The AI Lab

The AI Lab
  • 5.0 (9)
  • BUSINESS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Generative AI has taken the world by storm —leaving business leaders with a flood of unanswered questions and a burning curiosity to understand what it all means. Most importantly, “What does this mean for my business?”. This is a show about demystifying the world of generative AI for business leaders. No fluff. No jargon. Just real conversations with the innovative leaders who are not only embracing this technology but advancing it — discovering new use cases, building new categories, and solving some of the largest problems for their teams & customers. Hosted by Ryan Kurt.

  1. The trust gap: AI agents are reshaping business — but trust will determine who wins | Tim Sanders, Chief Innovation Officer at G2

    2D AGO

    The trust gap: AI agents are reshaping business — but trust will determine who wins | Tim Sanders, Chief Innovation Officer at G2

    AI agents are moving beyond chatbots and copilots to systems capable of completing entire business processes autonomously. In this episode, Tim Sanders, Chief Innovation Officer at G2 and AI researcher at Harvard, breaks down what agentic workflows really mean for organizations and why the biggest barrier to adopting agents isn’t the technology—it’s whether leaders can build trust in AI systems quickly enough to keep up with competitors. We also dive into: How AI agents are breaking the limits of traditional productivity How leading companies are deploying agents to drive measurable ROI What the use of autonomous agents means for job displacement Why companies like Amazon continue investing in AI agents despite occasional failures What the future workforce looks like when employees become “agent bosses” For leaders trying to navigate the rapidly evolving AI landscape, the message is clear: start experimenting now or risk falling behind. Guest Bio Tim Sanders is the Chief Innovation Officer at G2, the world’s largest software marketplace, where he leads AI research focused on enterprise adoption and emerging technologies. A Harvard Business School fellow and bestselling author of five books—including Love Is the Killer App—Tim studies how organizations integrate new technologies to drive growth. His research combines economic analysis, executive interviews, and large-scale enterprise surveys to understand how AI is reshaping business strategy. Resources → G2 AI Research: https://www.g2.com→ Tim Sanders on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsanders→ Prediction Machines (Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, Avi Goldfarb)

    22 min
  2. Why high-stakes AI still needs a human in the loop | Ryan Kurt, Founder at The AI Lab

    MAR 5

    Why high-stakes AI still needs a human in the loop | Ryan Kurt, Founder at The AI Lab

    Ryan Kurt, Founder of The AI Lab, joins Melissa Mahtani, the show’s new co-host and Journalist-in-Residence, for a wide-ranging conversation on Job displacement vs. individual empowerment, AI governance, trust, and why outsourcing strategy to big consultancies is the wrong move.We also dive into: Why people, not tech, are the hardest part of transformationHow legacy org design slows AI adoption more than the tools doThe “Citrini Report” thought experiment, an AI tax, and who should benefit from AI’s upsideWhat responsible AI adoption looks like when the ground keeps shiftingWhether there should be more or less regulation around generative AIWhat keeps Ryan up at night when it comes to the future of AI Guest bio:Ryan Kurt is the Founder of The AI Lab, a community and advisory platform built to help executives navigate generative AI with no hype, no jargon—just practical strategy informed by real operators. Ryan’s work spans AI strategy, organizational design, and AI governance, with a focus on helping companies identify internal “change makers,” compress learning cycles, and build durable capabilities as the technology evolves.Resources: → Learn more about The AI Lab: theailab.ai → Connect with Melissa Mahtani: linkedin.com/in/melissa-mahtani → Connect with Ryan Kurt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryankurt/ → Send listener questions: PodcastQuestions@theailab.ai

    51 min

  3. FEB 24

    How We Got From Early AI to Today’s Models | Larry Birnbaum, Professor of Computer Science at Northwestern

