ➔ https://memberjunction.org 🎀 Use code AIPOD50 for $50 off your Association AI Professional (AAiP) certification at https://sidecar.ai/aaip 🚀 Help Us Grow Our Reach - Share With a Friend or Colleague! 👍 Like & Subscribe! https://x.com/sidecarglobal https://www.youtube.com/@SidecarSync https://sidecar.ai/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/sidecar-global/ Amith Nagarajan is the Chairman of Blue Cypress, a family of purpose-driven companies and proud practitioners of Conscious Capitalism. The Blue Cypress companies focus on helping associations, non-profits, and other purpose-driven organizations achieve long-term success. Amith is also an active early-stage investor in B2B SaaS companies. He’s had the good fortune of nearly three decades of success as an entrepreneur and enjoys helping others in their journey. https://linkedin.com/amithnagarajan Mallory Mejias is passionate about creating opportunities for association professionals to learn, grow, and better serve their members using artificial intelligence. She enjoys blending creativity and innovation to produce fresh, meaningful content for the association space. Mallory co-hosts and produces the Sidecar Sync podcast, where she delves into the latest trends in AI and technology, translating them into actionable insights. https://linkedin.com/mallorymejias

    51 min
  5. From White House Strategy to Youth Safety Tools: Navigating AI’s Risks and Rewards with Bruce Reed | 119

    29 JAN

    From White House Strategy to Youth Safety Tools: Navigating AI’s Risks and Rewards with Bruce Reed | 119

    Send a text What do AI companions, deepfakes, and White House briefings have in common? Bruce Reed. In this episode, Mallory Mejias and Amith Nagarajan are joined by Bruce Reed, Head of AI at Common Sense Media and former Deputy Chief of Staff in the Biden-Harris White House. Bruce shares an insider’s view on how the U.S. government reacted to the launch of ChatGPT, the urgent need for AI guardrails for youth, and why you don’t need to be a tech expert to lead responsibly.   Bruce Reed is Head of AI at Common Sense Media and a senior White House policy adviser across three administrations. He served as President Clinton’s chief domestic policy adviser, chief of staff to Vice President Biden, and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy in the Biden-Harris administration, helping shape 17 State of the Union addresses. Dubbed President Biden’s “AI Whisperer,” Reed led landmark government efforts on AI safety, securing voluntary commitments from major tech companies and advancing a sweeping executive order on responsible AI.   Common Sense Media - https://www.commonsensemedia.org/ Time AI 100 - https://shorturl.at/2NeQZ 🤖 Join the AI Mastermind: https://sidecar.ai/association-ai-mastermind 📕 Download the New 3rd Edition of ‘Ascend’: https://sidecar.ai/ai 📅 Register for digitalNow2026: https://digitalnow.sidecar.ai 📧 Test out our customer service agent Izzy by emailing help@sidecar.ai   🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: ChatGPT ➔ https://openai.com/chatgpt Sora ➔ https://openai.com/sora 🎀 Use code AIPOD50 for $50 off your Association AI Professional (AAiP) certification at https://sidecar.ai/aaip 🚀 Help Us Grow Our Reach - Share With a Friend or Colleague! 👍 Like & Subscribe! https://x.com/sidecarglobal https://www.youtube.com/@SidecarSync https://sidecar.ai/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/sidecar-global/ Amith Nagarajan is the Chairman of Blue Cypress, a family of purpose-driven companies and proud practitioners of Conscious Capitalism. The Blue Cypress companies focus on helping associations, non-profits, and other purpose-driven organizations achieve long-term success. Amith is also an active early-stage investor in B2B SaaS companies. He’s had the good fortune of nearly three decades of success as an entrepreneur and enjoys helping others in their journey. https://linkedin.com/amithnagarajan Mallory Mejias is passionate about creating opportunities for association professionals to learn, grow, and better serve their members using artificial intelligence. She enjoys blending creativity and innovation to produce fresh, meaningful content for the association space. Mallory co-hosts and produces the Sidecar Sync podcast, where she delves into the latest trends in AI and technology, translating them into actionable insights. https://linkedin.com/mallorymejias

    45 min
  6. Global Gaps in AI Use & What Happens When Capital Doesn’t Need Labor? | 118

