Finding Genius Podcast

Warren Levitan, co-founder, and CEO of Smooch (smooch.io) provides an analysis of the current state of consumer-to-business communication. Smooch's mission is to humanize the connections between consumer and business. As there are literally billions of messaging accounts globally, messaging is the dominant online activity. Levitan's company, Smooch, seeks to make interaction with trusted brands highly useful, more intimate and immediate, for a more human experience overall. As consumers now demand more personal and human type communication, businesses have high expectations for software vendors to innovate and discover new means and methods of delivering these customizable customer experiences. Levitan discusses the frustrations that consumers feel when their needs are not met when personalization is low during contact with companies. He outlines the problems with call queues and disconnected architectural systems that leave consumers irritated when they have to continually retell their stories, describe their issues/problems, to each new person as they work their way toward a solution. Thus, Smooch has developed new ways to make personalization extend throughout the consumer experience, increasing efficiency, and thus allowing for a smoother experience overall. Smooch seeks to introduce messaging services that consumers are already comfortable with (iChat, Facebook Messenger, Line, WhatsApp, WeChat, etc.) into the business setting. Therefore, users and consumers can initiate business transactions through their favorite means of communication, and this enables their basic information to be recorded by the business, thus allowing each continued conversation in the future to start from a point of understanding, instead of starting from scratch. Levitan describes some of the exceptional benefits that their system affords. For example, a hotel guest who needs a service during their stay and could be detained on the phone multiple minutes waiting for one employee to talk to another employee who can solve the issue, can now simply connect via their preferred chat, leave a message, and continue with their day. And he provides information on how AI can help to expedite consumer requests, as consumers are able to use natural language to ask for services. The communication expert talks about consumer accessibility and how messaging is the key to efficiency in business, which leads to customer satisfaction and business growth. By reducing consumers' workload, personalizing messages, and simplifying processes for them, consumers' frustration is decreased, which leads to higher retention rates. Levitan muses about the many successful businesses that have enhanced consumer experiences by simplifying and personalizing, such as 1-800-Flowers.com and the Four Seasons hotel chain. Levitan outlines how businesses of any size can easily configure their channels to Smooch and connect to one of Smooch's customer service platforms. Levitan's team wants to help businesses achieve the best consumer experience possible, and their platform allows for communication connections to happen in literally as many messaging services as are needed, regardless of the amount of consumers who are using any one service. Levitan discusses the importance of integrating backend information into the consumer-business experience, which allows businesses to jump-start the conversations and potentially target consumers' interests and/or problems quicker. And as the technology evolves, Levitan hopes to open new channels and further their global access.

Dr. Roger Smith, chief technology officer for Florida Hospital's Nicholson Center for Surgical Advancement, delivers a very interesting and exciting overview of the incredible advances in robotic-assisted surgeries. Dr. Smith has a storied career in the medical science and technology field. Smith was the CTO for U.S. Army Simulation, Training and Instrumentation as well as a research scientist at the prestigious Texas A&M University. He is a graduate faculty scholar at University of Central Florida. Smith is highly focused on innovative technologies and medical education, along with treatment and services. He has served as VP and/or CTO for several companies and corporations and has published hundreds of technical papers on the advanced topics of corporate innovation, military simulation, computer gaming, and of course medical education. As Dr. Smith explains, one of the Nicholson Center for Surgical Advancement's goals is the education of physicians and surgeons on new techniques and tools for the healthcare field. When Intuitive Surgical of Silicon Valley releases the 'da Vinci' robot, they selected the Nicholson Center to partner with them, to serve as their premiere education center. As such, the Nicholson Center is one of the top locations for the advanced training of robotic surgeons. And as the technology has evolved, Smith states that many specialized robots have been developed for areas such as orthopedics, spinal and neurological procedures, etc. While the Nicholson Center utilizes many different robots for teaching, the da Vinci is by far the most utilized. Smith discusses how the robotic technology has enabled many more procedures to be completed per day, allowing more patients to receive treatment much quicker than in the traditional surgical environment. And this process allows surgeons to spend more of their day performing surgery with less downtime, although the efficiency may not be ideal for all surgeons, as some may feel more comfortable with longer breaks between surgeries. Thus, it depends on the surgeon's personality and their preferred methods. Dr. Smith provides an overview of the three basic types of surgery. He describes open surgery, in which surgeons open up an area that is larger, to enable the use of instruments; laparoscopic surgery (minimally invasive / keyhole surgery) which is a surgical technique whereby operations are performed through small incisions; and robotic surgery, which is essentially robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery. Smith states that the prostatectomy procedure for men and hysterectomy procedure for women are the bulk of surgeries performed via the use of da Vinci. As the camera and instrument inserted are completely stable with robotic assistance, surgeons can be even more precise than with traditional manual-only procedures. Dr. Smith states that the robotic system is so sophisticated that it can detect a surgeon's hand tremors due to their advancing age or perhaps too much caffeine, and filter out these involuntary movements. Essentially the robot can tell the difference between a surgeon's hand movements due to the aforementioned involuntary methods and when the surgeon is making an actual surgical movement. The amazing technology thus enables brilliant surgeons to no longer face early retirement simply due to aging hands; their minds can perform the work perfectly, with a little help from the steady hand that the robot provides. Dr. Smith talks about the new upcoming technologies that are on the horizon. He states that machinery is getting smaller, and electronics are improving rapidly, which is enabling more companies to access the market to compete with da Vinci. Another wonderful outcome of the advancing technology is that new methods and equipment are being released into the marketplace that will allow surgeons who use radiation during procedures to now stand behind protective glass that keeps them safe. For as the small amount of radiation used in a patient procedure is of no concern to the patient, it is, however, a potential health hazard for the surgeon who is exposed to radiation during procedures daily, for decades, through hundreds or even thousands of surgical procedures. Additionally, Smith discusses the use of AI for surgery, and how data and AI can provide guided advice to the surgeon as he or she performs it. Thus, technology continues to impact our world in literally every area of operation, no pun intended.

