Data Radicals Alation

When building a data platform, it’s important to stay true to your vision. Whether that's through creating a definitive user experience or an open platform that allows people to build upon it, you’re constructing a cathedral. This cathedral is sophisticated and dependable, and allows for a bazaar of business intelligence, machine learning, and AI use cases.

In this episode, Satyen interviews Matei Zaharia, Chief Technologist and Co-founder of Databricks. Matei is an open source trailblazer and the creator of Apache Spark, a widely used framework for distributed data processing. He is also an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University where he leads various data management and machine learning projects. Matei and Satyen discuss the Databricks and Alation partnership, exploring how platforms can help companies own their data, and consider the value of democratizing open source large language models.

Once considered the outcast of Silicon Valley, data has metamorphosed as a cool kid that everyone wants to be friends with. In the last decade, data has solidified itself as the key to success in business. The same shift can be said for India who primarily operated behind the scenes, has emerged as a leader in innovation.

In this episode, Satyen sits down with Jitendra Putcha, EVP and Global Head of Data, Analytics, and AI at LTIMindtree. As an industry leader for over 20 years, he has solved data and analytics challenges for global companies by creating innovative next-generation solutions. Satyen and Jitendra discuss data platform modernization, data quality initiatives, and the future of AI and data science.

There are some things that just can’t be quantified by data; imagine trying to portray your childhood in a spreadsheet! Yet these experiences are valuable. How can data teams capture qualitative information – and use it to steer the business? It starts with getting your data team out of the building. Only then can they gain insights about customer pain points and what the data is failing to tell us.

In this episode, Satyen interviews Tricia Wang, a “tech ethnographer” and co-founder of Sudden Compass, a consulting firm helping companies improve their business through thick data. She also co-founded CRADL (Crypto Research and Design Lab) with the mission to create inclusive and sustainable growth of the crypto ecosystem. Satyen and Tricia discuss the power of thick data, the value of digital personhood, and the dangers of quantification bias.

In a world where technology is constantly evolving and AI is everywhere, it’s all too easy for content to be deceitful, including scientific papers. Capturing source metadata, incentivizing reproducibility, and protecting whistleblowers are steps we can take to ensure science remains honest.

In this episode, Satyen interviews Dr. Elisabeth Bik. Elisabeth is an experienced microbiologist whose groundbreaking work in scientific integrity has led to more than four thousand potential cases of improper research conduct. She also founded the blogs Microbiome Digest and Science Integrity Digest, and was awarded the John Maddox Prize for "outstanding work exposing widespread threats to research integrity in scientific papers" in 2021. Satyen and Elisabeth discuss image manipulation in scientific papers, the impact of AI on scientific integrity, and why paper mills must be stopped.

Data governance is often seen as a confusing topic but everyone, even dummies, are capable of applying it to their organization. By starting with the “why” and acting on the most critical pieces, you can build a successful data governance initiative.

In this episode, Satyen interviews Dr. Jonathan Reichental, author of Data Governance for Dummies and Founder of Human Future. He is an Adjunct Professor at several universities, including the University of San Francisco, Pepperdine University, and Menlo College. Dr. Reichental also served as the Chief Information Officer at both O’Reilly Media and the city of Palo Alto, California. Satyen and Dr. Reichental discuss implementing data governance step-by-step, avoiding common governance pitfalls, and the future of smart cities.

Vulnerability is an important quality often overlooked in the world of tech. Yet being vulnerable and authentic helps you to set realistic expectations, speak with executives on a human level, and connect with your audience.

In this episode, Satyen interviews Jepson (Ben) Taylor, Chief AI Strategist at Dataiku. Jepson is a visionary in the advancements of AI, ML, and data science. Prior to joining Dataiku, he served as the Chief AI Evangelist at DataRobot and co-founded the deep learning startup Zeff.ai, which was acquired by DataRobot in 2020. Jepson is a frequent industry speaker and collaborates with the data science community to improve AI and deep learning. Satyen and Jepson discuss the power of failure, the lie of job security, and proving data’s worth through storytelling.