The Artificial Podcast

Ben is the Co-Founder and CMO of ART AI, a startup that develops unique technology for producing art using Artificial Intelligence. Ben and ART AI are aiming to democratize the original art market by implementing the technology that underlies machine creativity. Ben’s experience as a VP managing large international operations that deal with e-commerce in the financial education sector, and his fascination with art and technology, was what drove him to co-found ART AI.

In this week’s episode, Nick chats with ben Kovalis of Art.AI about how his company uses Artificial Intelligence to create unique works of art within seconds. Ben shares the story of Art.AI and how he and his CEO were inspired to create AI-generated artwork at scale after witnessing an AI art piece sell for $400,000. Nick and Ben talk about the AI technology that allows Art.AI to create unique works of art, and Ben reveals the launch of Art.AI’s new NFT platform that allows anyone to create and sell unique works of AI-generated art that they create. Nick and Ben also discuss the future of art and how AI will play a large role.

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This week, Nick returns to The Artificial Podcast with Brett Brooks to chat about synthetic voices, voice cloning, and how it truly is possible to make your voice live forever. Nick and Brett dive into the “what” of synthetic voice and talk about how anyone can create a custom clone of their voice using some simple tools in Microsoft Azure. Nick also shares why he thinks using pre-recorded voices for voice applications and voice assistants is outdated, and why the industry should be focusing on custom and high-quality synthetic voices. Nick and Brett also talk about their genius idea of developing a marketplace for custom synthetic voices of prominent celebrities, political figures, musicians, etc.

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Jason Mars’ work is that the intersection of science, technology, and entrepreneurship with the mission to have a meaningful impact in the lives of every human. Jason is a professor of computer science at the University of Michigan where directs Clarity Lab, on the best places in the world to be trained in topics spanning Artificial Intelligence, large-scale computing, and programming languages. Among numerous contributions, his lab pioneered award-winning work on Sirius (aka Lucida) the world’s first open-source sophisticated virtual assistant that simultaneously heard, sees, and understands. Jason also founded a number of companies including Clinc, a record-breaking cutting-edge A.I. company based in Ann Arbor, MI where he led Clinc’s development. He is also the author of the bestselling book “Breaking Bots: Inventing A New Voice In The AI Revolution”.

This week, Nick chats with Conversational AI innovator and entrepreneur Jason Mars. Jason shares his story and talks about how building bots at a young age for Quake and Doom inspired him to dedicate his life’s work to the pursuit of advancing computer science and Conversational AI. Nick and Jason also talk about the innovation stagnation that is currently plaguing Conversational AI, and Jason explains how a new tech stack he is working on can push the industry and technology out of this stagnation. Nick and Jason also dive into some of the problems facing higher education and discuss how a shared success model could radically change the perceived value of higher ed as we know it.

How to connect with Jason:

After a MUCH longer than anticipated break, Nick returns to The Artificial Podcast this week with Brett to talk about why TAP has been on hiatus the past several weeks. Nick and Brett dive into the many trials and tribulations that they faced building their own digital assistant, and Nick shares the powerful story behind why they chose to build a digital assistant specifically for at-home diagnostic testing and home healthcare. Nick also rants about why the web makes so much sense for voice tech and why he believes it holds a lot of opportunity for voice tech developers and designers.

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Does it seem like Hollywood, film, and television always seem to have a knack for predicting the future? In fact, quite a few pieces of technology that we use in our daily lives originated in Hollywood-produced films. This week, Nick is once again joined by his trusty producer and best friend, Brett Brooks, to chat about Hollywood’s tech predictions and what they got right…and wrong. Nick and Brett dive into some of the most well-known Sci-Fi films and television shows including Back To The Future II, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Trek, The Terminator, and Minority Report. They even talk about how The Cable Guy and Jim Carrey accurately predicted life in 2021, and how Enemy of The State confirmed everything we already suspected about government surveillance tech.

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Hey there Artificial Podcasters! Instead of sharing a new full episode with you this week, Nick will be talking about three more of his all-time favorite episodes of The Artificial Podcast. If you haven't had the chance to take a listen to these episodes yet ewe HIGHLY recommend that you do!

We'll be back with an all-new episode next week talking about some of Hollywood's most famous tech predictions and if they ever did (or ever will) come true!