    Larry Birnbaum, Professor of Computer Science at Northwestern University and co-founder of Narrative Science, joins the AI Lab to explain why today’s large language models work at all—and why their success has surprised even longtime AI researchers. In this conversation, Larry and Ryan explore how decades of AI research led to the current moment, why massive models somehow generalize instead of just memorizing, and what this means for businesses adopting AI at scale. We also dive into: Why today’s AI boom feels sudden. but has decades of groundwork behind it The overfitting paradox: why massive models generalize instead of just memorizing How transformers and attention changed context, reference, and meaning in languag Why AI delivers the most value at scale and through personalization (work that wouldn’t otherwise exist) Bias vs. inductive bias and how agreeable AI systems can reflect a user’s worldview back at them What AI breaks in education, and why fundamentals still matter for students and engineers The interpretability problem: we know how LLMs learn, but not what they’ve learned or how they decide Larry shares hard-earned perspective from a career spanning academic AI research and real-world deployment, including lessons from building one of the earliest automated narrative platforms and why understanding AI’s limits is just as important as celebrating its breakthroughs. Guest Bio: Larry Birnbaum is a Professor of Computer Science at Northwestern University whose research focuses on artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and human–AI collaboration. He is the co-founder of Narrative Science, an early pioneer in automated storytelling from data, and has spent decades studying how machines can generate language that is coherent, contextual, and useful at scale.  Resources → Connect with Larry Birnbaum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-birnbaum-1393b4147/

    39 min

  4. FEB 5

    Why AI Adoption Fails Without an Operating Model | Alex Czurylo, Chief Strategy & Operations Officer at Gen3 Marketing

    Alex Czurylo, Chief Strategy & Operations Officer at Gen3 Marketing and former analytics and operations leader at Rakuten Advertising, joins the AI Lab to break down what it really takes to build a successful AI program inside an organization—long before ChatGPT made AI mainstream. In this episode, Alex and Ryan unpack why the most effective AI strategies don’t start with tools, but with clearly defined business problems, strong governance, and internal capability-building. Why starting with a single, measurable business problem is the key to AI ROI How Rakuten Advertising built one of the earliest enterprise AI programs—years ahead of the curve What the “VP of AI Strategy & Operations” role actually owns (and why vision matters more than hype) How to approach AI governance without slowing down adoption Why AI training should be treated as a core employee benefit The hidden risks of outsourcing AI agents without internal ownership What Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) means—and how AI is reshaping marketing discovery Alex shares hard-earned lessons from leading analytics, data science, and AI initiatives at scale, including how to balance experimentation with operational rigor, and why companies that delay AI enablement risk falling permanently behind. Alex Czurylo is Chief Strategy & Operations Officer at Gen3 Marketing, where AI sits at the center of how the agency drives performance and innovation for clients. Previously, Alex spent over a decade at Rakuten Advertising leading analytics and operations, where he helped pioneer early enterprise AI use cases focused on automation, insight generation, and measurable ROI. Known for his pragmatic, outcome-driven approach to technology, Alex has been an early adopter of language models and AI systems—long before generative AI entered the mainstream. His work bridges data science, strategy, governance, and organizational change, helping companies turn emerging technology into real business impact. → Connect with Alex Czurylo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexczurylo/ We also dive into:Guest BioResources

    32 min

  5. JAN 15

    What We’re Missing About AI Agents | Nate Nichols, Head of GenAI at Tableau

    Nate Nichols, an early builder in machine-generated content and now a product leader shaping “agentic” analytics, joins host Ryan Kurt for a candid conversation on how generative AI evolved, what we gained, and what we risk losing along the way. We also dive into: How early AI systems differed from today’s agentic models and why that matters Why many modern AI breakthroughs were discovered, not deliberately designed AI as a clarity engine: structuring messy thinking into plans, writing, and decisions The risks of optimizing AI for engagement and uncomfortable parallels to social media Where agentic AI creates real value today, and where caution is warranted Guest Bio: Dr. Nate Nichols is a product leader focused on generative and agentic AI for analytics. He previously spent over a decade building machine-generated content and data storytelling systems, and he earned his PhD in Artificial Intelligence from Northwestern University, where his research centered on machine-generated content. Resources → Connect with Nate on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nate-nichols/

    39 min

  6. 08/09/2023

    The Most Common Mistakes in AI Transformation | Jen Stave, Launch Director at Digital, Data, and Design Institute at Harvard

