The AI Lab

In this episode of the AI Lab Podcast, Ryan Kurt joins Patrick McConville for a conversation on where AI is headed in the workplace — and why service businesses need to rethink how they create value in an AI-native world. Ryan introduces the idea of the “co-service model”: a future where clients and service providers both have access to powerful AI tools, changing the relationship from “do this fo...

AI is moving fast, but most companies are still figuring out what it actually means for how they work and grow. In this episode, Melissa Mahtani sits down with Jennifer Stave, Launch Director of Harvard Business School’s AI Institute, to unpack what companies are getting right – and wrong – about AI adoption. Jennifer shares lessons learned from her “clinical trials” model for testing AI in real b...

Dr. Felicia Newhouse—former tech executive turned founder of AI Powered Women—joins us to unpack why the biggest risk in AI today isn’t a gender gap, but a structural imbalance in who builds, governs, and bears the consequences of these systems. She explains why a diverse make-up of people (not just women) must play a central role in shaping its future. We also dive into:  How women leaders are ap...

AI isn’t just transforming industries—it’s reshaping how the entire world works. In this episode, Melissa Mahtani sits down with Andela CEO Carrol Chang to unpack how AI is reshaping global opportunity, exposing deep inequalities, and forcing leaders to rethink talent, access, and economic systems at a global scale. We also dive into:  How AI is changing the gig-economy globally What Andela means...

Ernest Ng, Senior Principal of AI Strategy at Workday, joins The AI Lab CEO Ryan Kurt to explore what business leaders are missing in today’s AI conversation—from the true cost of innovation to the organizational design challenges that will define long-term winners. We also dive into: Why AI may be the cheapest it will ever be—and why that matters now The gap between AI capability and enterprise a...

How do you raise children in a world where AI is not just a tool—but a companion, tutor, and influence? Melissa Mahtani sits down with Dr. Alex Sturm to explore how parents can navigate this new reality with clarity and confidence and use AI themselves, as a tool to make them “superhuman.”  We also dive into:  Why “authoritative parenting” (warm + firm boundaries) matters more than ever in an AI-d...

AI isn’t just changing how we work—it’s reshaping who works, what work looks like, and how organizations prepare for what’s next. In this episode, Cynthia Gutierrez-White and Ryan Kurt share a deeply human perspective on workplace transformation, unpacking the realities of job loss, career reinvention, and what it truly takes to reskill in the age of AI. We also dive into:  What’s being replaced v...

AI agents are moving beyond chatbots and copilots to systems capable of completing entire business processes autonomously. In this episode, Tim Sanders, Chief Innovation Officer at G2 and AI researcher at Harvard , breaks down what agentic workflows really mean for organizations and why the biggest barrier to adopting agents isn’t the technology—it’s whether leaders can build trust in AI systems q...

Ryan Kurt, Founder of The AI Lab, joins Melissa Mahtani, the show’s new co-host and Journalist-in-Residence, for a wide-ranging conversation on Job displacement vs. individual empowerment, AI governance, trust, and why outsourcing strategy to big consultancies is the wrong move. We also dive into: Why people, not tech, are the hardest part of transformation How legacy org design slows AI adoption...

Larry Birnbaum, Professor of Computer Science at Northwestern University and co-founder of Narrative Science, joins the AI Lab to explain why today’s large language models work at all—and why their success has surprised even longtime AI researchers. In this conversation, Larry and Ryan explore how decades of AI research led to the current moment, why massive models somehow generalize instead of ju...

Alex Czurylo, Chief Strategy & Operations Officer at Gen3 Marketing and former analytics and operations leader at Rakuten Advertising, joins the AI Lab to break down what it really takes to build a successful AI program inside an organization—long before ChatGPT made AI mainstream. In this episode, Alex and Ryan unpack why the most effective AI strategies don’t start with tools, but with clear...

Nate Nichols, an early builder in machine-generated content and now a product leader shaping “agentic” analytics, joins host Ryan Kurt for a candid conversation on how generative AI evolved, what we gained, and what we risk losing along the way. We also dive into: How early AI systems differed from today’s agentic models and why that matters Why many modern AI breakthroughs were discovered , not d...

Jen Stave , Launch Director at the Digital, Data, Design Institute at Harvard Business School , joins the AI lab to share expert insight into the most common mistakes in AI transformation, and practical steps for how to avoid them. What is The Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard Business School, and what are their goals Why companies need to rethink their operating model to harness AI tools ...

Alex Lehman , Vice President at Sapphire Ventures , joins the AI lab to discuss insight into the investment world after the recent generative AI boom and how businesses can use generative AI in their products.  We dive into: The migration to a talent-based consumer market from a name brand consumer market Should companies stay on the sidelines or start experimenting with AI? The concern of data pr...

Rohan Sampath , Co-founder at Copilot , joins The AI Lab to discuss how executives can better understand and leverage VOC (Voice of the Customer) using AI. We also dive into: Will AI startups become incumbents worst nightmare? The future of AI-powered sales How understanding customer sentiment with AI can supercharge your go-to-market How Copilot is helping companies dissect customer conversations...

Ryan Francis⁠ , Partner and President of Chicago-based software studio,  ⁠LaunchPad Lab⁠ , joins the AI lab to share his perspective on how AI-driven development will redefine UX and programmer workflows. How ChatGPT will impact the future of web & mobile user experience Will ChatGPT replace Google as our go-to web search? How LaunchPad Lab went from development firm to AI firm overnight How C...

Chris Hohman , VP of Product Management at FICX and Founder of Velocity AI joins the AI lab to discuss the age-old question in tech: to build or buy? In this episode, Chris shares his perspective on the pros and cons of open source vs in-house models — and more! Other topics include: The challenges with generative AI in banking The different levels of impact AI will have on business Why we need to...

Scott Francis , Former CTO of THX , Robert Half , and Technicolor Creative Studios (to name a few) joins the AI lab to discuss the dark side of ChatGPT and how companies *should* be using AI to amplify their differentiation in today's market. Other topics include: Data security, control, and protection in ChatGPT Why leaders need to approach generative AI with a balanced mindset The #1 exercis...

Guy Levy-Yurista , CEO at Synthace joins the AI lab to share insight into the intersection of life sciences and new AI technology, and how it will revolutionize R&D for Big Pharma and beyond. Other topics include: Who should drive a company’s AI strategy? Guy's framework for evaluating & deploying new technology How Big Pharma is accelerating new drug development with AI How scientists...

Kris Hammond , distinguished AI leader, professor of computer science, and co-founder of Narrative Science joins the AI lab to educate and advise leaders who are eager to harness the power of generative AI — while debunking the most common misconceptions in the market today. Other topics include: The new sexiest job on the market How to build the right team to kickstart your AI strategy The role g...

Cassidy Shield , Chief Revenue Officer at Refine Labs , joins the AI lab to discuss how running the right experiments with generative AI can help business leaders find focus and fit in today’s market. Other topics include: How to approach POCs & prototyping with generative AI Why you shouldn’t lean on a big consultancy to set your AI strategy The secret formula to create competitive positionin...