AI Made Simple

Valeriya Pilkevich
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AI Made Simple: The Transformation Series explores how AI is reshaping how organisations work, lead, and scale. Hosted by international AI trainer and speaker Valeriya Pilkevich, the show features conversations with senior leaders, innovators, and practitioners driving real-world AI transformation. Each episode reveals what it really takes to make AI work — from leadership and culture to data, governance, and everyday workflows.

Episodes

  1. Dr. Elisa Konya-Baumbach on the Psychology of AI Acceptance

    1D AGO

    Dr. Elisa Konya-Baumbach on the Psychology of AI Acceptance

    AI adoption is failing in most organisations - not because of technology, but because of psychology. Even when AI demonstrably outperforms humans, people resist it. The question is: why? In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Elisa Konya-Baumbach - Professor of Consumer Psychology at Bern University of Applied Sciences and Co-Founder of humest - who has spent years researching the irrational human reactions that block AI adoption. In this conversation, we explore: The psychology behind AI resistance - including "uniqueness neglect" and why rational arguments don't workWhy most AI training programs fail - and how to design literacy programs that actually drive adoptionHow reframing "AI" as "smart technologies" or giving AI assistants names changes employee behaviourThe four levels of AI acceptance - individual, organisational, societal, and technological - and what to fix firstNeed help building AI capability in your organization? Book a call.

    29 min
  2. Dr. Benedikt Flöter on Turning AI Regulation Into a Business Advantage

    FEB 27

    Dr. Benedikt Flöter on Turning AI Regulation Into a Business Advantage

    The EU AI Act is live, but most companies are still treating it like another GDPR. It's not. It's a fundamentally different kind of regulation, one that's tied to how your business operates, not just how it stores data.  In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Benedikt Flöter - Partner at YPOG and head of their AI and Emerging Technologies practice - who advises leadership teams on building legally compliant, scalable AI governance that actually drives business value.  We discuss:  Why two-thirds of companies overestimate their AI risk classification The governance foundations every organization needs before scaling AIHow a recent German court ruling means your AI-generated content may not be copyright protected Why AI literacy is now a legal requirement and what "sufficient" actually looks like Check your company’s AI risk category and compliance obligations here: https://ai-act-service-desk.ec.europa.eu/en/eu-ai-act-compliance-checker  Connect with Dr. Benedikt Flöter: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benedikt-floeter/  Website: https://www.ypog.law  Connect with Valeriya: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valeriya-pilkevich YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@aimadesimpletalks Podcast: https://aimadesimple.buzzsprout.com Need help building AI capability in your organization? Book a call.

    34 min
  3. Toju Duke on Why Responsible AI Is a Business Strategy, Not a Checkbox

    FEB 20

    Toju Duke on Why Responsible AI Is a Business Strategy, Not a Checkbox

    AI is being rolled out at scale across industries - but the safeguards haven't kept up. Bias in AI has improved less than 5% despite years of awareness, agentic AI is amplifying risks faster than companies can manage them, and most organizations still treat responsible AI as a compliance checkbox rather than a strategic advantage.  In this episode of AI Made Simple: The Transformation Series, I'm joined by Toju Duke - AI advisor, author, and former Google Responsible AI lead - who spent a decade at Google before founding Diverse AI, an organization building a 5-million-image dataset to represent communities invisible to current AI systems.  We discuss:  Why AI bias hasn't meaningfully improved and what's blocking progress The security and accountability risks of deploying AI agents without safeguards How underrepresented data creates real business risk, from recruitment failures to reputational damage Why responsible AI should be part of your AI strategy, not a separate initiative Connect with Toju Duke: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tojuduke/ Website: https://www.tojuduke.com/ Her Books: Responsible AI Building Responsible Algorithms  Connect with Valeriya: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valeriya-pilkevich YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@aimadesimpletalks Podcast: https://aimadesimple.buzzsprout.com/ Need help building AI capability in your organization? Book a call.

