The AI in Business Podcast

There's a lot of hype out there about conversational AI. Although according to our guest, we're nowhere near the day when AI can generate accurate conversations for the average business to integrate into their customer service, chatbots still have practical applications. In this episode, we interview the head of research at Digital Genius, Yoram Bachrach. Yoram succinctly outlines the current applications of chatbots—what they can and can't do—and details how business can best prepare to automate their customer service. For more interviews about the applications of AI in industry, visit us online: www.TechEmergence.com

How can machine learning help us advertise through social media? In this episode, Thomas Jelonek, CEO of Envision.ai, talks to us about how in the next five years, machine learning might automate the laborious guess-and-check process of finding visual content with which users can engage. Right now, finding images and videos that will best generate engagement is a task reserved for a human. He or she shifts through images and video clips that may work for an audience based on anecdotal evidence and perception of past post success. Learn how, according to Thomas, machine learning could help you save time and money, generate you a better ROI, and build you a larger list with more accurate targeting on social media. For more interviews with AI experts, visit: www.TechEmergence.com

This episode explores the ways in which artificial intelligence has the potential to revolutionize the field of medicine. This week's guest, Dr. Kristóf Zsolt Szalay speaks to this topic, discussing research that hopes to create automated learning networks and algorithms designed to predict the development of human cells in response to drugs. This technological innovation would make it possible for near-instantaneous simulations to be run, allowing optimal combinations and optimal doses of drugs to be pinpointed and distributed to patients. For more interviews on the applications and implications of AI in business, visit: www.TechEmergence.com

In this episode, discover how chatbots and conversational agents can provide you an advantage in the realms of customer support, product, support, lead engagement, and more, and learn the theory behind creating useful chatbots you can use in your own business. Right now, if we intend to find a piece of information or purchase something on the Internet, we might use a search engine that provides us with a list of sites we can browse in order to find ourselves a resolution for that intent. This week's guest, Chief Scientist at Conversica, Dr. Sid J Reddy, talks about how AI and ML can usher in the next a new era of search software, one that will bring you a faster, more accurate resolution to your intent. Most importantly, Dr. Reddy discusses how chatbot technology can be integrated into areas such as customer service, product support, and lead engagement. By the end of the episode, listeners will have a better idea of the importance of collecting data and how they can use that data to to build chatbot templates they can use in multiple domains and applications. For more interviews on the business applications of AI, visit: www.TechEmergence.com

This week on AI in Industry, we speak to Paul Barba (Chief Scientist at Lexalytics) about what how companies are using natural language processing, and what it takes (in terms of expertise, time, and training) to get these systems working. From sentiment analysis to categorization, Paul walks us through interesting and fruitful use-cases and sheds light on the back-end "tweaking" required to keep NLP productive in a changing business environment. For more interviews on the applications of AI in business, visit: www.TechEmergence.com

In this episode, we speak with Alan O'Herlihy, Founder and CEO of Ireland-based Everseen. Alan speaks to us about how machine vision systems can be used to detect theft or mistakes at a checkout counter (including forgetting to scan items, customers intentionally hiding items, and more). Alan not only explains where these technologies are in use today, but he also breaks down some of his own predictions about what these computer vision systems might make possible in the workplace of tomorrow. For more interviews and use-cases of AI in industry, visit: TechEmergence.com

In this episode, we talk to Murali Aravamudan, Founder and CEO of AI-driven drug discovery startup Qrativ, a joint venture by the Mayo Clinic and biotech/data science firm reference. Murali and I discuss the surge of medical information and data in the medical industry, the role of artificial intelligence in developing drugs for treatments to various diseases, and the future of AI in drug discovery. For more in-depth interviews on the business applications of artificial intelligence, find us online at: www.TechEmergence.com

In this episode, we talk to Daniel Nigrin, MD, Senior Vice President and CIO at Boston Children's Hospital. Daniel and I discuss why hackers have come to prey on the healthcare industry, how these hackers benefit from their illicit activities, and what healthcare IT security precautions can be taken to prevent such attacks. For more interviews on AI applications in business, visit: www.TechEmergence.com

Natural language processing has gained more and more attention with the raise of (or rather, the "fad" of) chatbots. Despite the flurry of press releases from companies about their conversational agents (only a few of which seem to be delivering real business value), few business leaders understand the value of NLP for customer service, sales enablement, or eCommerce. In this week's episode of AI in Industry we interview Narjes Boufaden, computational linguistics PhD and CEO of Keatext, an NLP company based in Montreal. Narjes explores the possible business applications of NLP - specifically for customer service and customer experience - and she also explains (in layman's terms) how NLP systems are trained and integrated into businesses today. The ROI on this episode (in my opinion), is a firm understanding of what NLP can and cannot do, and what business applications it can realistically solve today. I was fortunate to meet Narjes in person during my Montreal trip, and I'm glad we were able to bring her on the program shortly thereafter. For more expert interviews on the business applications of AI, visit: www.TechEmergence.com

As a human, we can often understand the mood, intention, and future action of another person just by looking at them. We see their posture, their facial expression, where their eyes are focused, and we can get a decent understanding of what they might do next. The problem of computer vision for body language is a much harder problem to solve, but we are indeed making progress. Our guest this week is Paul Kruszewski, an computer science PhD who's spent nearly the last 20 years focused on 3D modeling and artificial intelligence. Today, he's CEO of Wrnch, a Montreal-based AI company focused on reading and understanding human body language. Paul explains how advances in 3D modeling and computer vision have allowed researchers to get machines to "understand" the posture, movements, and intentions of human being - and he also helps explore the future applications that this technology might have in security, retail, sports, and more. For more interviews on the applications of AI in business, visit: TechEmergence.com