Western AI Podcast

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Roberto Iriondo is an AI advisor and consultant specializing in end-to-end marketing support for AI startups and established companies. He provides strategic guidance on web strategy, content, SEO, and growth. Roberto co-founded Towards AI in 2019, which was acquired in 2022, and continues to support it as an advisor to the CEO. Previously, he advised the president of the Mohamed bin Zayed Univers...

Peter Fedichev is a scientist and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in academic research and the biotech industry. He is the CEO of Gero.ai , a biotechnology company using AI to understand and combat aging and chronic diseases. Gero.ai has developed proprietary physics-based machine learning models, called Large Health Models (LHMs), to analyze health data, distinguish aging from disea...

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Dr. Geordie Rose co-founded D-Wave in 1999, serving as CEO from 1999 to 2003 and CTO from 2004 to 2014, helping establish it as the world’s first quantum computing company and leading it to a $1.6B IPO. He later co-founded and served as CEO of Kindred from 2014 to 2018, which was acquired by Ocado for $262M, and led Sanctuary from 2018 to 2024. Currently, he is working at the intersection of games...

Dr. Mark Daley is the Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer at Western University and a professor in Computer Science, Biology, Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Mathematics, and Statistics & Actuarial Science. He is affiliated with The Brain and Mind Institute, The Rotman Institute of Philosophy, and The Western Institute for Neuroscience. Dr. Daley is a...

Dr. Foteini Agrafioti is the Senior Vice President of Data and AI and the Chief Science Officer at RBC, where she oversees the bank's Data and AI ecosystem, including data services, machine learning platforms, AI solutions, and research and development. Since joining RBC in May 2016 as Chief Science Officer and Co-Founder and Head of RBC Borealis, she has led the development of several AI-powered...

Alexander Harmsen is an experienced tech entrepreneur, CEO, board member, and advisor, having founded multiple successful companies and organizations. His work has seen him produce multiple AI-driven products, scale sales globally, hire world-class executives, manage hundreds of employees, raise over $30M in venture capital, and successfully navigate an M&A process. He is focused on hard probl...

Dr. Jaky Kueper works at the intersection of machine learning and epidemiology, focusing on harnessing value from diverse data sources to improve population health and well-being. This is achieved through both the careful application of existing techniques and the development of new approaches. With over seven years of experience in AI for primary care, Dr. Kueper has led projects to identify prim...

Join us for this week's AI Debriefing made with Notebook LM as we dive into the latest developments shaping the AI landscape. We unpack OpenAI's groundbreaking text-to-video model Sora and examine Apple's long-anticipated entry into the AI arena. Plus, we explore the fascinating world of Agentic AI and its implications for the future. (Made with Notebook LM.)

This week, Owen kicks off season 2 with an engaging episode alongside Garvan Doyle, a Western University graduate now working at Anthropic. From founding Mixr to holding pivotal roles at Assemble AI and now shaping the future at Anthropic, Garvan shares the experiences and insights that defined his journey in the AI space. We’ll explore life at Anthropic, uncover hidden opportunities in the AI ind...

In this episode, Owen speaks to Chris Doyle, Chief Technology and Product Officer at Ascent, a company that specializes in machine learning and regulatory compliance. Doyle has over 15 years of experience in software development, with both startups and large companies. Throughout the episode, the pair discuss how Doyle’s team at Ascent uses AI, the future of AI, and advice for getting started in t...

This week, Owen speaks with Jason Rolfe, Co-Founder and CTO at Variational AI, an AI-based biopharmaceutical platform. Their conversation delves into Jason’s expertise in computational and neural systems, the intersection of AI and job displacement, as well as the essential skills to navigate our technological future.

In this episode, Owen has a conversation with Mitch Joel, renowned author, speaker, and digital expert. Mitch is the Founder of Six Pixels Group, an investing and publishing firm dedicated to the convergence of technologies and consumer behaviour. To add, he is the Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that offers leadership insights from some of the best thinkers in the world. Together, the pair...

This week, Owen speaks to Pablo Arredondo, Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Casetext, a legal research platform powered by AI. In this episode, the two discuss the convergence of AI technologies and the legal field, the ethical implications of AI in relation to job displacement, and finally, Pablo’s vision for revolutionizing the legal profession.

Starting this academic year’s WAI podcast, Owen speaks to Rob Mallery, former Head of Software Engineering Hiring at OpenAI and current Head of Talent and Operations at Magic. Throughout the episode, the pair talk about Rob’s experiences at OpenAI and the prospect of AGI, and Rob shares wisdom for students aspiring to make their mark in AI.