    Jen Stave, Launch Director at the Digital, Data, Design Institute at Harvard Business School , joins the AI lab to share expert insight into the most common mistakes in AI transformation, and practical steps for how to avoid them. What is The Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard Business School, and what are their goals Why companies need to rethink their operating model to harness AI tools  How to measure the ROI of a major AI transformation How AI is disrupting data science  The role leadership plays in shepherding AI innovation in an organization Jen is an AI expert, specifically in the landscape of business, and launch director at Digital, Data, and Design Institute at Harvard.  The Digital, Data, and Design Institute is an environment motivating cutting-edge faculty research. They include 12 labs, each designed to explore and solve problems that our world faces today. The Institute also works with leading companies to adapt and secure AI and emerging technologies to transform their organizations.  →Connect with Jen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jen-stave → ⁠Learn more about Digital, Data, Design Institute at Harvard: https://d3.harvard.edu/

    36 min

  7. 07/24/2023

    A VC Perspective on the Promise of AI | Alex Lehman, VP at Sapphire Ventures

    Alex Lehman, Vice President at Sapphire Ventures, joins the AI lab to discuss insight into the investment world after the recent generative AI boom and how businesses can use generative AI in their products.  We dive into: The migration to a talent-based consumer market from a name brand consumer market Should companies stay on the sidelines or start experimenting with AI? The concern of data privacy and AI  Navigating AI-usage with your employees  Alex is an AI Investment expert, Board Advisor at Women in Sports Tech, and Investor at Sapphire Ventures.  At Sapphire Ventures, Alex focuses on enterprise infrastructure, data and analytics, and security. Sapphire contributes specialization, experience, and network to help teams navigate their companies journey to build a successful expansion stage to initial public offering.  Alex is a Board Advisor for the non-profit, Women in Sports Tech, which provides growth and funding opportunities for young women working to pursue careers in sports and technology.  → ⁠Connect with Alex on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alex-lehman-a0252975 → ⁠Learn more about Sapphire Ventures: https://sapphireventures.com/ → ⁠Learn more about Women in Sports Tech: https://www.womeninsportstech.org/

    32 min

  8. 06/23/2023

    Your Secret Weapon to Unlock the Voice of Your Customer | Rohan Sampath, Co-founder at Copilot

    Rohan Sampath, Co-founder at Copilot, joins The AI Lab to discuss how executives can better understand and leverage VOC (Voice of the Customer) using AI. We also dive into: Will AI startups become incumbents worst nightmare? The future of AI-powered sales How understanding customer sentiment with AI can supercharge your go-to-market How Copilot is helping companies dissect customer conversations in 60 seconds The evolution of conversational intelligence and LLMs (Large Language Models) Rohan is an AI expert, advisor, podcast host, and co-founder of Copilot. Copilot helps companies deeply understand the voice of their customer. Their tool records and transcribes customer conversations, use GPT-4 to extract topics, themes and insights that are tailored to your sales process and methodology (MEDDIC/BANT, etc.), and fill out your CRM with a summary of those insights. Rohan is host of the AI Tech Sales Podcast. Every week, he interviews CEOs, Sales Leaders, and AI experts on how they think AI will change revenue organizations and the customer buying journey. → ⁠Connect with Rohan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohansampath/ → ⁠Learn more about Copilot: https://www.copilotup.com/ → ⁠Listen to the AI Tech Sales Podcast: https://ai-tech-sales-podcast.simplecast.com/

    36 min
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5
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

Generative AI has taken the world by storm —leaving business leaders with a flood of unanswered questions and a burning curiosity to understand what it all means. Most importantly, “What does this mean for my business?”. This is a show about demystifying the world of generative AI for business leaders. No fluff. No jargon. Just real conversations with the innovative leaders who are not only embracing this technology but advancing it — discovering new use cases, building new categories, and solving some of the largest problems for their teams & customers. Hosted by Ryan Kurt.

Information

  • Creator
    The AI Lab
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    14
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © The AI Lab
  • Show Website
    The AI Lab