Stay ConnectedThe AI in Business Podcast is for non-technical business leaders who need to find AI opportunities, align AI capabilities with strategy, and deliver ROI.
Each week, Emerj research staff and journalists interview top AI executives from Fortune 2000 firms and unicorn startups – uncovering trends, use-cases, and best practices for practical AI adoption.
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Copyright: © Daniel Faggella, 2014
In this special weekend edition of the 'AI in Business' podcast's AI Futures series, Emerj CEO and Head of Research Daniel Faggella speaks with Stuart Russell, Distinguished Professor of Computational Precision Health and Computer Science at the University of California and President of the International Association for Safe & Ethical AI. Widely considered one of the earliest voices warning about the uncontrollability of advanced AI systems, Russell discusses the urgent challenges posed by AGI development, the incentives driving companies into a dangerous race dynamic, and what forms of international governance may be necessary to prevent catastrophic risks. Their conversation ranges from technical safety approaches to potential international treaty models, the role of culture and media in shaping public awareness, and the possible benefits of getting AI governance right. This episode was originally published on Daniel's 'The Trajectory' podcast, which focuses exclusively on long-term AI futures. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/expert2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on the 'AI in Business' podcast! If you've enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show!
Today's guest is Aaron Demory, Senior Partner at Fearlus and Chief of Information Technology and Security at the FDIC. Aaron joins Emerj Editorial Director Matt DeMello on today's show to explore how organizations can safeguard institutional memory, align data strategy with cultural goals, and rethink success in the age of AI. With experience spanning both the public and private sectors, Aaron examines the rise and fall of tribal knowledge, why its loss is accelerating across industries, and how this creates operational and compliance risks. He connects these challenges to organizational change management and the broader shift away from traditional systems integration practices. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/expert2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on the 'AI in Business' podcast!
Global sourcing has long been a barrier for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Language differences, compliance challenges, logistics hurdles, and trust issues can overwhelm even the most determined entrepreneurs. In this episode of the AI in Business podcast, Kuo Zhang, President of Alibaba.com, shares how new technologies—including Alibaba's agentic AI system Accio—are streamlining procurement and unlocking opportunities once reserved for enterprises. Drawing on examples from thousands of SMBs worldwide, Zhang details how AI is transforming sourcing from a months-long, manual process into an automated workflow that delivers results in hours. He also discusses how Alibaba.com is embedding AI into every layer of its platform, from search to supplier engagement, and how organizations of any size can begin adopting these systems with minimal lift. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/expert2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on the 'AI in Business' podcast! Join enterprise leaders at Emerj's Vision to Value AI Infra Summit to explore strategies for building, securing, and scaling AI infrastructure. Reserve your free spot today: emerj.com/infrasummit2.
Clinical trials are growing more complex, and nowhere is that more evident than in oncology and obesity research. As sponsors push for reliable, real-time patient data, the role of electronic clinical outcome assessments (eCOAs) has never been more critical. These tools determine not only how patients report on their quality of life but also how sponsors capture the endpoints that drive regulatory approval. In this episode of the AI in Business podcast, Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello speaks with Anthony Mikulaschek, Vice President of Commercial Strategy at IQVIA Technologies. Anthony unpacks the evolution of eCOAs, from their early days on Palm Pilots to today's AI-enabled platforms. He explains how thoughtful design reduces patient and clinician burden, why cultural and linguistic nuance matters for global trials, and what digital libraries and compliance automation mean for faster, more resilient studies. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/expert2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on the 'AI in Business' podcast! If you've enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show!
In this episode, Pavlé Sabic, Senior Director in Generative AI Solutions and Strategy at Moody's, joins Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello to discuss how agentic AI is redefining workflows in financial institutions. Pavlé explains why large enterprises are turning to AI-driven automation to overcome persistent challenges — from fragmented data and manual inefficiencies to evolving regulatory demands. He shares practical examples, including credit memo automation that reduces production time by 60%, portfolio monitoring tools that detect emerging risks earlier, and sales intelligence workflows that deliver highly targeted client insights. Pavlé also outlines why proprietary data is a strategic advantage in regulated industries and how leaders can implement agentic AI without losing human oversight. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/expert2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on the 'AI in Business' podcast! This episode is sponsored by Moody's. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at emerj.com/ad1.
