Alexa's Input (AI)

Alexa Griffith
  • 5.0 (6)
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • UPDATED BIMONTHLY

Alexa’s Input is a podcast about how technology actually moves forward. Hosted by Alexa Griffith, it features conversations with engineers, founders, CEOs, and leaders shaping today’s tech landscape. Each episode digs into the decisions behind the systems — what’s being built, what’s being questioned, and why it matters now. Opinions are my own Linktree: https://linktr.ee/alexagriffith Website: https://alexagriffith.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexa-griffith/ X: @lexal0u

  1. 1D AGO

    Building Reliable Systems at Bloomberg with Sal Furino

    In this episode of Alexa’s Input (AI), I sit down with Sal Furino to explore the hidden engineering work that keeps modern systems reliable. We break down what Service Level Objectives, Indicators (SLOs/SLIs), and error budgets actually mean in practice, why reliability is as much a cultural problem as a technical one, and how teams can better measure real user experience instead of just infrastructure health. Sal also explains reliability engineering and the challenges of reliability at scale, like: Why latency and correctness become harder to measure with GenAIThe difference between a bad incident and a fundamentally bad systemHow observability and telemetry shape modern engineering organizationsWhy most teams focus too much on infrastructure metrics and not enough on user happiness Why “the best systems are the ones nobody notices.”If you work in AI infrastructure, distributed systems, platform engineering, observability, or SRE, this episode is a must listen! SRECon Talk Dashboards & Dragons: Reliability Magic for AI Platforms by Alexa Griffith and Sal Furino: https://youtu.be/aWMB_7ksbkc?si=S49nPyAl_hCUIH7y General Podcast Links Watch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@alexa_griffith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Read: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://alexasinput.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Listen:⁠⁠ ⁠https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/alexagriffith/⁠⁠⁠ More: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/alexagriffith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about the host at Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://alexagriffith.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexa-griffith/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find out more about the guest at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/salvatore-furino/ Rootly Interview: https://rootly.com/humans-of-reliability/salvatore-furino Reliability at Scale Talk: https://youtu.be/J-VrU5JHPlk?si=8aV8acy57NWX30KA Bloomberg Careers: https://bloomberg.avature.net/careers/SearchJobs Chapters 00:00 - Introduction: Reliability in a world reshaped by generative AI02:22 - The importance of seamless, background system design04:41 - Becoming a Customer Reliability Engineer at Bloomberg05:17 - Clarifying the CRE role and its customer focus08:02 - The importance of observability and high-scale performance in finance09:00 - Balancing technical and cultural aspects of reliability10:19 - Coaching teams to be proactive using error budgets and SLIs12:21 - The social-technical system: People, processes, and tools13:06 - Mediation of differing opinions on reliability practices15:06 - The nuanced approach to alerting and incident response17:08 - The significance of tiered SLOs and the concept of error budgets21:08 - Using signals like latency, correctness, availability, saturation in system measurement22:53 - The impact of service level "nines" on system design and resilience28:00 - Handling non-determinism and trust in AI responses33:01 - Error budgets and their role in managing deployments34:10 - The challenge of achieving five nines and data durability considerations40:03 - Adapting SLOs for GenAI systems: core principles remain intact42:23 - Measuring non-deterministic AI responses and quality proxies44:41 - The ongoing importance of reliability even in AI/ML contexts47:25 - Reacting to error budget exhaustion and proactive mitigation50:42 - The significance of involving cross-functional teams during outages55:36 - Advocating reliability investment to leadership56:24 - The customer perspective: reliability as a fundamental feature58:42 - Connecting with Sal Furino: where to follow his work and learn more about Bloomberg's engineering culture59:20 - Final advice: Focus on user happiness to avoid common pitfalls in adopting SLOs

