The AI Grapple

For our milestone 50th episode of The AI Grapple, Kate vanderVoort (Founder and CEO, AI Success Lab ) sits down with social media pioneer Mari Smith, widely known as the “Queen of Facebook.” With nearly two decades at the forefront of social media marketing, Mari has witnessed the rise, peak and reinvention of platforms like Facebook. Now, as AI reshapes marketing, business and human interaction i...

AI is already shaping how young people learn, think, and engage with the world. The real question is whether education systems are preparing them for that reality. In this episode of The AI Grapple, Kate vanderVoort (Founder and CEO, the AI Success Lab ) is joined by educator, author, and AI literacy advocate Lindy Hockenbary (also known as LindyHoc). Lindy brings nearly two decades of experience...

In this episode of The AI Grapple, Kate vanderVoort, Founder & CEO, the AI Success Lab , is joined by Lee Hickin, Executive Director of the Australian Government’s National AI Centre, for a wide-ranging and practical conversation about AI adoption in Australia. With more than 30 years in senior technology leadership roles across Microsoft and AWS, Lee brings a rare perspective that bridges ent...

In this episode of The AI Grapple, Kate vanderVoort, Founder and CEO the AI Success Lab , is joined by economist Dr Bill Conerly to unpack what AI means for business, jobs, and the wider economy. Rather than hype or fear, Bill brings an economic lens to what is actually happening now and what signals matter most. They explore why the real impact of AI will come from specialised tools embedded into...

In this episode of The AI Grapple, Kate vanderVoort, Founder and CEO of the AI Success Lab , sits down with Chris Nolte, Founder and CEO of Kayana Remote Professionals , to unpack what’s really happening at the intersection of AI, remote work, and human capability. Chris brings the rare lens of an investor-operator who has led and scaled businesses across finance, retail, prop tech, healthcare, an...

In this episode of The AI Grapple, Kate vanderVoort is joined by Sarah Daly (founder AI360 Review), AI Strategist and Researcher, to explore what’s really holding organisations back from successful AI adoption. Rather than focusing on tools or trends, this conversation goes deep into trust, leadership responsibility, workforce impact, and the human systems that determine whether AI succeeds or fai...

In this episode, Kate vanderVoort, CEO, AI Success Lab, sits down with Davis DeRodes, Head of Data Science Innovation at Fusion Risk Management, for a clear and practical look at the role data plays in business resilience. Davis has a rare gift for breaking down technical concepts, helping leaders understand how better data, smarter systems and simple planning can protect organisations from disrup...

In this episode of The AI Grapple, Kate VanderVoort (Founder of the AI Success Lab) is joined by sustainability author, consultant, and speaker John Pabon to explore one of the most pressing and uncomfortable questions facing AI adoption today: its impact on the environment, trust, and society. With more than 20 years working across public policy, consulting, and sustainability strategy, John brin...

In this episode, Kate vanderVoort (Founder and CEO at the AI Success Lab) speaks with futurist, author and technologist David Espindola, founder of Brainyus and author of Soulful: You in the Future of Artificial Intelligence. With more than 30 years in the tech industry, David has guided organisations through major waves of disruption. His work now focuses on human and AI collaboration, ethical ad...

In this episode of The AI Grapple, Kate vanderVoort speaks with Amy D. Love – founder of the international movement Discovering AI and best-selling author of Raising Entrepreneurs and Discovering AI: A Parent’s Guide to Raising Future-Ready Kids. A former Fortune 500 Chief Marketing Officer and Harvard MBA, Amy has turned her focus to helping families prepare their children for life and success in...

In this episode, Kate vanderVoort, Founder of the AI Success Lab, speaks with Neil Tunnah - former elite rugby coach, global leadership consultant and founder of The Performance Chain Group. Neil works with organisations across Australia and North America to help leaders build behavioural consistency, navigate uncertain environments and guide their people through rapid AI-driven change. Neil bring...

Australia is racing ahead with AI, but not everyone is getting a fair start. In this episode of The AI Grapple Podcast, Kate vanderVoort sits down with Doug Taylor to unpack the reality facing young people who are being pushed further to the edges of opportunity because they can’t get online. Doug leads The Smith Family , one of Australia’s most trusted charities supporting students from low-incom...