Powering the next era of genomics through #blockchain technology – protecting identity, personalizing healthcare, transforming lives Shivom is spearheading The Next Era of Genomics and powering the transition to value-based precision healthcare. Our focus is on the transformational convergence of OMICS technologies with blockchain, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to enable secure and personalized medicine with global scalability. Using Blockchain, Shivom offers the first ever integrated solution for patients and genome data donors to empower everyone to have their genome sequenced and safely stored - with donors retaining full ownership of their data, their DNA identity, how it is shared and even being able to monetize its usage. We are creating a revolutionary and data-driven medical genomics ecosystem that will enable an open web-marketplace for other providers to add their health apps and medical services and will additionally build a state-of-the-art and not-for-profit drug discovery and precision medicine organization. This is catalyzed by our vision to change people's lives and open-up access to personalized health and wellbeing opportunities for all. The time is now to use genome sequencing so that anyone in the world can access the best in regular preventive care and health promotion

Georgios Depastas, co-founder and business lead of Kalepso (kalepso.com), imparts technology-based wisdom on the value of data security and his goal to keep private, sensitive data safe for all of us. Depastas holds a master's in electrical and computer engineering from Greece National Technology University of Athens, and a master's from Cambridge University. His experience in real-time data analytics at Barclays motivated him to launch his company, Kalepso. Kalepso offers the strongest dynamic encryption at rest, in motion, and in use. Their platform utilizes machine learning to optimize queries execution, and differential privacy to perturb the query result size in order to avoid communication volume leakages. And their oblivious RAM re-encrypts database rows each time data is queried, to avoid access pattern leakages. Kalepso uses military-grade protocols, at the lowest level for individual records encryption. Depastas discusses their cloud database system, which allows companies to use their data as they always have, but with significantly more security. He provides information on how the Kalepso platform delivers protection against all attacks, even potential quantum attacks. Depastas outlines how Kalepso's protection is through dynamic encryption, and how each additional query triggers re-encryption, for maximum security and protection. By utilizing differential privacy and introducing 'noise' to the query results, so potential hackers or data thieves cannot infer sensitive information that needs to be critically secured. Depastas lists some of the most current encryption levels and the security variants with quantum computing. The data security expert gives his opinions on blockchain and its many uses, such as mutability, and how he expects blockchain's robust, tamper-proof qualities to be utilized in Kalepso's next line of technology and products. Depastas discusses the expense of storing volumes of information on the blockchain, and the fragility, in terms of blockchains that are not quantum resistant at current. And he mentions how authorization issues will be an area where blockchain can be of use for Kalepso. Depastas states that their current platform has been peer reviewed and undergone white hat hacker testing, and none of the hackers were able to find any vulnerability in the system or their core technology. Depastas discusses the alpha and beta versions of their Kalepso security products and their upcoming collaboration with the National Bank of Greece to roll out a new proof of concept. And as they expand they will be seeking to introduce more products to the market and continue their global outreach. Cybersecurity is a complex issue and there will always be challenges ahead as Depastas and his team innovate to meet the needs of individuals and businesses.