Here are the links to the episodes that Nick mentions:

Episode #20 - Top 5 coolest (and maybe even a bit scary) examples of AI: https://anchor.fm/the-artificial-podcast/episodes/20-The-Top-Five-Coolest-and-maybe-a-bit-scary-Examples-of-Artificial-Intelligence-e6cl2c 

Episode #44 - Tim Kobe | The Importance of Designing for Human Outcomes: https://anchor.fm/the-artificial-podcast/episodes/44-Tim-Kobe--The-Importance-of-Designing-for-Human-Outcomes-ed0dc7 

Episode #58: Ryan Leusch | Net Positive: Sustainable Technology and The Future of Smart Homes: https://anchor.fm/the-artificial-podcast/episodes/58-Ryan-Leusch--Net-Positive-Sustainable-Technology-and-The-Future-of-Smart-Homes-ei8229 

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Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, oh my! That’s right. This week, Nick and Brett dive into cryptocurrency and try and figure out what the heck is going on and why crypto hype seems to be taking the world by storm. Nick explains how Blockchain (the technology behind Bitcoin) works and why it is one of the most important pieces of emerging technology in the 21st century. Nick and Brett also chat about Bitcoin and look at some of the most popular Altcoins available today. Nick and Brett also go on a lengthy tangent about fiat currency, supply and demand, and why ultimately land will forever be the most valuable asset (hint: YOU CAN’T MAKE ANYMORE OF IT).

Unfortunately, Nick and Brett were not able to cover NFTs in this episode. However, we will be dedicating an episode just to NFTs in the near future (there is a lot to unpack here, and we want to make sure we do it justice).

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This week, Brett returns to The Artificial Podcast to chat with Nick about Electric Vehicles (EVs) and what all the recent hype is about. Nick and Brett talk about the history of EVs and how the first EV was created more than 100 years ago. Nick also dives into how EVs work and how some EVs can go from 0-60 mph in less than two seconds. To close the show, Nick and Brett look at some of the coolest EVs available on the market today and why the Tesla Model S is clearly the coolest of them all (and why it is Nick’s new dream car).

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Ming Johanson works with businesses across the globe from training social media to managing (with her team) complex digital strategies that deliver tangible and desirable financial returns. She is dedicated to shaping the landscape for leaders to adapt their management, sales and marketing culture to fit into the modern-day world of hyper-connectivity.

Recently recognized and awarded for her ongoing contribution to the technology industries in the 2019 Women In Technology Tech [+] 20 Awards. Ming is a passionate mental health Ambassador for R U OK? Day, a co-facilitator in Startup Weekend Perth and a regular Australian Media Commentator as a Tech Evangelist on a range of topics in Mental Health, Social Media & Technology.

This week, Nick chats with the one and only Mother of Unicorns – Ming Johanson – about our addiction to outrage and why it seems like everyone is always so angry on social media. Nick and Ming chat about how we are biologically hard-wired to immediately respond to fear, and how social media technology has played a role in putting our Amygdala’s into constant overdrive. Nick and Ming also chat about the incredible opportunities that technology has given humanity and, how having a scarcity mindset has led to the increase in anger online and “outrage porn”. Ming also talks about gratitude and looking at the world with an abundance mindset, and how these are the two most important things to help fight our addiction to outrage (and also get us to Mars).

This week, The Artificial Podcast takes a brief break as Nick shares some important updates about the show and gives a sneak preview of our next episode. Have a great week, stay safe, and we'll be back next week!

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This week, Nick and Brett talk about Deepfakes and how easy it is to digitally transplant Tony Stark’s face onto the face of Elon Musk (well…any face really 😅). Nick dives into how Deepfakes work and how simple it is for anyone (with a decent PC) to create a Deepfake of their own using free open-source software. Nick and Brett also talk about the impact that Deepfakes are having on society and why they pose such a huge threat to governments around the world. Nick also shares some of the internet’s best Deepfake videos that feature Elon Musk as a baby, a fake Inside the Actor’s Studio roundtable, Keanu Reeves stopping a robbery, and Tom Holland as Marty McFly in Back to the Future II.

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Dr. Steve Shwartz is the author of “Evil Robots, Killer Computers, and Other Myths: The Truth About AI and the Future of Humanity” which was published last month by Fast Company Press. He began his career in AI as a postdoctoral researcher in the Yale University Computer Science Department. Steve has also been a founder or co-founder of many companies. His AI-based Esperant product became one of the leading business intelligence products of the 1990s. He also co-founded Device42 which has won awards as a fast-growing tech company. Steve has also helped fund many startups including Tangoe, which was the 6th best IPO of 2011.

This week, Nick chats with renowned AI researcher and startup investor Dr. Steve Shwartz about Artificial Intelligence if the technology really is, well, intelligent. Steve shares how he started his career in AI and how using some simple machine learning methods (that are still used today) he and others were able to build one of the first programs to bet on horse races in the 1970s, along with a program that accurately predicted three out of the four MLB playoff teams during the same period. Nick and Steve also talk about today’s AI systems and what they are actually capable of vs. what many people think they can do.

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This week, Nick welcomes Brett back to The Artificial Podcast to talk about 5G. Nick and Brett talk about what 5G is, how 5G works, and what 5G means for emerging technologies like self-driving cars and the soon-to-be billions of IoT devices. Nick also debunks some of the craziest 5G conspiracy theories (such as people believing 5G directly caused the Coronavirus pandemic) and why you have no reason to fear the technology.