In this episode of the AI in Business podcast, host and Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello speaks with Yunke Xiang, Global Head of Data Science for Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Quality at Sanofi. Together, they examine how generative AI and reasoning models are evolving from simple automation to high-impact copilots across pharmaceutical operations. Yunke shares examples of how AI is enabling "talk to your data" use cases, automating regulatory reporting, and accelerating knowledge transfer for new employees. He also highlights how agentic AI systems may soon extend beyond copilots to function as digital teammates, orchestrating tasks across complex supply chains and ERP migrations. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/expert2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on the 'AI in Business' podcast! If you've enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show!
The 'AI in Business' podcast connects enterprise leaders with the best insights on how AI is driving measurable impact across regulated industries. In this episode, we highlight Prudential Financial's perspective on scaling AI in customer experience, an area facing both significant opportunity and unique regulatory challenges. By featuring Abhii Parakh, VP and Head of Customer Experience at Prudential Financial, this episode links directly into ongoing conversations with financial services leaders about digital transformation, customer trust, and the rise of agentic AI. Listeners will gain actionable context for how insurance companies can responsibly adopt AI, improve employee and customer outcomes, and prepare for a rapidly changing future of customer interaction. This episode is sponsored by Cognigy. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/expert2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on the 'AI in Business' podcast! If you've enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show!
As AI adoption accelerates in financial services, governance leaders face the challenge of keeping oversight processes aligned with innovation. OneTrust provides data governance and risk management tools, serving over 14,000 customers worldwide across privacy, security, third-party, and AI domains. Traditional data governance models, often designed for structured databases, are not built to manage today's dynamic, unstructured AI workflows. Without clear frameworks, organizations risk compliance gaps, inconsistent oversight, and even internal conflict over ownership of AI decision-making. In this episode, Shane Wiggins, Director of Product at OneTrust, explores how enterprises can build governance models that not only mitigate risk but also support innovation. He explains why visibility into unstructured data is essential, how to align compliance and product teams through self-service governance, and the importance of making governance "invisible to developers but visible to auditors." Wiggins also details best practices for staying ahead of regulatory change, from embedding flexible policies to creating system cards that clarify model purpose and limitations for clients. The discussion highlights how governance, when done right, can accelerate time to market, reduce compliance costs, and even create a competitive advantage. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/expert2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on the 'AI in Business' podcast! If you've enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show! This episode is sponsored by OneTrust. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at emerj.com/ad1.
Banks face some of the highest stakes when it comes to IT reliability. Even small disruptions can ripple into regulatory exposure, reputational harm, and major financial losses. Yet many financial institutions still rely on reactive monitoring systems that chase alerts without addressing the root causes of outages. On today's episode of the 'AI in Business' podcast, Dale Skeen, CTO and Co-founder of Vitria Technology, explains how AI and agentic systems are reshaping IT operations in financial services. Vitria Technology is a global leader in AI-driven operations platforms, helping enterprises move from data analysis to automated action with its flagship VIA AIOps solution. Built for scale, VIA AIOps delivers total ecosystem observability and intelligent automation, reducing downtime, improving customer experience, and accelerating ROI. Dale's appearance goes into great detail on how knowledge graphs improve explainability and trust, how automation is already reducing time to resolution for common failures, and how AI copilots are helping teams tackle the most complex system outages. Dale also shares a roadmap for financial leaders looking to reduce downtime, cut manual toil, and scale toward self-healing IT systems—one sprint at a time. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/expert2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on the 'AI in Business' podcast! This episode is sponsored by Vitria Technology. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at emerj.com/ad1.
As enterprises scale their AI initiatives, leaders face mounting challenges in balancing compute demands, sustainability goals, and hybrid cloud strategies. Many organizations rush to secure GPUs and cloud resources without accounting for hidden costs, data bottlenecks, and sustainability trade-offs. In this episode of the AI in Business podcast, Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello speaks with Jason Hardy, Chief Technology Officer of AI at Hitachi Vantara, about the realities of scaling AI infrastructure at the enterprise level. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Hitachi Vantara is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. that provides data infrastructure foundations that help leading innovators manage and leverage their data at scale. Through data storage, infrastructure systems, cloud management and digital expertise, the company helps customers build the foundation for sustainable business growth. To learn more, visit www.hitachivantara.com. Click emerj.com/expert2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on the 'AI in Business' podcast! If you've enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show! This episode is sponsored by Hitachi Vantara. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at emerj.com/ad1.
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