Dominic D'Agostino, Ph.D., delivers an informative overview of the potential positive impact of ketogenic diets for disease prevention and treatment. He discusses how many cancers such as endometrial cancer and pancreatic cancer are associated with hyperglycemia, which is a hallmark of type II diabetes.D'Agostino is a tenured professor at the University of South Florida. Working with students at the Morsani College of Medicine and the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, D'Agostino's primary focus is in the areas of neuroscience and neuropharmacology, medical biochemistry, and physiology. As a research scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, D'Agostino aggressively pursues his research in methods to optimize and maximize the health, safety, and resilience of soldiers in combat, as well as astronauts. As a laboratory scientist D'Agostino and his team develop and test various metabolic-based strategies for seizures, epilepsy, cancer, and select neurodegenerative diseases. His primary focus for over a decade has been centered upon the many potential anticonvulsant and neuroprotective mechanisms of a ketogenic diet as well as ketone metabolite supplementation. D'Agostino is an active member of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Society, Society of Neuroscience, Aerospace Medical Association, American Physiological Society, and the American Association of Cancer Research. He holds a Ph.D. and BS from the esteemed Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers University, respectively. D'Agostino discusses his current and primary focus on brain cancer and how the ketogenic diet has historically been used to treat epilepsy, thus brain tumor patients experiencing seizures may see significant benefit from a dietary change to this low-carb, high-fat, protein-adequate diet. He talks about the Warburg effect, the phenomenon in which cancer cells produce extra energy via increased oxygen-dependent glycolysis that is then followed by lactic acid fermentation with a secretion of lactate. D'Agostino provides information on cell metabolism; the ATP molecule, which is the nucleotide specifically known in biochemistry as the 'molecular currency' of cell to cell energy transfer; as well as mitochondria and the links between diet and some cancers. The nutrition and health Ph.D. outlines other important and relevant studies, such as the work of Valter Longo, the Italian-American biogerontologist and cell biologist who is known primarily for his study of the role fasting and nutrient response genes play in disease and cellular protection. Additionally, he discusses the protective effects of short-term dietary restrictions as well as fasting, and the potential importance of ketones for metabolic health. While weight loss is essentially a good side effect of a ketogenic diet, the metabolic benefits provide even more advantages, in addition to the healthy effect of losing weight. He discusses the beneficial impact of decreasing glucose availability to tumors and implementing dietary restrictions as part of a treatment plan for some cancers. The shift in brain metabolism from glucose to ketones can actually reduce neuronal hyperexcitability and oxidative stress, which can enhance brain energy metabolism. D'Agostino feels this methodology can be used to treat a vast array of pathologies, including cancer. Additionally, D'Agostino presents an important analysis of the microbiome, which is the community of microorganisms such as fungi, bacteria, and viruses that inhabit a specific environment, especially in regard to microorganisms living within or on the human body. He provides his opinion on the variations in microbiomes and how the optimal microbiome can differ based upon food eaten, geographical location, and other factors, and how a ketogenic diet and periodic fasting can help purge the overgrowth of the microbiome, and help return the body to balance. And D'Agostino discusses the glucose-ketone index, and how individuals seeking a healthier dietary balance and increased energy can monitor their index to ensure they are reaching ketosis with regularity for maximum health benefits.

BitAML is a compliance advisory firm working in the fast-growing and dynamic cryptocurrency financial sector. We offer compliance advisory services and consultation for regulated cryptocurrency companies, including bitcoin ATM operators, exchanges, traders and trading platforms, hedge funds, crypto-cannabis, and other innovative solutions providers. Our tools and services are designed to make it easier for you to understand and implement relevant, up-to-date compliance practices in the cryptocurrency industry. Cryptocurrency has been around for just short of a decade, and as an industry is still very much in its infancy. Thus, it's occasionally unpredictable, and newcomers to space need expert guidance navigating compliance landmines at all levels of government. BitAML's attention is laser-focused on this unique need, establishing a cryptocurrency knowledge base our clients can turn to in order to clarify compliance needs in the constantly shifting cryptocurrency field.

Gozo is the industry-first blockchain-enabled multi-token crypto wallet, loyalty reward points clearing house, and travel club. By leveraging blockchain technology, Gozo is providing greater efficiency, liquidity and travel savings to the consumer. Gozo's simple and consumer-friendly interface allows users to harness the power and complexity of blockchain to track and exchange valuable loyalty reward points into crypto tokens or even local fiat currency. As a tokenized loyalty reward platform, travel providers will also reap the benefits of Gozo's blockchain platform. Businesses can customize the Gozo tokenized reward platform to fit their loyalty reward plan for their customers, providing the business with greater network efficiency, consumer transparency, and ultimately overall cost savings and reduced financial liability.

