The AI Diaries

Kate Nelson

Most AI content is either magical marketing claims or dense technical jargon. The AI Diaries is neither. Some guests are just getting started. Some have learned the hard way. Host Kate Nelson talks to the skeptics, the early adopters, the accidental experts, and the ones who are still figuring out what's even going on — all leaders at the intersection of AI, customer experience, and contact centers. The people who'll give you their honest POV...not just what sounds nice on a moderated panel. Honest conversations. Unfiltered takes. The insights people share at the conference after party, not the ones they rehearsed for the stage.

Episodes

  1. 1d ago

    The AI Diaries: AI Adoption in Regulated Industries

    Kate sits down with Jerry Ellis, Head of Contact Center at Ardent Health, for a candid look at AI adoption inside healthcare — an industry that's regulated, cautious, and moving on its own timeline whether leaders like it or not. Jerry is refreshingly honest about where his team is ahead and where it's behind, and he makes a strong case that the thing blocking most AI projects isn't money or executive buy-in. It's prioritization.

    37 min

  2. May 18 ·  Bonus

    XR Diaries: VR Adoption Is Stalled. Here's Exactly Why — and When That Changes

    Haseeb Fonte has been inside the XR machine. Former Chief of Staff to Meta's COO, product leader on the AI smart glasses and Meta Quest teams, and a veteran of Samsung and Monitor Deloitte — he's seen XR from the inside out. Now, as COO of Game Changing Style and a track lead at MIT Reality Hack, he's thinking about where it goes from here. In this debut episode of XR Diaries, Haseeb and host Kate Nelson pull back the curtain on the state of XR — without the pitch deck spin. Key takeaways: Gaming and social world-building are the only areas with proven XR traction. Everything else — healthcare, retail, enterprise — has pockets of success but hasn't broken through yet. The honest answer is: it's a developer supply problem, not a consumer demand problem.Meta's trust problem with developers is a real liability. When they killed Spark AR and pulled back from Horizon Worlds VR, they didn't just lose platforms — they lost the developers who built their careers on those platforms. Rebuilding that trust will take time that Meta may not have the patience for.Samsung and Apple entering the headset space is the real unlock. When iOS and Android developers can build for XR headsets using tools they already know, the content library explodes — and content is what drives adoption.For enterprise leaders curious about XR, skip the conference. Go to a hackathon. MIT Reality Hack and Stanford XR give you four days of hands-on exposure, direct access to developers building real prototypes for your industry, and the kind of fast learning no conference panel can replicate.VR adoption will follow the same arc as every other communication technology. Screens. Mobile. Social media. Every time, people said "no one will spend hours doing that." Every time, they were wrong. The Roblox generation is already growing up — and they're going to expect XR in the workplace.Guest: Haseeb Fonte — COO, Game Changing Style | Track Lead, MIT Reality Hack | Former Chief of Staff to Meta COO Host: Kate Nelson — Tech Consultant and XR Leader Connect with Haseeb: LinkedIn: [Add]MIT Reality Hack: https://www.mitrealityhack.comGame Changing Style - Fashion & Gaming Awards @ NY Comic Con (October 2026): https://www.fashioningamingawards.com/

    55 min

  3. May 2

    Shawn Farris - Defining Requirements via Mini-RFP

    Kate sat down with Shawn Farris to discuss his approach to cutting through the AI hype and the practical realities of integrating artificial intelligence into contact center operations. Episode Highlights: Defining the North Star: Learn why identifying specific business problems is the critical first step before adopting any AI tool (0:45). The Mini-RFP Strategy: Explore Shawn's standardized approach to evaluating vendors, including an "express" 15-question RFP that helps leadership filter out noise and identify true partners (4:03, 11:31). Operationalizing Success: Discover how to maintain control over Proof of Concepts (POCs) and avoid the common pitfall of letting vendors dictate your internal requirements (21:20). Human-Centric Adoption: Gain insights into change management, focusing on augmenting human talent rather than replacing it, to drive team buy-in and upskilling (27:35). Tune in for more AI Diaries.

    48 min

  4. May 1

    Savannah Dowe - Most of Your 'AI Problems' Are Broken Workflows

    Savannah Dowe is the VP of Customer Care at Place — a 15-brand real estate technology platform — and she's been deep in the AI journey for two years. She's the most operationally thoughtful guest I've had on AI Diaries. We talk about what AI actually looks like when it's working inside an organization: the monthly workshops, the Center of Excellence, the champions model, the psychological safety conversation — and where it goes wrong when you skip the foundation. Spoiler: a lot of what people think are AI problems are actually just broken workflows. 🎙️ Guest: Savannah Dowe — VP of Customer Care, Place ─ 🔗 LINKS Connect with Savannah on LinkedIn:   / savannahcruz   ─ 📍 Subscribe to The AI Diaries — unfiltered conversations with CX and contact center leaders navigating AI in the real world.

    42 min
  • 4 Episodes

About

Most AI content is either magical marketing claims or dense technical jargon. The AI Diaries is neither. Some guests are just getting started. Some have learned the hard way. Host Kate Nelson talks to the skeptics, the early adopters, the accidental experts, and the ones who are still figuring out what's even going on — all leaders at the intersection of AI, customer experience, and contact centers. The people who'll give you their honest POV...not just what sounds nice on a moderated panel. Honest conversations. Unfiltered takes. The insights people share at the conference after party, not the ones they rehearsed for the stage.

Information

  • Creator
    Kate Nelson
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    4
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Kate Nelson
  • Show Website
    The AI Diaries