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Nick and The Artificial Podcast make their triumphant return to the airwaves this week with an all-new episode focusing on Starlink and Elon Musk’s goal of dominating global broadband internet access by 2025. The Artificial Podcast’s resident layperson (Brett Brooks) also joins the discussion this week as Nick dives into and answers questions like: What is Starlink? How does Starlink work? Will Starlink really block out all of the stars from the night sky? Is Elon Musk really the living embodiment of Tony Stark? All these questions and more answered in this week’s episode!

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Hey there Artificial Podcasters. Unfortunately, we have to push our re-launch back one week to April 18th, 2021. Take a listen as Nick explains how a recent COVID-19 scare pushed everything back.

Thank you for your patience, support, and we'll be back next week!

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After long last, The Artificial Podcast is officially returning to your favorite podcast platforms and YouTube on April 11th, 2021!!! In this brief teaser, Nick talks about all of the cool things that he and Brett have been up to behind the scenes prepping to re-launch the show. We have A LOT of great updates to share, and cannot wait for you to continue the journey with us learning about new emerging technologies that are impacting our lives both personally and within our organizations.

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The Artificial Podcast will be on a brief hiatus over the next 2-3 weeks as Nick and Brett work on making some long-overdue updates to the show. These updates include pre-recording new episodes, recruiting new guests, updating The Artificial Podcast's YouTube channel and other social media platforms, and launching a brand new website. Thank you for all of your support, and we will return in a few weeks!

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Jeanna Isham has 20+ years of audio experience. Her company, Dreamr Productions, creates audio identities for companies and brands, as well as consults and educates brands and marketers on sound marketing and its best practices. Jeanna produces, hosts, and edits the Sound In Marketing Podcast. She also teaches courses on The Fundamentals of Sound in Marketing. Dreamr Productions is a part of Stage Ham Entertainment LLC, a full-service audio/video production company based out of Pasadena, CA.

In this week’s episode, Nick chats with Jeanna Isham of Dreamr Productions about sound in technology and sonic branding. Nick and Jeanna chat about why sound plays such a crucial role for tech products and why it is so important for brands to begin developing unique sonic branding of their own. Jeanna also shares her secret formula for developing a sonic brand and why adjectives and working backward are the two most important parts of the process. Nick and Jeanna also dive into spatial and directional audio and how Hollywood is already beginning to experiment with these new forms of experiential sound.

How to get in touch with Jeanna:

In this week’s episode, Nick and Brett dive into one of the greatest human inventions ever created…vaccines. With the new COVID-19 vaccine top of mind for everyone around the world, Nick shares the basics of vaccines including what they are, how they work, and what different types of vaccines are widely used today. After talking briefly about the history of vaccines and vaccine development, Nick and Brett wrap things up by talking about the new COVID-19 vaccine, what it is, what it is not, and why it truly is a modern scientific miracle that will pave the way for more advanced vaccine development in the near future.

*Please note that Nick and Brett are not trained medical professionals and do not intentionally elicit medical advice in this episode.

Links to sources:

Nick and Brett return this week to talk about big tech, misinformation, free speech, and how they all tie together. Nick and Brett talk about how the rise of the internet and social media platforms has led to a pandemic of misinformation and how this silent but growing problem has impacted society and the world around us. Nick also discusses how social media companies have inherently become the arbiters of truth given the massive scope and scale of their products and services. To cap things off, Nick and Brett discuss talk about what free speech is, what free speech is not, and why big tech and social media platforms could be setting a bad precedent by choosing to censor users.

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Instead of a full episode this week, Nick talks about two of his favorite episodes of The Artificial Podcast. Episode 59 features Nick and Brian Roemmele discussing Intelligence Amplification. Episode 71 features Nick chatting with Robert Scoble about Apple's next one more thing. Nick will return next week with an all-new episode!

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With more than half of all web traffic estimated to be bots do you sometimes feel like the bots are coming for us? Nick and Brett sure do, and that is why this week they decide to dive into the world of internet bots. Nick shares what exactly a “Bot” is and how bots can be both good and bad depending on how they are used. After explaining the brief history of bots, the different types of bots, and the impact that AI will have on bots Nick and Brett wrap things up by discussing two of the most well-known events that brought the concept of bots into the mainstream. (WARNING: If you happen to be a scalper using bots to purchase graphics cards and game consoles so no one else can have a chance to purchase one this episode may not be for you…😅).

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In this week’s episode, Nick and Brett chat about some of the most interesting pieces of tech from this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES). From smart masks to robots to transparent TV’s, this year’s CES had it all! Nick and Brett also talk about how some of the concept tech introduced by Samsung, LG, and GM signal where their companies are heading with a greater focus on AI, in-home tech, and sustainable transportation.