    22 JAN

    Global Gaps in AI Use & What Happens When Capital Doesn’t Need Labor? | 118

    Send a text In this episode of Sidecar Sync, Mallory Mejias and Amith Nagarajan unpack two powerful narratives shaping our AI future: the surprising global leaderboard of AI adoption and a provocative economic thought experiment on capital, labor, and AGI. From Mallory’s firsthand experience using Claude to navigate the stress of first-time home buying to Microsoft’s latest diffusion report revealing where AI is truly taking hold (spoiler: it’s not the U.S.), this episode blends the personal, practical, and political. The hosts also explore an essay predicting a world where capital outpaces labor permanently, and what associations must do to stay relevant. Tune in for insights on strategic planning, global digital divides, and how your association can lead—not lag—on the AI curve.   🤖 Join the AI Mastermind: https://sidecar.ai/association-ai-mastermind 📕 Download the New 3rd Edition of ‘Ascend’: https://sidecar.ai/ai 📅 Register for digitalNow2026: https://digitalnow.sidecar.ai 📧 Test out our customer service agent Izzy by emailing help@sidecar.ai 🤝 Sidecar/ASAE Partnership - https://learn.sidecar.ai/asae 🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Claude ➔ https://claude.ai ChatGPT ➔ https://chat.openai.com Gemini 3 ➔ https://gemini.google.com DeepSeek ➔ https://www.deepseek.com Microsoft AI Diffusion Report ➔ https://shorturl.at/3klKL Capital in the 22nd Century Essay ➔ https://shorturl.at/WI3Tk 🎀 Use code AIPOD50 for $50 off your Association AI Professional (AAiP) certification at https://sidecar.ai/aaip 🚀 Help Us Grow Our Reach - Share With a Friend or Colleague! 👍 Like & Subscribe! https://x.com/sidecarglobal https://www.youtube.com/@SidecarSync https://sidecar.ai/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/sidecar-global/ Amith Nagarajan is the Chairman of Blue Cypress, a family of purpose-driven companies and proud practitioners of Conscious Capitalism. The Blue Cypress companies focus on helping associations, non-profits, and other purpose-driven organizations achieve long-term success. Amith is also an active early-stage investor in B2B SaaS companies. He’s had the good fortune of nearly three decades of success as an entrepreneur and enjoys helping others in their journey. https://linkedin.com/amithnagarajan Mallory Mejias is passionate about creating opportunities for association professionals to learn, grow, and better serve their members using artificial intelligence. She enjoys blending creativity and innovation to produce fresh, meaningful content for the association space. Mallory co-hosts and produces the Sidecar Sync podcast, where she delves into the latest trends in AI and technology, translating them into actionable insights. https://linkedin.com/mallorymejias

    49 min
  7. The Physical AI Moment: Dispatches from CES 2026 | 117

    15 JAN

    The Physical AI Moment: Dispatches from CES 2026 | 117

    Send a text CES 2026 brought the heat—and the robots. In this episode, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias break down the biggest stories from the Consumer Electronics Show, where AI made its move from code to corporeal. They cover Meta’s $2B acquisition of Manus, Groq’s $20B licensing deal with Nvidia, and how LPUs are set to revolutionize inference computing. From humanoid robots dancing across stages to Nvidia’s open-source models reshaping robotics and autonomous vehicles, this episode offers a rapid-fire tour of the tech shaping our future. Plus, Amith shares why AI pilots are more about learning than proof—and yes, we dream about robots doing the dishes.   🤖 Join the AI Mastermind: https://sidecar.ai/association-ai-mastermind 📕 Download the New 3rd Edition of ‘Ascend’: https://sidecar.ai/ai 📅 Register for digitalNow2026: https://digitalnow.sidecar.ai 📧 Test out our customer service agent Izzy by emailing help@sidecar.ai 🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: CES 2026 ➔ https://www.ces.tech Atlas Humanoid Robot ➔ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e73kf_iLAP0 Groq ➔ https://groq.com Cerebras ➔ https://cerebras.net Gemini by Google DeepMind ➔ https://deepmind.google HeyGen ➔ https://www.heygen.com 🎀 Use code AIPOD50 for $50 off your Association AI Professional (AAiP) certification at https://sidecar.ai/aaip 🚀 Help Us Grow Our Reach - Share With a Friend or Colleague! 👍 Like & Subscribe! https://x.com/sidecarglobal https://www.youtube.com/@SidecarSync https://sidecar.ai/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/sidecar-global/ Amith Nagarajan is the Chairman of Blue Cypress, a family of purpose-driven companies and proud practitioners of Conscious Capitalism. The Blue Cypress companies focus on helping associations, non-profits, and other purpose-driven organizations achieve long-term success. Amith is also an active early-stage investor in B2B SaaS companies. He’s had the good fortune of nearly three decades of success as an entrepreneur and enjoys helping others in their journey. https://linkedin.com/amithnagarajan Mallory Mejias is passionate about creating opportunities for association professionals to learn, grow, and better serve their members using artificial intelligence. She enjoys blending creativity and innovation to produce fresh, meaningful content for the association space. Mallory co-hosts and produces the Sidecar Sync podcast, where she delves into the latest trends in AI and technology, translating them into actionable insights. https://linkedin.com/mallorymejias