Currently ranked number 12 on the New York Times Best Seller list and recently featured on NPR and the Wall Street Journal, The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life offers a riveting account of evolutionary history that's challenging the way we've understood it for over 100 years. The author, David Quammen, joins the podcast today for an intriguing and informative conversation about some of the ideas explored in his book, including the recently discovered phenomenon of horizontal gene transfer across species boundaries, how retroviral DNA has inserted itself and continues to function in the human genome, and how the processes of bacterial transduction and transformation have led to the global epidemic of antibiotic resistance. Available on Amazon, Audible, Kindle, and in your local bookstore, The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life is a must-read book, not just for science experts, but for anyone interested in the mysteries of science and the history of life. Hit play to learn more.

Alex Membrillo, CEO at Cardinal Digital Marketing joins host Juliet Lemar on Future Tech Podcast. Alex Membrillo is the CEO of Cardinal, a digital marketing agency focused on growing multi location companies. His work as CEO of Cardinal also recently earned him the honor of being selected as a member of the 2018 Top 40 Under 40 list by Georgia State University as well as 2015 and 2016 Top 20 Entrepreneur of metro Atlanta by TiE Atlanta, Atlanta Business Chronicle's 2016 Small Business Person of the Year and Digital Marketer of the Year by Technology Association of Georgia (TAG). Competition across the internet is fierce. What can you do to get a leg up? At Cardinal, we help our clients ignite their growth by delivering customized search engine marketing solutions that increase their leads, conversions, and authority. We've partnered with some of the most recognizable healthcare, legal, and corporate brands in the country – including Papa John's and Cox Media Group – helping these multi-location organizations strengthen their brand and broaden their reach. While we're most proud of the work we do for our clients, we're also honored to have been chosen as a Best and Brightest company to work for (2016, 2015, 2015) and as an Inc. 5000 agency (2016, 2015, 2014).

Chris Hanson, the founder and CEO of Aromyx (aromyx.com), delivers a wealth of information on the complexities of olfactory senses and how technology is providing new ways to digitize taste and smell. Hanson holds a bachelor's and master's from Stanford University and he has over 20 years of experience in sales and marketing for top Fortune 500 companies. He is a proven leader with a track record of success transforming sales numbers for major companies such as Seagate Technology in Russia, IBM, and many Silicon Valley technology startups. He serves on advisory boards and committees for major corporations and was an integral part of the development team behind the military's sensor system that is used to detect deadly IEDs and nerve agents. Through the work with sensors his interest in olfactory sensing progressed, motivating him to launch Aromyx to further advance the digitization of the sense of smell. Hanson discusses in detail the many types of sensory data that can be measured with advancing technology, such as haptic data related to sense of touch, but he states that taste and smell data simply has never been measurable in the past. Hanson's company, Aromyx, has developed a sophisticated system, the first of its kind that enables scent and taste to be captured digitally. Their EssenceChip places olfactory and taste receptors onto a digital readout biochip. Measurable data can be useful for improving quality control and yield improvement for corporations in the food & beverage industry, agriculture industries, consumer packaged goods, and many more, especially when AI can be applied to the data. Aromyx's system essentially removes what was once immeasurable data existing only within the human mind, to an external chip that allows the power of scent and taste to be shared easily. Hanson discusses Aromyx's methods and how they were able to access the DNA from 402 olfactory receptors within the human nose and then clone it into a biosensor. Hanson outlines how their technology provides an opportunity for quality control testers to compare new batches of foods and beverages, etc. against their ideal batch that they have internally rated as being exceptional, thus raising the bar for all their manufacturing. The taste and smell authority expounds upon some of the most intrinsic values of their digital nose, such as the fact that their platform maintains objectivity, whereas human testers often provide skewed, subjective results, not to mention the high cost of human employment. Additionally, seasoned and experienced human testers in quality control departments retire and their internal knowledge that provided for such exceptional batch quality unfortunately retires with them. Aromyx's nose technology never retires and always delivers consistent objective results, over one batch of testing or one million batches. Hanson talks about the deconstruction of smell and taste and how technology is enabling this process. He describes how quality and success are often increased when industries can move from a trial and error method to a computable one, and Aromyx's technology is providing the means for smell and taste-based industries to rise.