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The Artificial Podcast is back for our 2021 season! Nick and Brett kick things off by diving into the recent SolarWinds hack that compromised the networks of a handful of U.S. federal agencies and thousands of private companies. The wrap things up, Nick and Brett talk about recent Terms of Service and Privacy Policy changes to WhatsApp and how users are responding to the news. Each of these events will have a lasting impact on data privacy and security as we know it and will undoubtedly continue to draw the public’s attention towards these growing problems in the months and years to come.

Links to articles referenced in this week’s episode:

In this week’s episode, Nick and Brett are together once again! After a VERY long year, Nick and Brett decide to review and reflect on 2020, how the year has affected them, and what they have learned. Nick and Brett also reflect on The Artificial Podcast and reminisce over some of their favorite episodes while also giving a sneak peek into what they have planned for next year. To wrap things up, Nick and Brett dive into how COVID-19 has led to a boom in emerging technology, and they attempt to predict what could in-store for all of us in 2021 and beyond.

Thank you to every single one of our guests this year who gave their time to chat with us and share how they are moving the needle forward in emerging tech. We would also like to extend a sincere thank you to all our listeners from around the world who help to keep our show going each week.

We hope that you have a fun and safe holiday season, and we will see you in 2021!

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Robert Scoble works with companies that are implementing Spatial Computing technologies, though he is taking some time off after finishing his latest book The Infinite Retinato spend time with his young kids. He is a futurist and technology strategist and is the author of four books about technology trends, being the first to report on technologies from autonomous vehicles to Siri. Robert has previously held roles that include being a strategist at Microsoft, a futurist at Rackspace, Chief Strategy Officer at Infinite Retina, and the producer and host of a video show about technology at Fast Company.

This week, Nick chats with Silicon Valley insider Robert Scoble about Apple’s next “One more thing”. Robert talks about how  he has had a passion for technology since a very young age, and how growing up in Silicon Valley has influenced his journey to become one of the most well-known tech futurists and industry insiders. Robert dives into what he believes will be Apple’s next product, and how this product is going to usher in a completely new paradigm of how humans use and interact with technology. Nick and Robert also talk about 2021, and why next year is anticipated to be a major turning point for data privacy and security.

How to contact Robert:

Michael (Misha) Feigenson is an educator, physicist, and entrepreneur. In 2012, together with his wife Miriam he started an app development company to build mobile apps to help young parents like themselves. Their Sound Sleeper app became one of the most popular baby sleep apps in the App Store with more than 5 million downloads. In 2018, together with Fred Park, a teacher and instructional coach in the Massachusetts Public School System, Misha started Thinking Cap Innovation – a startup that uses voice technology and virtual assistants like Amazon Alexa, to help students master fundamental math skills and learn languages. As true proponents of screen-free learning, Misha and his team work to bring high-quality and affordable education technology to pre-schools around the world.

In this week’s episode, Nick chats with Misha Feigenson of Thinking Cap Innovations about the future of learning and how voice technologies like Amazon Alexa will play a very large role. Misha shares how started working with voice technology after starting a successful mobile app development company in 2012, and how his scientific background has allowed him to create learning-focused voice applications for Alexa. Nick and Misha talk about the current model most people use when learning a new language and how voice can be used to integrate storytelling to aid in the process of learning new languages. Misha also talks about his passion for using voice technology to help children with disabilities be more successful in the classroom.

How to contact Misha:

As former Chief Marketing Officer of Showtime Networks, Inc., Donald oversaw the marketing, distribution, and subscriber acquisition marketing, creative and digital media divisions, branding, promotions, media, CRM/analytics and operations, broadband, and emerging platform initiatives for the network that included Showtime, Showtime Sports, and Showtime Documentary Films. He created the marketing organization that launched Showtime’s streaming service in 2015, designed its strategic positioning, and helped to drive its subscriber growth well beyond launch projections. Prior to Showtime, Donald served as the SVP of Marketing and Digital for Warner Bros. Pictures creating the company’s first digital division while also co-founding Warner Bros. Online. Donald currently provides consultation to startups, programmers, agencies, analysts, and investors on topics ranging from OTT, SVOD, streaming media, Voice, media, and marketing.

In this week’s episode of The Artificial Podcast, Nick chats with Donald Buckley who is the former CMO of Showtime Networks. Donald talks about his journey working for some of the world’s largest media companies and how throughout his entire career he has always placed emphasis on the importance of new technology in the world of entertainment media. Donald and Nick discuss the impact voice technology will have on the entertainment industry and how Amazon Alexa is already easing the pain of discoverability on streaming platforms. Donald also shares how he thinks AI will play a role in media, and how he envisions the future of voice technology playing an integral role in how people find and consume new content.

How to get in touch with Donald:

Pete Dulcamara is the Chief Scientist and Technical Vice President for the Kimberly-Clark Corporation. He is responsible for developing technology strategies at the enterprise level, building technical talent globally, and fostering a culture of scientific excellence and value creation.