    31 min
  4. Tatevik Mkrtchyan on Building Learning Culture at Scale: IKEA's Skills-Based Approach

    FEB 13

    Tatevik Mkrtchyan on Building Learning Culture at Scale: IKEA's Skills-Based Approach

    Most AI training programs fail not because of content, but because they ignore how people actually work. Shop floor employees, scheduled workers, and frontline teams need something radically different from desk-based learning.  In this episode, I'm joined by Tatevik Mkrtchyan, Competence and Leadership Leader at IKEA Germany, who oversees learning strategy for 20,000 coworkers across 54 stores.  We discuss:  • Why AI training fails when it ignores frontline workers and shop floor realities • How to build AI communities that create movement instead of temporary change projects • The difference between skills-based organizations and traditional capability models • When AI avatars and conversational AI make sense for L&D - and when they don't Connect with Tatevik: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tatevik-mkrtchyan-8a59b777/ Connect with Valeriya: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valeriya-pilkevich/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@aimadesimpletalks Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2558906 Need help building AI capability in your organization? Book a call.

    22 min
  5. Mila Devenport on AI Literacy, Digital Wellbeing, and the Cognitive Offloading Crisis

    FEB 6

    Mila Devenport on AI Literacy, Digital Wellbeing, and the Cognitive Offloading Crisis

    Your employees can use AI tools, but do they understand their relationship with them? Most companies focus on "button-pressing skills" while ignoring the deeper question: are we building human capacity or accidentally outsourcing it? In this episode, I'm joined by Mila Devenport - AI ethicist, founder of Kigumi Group, and certified AI ethics assessor - who has spent over a decade working with digital natives, schools, and enterprises on digital wellbeing and responsible AI use. We discuss: Why soft skills and human intelligence matter more than ever in the age of AIWhat companies get wrong when recruiting and onboarding AI-native employeesHow to prevent cognitive offloading from turning your workforce into algorithm-dependent thinkersThe AI process journal framework that helps people understand where their thinking stops and AI's beginsConnect with Mila:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mila-devenport/ Kigumi Group: https://www.kigumigroup.com Connect with Valeriya:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valeriya-pilkevich YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@aimadesimpletalks  Podcast: https://aimadesimple.buzzsprout.com Need help building AI capability in your organization? Book a call.

    24 min
  6. Ashu Bhatia on Value Engineering and AI Strategy That Actually Works

    JAN 30

    Ashu Bhatia on Value Engineering and AI Strategy That Actually Works

    Most companies invest millions in AI tools but fail because they skip the foundation that makes AI work. In this episode, I'm joined by Ashu Bhatia - Global Head of Dexian and Season Technology, AI Transformation Leader with 25+ years at Accenture, Microsoft, American Express, and Siemens, and author of "Value Creation" - who reveals why 60-70% of consulting work still focuses on data foundations, not AI deployment. We discuss:  – Why messy data gets exposed (not fixed) by AI – The three pillars 95% of organizations overlook when building AI readiness  – Three critical leadership behaviors: clarity, simplification, and prioritization – How to escape "pilot purgatory" and move AI projects into production  Connect with Ashu Bhatia:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashubhatia/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TechBytesWithAsh His Book: "Value Creation": https://www.amazon.com/Value-Creation-Information-Technology-Business/dp/1612540368 Connect with Valeriya.  Need help building AI capability in your organization? Book a call.

    32 min
  7. Nufar Gaspar on Building AI Champions and Agent Readiness at Scale

    JAN 23

    Nufar Gaspar on Building AI Champions and Agent Readiness at Scale

    AI adoption is failing in most organizations - not because of the technology, but because culture, governance, and people enablement often gets ignored. In this episode, I'm joined by Nufar Gaspar - enterprise AI consultant, former AI leader at Intel where she built a 12,000-member AI champions community, and head of research at Superintelligent - who reveals the exact playbook for building AI capability at scale and preparing for agentic workflows. In this conversation, we explore: Why AI ROI comes from improved decision-making and new capabilities, not just efficiency gainsThe CHANGE framework for leading AI transformation without stifling innovation or creating chaosHow to structure AI champions and builders across your organization (and why this matters for agent readiness)The governance sweet spot between being too permissive (creating chaos) and too restrictive (stifling innovation)Need help building AI capability in your organization? Book a call.

    31 min
  • 7 Episodes

About

AI Made Simple: The Transformation Series explores how AI is reshaping how organisations work, lead, and scale. Hosted by international AI trainer and speaker Valeriya Pilkevich, the show features conversations with senior leaders, innovators, and practitioners driving real-world AI transformation. Each episode reveals what it really takes to make AI work — from leadership and culture to data, governance, and everyday workflows.

Information

  • Creator
    Valeriya Pilkevich
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    7
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 AI Made Simple
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    AI Made Simple