AI and the Future of Work: Artificial Intelligence in the Workplace, Business, Ethics, HR, and IT for AI Enthusiasts, Leaders and Academics

We often discuss the future of work for enterprise employees. What technology will they use, how will people and machines interact, and how teams will be organized when geography and language are no longer barriers. Few have spent more time in and around enterprise service management than today’s guest and few are better qualified to share insights about what’s ahead.

Andi Mann has been a technology leader in technology companies around the world since the 90s. He founded Sageable, the digital transformation advisory services practice, in 2015 and has also recently served in roles that include CTO for DevOps at Splunk and VP Products and Strategy at CA which is now part of Broadcom. Andi and I both did time at BMC Software in the early 2000s. Andi is the author of multiple books including The Innovative CIO, he’s a sought after speaker, and tech provocateur who is never shy about what’s wrong with IT and where the world of digital is headed.

Thanks to friend of the podcast Steve Kaplan for the intro to Andi.

Listen and learn...

1. Why Andi summarizes his career this way: "I make computers do more work to allow people to do more creative things"
2. The best use of enterprise AI Andi has seen
3. How Andi helped an industrial transportation company save a billion dollars
4. Why “less complex systems can’t understand more complex systems”
5. Why the best use of AI is targeting “known knowns” by augmenting vs. replacing human intelligence
6. How to overcome the lack of trust in AI
7. Why AI won’t eliminate any jobs... and why it will create many new ones
8. Skills to invest in today that will never be replaced by automation

References in this episode...

• Dr. Lance Eliot writes about ChatGPT dispensing therapy advice
• Colin Fletcher, father of the term “AIOps”, on AI and the Future of Work
• Andi’s book “The Innovative CIO"
• Andi’s company Sageable

Meredith Broussard is one of the most visible, vocal leaders in the emerging field of algorithmic accountability. Professor Broussard is a data scientist and Associate Professor at NYU whose research focuses on AI in investigative reporting and using data analysis for social good. Meredith is the author of Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World and the forthcoming More Than a Glitch: Confronting Race, Gender, and Ability Bias in Tech.

Among other things, Professor Broussard was featured in the seminal documentary Coded Bias. Today's discussion is about one of the most important topics in our field and in this episode we explore it with someone whose name is on a shortlist of AI ethics pioneers. You’ve heard me say repeatedly coursework in AI ethics should be required for every student graduating with a technical degree. Here's why!
Listen and learn...

1. How AI reveals bias encoded in society
2. Why it's important to always ask "what could go wrong"
3. What is the new field of "algorithmic accountability reporting"
4. What the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights may mean for bad acting companies
5. What's the right role for the federal government in AI regulation
6. How to assign an "accountability score" to algorithms
7. The ethical issues related to AI we'll be discussing in a decade

References in this episode...

• More Than a Glitch, Professor Broussard's new book... and her "love letter" to an amazing group of women who are pioneers in the emerging field of algorithmic accountability
• Professor Broussard's personal website
• The racist soap dispenser
• Joy Buolamwini's Algorithmic Justice League
• Rumman Choudary, formerly head of the META team at Twitter
• Cathy O'Neil's ORCAA
• The ethical judgments built into generative AI models
• Google's "stochastic parrots" debacle
• The Agnes Irwin School outside Philadelphia

Dr. Eric Siegel is a leading consultant and former Columbia University professor who helps companies deploy machine learning. He is the founder of the long-running Machine Learning Week conference series and its new sister, Generative AI World, the instructor of the acclaimed online course “Machine Learning Leadership and Practice – End-to-End Mastery,” executive editor of The Machine Learning Times, and a frequent keynote speaker. He wrote the bestselling "Predictive Analytics: The Power to Predict Who Will Click, Buy, Lie, or Die," which has been used in courses at hundreds of universities, as well as "The AI Playbook: Mastering the Rare Art of Machine Learning Deployment."

Eric’s interdisciplinary work bridges the stubborn technology/business gap. At Columbia, he won the Distinguished Faculty award when teaching the graduate *computer science* courses in ML and AI. Later, he served as a *business school* professor at UVA Darden. Eric has appeared on numerous media channels, including Bloomberg, National Geographic, and NPR, and has published in Newsweek, HBR, SciAm blog, WaPo, WSJ, and more.

Listen and learn

• How he’s progressed in the field of machine learning over 30 years
• 6-step process to usher in machine learning programs from conception to deployment
• What 3 things non-technical people in business should know about how machine learning works & delivers value
• How to know when to use classical machine learning vs generative AI to solve a data problem
• How to mitigate the impact of human bias in shaping AI

Resources

• Purchase "The AI Playbook" — http://www.bizML.com
• Scott Zoldi episode —https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/520474.rss

In this special episode of AI and the Future of Work, host Dan Turchin welcomes John Chambers, Former Chairman & CEO of Cisco and Founder & CEO of JC2 Ventures. John is a visionary leader who reshaped the technology landscape.

During his time at Cisco, the company grew from $70 million to $47 billion in revenue, building the foundation of the modern Internet and expanding the team from 400 to 75,000 employees. Known for his strategic foresight and ability to anticipate market shifts, he led over 180 acquisitions and has been recognized as one of Time’s '100 Most Influential People.'

Today, as the founder of JC2 Ventures, John champions disruptive innovation, coaching the next generation of entrepreneurs and helping startups scale with his strategic insights and focus on replicable processes. A global tech icon and trusted mentor, John’s commitment to driving meaningful change in technology continues to inspire innovation across industries.

In line with this mission, this episode marks a pivotal announcement: John Chambers has invested in PeopleReign, a groundbreaking AI-first platform revolutionizing employee service automation. The partnership underscores Chambers’ belief in the transformative potential of AI to improve productivity and enable employees to focus on meaningful, passion-driven work.

Key topics covered in this episode include:

• The pivotal announcement: Why John Chambers and JC2 Ventures are investing in PeopleReign and how this collaboration aligns with the future of AI-driven work.
• AI’s transformative potential: How AI will reshape industries faster than previous technology revolutions and its parallels with the Internet boom of the 1990s.
• The AI-First approach: Key traits of successful AI-first companies and how they achieve market disruption through speed, innovation, and customer-centric strategies.
• Cultural leadership in tech: The importance of fostering visionary leadership, adaptive cultures, and sustainable business models in a rapidly evolving AI landscape.
• Redefining work and productivity: How AI can enhance employee experiences by automating repetitive tasks, reducing friction, and enabling more meaningful work.
• Future of work predictions: Insights into the "ask economy" and the emergence of ad-hoc, skill-based teams as drivers of innovation and collaboration over the next five years.

Resources

Dan Helfrich, CEO of Deloitte Consulting, on AI and the Future of Work
Connect with John Chambers

Learn more about JC2 Ventures