In this week’s episode, Nick chats with Pete Dulcamara of Kimberly Clark Corporation about Human-Centric Innovation, and the impact that exponential technologies are going to have on humanity over the next 10 years. Pete shares his story and talks about the journey that led him into the role of KCC’s first Chief Scientist. Pete also dives into his concept of Humanity-Centric Innovation and how the needs of humanity, new business models, and exponential technologies will merge to create a creative collision that is going to usher in a new era of scientific discovery for humanity. Nick and Pete also talk about the role that a company like Kimberly Clark Corporation can play in this concept with KCC products being used by more than 1-2 billion people each day.

How to connect with Pete:

In light of the recent results of the 2020 U.S Presidential Election, we will not be posting a new episode this week. Instead, Nick shares his thoughts on the outcome of the election and makes a statement for democracy. We will be returning next week featuring a conversation between Nick and Pete Dulcamara of Kimberly Clark Corporation.

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Emerson is the Chief Evangelist of Bespoken. Emerson has spent most of his career working in the QA space, including the Army Research Lab, Borland, and Applause. Emerson is passionate about the impact that effective testing can have on products and users. He loves working for Bespoken because it makes voice development so much faster, easier, and more fun – and the llama is pretty cool too! Outside of Bespoken, Emerson loves adventure cycling, cooking, and volunteering with the Scouts BSA.

In this week’s episode of The Artificial Podcast, Nick chats with Emerson Sklar of Bespoken.io about the important role that QA and testing play in developing voice applications for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Emerson shares his story and how he went from working on projects for the U.S Army to becoming the Chief Evangelist of Bespoken working in voice technology. Emerson and Nick talk about some of the biggest challenges that voice app designers and developers face, and how an automated testing platform like Bespoken can ease a lot of pain and frustration. Emerson also talks about he thinks there is still a lot of opportunity with Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and improving existing technologies through QA and testing.

How to contact Emerson:

Lauren Johnson is the founder of the Alexa Is A Human campaign. Lauren decided to start Alexa Is A Human after experiencing the negative impacts of Amazon’s choice to utilize a human name as the word for their Alexa voice assistant. Lauren is an avid supporter of voice assistant technology and the benefits that such technology will afford us all, however, Lauren’s goal is to also draw awareness to how something as simple as naming a piece of technology “Alexa” can lead to pain and bullying for so many children (and adults) all around the world. Part of Lauren’s mission with Alexa Is A Human is to share her story and be the voice for so many others who are currently experiencing the negative effects of the Alexa wake word.

In this week’s episode of The Artificial Podcast, Nick chats with Lauren Johnson of the Alexa Is A Human campaign about how Amazon’s choice to name their voice assistant “Alexa” has affected thousands of girls and women around the world. Lauren explains how she was influenced to start this campaign and shares stories about how her own daughter has been consistently bullied having the same name as the Alexa voice assistant. Nick and Lauren talk about how the Alexa Is A Human movement has grown, as well as discuss how technology professionals can work to prevent similar mistakes from being made in the future.

Learn more about Alexa Is A Human:

Michal Stanislawek is the Co-Founder of Utter.One, a voice experience agency. Michal also co-founded and helps organize #VoiceLunch – a global initiative to bring the voice technology community closer together. He is also the Head of Product for MediaAtomos which delivers low-latency broadcast-quality live videos across the globe. Michal has almost 20 years of professional experience creating strategies and products for the internet and broadcast video, as well as media asset management and workflow systems. In the early days of his career, he was involved in building developer communities for which he was recognized as an MVP by Microsoft. Recently, his focus has shifted to creating voice experiences and helping marketers develop strategies for the use of Voice in business.

The Artificial Podcast returns this week featuring Michael Stanislawek of #VoiceLunch and Utter.One. Michal shares the origin story behind #VoiceLunch and how the simple idea of getting together with a few professionals in the voice tech industry via Zoom evolved into a weekly global event series that now takes place in multiple countries and regions. Michal talks about his passion for AI and voice technology, and why he strongly believes in the concept of community building to help bring other people together with the same passion to share ideas and learn from one another. Nick and Michal also talk about Michal’s work at Utter.One, and how Michal is working to revolutionize how people search for information within internet media by using their voice.

How to contact Michal:

There will be no new episode of The Artificial Podcast this week. Nick and Brett have been busy behind the scenes working on RedFox AI and their new BlueFox Box project. However, this is a great opportunity for you to check out some of our older episodes that you may not have had a chance to take a listen to yet. We will be back next week will an all-new episode featuring Michael Stanislawek of Utter.One and Voice Lunch.

If you or anyone you know is interested in being a guest on The Artificial Podcast please send an email to theartificialpodcast@redfox-ai.com.