    47 min
  8. The 95% Problem: Fixing What’s Broken in Enterprise AI | 116

    8 JAN

    The 95% Problem: Fixing What’s Broken in Enterprise AI | 116

    Send a text In this episode of Sidecar Sync, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias dig into the startling findings of a recent MIT study: 95% of enterprise AI initiatives are failing to deliver measurable impact. Why are so many organizations investing in AI only to watch their efforts fizzle? Mallory and Amith unpack 10 core reasons for these failures—ranging from building chat-first features instead of end-to-end workflows, to skipping the unglamorous data cleanup that powers real results. Drawing from Vishwas Lele’s insightful LinkedIn post and their own experiences in the association world, the duo shares practical guidance for leaders ready to move beyond flashy demos and into lasting value. Plus, they explore why your staff still prefer ChatGPT over that expensive new AMS add-on, and what associations can do to shift from AI experiments to real transformation. 🤖 Join the AI Mastermind: https://sidecar.ai/association-ai-mastermind 📕 Download the New 3rd Edition of ‘Ascend’: https://sidecar.ai/ai 📅 Join the pre-registration list for digitalNow 2026: https://digitalnow.sidecar.ai/digitalnow2026 📧 Test out our customer service agent Izzy by emailing help@sidecar.ai 🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: ChatGPT ➔ https://chat.openai.com Claude ➔ https://claude.ai pWin.ai ➔ https://www.pwin.ai 🎀 Use code AIPOD50 for $50 off your Association AI Professional (AAiP) certification at https://sidecar.ai/aaip 🚀 Help Us Grow Our Reach - Share With a Friend or Colleague! 👍 Like & Subscribe! https://x.com/sidecarglobal https://www.youtube.com/@SidecarSync https://sidecar.ai/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/sidecar-global/ Amith Nagarajan is the Chairman of Blue Cypress, a family of purpose-driven companies and proud practitioners of Conscious Capitalism. The Blue Cypress companies focus on helping associations, non-profits, and other purpose-driven organizations achieve long-term success. Amith is also an active early-stage investor in B2B SaaS companies. He’s had the good fortune of nearly three decades of success as an entrepreneur and enjoys helping others in their journey. https://linkedin.com/amithnagarajan Mallory Mejias is passionate about creating opportunities for association professionals to learn, grow, and better serve their members using artificial intelligence. She enjoys blending creativity and innovation to produce fresh, meaningful content for the association space. Mallory co-hosts and produces the Sidecar Sync podcast, where she delves into the latest trends in AI and technology, translating them into actionable insights. https://linkedin.com/mallorymejias

    39 min
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About

Welcome to Sidecar Sync: Your Weekly Dose of Innovation for Associations. Hosted by Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias, this podcast is your definitive source for the latest news, insights, and trends in the association world with a special emphasis on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its pivotal role in shaping the future. Each week, we delve into the most pressing topics, spotlighting the transformative role of emerging technologies and their profound impact on associations. With a commitment to cutting through the noise, Sidecar Sync offers listeners clear, informed discussions, expert perspectives, and a deep dive into the challenges and opportunities facing associations today. Whether you're an association professional, tech enthusiast, or just keen on staying updated, Sidecar Sync ensures you're always ahead of the curve. Join us for enlightening conversations and a fresh take on the ever-evolving world of associations. 

Information

  • Creator
    Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    123
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Sidecar Sync
  • Show Website
    Sidecar Sync

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