Who's your Data? Podcast

One of the most rewarding use-cases of AI is providing access of life changing services to minority populations who are underserved. Nowhere is this more true than in the medical field, and specifically in the quote-unquote niche field of LGBTQ Health. Today's guest is Dr. Roy Zucker, Director of LGBTQ Health Services at Clalit, Israel's biggest HMO and chairman of the Israeli LGBTQ medical association. We chat about the state of LGBTQ medicine in Israel, difficulties for LGBTQ patients trying to seek access to services and what his vision is for using AI to improve LGBTQ healthcare. We discuss how doctors need to adapt to the AI age, and the fact that AI chatbots can provide safe spaces and be more compassionate or with less judgement to LGBTQ patients and give them services, as well as using AI for harm reduction in drug use and how that relates to getting past the safeguards of public Generative AI.

Generative AI has become a hot buzzword everywhere and it is especially true in the Enterprise Organization space - but how do Enterprise organizations use it and what are the challenges and pitfalls in attempting to implement it? Can it truly be cross-organizational or be relagated to specific tasks in specific departments? To help ponder these questions I chat with Inna Tokarev Sela, founder and CEO of Illumex, a company that specializes in implementing generative AI solutions in the Enterprise. We discuss being in the third wave of generative AI, what it means to have business semantics across the organization and how to approach utilizing gen AI in the best way.

In the 30th episode of Who's Your Data? I am very excited to host the one, the only Dr. Claudia Perlich - Data scientist extraordinaire, mentor and friend who dives deep into the evolving landscape of AI and data science, navigating the hype around AI's capabilities and addressing ethical concerns. Claudia brings her no-nonsense, real-world insights and tackles everything from the unpredictability of human behavior to the challenges of maintaining privacy in a data-driven world. Thought-provoking and candid, this conversation explores whether AI is set to replace us — or if human judgment will always reign supreme.

We've heard many stories about how AI has become increasingly responsible for spreading misinformation, whether in politics, health information or otherwise. But did you know that AI can be used to combat misinformation too? In this episode we chat with Amelia Burke Garcia, Director at the Center for Health Communication Science at NORC at the University of Chicago and Rebecca Soskin Hicks, Pediatrician and Fellow at NORC. We discuss their new initiative to create health communication using AI. Their thesis is that AI can be the next form of opinion leader like social media influencers have been so far. We discuss the theory behind this thesis, how this AI model gets trained and interacts with humans, what the ethical concerns are. As a clinician Rebecca discusses the barriers to entry for using AI in her practice and we talk about the future of the study and share some contemporary tips for identifying health misinformation online.

We talk a lot about data and AI and how they influence our work and society, but today we get in the trenches! Today I chat with Mo Villigran, Associate director of insights, analytics and data at Cambrex, a pharmaceutical manufacturing company, about AI projects she is implementing. We discuss what it's like for data teams to implement AI projects - how to communicate with stakeholders, what unique challenges these projects hold. We discuss Mo's book - Data Insights Delivered - and how she sees the 7 stages of stakeholder engagement, future trends in AI project management and what she looks for when choosing an AI vendor.

April 7 marks the beginning of Black Maternal Health week and to honor this important topic I have a chat with Bianca Pryor. Bianca is VP of consumer insights at BET networks but also the co-founder of the Dr. Shalon's Maternal Action Project, a non-profit organization that seeks to empower Women of color to reach out and find support in their community, utilizing an innovative app called “Believe Her”. Bianca tells us Dr. Shalon's story and how she herself became involved in this endeavor and how she brings Big Data and her expertise in insights to tackle this important issue. We discuss the importance of cultural sensitivity and representation in Healthcare as well as in market research, where Bianca delves into how she thinks about segmentation for the BET audience as well as what representation means for the BET viewers themselves.

PhySec, or physical security, encompasses everything that physically protects, alerts and monitors us - from burglar alarms to video surveillance. Unsurprisingly, this industry is also being revolutionized by AI. I speak to Don Morron, host of the AI Physec Today podcast, about how AI is changing the physical security industry, and also how they continue to think about privacy and about human and data bias, as well as how regulation affects innovation. So will Big Brother end up being a robot? Check out the episode to find out!

I chat with Karlien Kriegler and David Wright, co-founders of Hello Ara, a tech-forward market research company in South Africa that has created a Metaverse environment to run focus groups! What does it mean to create a Metaverse environment for market research? How is AI utilized in several stages of its lifecycle? What are the localization/cultural considerations for South Africa as opposed to the US or Europe? And how close are we to a hologram of Cher asking me about my beauty routine and skincare concerns? If you want to find out check out the episode!

Whew! We made it to the end of 2023! Join me as I remember my favorite moments and guests of the year, with my favorite pearls of wisdom that they discussed. It's a cornucopia of knowledge from the HealthTech, Financial Services, Music Streaming, Analytics, Art and other industries.