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Bobby Bryant is the CEO of DOSS, a prop-tech company that’s democratizing the real estate industry via a fair-price digital real estate brokerage that’s developing a voice-activated intelligent assistant built into a proprietary real estate search and transaction platform. DOSS empowers any buyer, renter, or seller to ask any question about property in the world to get accurate, easy, and instant answers 24/7. Architecturally built on an intelligent-interface, consumers are able to access everything that there is to know about a particular property by speaking, texting, or typing their questions into any desktop, smart speaker, and smartphone to search, schedule property tours, digitally submit offers, negotiate price, and much more.

In this week’s episode of The Artificial Podcast, Nick chats with Bobby Bryant of DOSS about how the DOSS platform is giving a voice to the real estate industry (literally) and the next evolution of intelligent voice assistants. Bobby shares how he has been working on developing the DOSS voice assistant from idea to product since 2011, and why he thinks the real estate industry is primed to be disrupted by a “do machine” like DOSS. Nick and Bobby talk about the potential for future Voice-as-a-Service business models, and what it has been like building a voice technology-focused startup. Nick and Bobby also talk about the next evolution of intelligent voice assistants and why there soon will be an ecosystem of hundreds (if not thousands) of individual voice assistants solving specific problems for specific industries.

How to contact Bobby:

Vicki Cantrell is a retail strategist, community builder, former COO and CIO in the retail industry, and is recognized for relationship building and accelerated growth. Along with co-founding the Vendors in Partnership (VIP Awards), her most recent venture is Vendors in Partnership LLC, with the mission of celebrating strong partnerships between retailers and the support ecosystem. She is also a managing board member of the Open Voice Network, an industry group dedicated to bringing the value of open, standards-based voice assistance enterprise and the world as Voice reshapes consumer behavior. Vicki has previously held senior leadership roles in IT, marketing, and operations for brands and organizations such as Aptos, the National Retail Federation, Tory Burch, Giorgio Armani Corporation, Gucci Group, Party City, and JC Penney. Vicki is an active member of the Retail Orphan Initiative, is on the Advisory Board of sparks & honey, and is a board member of Tandy Leather Company.

In this week’s episode, Nick chats with Vicki Cantrell of Vendors in Partnership about using technology to transform the customer experience. Vicki shares what it has been like to work in a wide variety of roles throughout her career in some of the world’s largest fashion retailers and brands, as well as how those experiences have shaped her views on new technology and how it should be used to enhance the customer experience. Vicki and Nick talk about how emerging technologies like AI and Voice are already having an impact, and how retailers have just begun to scratch the surface on being able to hyper-personalize the customer experience for every unique customer.

How to contact Vicki:

Roger Kibbe is a Senior Developer Evangelist for Viv Labs, the engine behind Samsung’s Bixby 2.0. As a developer evangelist, Roger gets developers excited about building amazing new AI and voice experiences using Bixby. Roger has over 20 years of experience leveraging technology for strategic business advantage. Prior to Viv Labs, Roger founded both a voice product startup and a voice consulting firm. Roger also spent many years leading Omnichannel technology strategy for GAP Inc. while also gaining valuable experience in technology consulting.

In this week’s episode, Nick chats with Roger Kibbe of Viv Labs about the current state of intelligent voice assistants like Bixby, Alexa, and Google Assistant and where he thinks the technology is ultimately headed. Roger also talks about what it has been like to work with Adam Cheyer who is one of the leading experts in today’s voice technology industry. Nick and Roger also dive into the importance of focusing on the human experience of designing voice applications and why it is the most important piece to the voice tech puzzle. Roger also shares where he thinks voice technology is headed and his vision of a world where intelligent voice assistants understand context and help us solve real-world problems.

How to contact Roger:

Lawrence is the International Affairs Coordinator for the China Netcasting Service Association (CNSA). CNSA is China’s industry association for voice-first content and the voice-tech industry. He is an advocate for voice-first applications in the Chinese market. Lawrence also helps support international voice-tech companies that launch and choose to develop their businesses in China. Lawrence’s goal is to help bridge the gap between the voice-tech ecosystems of the East and the West to help foster an international and interconnected voice-tech market.

In this week’s episode, Nick chats with Lawrence Lin of the CNSA about the rise of voice technology in China and the impact that is it having across the country. Lawrence shares some great statistics and facts on the current state of voice tech in China and offers some insight into how he thinks companies like Alibaba, Baidu, and Xiaomi will evolve their voice assistant platforms over time. Lawrence and Nick also talk about some interesting voice tech use cases in China that include helping people be more aware of how to recycle properly, and even voice-activated elevators that are in the early stages of public testing. Lawrence also talks about the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on voice tech in China and how he sees both Voice an IoT evolving as a result.