    54 min

  2. MAY 10

    Laila: Reinventing Dating as a Social Marketplace with Kaan Divitoğlu

    In this episode of Alexa’s Input (AI), I sit down with Kaan Divitoğlu, founder of Laila — a New York based startup rethinking online dating as a social marketplace centered around real plans instead of endless swiping. We talk about why traditional dating apps struggle to create real-world connection, how marketplace dynamics shape modern dating behavior, and why Kaan believes the future of dating products is less about “matching soulmates” and more about helping people actually get out on first dates. Kaan shares what he’s learned building a product around something emotional, unpredictable, and deeply human: connection. We also get into:• The metrics behind dating products and user behavior• Why most matches never turn into real dates• Designing around human psychology and social incentives• AI in dating apps — where it helps and where it shouldn’t• The process of building Laila• Social media growth, creator strategies, and startup distribution• Why Kaan thinks apps themselves may eventually disappear Links Watch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@alexa_griffith⁠⁠⁠⁠ Read: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://alexasinput.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Listen:⁠⁠ https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/alexagriffith/⁠⁠ More: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/alexagriffith⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about the host at Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://alexagriffith.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexa-griffith/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find out more about the guest at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaan-divitoglu-152779105/ Laila Website: https://laila.nyc Laila Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laila.social Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Layla and Its Concept 04:10 The Journey of Building Layla 08:43 User Feedback and Validation 13:35 Metrics of Success in Dating Apps 18:23 Differentiation in the Dating App Market 22:54 Understanding User Behavior and Expectations 27:37 Challenges in the Dating Landscape 29:50 Loneliness and Social Skills in Modern Dating 30:51 AI's Role in Dating Apps 34:20 The Future of Dating Apps and User Experience 38:19 Building Community Through Events and Social Media 42:54 Navigating Social Media Marketing 46:00 Rapid Fire Insights on Dating and Relationships 53:33 Outro Keywords dating app, AI, product design, real-world connections, marketplace, user engagement, social media, social tech, startup, innovation

    54 min

  3. MAR 19

    The Creative Founder Mindset with Brady Jordan

    In this episode, Alexa Griffith interviews Brady Jordan, a creative director and entrepreneur, who shares his journey from aspiring software engineer to the founder of Clip Play Media and the photo app Y2Cam. Brady discusses the intersection of creativity and technology, the importance of storytelling in video production, and the challenges of self-employment. He emphasizes the need for resilience, adaptability, and a consumer-first approach in product development, while also exploring the significance of networking and community building in achieving success. Podcast Links Watch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@alexa_griffith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Read: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://alexasinput.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Listen:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/alexagriffith/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ More Links: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/alexagriffith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find out more about the host, Alexa Griffith, at: Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://alexagriffith.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexa-griffith/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find out more about the guest at: Website: https://www.bradyjordan.com/ Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Brady Jordan and His Journey 06:45 The Birth of Clip Play Media 14:58 Quality vs. Consistency in Content Creation 24:51 Y2Cam: A Solution to Frustration 30:51 Cost and Infrastructure of App Development 35:30 Navigating the Challenges of Self-Employment 42:51 Marketing Strategies for App Success 49:04 The Value-Based Approach to Creation

    59 min

  4. FEB 17

    Securing the Software Supply Chain with Justin Cappos

    Modern software is built on layers and layers of code. So how do we know we can trust it? In this episode of Alexa’s Input (AI), Alexa Griffith sits down with Justin Cappos, professor of computer science at NYU and a leading expert in software supply chain security, to unpack what trust really means in today’s digital infrastructure. From package managers and dependency chains to large-scale outages and AI systems built on inherited code, Justin explains why many security failures aren’t random accidents, they’re predictable consequences of weak process, misaligned incentives, and insecure design. They discuss: Why security only becomes visible when something breaks The difference between unavoidable failure and negligence How modern software supply chains amplify small mistakes The role of leadership and culture in preventing breaches Why verification systems like TUF and in-toto matter more than ever As AI accelerates development and increases system complexity, the need for verifiable trust only grows. This episode is a practical look at the invisible infrastructure that keeps modern software, and increasingly, modern AI, from collapsing under its own complexity. Podcast Links Watch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@alexa_griffith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Read: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://alexasinput.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Listen:⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/alexagriffith/⁠⁠⁠⁠ More: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/alexagriffith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://alexagriffith.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexa-griffith/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find out more about the guest at: Website: https://engineering.nyu.edu/faculty/justin-cappos NYU page: https://ssl.engineering.nyu.edu/personalpages/jcappos/ Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Cappos Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Justin Cappos and His Work 01:17 The Importance of Security in Software Systems 03:50 Understanding Security Breaches: Mistakes vs. System Design Problems 06:34 Cultural Factors in Security Failures 09:25 Justin's Journey in Software Security 12:03 The Role of Academia in Enterprise Security 14:10 Evaluating Enterprise Security Systems 16:58 Foundational Projects in Software Security 19:21 AI Security Concerns and Future Directions 24:59 The Need for MCP 2.0 28:57 Security Challenges with LLMs 32:33 Designing Secure AI Systems 37:14 Ethical Dilemmas in AI Decision-Making 40:17 The Role of AI in Open Source 43:44 Trust and Mindset in AI Security

