Eye On A.I.

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#276 Ryan Wang: How Assembled is Building the Future of AI-Powered Customer Support Aug 03, 2025

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AGNTCY - Unlock agents at scale with an open Internet of Agents. Visit https://agntcy.org/ and add your support. What happens when AI meets the chaos of real-world customer support? In this episode of Eye on AI, we sit down with Ryan Wang, co-founder and CEO of Assembled, to unpack how AI is transforming the future of customer service, without replacing humans. Ryan reveals how Assembled went from a workforce scheduling tool to a full-stack AI support platform used by companies like Stripe, Robinhood, and Honeylove. You'll learn how conversational AI agents are handling up to 75% of support inquiries, why voice is the next big frontier, and how AI copilots are helping human agents become 15% more productive. But this isn't just hype. Ryan shares the hard economic truths behind automation—why humans aren't going away, how companies are navigating global workforce optimization, and why hybrid AI + human systems are here to stay. This episode gives you a front-row seat into how the smartest companies are rethinking support at scale.

Stay Updated: Craig Smith on X:https://x.com/craigss Eye on A.I. on X: https://x.com/EyeOn_AI (00:00) Preview and Intro (01:37) Ryan Wang's Journey from Stripe to Assembled (04:55) Launching Assembled (09:49) From Scheduling Tool to AI-Powered Support (12:11) Who Uses Assembled: Companies vs. BPOs (14:57) Building Conversational and Voice AI Agents (21:10) Competing with Zendesk, Salesforce & Crescendo (23:07) How Assembled Integrates with Customer Support Stacks (25:40) The Niche Power of Workforce Management Tech (31:16) Why the Customer Support Market Is Ripe for Disruption (33:47) How Assembled Swaps Between OpenAI, Claude & Others (37:56) Evaluating LLMs with Golden Datasets and 'Vibe Checks' (41:20) Multilingual Support and the Challenge of Europe (45:11) Industry Focus vs. Complexity Focus (47:43) Voice AI: The Next Big Frontier? (50:18) The Truth About AI Replacing Jobs in Support (54:39) The Automation Paradox: Why Labor Isn't Shrinking

#275 Nandan Nayampally: How Baya Systems is Fixing the Biggest Bottleneck in AI Chips (Data Flow) Jul 31, 2025

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What if the biggest challenge in AI isn't how fast chips can compute, but how quickly data can move? In this episode of Eye on AI, Nandan Nayampally, Chief Commercial Officer at Baya Systems, shares how the next era of computing is being shaped by smarter architecture, not just raw processing power. With experience leading teams at ARM, Amazon Alexa, and BrainChip, Nandan brings a rare perspective on how modern chip design is evolving. We dive into the world of chiplets, network-on-chip (NoC) technology, silicon photonics, and neuromorphic computing. Nandan explains why the traditional path of scaling transistors is no longer enough, and how Baya Systems is solving the real bottlenecks in AI hardware through efficient data movement and modular design. From punch cards to AGI, this conversation maps the full arc of computing innovation. If you want to understand how to build hardware for the future of AI, this episode is a must-listen. Subscribe to Eye on AI for more conversations on the future of artificial intelligence and system design. Stay Updated: Craig Smith on X:https://x.com/craigss Eye on A.I. on X: https://x.com/EyeOn_AI (00:00) Why AI's Bottleneck Is Data Movement (01:26) Nandan's Background and Semiconductor Career (03:06) What Baya Systems Does: Network-on-Chip + Software (08:40) A Brief History of Computing: From Punch Cards to AGI (11:47) Silicon Photonics and the Evolution of Data Transfer (20:04) How Baya Is Solving Real AI Hardware Challenges (22:13) Understanding CPUs, GPUs, and NPUs in AI Workloads (24:09) Building Efficient Chips: Cost, Speed, and Customization (27:17) Performance, Power, and Area (PPA) in Chip Design (30:55) Partnering to Build Next-Gen Photonic and Copper Systems (32:29) Why Moore's Law Has Slowed and What Comes Next (34:49) Wafer-Scale vs Traditional Die: Where Baya Fits In (36:10) Chiplet Stacking and Composability Explained (39:44) The Future of On-Chip Networking (41:10) Neuromorphic Computing: Energy-Efficient AI (43:02) Edge AI, Small Models, and Structured State Spaces

#274 Luke Behnke: Why Grammarly Is Going All In on AI Agents Jul 28, 2025

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AGNTCY - Unlock agents at scale with an open Internet of Agents. Visit https://agntcy.org/ and add your support.