How to contact Lawrence:

In this week’s episode of The Artificial Podcast, Nick and Brett dive deeper into the history of Artificial Intelligence following up from our previous episode The History of Artificial Intelligence – Part I. Nick and Brett talk about the history of AI from 1974 – 2020 discussing the first AI winter, the second AI boom, the second AI winter, AI’s revival and renaissance in the late 1990s and 2000s, and the age of cloud computing, deep learning, and big data that resulted in the formation of AI as we know it today at the start of the 2020s. Some discussion highlights include Expert Systems, the concept of “Intelligence”, Moore’s Law, and big data.

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Brian Roemmele is the consummate Renaissance man. He is a scientist, researcher, analyst, connector, thinker, and doer. More than anything, Brian is an observer of the world, asking questions, and following his seemingly infinite curiosity to the root of an outstanding variety of issues. Over the long, winding arc of his career, Brian has built and run payments and tech businesses, worked in media, including the promotion of top musicians, and explored a wide variety of other subjects along the way. Brian actively shares his findings and observations across publications such as Forbes, Huffington Post, Newsweek, Slate, Business Insider, Daily Mail, Gizmodo, Medium, and Quora.

In this week’s episode of The Artificial Podcast, Nick chats with the one and only Brian Roemmele who is one of the world’s leading futurists and thought leaders on voice technology and its potential applications. Brian shares his thoughts about why he believes humans will never be able to successfully create AI, and why instead he is focusing his efforts on what he calls “Intelligence Amplification” instead. Brian talks about the importance of wisdom in human society and why finally over the next few decades technology will reach a point to help us capture every aspect of our daily lives to create our personal “wisdom keepers” that can be passed down through generations. Nick and Brian also talk about the future of voice technology and what’s in store for both the technology and the industry over the next few years.

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Ryan Leusch is the Chief Sales Officer of S2A Modular. Ryan was born with an intrinsic fascination for technology, and with more than 20 years of experience in the industry, Ryan’s passion and knowledge has driven his success. He specializes in renewable business development and is an expert in combining the smartest, greenest, and most superior solutions in the industry. From starting his own PC repair business in the 1990s to helping pioneer a managed network services company in southern California Ryan has been a continuous innovator in tech with a unique ability to educate clients and communicate effectively throughout the duration of any project that he is a part of.

In this week’s episode of The Artificial Podcast, Nick chats with Ryan Leusch of S2A Modular about sustainable technology and the future of smart homes as we know them today. Ryan and Nick talk about how S2A Modular is rapidly innovating the smart home industry, and how they are leveraging sustainable technology to help homeowners generate additional income just from the electricity produced by S2A’s self-sustaining homes. Ryan also talks about solar panel tech and how it has evolved to become cheaper and more efficient over the years, as well as a new wireless internet technology called LiFi is poised to change in-home wireless tech as we know it.

Maaike Groenewege is passionate about conversation design. It is a profession that is right in the sweet spot of her interests: writing, analysis, psychology, user support, component management, and above all, her big love: linguistics. She discovered conversation design at the start of 2019 and decided to start Convocat conversational expertise at the start of 2020. Maaike loves the hands-on work of building and designing chatbots (and increasingly, voice assistants). Next to that, she coaches content teams that are just starting the big adventure of building their own enterprise chatbots. Prior to founding Convocat, Maaike spent 20 years working as a technical writer, international project manager, and Agile information analyst for companies like Lucent Technologies, Dutch Air Traffic Control, Dutch Bank AMRO, and the Dutch Railways.

In this week’s episode of The Artificial Podcast, Nick chats with Maaike Groenewege of Conovcat.ai. Maaike shares her career as a linguist ultimately led her to start her own business designing chatbots and other conversational interfaces. Maaike talks about why she thinks language and linguistics play such a large role in conversation design (and ultimately the future of voice assistant technology), and how in order for the technology to truly evolve the technology will need to be trained on more aspects of natural human language. To wrap things up, Nick and Maaike talk about open AI and how the industry can work towards developing AI systems that are free of unconscious bias.

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Nick Sawka is a 19-year veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard and continues to serve his country proudly. Nick found his passion for Amazon Alexa back in December of 2014 when Alexa was first released for beta testing. In 2017, Nick made the jump into voice app development and to date has currently published over 400 Alexa Skills for small and medium-sized businesses. Nick is actively pursuing the title of official Alexa Champion for the 2021 selection.

In this week’s episode of The Artificial Podcast, Nick chats with Nick Sawka of N.E.S Voice Skills about Nick’s journey through voice technology industry and what it has been like to create so many different Alexa Skills. Nick shares how he went about teaching himself everything that he knows about Amazon Alexa and building Skills, along with why he is so determined to be recognized as an Alexa Champion. Nick talks about some of his favorite Skills that he has created so far including Historical Voices which is currently one of the most highly rated Alexa Skills in the Alexa Skills Store. Nick also dives into some of the tactics and strategies that he has used to help make him a successful Alexa Skill developer, as well as the motivation that exists behind many of his different Alexa Skills.

