A Beginner's Guide to AI

Dietmar Fischer
  • 3.2 (53)
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

"A Beginner's Guide to AI" makes the complex world of Artificial Intelligence accessible to all. Each episode asks someone working with AI about what they do and how AI can help you. Ideal for novices, tech enthusiasts, and the simply curious, this podcast transforms AI learning into an engaging, digestible journey. Join us as we take the first steps into AI 🚀 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 2D AGO

    Stop Prompting - Start Context Engineering

    Most people think better AI results come from better prompts. This episode proves why that’s wrong. Professor GePhardT introduces Context Engineering, the missing skill that transforms AI from a confused parrot into a capable collaborator. Through relatable metaphors, real business examples, and a deliciously British cake analogy, you’ll learn how shaping an AI’s environment matters more than clever wording. You’ll discover: Why prompt engineering alone failsHow context helps AI understand intentThe difference between guessing and knowingA real telecom case where context fixed customer supportHow to apply context engineering in everyday AI use 📧💌📧 Tune in to get my thoughts and all episodes, don’t forget to ⁠⁠⁠⁠subscribe to our Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠: ⁠⁠⁠⁠beginnersguide.nl⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📧💌📧 Quotes from the Episode “Prompt engineering is asking nicely. Context engineering is setting the stage.”“Without context, AI is guessing. With context, it understands intent.”“Context turns AI from a parrot into a collaborator.” Chapters 00:00 Why Prompts Alone Are Not Enough 04:12 What Context Engineering Really Means 10:25 Understanding Intent Through Context 18:40 Context Engineering vs Prompt Engineering 25:10 Telco Case Study 35:20 The Cake Example 44:00 Final Takeaways About Dietmar Fischer Dietmar is a podcaster and AI marketer from Berlin. If you want to know how to get your AI or your digital marketing going, just contact him at argoberlin.com Music credit: “Modern Situations” by Unicorn Heads 🎵 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    22 min
  2. AI Doesn't Break It, Bad Leadership Does

    4D AGO

    AI Doesn't Break It, Bad Leadership Does

    🤖🧠 AI is making strategy cheap. Adoption is still expensive. In this episode, Dietmar Fischer sits down with Bud Caddell (NOBL) to unpack what leaders miss when they roll out generative AI and expect instant results. Bud shares how his team thinks about AI change management, why “turning on Copilot” is not an adoption plan, and what happens to consulting when LLMs can produce “firm-grade” recommendations in seconds. You will also hear the story behind ConsultingSlop.com, a strategy generator that models the reasoning styles of major consulting firms and outputs polished advice instantly. What started as a parody quickly became a serious signal about commoditization, incentives, and the real differentiator: execution, trust, and organizational design. Key takeaways you can apply immediately: ✅ How to approach Microsoft Copilot adoption strategy like a redesign effort, not a software toggle ✅ Why AI literacy and training reduce fear, resistance, and “adoption theater” ✅ What the agents wave means in practice, including platforms like Agentforce ✅ How “vibe coding” changes prototyping speed and risk for teams 📧💌📧 Tune in to get my thoughts and all episodes, don't forget to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠subscribe to our Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: ⁠⁠⁠⁠beginnersguide.nl⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📧💌📧 About Dietmar Fischer: Dietmar is a podcaster and AI marketer from Berlin. If you want to know how to get your AI or your digital marketing going, just contact him at argoberlin.com Quotes from the Episode“AI is this incredible wave that I think is gonna fundamentally change individual organizations, but the entire economy, society at large.”“We turned on Copilot, so why aren’t we more productive? … it’s a design process.”“My big prediction is that over the next 18 months, we’re gonna see a lot of backpedaling… and sunk cost fallacy.”Chapters00:00 Bud’s path from software to organizational change and why AI feels different 04:20 ConsultingSlop.com, vibe coding, and when AI strategy gets uncomfortably believable 06:30 Copilot mandates vs real adoption, why productivity math fails without redesign 16:40 AI as a catalyst for deeper issues: brand story, conflict, and culture 19:25 The next 18 months: investment traps, backpedaling, and what leaders should do 38:00 Agents, Agentforce, and Bud’s personal AI toolkit plus wow moments and wrap Where to find the GuestBud Caddell: https://budcaddell.com/NOBL: https://nobl.io/Consulting Slop: https://consultingslop.com/LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/budcaddell/ Music credit: "Modern Situations" by Unicorn Heads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    51 min