Artificial intelligence is advancing faster than our ability to regulate it, understand it, or even decide how much we trust it. In this deeply insightful episode of The AI Grapple, host Kate vanderVoort sits down with Darren Menachemson, Chief Ethicist and Head of AI and Digital Societies at ThinkPlace, and Chair of the Education Futures Foundation, to explore what it really takes to create a fut...

In this profound and thought-provoking conversation, Kate vanderVoort (founder of the AI Success Lab) sits down with Jeff Burningham - tech entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and author of The Last Book Written by a Human: Becoming Wise in the Age of AI. Jeff has built and invested in companies worth over $5 billion, co-founded Peak Capital Partners and Peak Ventures, and even ran for Governor of U...

In this episode of The AI Grapple, Kate vanderVoort is joined by Dr Kyle Elliott, a career coach to tech executives and founder of CaffeinatedKyle.com . From humble beginnings offering £5 CV reviews on Fiverr to coaching leaders into top roles at Meta, Google and Amazon, Kyle shares what’s really happening in the job market - and how AI is shifting everything from CVs to C-suite expectations. Whet...

In this episode of The AI Grapple, Kate vanderVoort is joined by Simon Yencken, Founder and CEO of Fanplayr. What if you could deliver hyper-personalised experiences that delight customers without creeping them out? Simon is a true pioneer at the intersection of AI, behavioural data, and e-commerce. His career has taken him from global finance and SaaS to founding Fanplayr, a company that's helpin...

In this episode of The AI Grapple, Kate vanderVoort is joined by Dr Alessandra Wall - psychologist, leadership strategist, and founder of Noteworthy - to explore how AI can help women reshape their careers instead of fearing job loss. Alessandra works with high-performing women in tech who are often juggling expectations, under-recognised achievements, and the ever-growing mental load. This conver...

AI is moving at breakneck speed, and nowhere is that more evident than on the global stage. The geopolitical landscape is shifting, alliances are forming, and nations are racing to lead in this transformative era. But what does it mean for Australia? And how can businesses navigate both the risks and the opportunities? In this episode, I sit down with Jisoo Kim, Director and Co-Founder of Clear AI...

Today, we’re tackling the profound ethical dilemmas posed by AI in military decision-making. Kate vanderVoort sits down with Jason West, a former U.S. Marine Corps officer who retired as a Lieutenant Colonel after more than a decade of service. With first hand experience participating in AI-driven war simulations and understanding how autonomous systems could be used in modern warfare, Jason bring...

In this episode of The AI Grapple, Kate vanderVoort chats with Leigh Williams, Chief Information Officer at Brisbane Catholic Education, who is leading a world-first implementation of AI across a school system. With more than 13,000 staff and hundreds of locations under her care, Leigh shares how her team is bringing ethical, scalable, and deeply human-centred AI into the classroom. From cutting a...

In this episode of The AI Grapple, Kate vanderVoort is joined by Joey Seeman - the young and sharp CEO of Nova Echo AI , a company making big waves in the conversational voice AI space. Joey shares how voice AI can now make and answer calls that sound just like a human, helping businesses scale their sales and support teams with speed, consistency and personality. He also tackles the big questions...

In this episode of The AI Grapple, Kate vanderVoort is joined by Matt Rouse - a tech-savvy marketer, author, and business strategist on a mission to help people and businesses thrive in an AI-driven world. Matt shares insights from his book Will AI Take My Job? and years of hands-on experience helping companies adapt to AI tools. From job security and the impact on industries, to AI agents and the...

In this episode of The AI Grapple, Kate vanderVoort sits down with Katelin O’Shea - Team Project Manager for the AI team at Dropbox Global Support, PRINCE2 Practitioner, and founder of AI That Works. With a background in operations and project delivery, Katelin brings a grounded, structured, and incredibly practical approach to AI that is accessible to absolutely everyone - no technical background...

In this episode of The AI Grapple, Kate vanderVoort is joined by Alexander Zervakos, co-founder of Theryo – an AI-powered mental health platform transforming how therapy is experienced on both sides of the couch. Alexander is a seasoned entrepreneur and AI specialist who previously built successful ventures in healthcare and finance. But it was his own deeply personal experience navigating therapy...

In this episode of the AI Grapple Chris Singel joins Kate vanderVoort for a wide-ranging, funny, and thought-provoking conversation that spans the full weird and wonderful world of artificial intelligence. From his early days coding websites on dial-up, to writing a book with AI in the shower (yes, literally), to deep dives on automation, job loss, and the ethics of AI-powered decision-making - th...