Grammarly is no longer just a writing assistant. It's building an AI productivity platform that could rival Microsoft Copilot. In this episode, Luke Behnke, VP of Enterprise Product at Grammarly, shares how the company is moving beyond grammar correction into intelligent agents, enterprise workflows, and real-time AI tools.

We dive into Grammarly's new Authorship feature, why AI fluency is becoming essential at work, how Grammarly is integrating tools like Coda and Superhuman, and what the future of multi-agent systems looks like.

If you're curious about where AI at work is really heading, this conversation will give you a clear and powerful glimpse.

(00:00) Preview and Intro (03:37) Meet Luke Behnke(05:00) Grammarly's Origin Story and Early Vision(09:11) Grammarly's UX Advantage(13:30) Competing With Microsoft Copilot and Built-In Assistants(17:48) What Is "Authorship" and Why It Matters(20:31) AI Detection vs Authorship Tracking(25:05) The Future of AI Transparency(27:43) Why AI Fluency Will Be a Job Requirement(32:04) Grammarly's Agentic Vision(34:11) The Rise of Context-Aware Enterprise Agents(38:24) Use Cases: Automating Tasks Across Tools with AI(40:21) The Coda Acquisition & Building the Agent Platform(44:48) The Future of Interoperable AI Agents(47:43) Why Agent Oversight Is Crucial in Enterprise AI(55:57) Measuring Grammarly's ROI in the Enterprise

#273 Benjamin Encz: How Ashby is Building the Future of Hiring with AI Jul 24, 2025

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This episode is brought to you by Extreme Networks, the company radically improving customer experiences with AI-powered automation for networking.Extreme is driving the convergence of AI, networking, and security to transform the way businesses connect and protect their networks, delivering faster performance, stronger security, and a seamless user experience.

Visit https://www.extremenetworks.com/ to learn more.

In this episode, Craig Smith sits down with Benjamin Encz, co-founder and CEO of Ashby, the AI-powered recruiting platform that is transforming how companies hire.

Ashby is disrupting the $650B recruiting industry by combining automation, data, and large language models to streamline the entire hiring process, from job postings to resume screening and interview scheduling. With clients like OpenAI and Shopify, Ashby is setting a new standard for modern recruiting.

Benji shares how AI is boosting efficiency while keeping human judgment at the center, and what the future of hiring could look like as these tools continue to evolve.

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#272 Andrew Blum: Inside The Most Important AI Event Of The Year (HumanX) Jul 20, 2025

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AGNTCY - Unlock agents at scale with an open Internet of Agents. Visit https://agntcy.org/ and add your support. What if the most important AI conference in the world wasn't built by academics or hype merchants, but by operators who actually understand what businesses need? In this episode, Craig sits down with Andrew Blum, Co-Founder and COO of HumanX, the breakout AI conference that has quickly become the go-to gathering for enterprise leaders, AI builders, and government policymakers. Andrew shares the inside story of how HumanX went from an idea born in a VC incubator to hosting 3,300+ attendees, 350 speakers, and leaders from OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, Snowflake, and more, all within 18 months. You'll hear how HumanX is different from other conferences, why face-to-face connection matters more than ever, and how HumanX is creating the bridge between AI innovation and real-world business transformation. This is a behind-the-scenes look you won't want to miss. Like and subscribe for more! Stay Updated:

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#271 Steve Lucas: Why AI Agents Will Automate 75% of Business Operations by 2026 Jul 17, 2025

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This episode is sponsored by Oracle. OCI is the next-generation cloud designed for every workload – where you can run any application, including any AI projects, faster and more securely for less. On average, OCI costs 50% less for compute, 70% less for storage, and 80% less for networking. Join Modal, Skydance Animation, and today's innovative AI tech companies who upgraded to OCI…and saved.