  3. 6D AGO

    Customer Panel? Too Slow. Here’s the Synthetic Version - with Janet Barker-Evans

    🚀 In this episode, Dietmar Fischer talks with Janet Barker-Evans about what happens when AI stops being a novelty and becomes part of a serious creative workflow. Janet breaks down how she uses custom GPTs for marketing as brainstorming partners and how synthetic personas can help teams validate campaigns faster, sometimes in a single day instead of waiting weeks for traditional research cycles. Our topics today include hands-on AI training, multi-model workflows (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot), and why AI fear often comes down to power and control. 📧💌📧 Tune in to get my thoughts and all episodes, don't forget to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠subscribe to our Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: ⁠⁠⁠⁠beginnersguide.nl⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📧💌📧 About the Host: Dietmar is a podcaster and AI marketer from Berlin. If you want to know how to get your AI or your digital marketing going, just contact him at argoberlin.com 🎯 What you will learn: How synthetic personas in market research and synthetic customers can accelerate concept testingHow custom GPTs for marketing can unlock better creative optionsHow to choose between tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Copilot for real business work 🕒 Chapters 00:00 Welcome and Janet’s AI origin story 01:47 Custom GPTs as brainstorming partners for marketers 05:05 Hands-on AI workshops: building confidence across ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot 15:23 Synthetic personas and rapid creative validation with “persona panels” 20:00 Multi-model workflows: choosing the right tool and making outputs usable 35:03 The wow moments and the fear factor: prototyping visuals, power, control, and what’s next 💬 Quotes from the Episode “It’s like having a partner who’s not afraid to pitch a crazy idea.”“When we come up with a creative campaign, we will go test it against our synthetic persona panel.”“They’re all synthetic!”“Some of them will poke holes in our thinking, which helps us make it stronger.”“We can gut check it inside of a day.”“So, it’s about power, it’s about control…” 🔎 Where to find the Guest Janet's website: janetbarkerevans.comAbelsonTayler's website: AbelsonTaylor GroupOr connect on LinkedIn with Janet: Janet Barker-Evans Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed the episode, please follow the show and share it with someone who is trying to ship better work faster. Music credit: "Modern Situations" by Unicorn Heads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    50 min
  4. How Michael Sacca of LeadPages Is Using AI to Transform Landing Pages Forever // NEW AUDIO

    JAN 25

    How Michael Sacca of LeadPages Is Using AI to Transform Landing Pages Forever // NEW AUDIO

    Michael Sacca (Leadpages) on AI-powered landing pages, personalization, and the future of search 🚀 In this conversation, Michael Sacca shares how Leadpages is weaving AI landing page optimization into real marketing workflows - from personalization that actually moves the needle to what Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) means for search and conversions. 📧📧📧 Tune in to get my thoughts and all episodes, don't forget to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠subscribe to our Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! 📧📧📧 💡 Highlights How AI landing page optimization boosts conversion rates with smarter on-page decisions 🤖Practical ways to implement AI-driven personalization without overwhelming your stackWhy AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) matters as search shifts to assistants and LLMs 🔎Navigating privacy & data considerations when deploying AIThe future roadmap for AI inside SaaS marketing tools 🚀 ⚡Quotes from the Episode "Can AI be an analyzer of customer data, a designer, or even a generator of entire assets? That’s what we’re experimenting with—expanding from just a landing page builder into a conversion optimization platform, with AI at the heart of that story.” - Michael Sacca “If we can get you the answer faster, we can increase conversions.” - Michael Sacca “One exciting use case is syncing ad creative with landing page optimization. Imagine designing a page, having ads produced, and feeding both into a system that constantly optimizes them together. That’s where we’re heading.” - Michael Sacca 🧾 Chapters 00:00 Introduction – Dietmar Fischer welcomes Michael Sacca from Leadpages 05:17 Making AI accessible for SMBs in landing page optimization 10:28 Building an AI-first landing page builder 15:37 The exciting shift in Martech and AI adoption 20:59 Exploring personalization and customer experience challenges 26:09 Conversational landing pages and chatbots in Beta 31:19 The cusp of transformation: AI’s role in marketing workflows 36:39 Lessons from 13 years of Leadpages and the future outlook 41:45 Closing remarks and where to find Michael Sacca Where to find Michael Sacca: 🔗 Website: leadpages.com 🧑‍🦰 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/michaelsacca 🙅 X/Twitter: x.com/michaelsacca 🎙️ "On the Record" Podcast: lp.leadpages.com/podcast/ 📧 Tune in to get my thoughts, and don’t forget to subscribe to our Newsletter: beginnersguide.nl Music credit: "Modern Situations" by Unicorn Heads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    47 min
  5. Future of Leadership with AI: Lessons from CISCO's President Jeetu Patel // REPOST

    JAN 23

    Future of Leadership with AI: Lessons from CISCO's President Jeetu Patel // REPOST

