Free Form AI

The conversation delves into the importance of knowledge transfer within an organization, highlighting the benefits of a collaborative culture, the value of building replacements, and the demonstration of one's value through knowledge sharing. It emphasizes a kindness-oriented approach and the need for frequent touch points when teaching and learning. The discussion covers the minimum requirements...

The conversation covers the topics of diversifying vs. focusing, structuring your day for productivity, the evolution of AI training, AI leadership training, building community and support, and navigating career transitions. Key takeaways include the importance of structuring your calendar for productivity, the value of diverse hiring practices, and the concept of social entrepreneurship as a Nort...

What happens when creativity is treated not as intuition, but as a system that can be studied and scaled? In this episode of Free Form AI , Michael and Ben sit down with Nicolas Douard, Lead Data Scientist at the Virtue Foundation, to explore how AI and data science are being used to automate innovation itself. Drawing from Nicolas’ PhD research, the conversation examines TRIZ — a systematic frame...

Ever wondered what senior engineers actually talk about behind closed doors? In this episode of Free Form AI, Michael and Ben open up the conversations developers usually only hear behind closed doors. We're talking how real engineering teams review code, manage dependencies, keep tests reliable and prevent their codebases from turning into chaos. Live and in real time, they break down the habits...

What happens when AI stops generating answers and starts deciding what’s true? In this episode of Free Form AI , Michael Berk and Ben Wilson dive into GPT-5’s growing role as an interpreter of information — not just generating text, but analyzing news, assessing credibility, and shaping how we understand truth itself. They unpack how reasoning capabilities, source reliability, and human feedback i...

How to fight complexity creep and build software that stays simple, even as it grows. Every engineer knows the struggle: a simple system slowly buried under complexity. In this episode of Free Form AI , Michael Berk and Ben Wilson break down how complexity creeps into code, dependencies and design. And why simplicity almost always wins. They cover how iteration, testing and mentorship can keep sof...

In this episode of Free Form AI , Michael and Ben draw surprising parallels between military strategy and consulting practice. They break down how principles like competence, trust-building and ethical engagement translate into stronger client relationships and long-term success. From showing quiet confidence to making clients aware of their pitfalls, the discussion explores how consulting is as m...

Passion for the product, not compensation, is what keeps the best engineers engaged. In this episode of Free Form AI, Michael and Ben sit down with Aleksandr Patrushev, Head of DevRel at Nebius, to explore the evolving role of Developer Relations and the culture that sustains technical talent. From modernizing hardware in data centers to weighing the trade-offs between self-hosted and managed serv...

Behind every robust AI system is a solution accelerator that makes complex development smarter. In this episode of Free Form AI, Michael and Ben dive into the role of solution accelerators in bridging the gap between production-ready software and simpler resources like blogs or cookbooks. They discuss frameworks vs. tools, the challenges of maintainability and how forward deployed engineers can bu...

In this episode of Free Form AI, Michael and Ben explore the evolution of prompt engineering and the rise of auto-optimization in AI. We discuss how agents can execute tasks autonomously, why human oversight remains essential and how defining success criteria shapes model performance. Tune in to Episode 19 for a wide-ranging conversation about:  • Why prompt engineering still matters in an era of...

In this episode of Free Form AI , we sit down with Tomu Hirata (Databricks) , whose journey from medicine to software engineering offers a unique lens on building AI systems. From automating construction machinery to optimizing job postings at Indeed, Tomu has worked at the edge of AI data collection and model design. Tune in to Episode 18 for a wide-ranging conversation about: • The challenges of...

In this episode of Free Form AI , we go behind the scenes with co-host Ben Wilson to explore how his early experiences in the Navy shaped his approach to engineering, risk, and creativity. From high-stakes problem solving to the importance of failure-friendly environments, Ben and Michael unpack what it takes to build resilient systems and resilient people. Along the way, they discuss why fundamen...