Try OCI for free at http://oracle.com/eyeonai

What if the future of enterprise wasn't human-driven, but agent-driven?

In this groundbreaking episode, Steve Lucas, CEO of Boomi, unveils a radical vision for the next era of business: one where AI agents will power 75% of enterprise operations by 2026. From eliminating traditional user interfaces to transforming legacy systems with no-code automation, Steve walks us through how Boomi is building the infrastructure for a self-driving enterprise, and why businesses that fail to prepare will be left behind.

This episode will shift your perspective on where the enterprise is headed and who (or what) will be running it.

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#270 Thomas Dohmke: GitHub CEO Reveals How AI Will Change Coding Forever Jul 15, 2025

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AGNTCY - Unlock agents at scale with an open Internet of Agents. Visit https://agntcy.org/ and add your support.

In this episode, GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke joins us for a deep dive into the evolution of software development — from decentralized version control to the rise of AI coding agents. With over 150 million developers on GitHub and tools like Copilot rewriting the rules of software engineering, we explore what it really means to build in an AI-native future.

Thomas shares the origin story of Copilot, how GitHub is shifting from human-to-human to human-to-agent collaboration, and why he believes natural language is becoming the universal programming language. We also cover the technical architecture behind Coding Agents, the feedback loop between developers and AI, and what it takes to scale multi-agent systems in the real world.

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Eye on A.I. on X: https://x.com/EyeOn_AI

(00:00) The Future of AI-Powered Coding

(02:04) Thomas Dohmke's Journey

(05:16) GitHub's Origin Story & Evolution

(08:45) Life Before GitHub: Early Version Control Systems

(10:40) What is Git? And Why GitHub Matters

(12:36) The Birth of GitHub Copilot

(16:17) The Rise of AI Agents

(17:52) How Kids Are Learning to Code with Copilot

(22:38) Can Non-Coders Use Copilot Agents Effectively?

(26:01) What the Coding Agent Actually Does Behind the Scenes

(31:30) The Models Behind GitHub Copilot & Developer Choice

(35:22) How Much Code Is Now Written by AI?

(38:51) GitHub's Innovation Strategy

(41:54) What's Next for GitHub

(45:24) From 150M to 1B Developers: Empowering the World to Build

(47:51) GitHub Universe & Galaxy Events

(49:53) GitHub's Innovation Graph and the Power of Open Collaboration

#269 Jason Hardy: How Hitachi Vantara Is Powering the Future of Enterprise AI Jul 11, 2025

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AGNTCY - Unlock agents at scale with an open Internet of Agents. Visit https://agntcy.org/ and add your support.

In this episode of Eye on AI, Craig Smith sits down with Jason Hardy, Chief Technology Officer for AI at Hitachi Vantara, to explore what it really takes to deploy AI at scale in the enterprise, beyond the hype.

Jason shares how Hitachi is building a pragmatic, outcomes-driven AI platform through Hitachi iQ. From working with NVIDIA to integrating agentic AI into operations, this conversation unpacks the infrastructure, mindset, and strategies needed to move AI projects from experimentation to production.

Whether you're navigating AI adoption, battling with data readiness, or looking to build your own LLM-powered applications, this episode offers invaluable insights from a company that's actually doing it globally, sustainably, and at scale.

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Craig Smith on X: https://x.com/craigss

Eye on A.I. on X: https://x.com/EyeOn_AI

(00:00) Preview

(02:10) The Role of CTO for AI at Hitachi Vantara

(05:38) Applying AI Across Manufacturing, Energy & Transport

(09:54) What Is Pragmatic AI?