    In this episode of Beginner’s Guide to AI, host Dietmar Fischer sits down with Jeetu Patel, one of the most respected voices in enterprise technology, to explore leadership and innovation in the age of AI. From his early journey at Box to his executive leadership at Cisco, Jeetu shares a unique perspective on how leaders can adapt, inspire, and build AI-first organizations that thrive in times of rapid change. 📧📧📧 Tune in to get my thoughts and all episodes, don't forget to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠subscribe to our Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! 📧📧📧 Whether you’re an executive, innovator, or simply curious about the future of leadership with AI, this episode will challenge your thinking and spark new ideas about the future of work. 🔑 Episode Highlights AI Leadership Strategies: How leaders can empower people, not replace them. Innovation in the Age of AI: Opportunities and challenges for executives.Building AI-First Organizations: Why starting today is critical for tomorrow.Future of Work: Leadership lessons from tech executives who’ve lived digital transformation. 💬 Quotes from the Episode “Leadership in the age of AI isn’t about replacing people — it’s about empowering them to innovate faster and smarter.” — Jeetu Patel “If you’re not building your organization to be AI-first today, you’ll be playing catch-up tomorrow.” — Jeetu Patel 🎬 Podcast Chapters (experimental feature) 00:00 Introduction and Welcome with Jeetu Patel 00:21 Why Jeetu Patel Chose AI 02:56 Cisco, Infrastructure, and the AI Rush 09:02 AI Education and Adoption at Scale 16:18 How Jeetu Patel Personally Uses AI 26:46 Leadership Lessons and Transformation 28:12 Meta-Prompting and Asking Better Questions 42:15 Innovation and Leadership in the Age of AI 54:33 Personal Reflections and Closing Thoughts 🌐 Where to find Jeetu Patel You can find Jeetu on LinkedIn And, you can find Cisco at, yes, Cisco.com 😉 🎧 Tune in to get my thoughts, and don’t forget to subscribe to our Newsletter: beginnersguide.nl 🎵 Music credit: "Modern Situations" by Unicorn Heads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    59 min
  6. Europe Is Falling Behind in AI: Fabian Westerheide’s Wake-Up Call for 2026

    JAN 19

    Europe Is Falling Behind in AI: Fabian Westerheide’s Wake-Up Call for 2026

    Europe has brilliant researchers, ambitious founders, and world-class industry. Yet the AI race is being dominated elsewhere. In this episode, Dietmar Fischer talks with Fabian Westerheide, founder of Rise of AI, about why Europe is struggling with AI sovereignty, infrastructure, and execution, and what entrepreneurs can do right now to stay competitive. Fabian explains how Rise of AI grew over a decade from early community meetups into a curated conference and ecosystem hub where Europe’s most relevant AI leaders meet. He also makes the case that Europe’s biggest strategic risk is dependency on American GPUs, hyperscalers, and cloud platforms, while policy, capital allocation, and digital administration move too slowly for exponential change. You will learn what a GDPR compliant AI stack can look like, why EU AI Act compliant implementation is becoming a competitive advantage, and why Europe’s research-to-startup transfer remains painfully inefficient. This is a practical and provocative conversation about AI infrastructure, venture capital incentives, European-first tech choices, and the mindset shift required in 2026: stop waiting, start building. 📧💌📧 Tune in to get my thoughts and all episodes, don't forget to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠subscribe to our Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: ⁠⁠⁠⁠beginnersguide.nl⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📧💌📧 Chapters00:00 Welcome and why Fabian chose AI 01:55 Rise of AI turns 10 years: from meetups to a curated conference 03:19 Europe’s biggest AI challenge: dependency on US cloud and GPUs 10:05 Optimists in a dystopian world: why Rise of AI exists 11:22 European AI champions and the sovereignty problem 16:45 Why Europe struggles to turn research into AI companies 19:40 2026 outlook: stop waiting, take responsibility, use AI 23:00 Where to find Fabian and Rise of AI About Dietmar FischerDietmar is a podcaster and AI marketer from Berlin. If you want to know how to get your AI or your digital marketing going, just contact him at argoberlin.com Quotes from the Episode“We are living the dystopia. But within this, I’m an optimist.”“The whole stack is running on American GPUs, it’s running on American hyperscalers.”“If you run a company, use AI, no excuses.”“I realized back then AI will change the world.”“You can’t put me in any box, but overall I’m dedicating 12 hours of a day for AI within Europe.”“Don’t play the capitalistic game anymore… figure out what you want to do meaningful with your life.” Where to find Fabian and the Rise of AI Conference:Fabian Westerheide: Website fabian-westerheide.deRise of AI: Official site riseof.aiRise of AI Ticket Shop: riseof.ai/ticket-shopLinkedIn: Fabian Westerheide Music credit: "Modern Situations" by Unicorn Heads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    28 min
  7. Hasta La Vista, Humans? Why Hollywood Keeps Fuelling Our AI Fears // REPOST