Behind every major leap in AI is a wave of experimentation. And GPT-5 is no exception. In this episode of Free Form AI , Michael and Ben unpack what makes the latest generation of large language models different, from reasoning improvements and reduced hallucinations to the open-source revolution reshaping the field. They explore how the industry is moving beyond accuracy metrics to deeper forms o...

In this episode of Free Form AI, we sit down with Lara Rachidi and Maria Zervou, two AI professionals whose paths defy the traditional tech blueprint. Lara began her career in law and economics before pivoting into data science. Maria started at the British Library, digitizing manuscripts and unlocking forgotten datasets. Today, they’re building GenAI systems, leading strategy across regions, and...

In this episode of Free Form AI , we sit down with Puneet Jain , Senior Applied AI Engineer at Databricks, to explore what’s really holding back GenAI from reaching production at scale, and why infrastructure, not intelligence, might be the missing piece. From toy clustering algorithms to national-scale LLMs in healthcare, we unpack how secure data access, agentic tooling, and long-term system des...

In this episode of Free Form AI , we sit down with Mary Moore-Simmons , VP of Engineering at Kibo (formerly GitHub), to explore how career pivots, leadership, and AI are reshaping engineering. From drying Kona coffee beans with radiant heat to leading complex orgs at GitHub, Mary shares how curiosity, efficiency, and a bias for action can accelerate your career. We discuss the hidden cost of ineff...

In this episode of Free Form AI, we explore how AI coding assistants are reshaping the development workflow. From spotting bugs that slip past human review to writing context-aware tests and reviewing entire PRs, these tools are changing how engineers build software. We break down the “secret sauce” behind how they scan a repo with targeted search commands, keeping context focused and results accu...

In this episode of Free Form AI , Michael sits down with Gino Ferrand, CEO of Tecla, to explore how traditional tech hiring misses the mark, especially when it comes to LATAM engineering talent. We break down flawed “rockstar” hiring, AI-proofing your interview process and what successful onboarding actually looks like in a distributed, GenAI-driven world. Music: “Intro” by DJ RADIK, used under CC...

In this episode, Michael and Ben discuss the intricacies of building a video clipping service and recommendation engine. They explore the challenges of defining interesting clips, the importance of feature requirements, and the cold start problem when launching without user data. The conversation delves into tagging and metadata extraction, hierarchical models for recommendations, and the signific...

In this episode, Michael Berk and Ben Wilson discuss the various levels of a data science career, from internships to senior leadership roles. They explore the expectations, responsibilities, and best practices for each level, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, continuous learning, and maintaining a positive team culture. The conversation provides valuable insights for both aspiring data...

In this episode, Michael and Ben speak with Mark Fussell, CEO of Diagrid, about Dapr, a runtime for building distributed applications. Mark shares insights on the challenges of microservices development, the importance of durable workflows, and the actor model. The conversation also touches on API design, the future of AI in software engineering, and how Dapr can accelerate development processes....

In this episode, Michael and Ben explore the world of open source projects in AI, focusing on MLflow and its various flavors. They discuss popular machine learning libraries like Scikit-learn, SparkML, and tree-based algorithms such as XGBoost and LightGBM. The conversation also delves into time series forecasting techniques and the rapidly evolving landscape of generative AI, emphasizing the impo...

In this episode, Michael and Ben discuss the challenges of decision-making in software engineering, particularly focusing on the sunk cost fallacy, emotional attachment to work, and the importance of prototyping. They explore how to recognize when to pivot or bail on a project, the complexities of ROI calculations, and how to effectively communicate with stakeholders about project scope and trade-...

In this episode, Michael Berk and Ben Johnson discuss the essential traits of effective engineering leadership, the importance of customer-centric software development, and the challenges of integrating AI into business processes. They emphasize the need for clear communication, trust, and vulnerability in leadership, as well as the potential risks and ethical considerations surrounding AI technol...

In this episode, Michael Berk and Ben discuss the intricacies of transferring code, project ownership, and knowledge within teams, particularly in the context of machine learning and software engineering. They explore the importance of documentation, bridging skill gaps, and ensuring effective knowledge transfer to maintain and extend codebases. The conversation also touches on the challenges of g...