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We will be taking a break this week as Nick and Brett celebrate Nick's 26th birthday on July 25th. We will be returning next week with a new guest interview featuring Nick Sawka of NES Voice Skills. Have a great week!

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Tim is the Senior Product Manager for Voice and Emerging Platforms for Discovery Inc.’s Direct to Consumer team. Tim has been working in the conversational design and engineering space since 2016 leading various teams in building voice, chat, and multimodal applications for brands like Food Network and HGTV.

In this week’s episode of The Artificial Podcast, Nick chats with Tim McElreath of Discovery Inc. about what it has been like creating and developing the Food Network Kitchen Alexa Skill, and what it has been like to work alongside the Amazon Alexa Team on adding new features and capabilities. Tim talks about how he got into the voice technology industry and what it has been like to watch Alexa evolve as a technology since 2016. Tim also shares some tips, tactics, and strategies for voice designers, and discusses where he thinks the technology is headed and what it may look like over the next decade. Tim also talks about the importance of trial and error, especially when it comes to working with voice assistant platforms like Alexa and Google Assistant.

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As a global sales leader, Petra is driving the worldwide IBM Power Systems scale-up and sale-out of business focusing on AIX and IBM I, which includes the IBM Power Systems Software portfolio. In 2019, Petra was elected as Chairwoman of the IBM Technical Expert Council which is an affiliate of the IBM Academy of Technology. In this leadership role, Petra and the Technical Expert Council support shaping and driving the technical strategy in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

In this week’s episode, Nick chats with Petra Bührer of IBM about how IBM is leveraging their Watson technology to help doctors and scientists combat COVID-19. Petra talks about her various roles at IBM over the years and how working for a global tech company has allowed her to travel and experience so many different cultures and meet so many new people from around the world. Petra also discusses the “AI for Good” initiative and why she believes it is crucial that more voices from women and people of color are needed in order to truly help AI evolve to serve the needs of every human being on the planet. Nick and Petra also briefly talk about how they first met at the 2019 Asia Property Awards in Bangkok, Thailand, and how that event impacted both of them.

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In this week’s episode of The Artificial Podcast, Nick and Brett return to talk about the history of Artificial Intelligence. Due to the amount of information surrounding the history of AI this episode will be part one of a two-part series. Nick and Brett dive in the origins of AI as we know it today starting with myths and legends of machines coming to life throughout ancient civilization, and how that ultimately led to the formal reasoning of AI as we know it today. Nick and Brett talk about how the term “Artificial Intelligence” was coined, and how the early work of AI pioneers like Alan Turing, Marvin Minsky, and John McCarthy led to a period known as the “The Golden Age of Artificial Intelligence” where many of the intelligent computer programs and tools available to us today had their humble beginning.

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Jon Stine is currently leading the Open Voice Network (OVN), the non-profit industry association dedicated to bringing the value of standards to the world of Conversational AI – to make voice worthy of user trust. His path to OVN coursed through the worlds of consumer goods, retail, and technology with global leadership roles at Intel and Cisco Systems. It was his second stint at Intel from 2014-2019 when this question was raised: “What emerging technology will most impact the relationship between a consumer-facing entity and its customers?” His answer was “Voice”.

In this week’s episode of The Artificial Podcast, Nick chats with Jon Stine from the Open Voice Network about closing the trust gap between users and Conversational AI/voice assistant technology. Jon talks about his career working in both retail and technology companies like Intel and Cisco, and how those experiences guided him to start the Open Voice Network. Nick and Jon talk about Conversational AI and the future of the technology; specifically, how voice assistant tech will impact the retail industry. Jon also dives into the story behind the Open Voice Network and why he strongly believes that the future evolution of Conversational AI and Voice rests upon standards development and implementation that will truly make Voice “open” for all.

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Kerrie is passionate about business transformation and getting as many companies as possible on their journey to The Next Age™. Kerrie is a #1 bestselling business author and is the CEO of Hoffman Digital, an ecosystem of companies “Igniting the Human Experience at Work”. This includes Strategic Advisor at several modern technology companies, Co-Founder and Partner at Get Digital Velocity, and Digital Advisor and Certified Business Coach at FocalPoint Business Coaching. In addition, she is a keynote speaker at industry venues and Chairwoman of the Board for HashedIn Malaysia.

In this week’s episode of The Artificial Podcast, Nick chats with Kerrie Hoffman of Hoffman Digital. Kerrie and Nick start this week’s episode by talking about Kerrie’s IT and technology journey starting in healthcare that ultimately led her to work in high-profile IT roles at companies like Johnson Controls and Johnson & Johnson. Kerrie talks about some of her most rewarding experiences working in IT over the years, and what it has been like being a woman in tech having held so many different roles. Kerrie and Nick dive into AI and talk about Kerrie’s vision of the future which she calls The Next Age™, and why every professional in every industry needs to start preparing today to adapt their skillset to a world where AI and automation lead everything that we do.

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