    49 min

  5. FEB 16

    The Artificial Immune System with Wendy Chin, PureCipher CEO

    As AI systems grow more autonomous, the question is no longer just what they can do, but whether we can trust the data and models behind their decisions. In this episode of Alexa’s Input (AI), Alexa Griffith talks with Wendy Chin, CEO of PureCipher, about building what she calls an artificial immune system for AI, a framework designed to make data, models, and inference tamper-evident across the AI lifecycle. They unpack what data poisoning really means (training data, weights and biases, inference inputs), why small amounts of targeted poison can create outsized model misbehavior, and how generative AI lowers the barrier to sophisticated malware. The conversation expands into the security implications of agent-to-agent communication via MCP, digital twins, and why we don’t have the luxury of “shipping now and securing later.” It’s a wide-ranging discussion that moves from practical threat models to the philosophical frontier of what happens as AI becomes more human-like, and more autonomous. Podcast Links Watch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@alexa_griffith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Read: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://alexasinput.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Listen:⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/alexagriffith/⁠⁠⁠⁠ More: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/alexagriffith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://alexagriffith.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexa-griffith/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find out more about the guest at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-chin-ctg/ Website: https://www.purecipher.com/ Chapters 00:00 Introduction to AI Security 01:16 Understanding Data Poisoning 04:38 The Dangers of Malware in AI 07:46 AI's Moral Dilemmas and Decision Making 08:45 Building Empathy in AI 13:07 The Role of Good Data in AI Training 17:02 PureCypher's Artificial Immune System 22:34 Digital Twins and Their Implications 25:22 Nurturing AI Like a Child 30:53 Data Therapy for AI 36:13 The Future of AI and Human Interaction 38:45 The Dark Side of AI: Hacking and Security 45:03 Global Perspectives on AI Security 48:11 MCP Agents and Security Concerns 51:41 Philosophical Implications of AI and Human Connection 01:00:04 The Sci-Fi Future of AI and Humanity

    1h 6m

  6. FEB 16

    Shipping Agents, Not Vulnerabilities with Ian Webster, PromptFoo CEO

    As LLM apps evolve from simple chatbots to tool-using agents, the attack surface explodes, and the old security playbooks don’t hold. In this episode of Alexa’s Input (AI), Alexa Griffith sits down with Ian Webster, co-founder and CEO of PromptFoo, to break down what AI security actually looks like in practice: automated red teaming, prompt injection and jailbreak testing, evaluation workflows that scale, and why “guardrails alone” is not a security strategy. Ian shares how PromptFoo grew from a side project into a widely adopted open-source standard, what it means to raise multi-millions in a fast-moving market, and how enterprises are approaching the full vulnerability lifecycle, from finding issues to triage, remediation, and validation. Ian also discusses the “lethal trifecta” that makes agents fundamentally risky (untrusted input + sensitive data + exfil path), and why MCP security isn’t just about users and tools, it’s about dangerous tool combinations and rogue servers. Podcast Links Watch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@alexa_griffith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Read: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://alexasinput.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Listen:⁠⁠⁠ https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/alexagriffith/⁠⁠⁠ More: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/alexagriffith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://alexagriffith.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexa-griffith/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find out more about the guest at: PromptFoo Website: https://www.promptfoo.dev/ Github: https://github.com/promptfoo/promptfoo Ian’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianww/ Chapters 00:00 Introduction to AI Security Challenges 02:06 Funding and Growth of PromptFu 06:16 The Genesis of PromptFu 11:05 Career Journey and Lessons Learned 12:53 Understanding AI Red Teaming 17:36 Recent AI Security Vulnerabilities 19:46 The Dual Nature of AI in Security 21:47 Understanding the Lethal Trifecta in AI Security 24:22 Exploring Model Context Protocol (MCP) and Its Security Implications 26:22 Common Security Issues in MCP Systems 28:17 The Role of Identity and Permissions in AI Security 30:00 Practical Implications of Using PromptFoo for Developers 31:33 Evaluating Language Models: Challenges and Techniques 36:34 The Limitations of Guardrails in AI Security 38:25 Best Practices for Engineers in AI Development 39:58 Future Trends in AI and Security 42:28 Everyday Applications of AI and Language Models