    JAN 17

    Hasta La Vista, Humans? Why Hollywood Keeps Fuelling Our AI Fears // REPOST

    Hollywood loves a good AI apocalypse—but how likely is a real-life Skynet scenario? In today's episode of A Beginner's Guide to AI, Professor GePhardT takes you on an entertaining yet eye-opening journey into Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). From understanding why films like The Terminator shape our deepest AI anxieties, to real-world safety measures inspired by these sci-fi nightmares, this episode breaks down exactly how humanity can steer advanced AI towards a beneficial future—rather than a robotic uprising. Expect to hear why a smart kitchen assistant could unintentionally cause chaos, how fictional tales are influencing actual AI research, and what top thinkers like Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking have warned us about. It's a conversation packed with fascinating examples, practical tips, and an honest look at how we're preparing for AGI today. Tune in to get my thoughts, don't forget to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠subscribe to our Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Want to get in contact? Write me an email: podcast@argo.berlin This podcast was generated with the help of ChatGPT, Mistral and Claude 3. We do fact check with human eyes, but there still might be hallucinations in the output. And, by the way, it's read by an AI voice. Music credit: "Modern Situations" by Unicorn Heads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    17 min
  8. Is Your Data More Valuable Than Your Vote? // REPOST

    JAN 15

    Is Your Data More Valuable Than Your Vote? // REPOST

    In this episode, Yvette Schmitter unpacks the uncomfortable truth about modern AI: how convenience turns citizens into data points. We go deep on AI privacy, data ethics, and the industry incentives that drive data brokers, invasive biometrics, and “consent theater” in Terms of Service. Yvette blends engineering chops with no-nonsense clarity to show what needs to change—and what you can do today. 📧📧📧 Tune in to get my thoughts and all episodes, don't forget to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠subscribe to our Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! 📧📧📧 Key highlights: AI privacy explained in real-world terms—what you trade away when you click Accept Data brokers 101: how your info is collected, bundled, and resold The “action figure” experiment: a vivid story about bias and representation in AI imagery Biometrics and identity: faces, voice prints, and why “frictionless” can be risky Regulatory theater vs. meaningful guardrails—and where pro-innovation actually fits Banks, voice recognition, and moving money: the security-privacy tradeoff Quotes from the Episode “Pro-innovation. I love innovation. I’m anti-bullshit.” “Since we don’t buy votes, why would we buy people’s data?” Chapters00:00 Introductions and Setup03:27 The Consent Illusion & Data Brokers: Turning People into Data Points04:40 The “Action Figure” AI Fail & Biometrics and Identity12:59 Terms of Service – Read Before You Play19:59 Regulatory Theater and Real-World Harms24:03 Pro-Innovation vs Guardrails – Finding the Line45:59 Banks, Voice Recognition, and Moving Money56:49 Final Thoughts – Sensible Guardrails for AI Startups Where to find Yvette SchmitterYou can contact her via LinkedIn, or the Fusion Collective website 🚀 post⁠ on being “Huang’d” by ChatGPT when she asked it to turn her into a “Cloud Jedi." Also a recent Substack ⁠article⁠ that takes it a step further.  - EU AI Code of Conduct: 26 companies signed, META did not  - Layoff data, the numbers: Microsoft laid off 19,175 people   IBM was refreshingly honest about replacing 200 HR employees with chatbots  Intel cut 33,900 jobs, 20% of their workforce, while pivoting to AI services.  - The Register: Attributed by Hood to 'go-to-market execution challenges' - Channelweb: "Microsoft CFO Amy Hood said that non-AI Azure sales saw 'go-to-market execution challenges' in the vendor's 'scale motion" - SiliconANGLE: "causing the Microsoft stock price to fall more than 4% in extended trading" - Yahoo Finance: "Microsoft shares tumbled as much as 5% in extended trading Wednesday" - Check out this graphic depicting tech companies with the largest layoffs in 2025 - Microsoft: Amy Hood's "Go-to-Market Execution Challenges" Quote:$22.6 Billion Capital ExpenditureGeekWire: "For the quarter, Microsoft reported capital expenditures of $22.6 billion, a new record high"Stock Drop & Market Reaction." ---Tune in to get my thoughts, and don’t forget to subscribe to our Newsletter! Music credit: "Modern Situations" by Unicorn Heads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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3.2
out of 5
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About

"A Beginner's Guide to AI" makes the complex world of Artificial Intelligence accessible to all. Each episode asks someone working with AI about what they do and how AI can help you. Ideal for novices, tech enthusiasts, and the simply curious, this podcast transforms AI learning into an engaging, digestible journey. Join us as we take the first steps into AI 🚀 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Dietmar Fischer
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    320
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Dietmar Fischer
  • Show Website
    A Beginner's Guide to AI

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