(13:21) Infrastructure Demands of Generative AI

(14:47) Why Most AI Projects Fail

(20:25) Inside the Hitachi iQ Platform & NVIDIA Partnership

(25:42) Building a Model-Agnostic, Hybrid AI Stack

(32:08) Beyond Selling GPUs: Delivering Real AI Outcomes

(38:09) Supporting Hybrid Deployments Across Cloud and On-Prem

(42:02) Rethinking ROI: Failure as a Strategic Advantage

(47:44) Agentic AI and the Future of Autonomous IT Workflows

(49:37) Five Core Domains of Agentic AI at Hitachi

(53:02) Making AI Infrastructure Sustainable

(56:48) Hitachi's Vision for the Future of Enterprise AI

#268 Kiren Sekar: The Future of Physical Operations Is AI-Powered (Here's Why) Jul 06, 2025

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AGNTCY - Unlock agents at scale with an open Internet of Agents. Visit https://agntcy.org/ and add your support.

How AI Is Transforming the Physical World | Samsara's Vision for the Future of Operations

In this episode of Eye on AI, Craig Smith sits down with Kiren Sekar, Chief Product Officer at Samsara, to explore how AI, edge computing, and IoT are revolutionizing the world of physical operations - from fleets and factories to farms and field teams.

Samsara has quietly become the digital backbone for thousands of frontline businesses, collecting trillions of data points across vehicles, tools, and teams. Kiren explains how they're building AI-powered systems that don't just collect data, they deliver real-time safety alerts, optimize routes, track fuel efficiency, and even coach drivers automatically.

Whether you work in tech, operations, or AI, this episode shows how AI is finally meeting the real world.

Check our Samsara, AI Build for Physical Operations: https://www.samsara.com/

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(00:00) Preview

(02:01) Kiren Sekar's Background and Why Samsara Was Founded

(06:38) The Real-World Impact of Samsara's AI Systems

(09:04) What Changed After Samsara Went Public

(11:09) How Samsara Gives Businesses Visibility Into Operations

(13:08) The Hardware and Cellular Network Powering Samsara

(14:13) AI to Detect Driving Risks

(23:13) Tracking Every Asset: From Cranes to Toolkits

(25:20) Why Even Mid-Sized Companies Can Use Samsara Easily

(27:25) Regional Dashboards and AI Insights for Executives

(29:57) How Samsara Decides Where to Apply AI

(32:54) Can AI Read Handwritten Forms?

(35:31) The AI Models Samsara Uses

(39:21) What Samsara Processes at the Edge vs in the Cloud

(43:00) Why Samsara Keeps Its R&D Team Small and Fast

(46:35) Why Legacy Industries Are Finally Adopting AI

(49:12) What Agentic AI Workflows Look Like at Samsara

(54:53) What's Next: AI Voice Assistants for Field Worker

#267 Nabil Bukhari: Exploring the Future of AI-Powered Enterprise Networking with Extreme Networks Jul 02, 2025

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What does the future of enterprise networking really look like?

In this episode, Extreme Networks' Chief Product & Technology Officer Nabil Bukhari joins Craig to explore how AI, autonomous agents, and platform thinking are transforming the core infrastructure of modern businesses.

From managing mission-critical networks to building agentic systems that collaborate, troubleshoot, and scale autonomously - this is a deep dive into how connectivity is being redefined from the ground up.

Whether you're a tech leader, CIO, product builder, or simply curious about how infrastructure evolves, this conversation reveals where the enterprise is headed next.

Check out Extreme Networks: https://www.extremenetworks.com/

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(00:00) Preview

(01:02) Introducing Nabil Bukhari & Extreme Networks

(05:24) Why Global Connectivity Is Still Accelerating

(07:54) How Enterprise Data Flows Across Modern Networks

(12:34) Networking for AI vs. Built-in AI

(14:12) Platform One & Agentic AI Systems Explained

(21:20) Human-in-the-Loop, Over-the-Loop, and Above-the-Loop

(23:35) Why AI Guardrails Must Be Baked into the Architecture