    45 min
  7. Inside the Future of AI Infrastructure with Marc Austin

    FEB 6

    Inside the Future of AI Infrastructure with Marc Austin

    Most AI infrastructure today is hitting a breaking point. Marc Austin, CEO of Hedgehog, reveals how open source networking and cloud-native solutions are revolutionizing how enterprises build and operate AI at scale. This episode addresses issues many building AI infrastructure today are facing — expensive proprietary systems, overwhelming complex network configurations, and ways to make on-prem AI infrastructure feel just like the public cloud. We discuss how networking is the hidden bottleneck in scaling GPU clusters and the surprising physics and hardware innovations enabling higher throughput. Marc shares the journey of building Hedgehog, an open source, cloud-native platform designed for AI workloads that bridges the gap between complex hardware and seamless, user-friendly cloud experiences. Marc explains how Hedgehog's software abstracts and automates the networking complexity, making AI infrastructure accessible to enterprises without dedicated networking teams. We break down the future of AI networks, from multi-cloud and hybrid environments to the rise of Neo Clouds and the open source movement transforming enterprise AI infrastructure. If you're a CTO, data scientist, or AI innovator, understanding these network innovations can be your moat. Listen to this episode to see how open source, cloud-native networking, and physical innovation are shaping the AI infrastructure of tomorrow. Podcast Links Watch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@alexa_griffith⁠⁠⁠⁠ Read: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://alexasinput.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Listen:⁠⁠ https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/alexagriffith/⁠⁠ More: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/alexagriffith⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://alexagriffith.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexa-griffith/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find out more about the guest at LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/austinmarc/ Website: https://hedgehog.cloud/ Github: https://github.com/githedgehog Chapters 00:00 Rethinking AI Infrastructure 02:49 The Role of Networking in AI 05:54 Marc's Journey to Hedgehog 08:46 Lessons from Big Companies 11:38 Requirements for AI Networks 14:48 Advancements in AI Networking 17:33 Future Challenges in AI Infrastructure 20:46 Creating a Cloud Experience On-Prem 23:32 The Shift to Hybrid Multi-Cloud 28:10 Evolving AI Infrastructure and Efficiency 30:57 AI Workloads and Network Configurations 32:41 Zero Touch Lifecycle Management 35:12 Support for Hardware Devices 35:45 Networking Paradigms and Vendor Lock-in 38:42 The Rise of Neo Clouds 41:31 Demand for AI Infrastructure 43:57 Open Source and Cloud-Native Networking 47:27 Challenges of Building a Networking Startup 50:46 Proud Accomplishments at Hedgehog 52:41 Future Excitement in AI Inference

    46 min

  8. JAN 19

    Beyond the Clouds with Kelsey Hightower

    Five years ago, Kelsey Hightower helped me find my voice in tech as the guest for my fifth podcast episode. Today, the man who taught the world Kubernetes and became a legend for his live demos returns for a conversation that goes far beyond infrastructure and code. Now retired-ish, Kelsey has transitioned into a new chapter. In this episode, we explore what it means to be not only a senior engineer, but also a "senior human" in an industry obsessed with speed. Kelsey shares his unique perspective on: Real vs. Artificial Intelligence: Why we must stop ignoring real intelligence and focus on providing humans with the same context and clarity we give to AI.The Future of Engineering: Why your value will shift from writing code to making stylistic, high-impact decisions as AI levels the technical playing field.Impact Over Activity: How to stop being a "busybot" and start asking the difficult questions about why we are building in the first place.The Senior Human Unit Test: Building communities with integrity, leading with empathy, and staying balanced in a world that always wants more.Whether you are just getting into your career or a seasoned veteran, this episode is a masterclass in curiosity, craft, and the art of staying grounded while building the future. Podcast Links Watch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@alexa_griffith⁠⁠⁠⁠ Read: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://alexasinput.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Listen:⁠⁠ https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/alexagriffith/⁠⁠ More: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/alexagriffith⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://alexagriffith.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexa-griffith/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find out more about the guest at: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/kelseyhightower.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelsey-hightower-849b342b1 GitHub Profile: https://github.com/kelseyhightower Kubernetes the Hard Way: https://github.com/kelseyhightower/kubernetes-the-hard-way No Code (The minimalist project): https://github.com/kelseyhightower/nocode Kubernetes: Up and Running (Book): https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/kubernetes-up-and/9781492046523/ Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Background 01:10 Transitioning from Engineer to Tech Philosopher 04:00 The Importance of Being a Senior Human 07:23 AI's Impact on People Skills 10:12 The Future of Engineering in an AI World 15:04 Navigating the AI Shift 21:21 Finding Impact Over Activity 25:47 Creating Meaningful Products 29:57 The Power of Listening and Connection 35:21 The Importance of Listening in Discussions 35:55 Embracing the Learning Journey 36:58 Understanding Imposter Syndrome 39:33 Creating Supportive Learning Environments 40:31 Learning in Public and Sharing Experiences 41:31 Finding Your Own Voice 43:26 The Power of Emotion in Presentations 47:29 Crafting Engaging Stories 48:40 Improvisation in Public Speaking 55:10 The Evolution of Presentation Styles 01:03:28 Legacy and Impact in the Tech Community

    1h 6m
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Alexa’s Input is a podcast about how technology actually moves forward. Hosted by Alexa Griffith, it features conversations with engineers, founders, CEOs, and leaders shaping today’s tech landscape. Each episode digs into the decisions behind the systems — what’s being built, what’s being questioned, and why it matters now. Opinions are my own Linktree: https://linktr.ee/alexagriffith Website: https://alexagriffith.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexa-griffith/ X: @lexal0u

Information

  • Creator
    Alexa Griffith
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    63
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Alexa Griffith
  • Show Website
    Alexa's Input (AI)

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