Generative AI has already started to have major implications in regards to the content we consume - and this is especially true in music! In today's episode I chat with Eyal Golshani, VP of Data Science at Vevo, the world's leading music video network, to discuss how data and generative AI influence their work. We explore how their Data Science team uses data, talk about AI generated content, the effect of emerging platforms such as tiktok, what kind of bias they deal with and how they communicate data to promote stakeholder trust. We also discuss AI's emerging place in the industry and what it may look like in the future. Eyal also shares what he looks for when hiring for data science roles.

AI is rapidly changing the landscape of innovative healthtech. In this episode I chat with Dr. Yoni Goldwasser, a digital health investor and entrepreneur, about the exciting new trends in healthtech and whether or not AI will advance enough to replace doctors in the future. We discuss how accurate medical models need to be in his opinion, how he and his team of investors evaluate new healthtech startups in terms of algorithms, bias in the data and he provides tips on what makes a good startup pitch.

Progress in healthcare and medical research requires a lot of data. In the era of Big Data health data is among the most valuable and the most private information anyone can have. Two major hurdles with finding quality medical data are access to that data in a private and ethical way as well as bias on the data due to underrepresentation of women, certain racial or ethnic groups. In this episode I talk to Dinidh O'Brien about how donateyourdata.org and DataLake are trying to solve this problem with a patient-first approach to sourcing medical data for research. Data Lake is an EU-funded start-up creating a global medical data donation system based on blockchain technology, with privacy and informed consent as fundamental pillars. We discuss this data donation framework and how it addresses the issues of privacy, consent, data monetization and working to minimize biases. Dinidh explains how they approach patients to opt in, how they vet organizations that request access to this data and how they plan to expand throughout Europe and the US.

In this episode I chat with Rich Edwards, CEO of Mindspan systems, about the changing tech and data landscape for Financial Institutions, especially big banks vs. regional ones - how Mindspan turns tech into a commodity and data from what was once a regulatory liability into a democratized operating asset. In this age of consolidation we chat about how data is the smaller banks' secret weapon to improve service, add innovation and combat bias in financial data that has historically barred access to services from underrepresented communities. We also chat about how financial data is shared more broadly among financial institutions through the Open Banking framework and what that means for privacy and competitiveness.

In this episode I talk to Ryan Janssen and Paul BLankley, the founders of Zenlytic, a company that strives to bring the world Generative-AI-powered self-serve business intelligence. But what does that even mean? How does it work? And most importantly - will it make the Analyst Role obsolete in the future? Join us as we discuss the problem that Zenlytics aims to solve, how LLM's understand your business data, how they will affect the role of the data analyst in the organization and where data products are today in the innovation cycle. You can learn more about Zenlytic at: https://www.zenlytic.com/ You can reach Ryan at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janssenryan/ You can reach Paul at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulblankley/

Femtech - or Female Health Technology, which includes apps such as period trackers, is experiencing unprecedented growth. But nowhere is this podcast's tagline - how life affects data and how data affects life - more relevant than in this industry in the shadow of the Dobbs decision by the supreme court overturning Roe V. Wade this year. In this episode I talk to Bethany Corbin, a Femtech innovation and data privacy attorney, about the Femtech industry and its challenges in a post Roe V. Wade world - what kind of data do these apps collect? What are the unique data privacy concerns and how these were affected by Dobbs? Bethany discusses The calls to delete period tracking apps and other reactions to Dobbs, some actual cases of data privacy violations and gives tips on how to vet such apps to make sure they are compliant with stringent privacy standards. We also touch on data aggregation and utilizing AI in this space. I hope you enjoy this fascinating and timely conversation.

The field of Public Health has always involved collecting and analyzing data but when a worldwide pandemic hit suddenly, it was necessary to speed up these processes so as to make decisions and recommendations in real time. As the pandemic changed and shifted, with vaccines and treatments, so did the need for public health data. In this episode I talk to Amelia Burke-Garcia and Lucy Rabinowitz Bailey of NORC at the University of Chicago, an independent research organization, who conducted just such a study in real time to understand the pandemic's effect on public mental health and coping strategies. We talk about the kind of data they used, the challenge of collecting it and processing it so quickly, how data changed throughout the pandemic, how they approached issues of bias and privacy and how AI figured into the equation. We also touched on some hot topics in the news - the proposed moratorium on generative AI research and its effect on public health as well as the effect of social media on teen mental health.

In this episode we tackle the issue of AI generated art - Recently the news has been abuzz with names like chatgpt, Dall-E, Lensa AI and other services that utilize AI to generate art. Is this the beginning of the end for human creativity and artistry? I am joined by Tery Spataro, an author and creator who uses AI tools to create and enhance her art - we talk about how these tools actually get used and what it means for the future of human artistry, privacy and copyright. Lastly we discuss some current hot topics that have been in the news recently involving AI and art. Tery has some valuable insights that might surprise you!

Did you know that the US has one of the highest if not THE highest maternal mortality rate in the world? This is especially true for Women of color who suffer from lack of access to quality care and cultural sensitivity. Join me for a conversation with Mohamed Kamara, Founder and CEO of InovCares, an app for women, particularly women of color, that provides access to culturally-sensitive clinicians. It combines real-time metabolic health data gathering with telehealth, computer vision, artificial intelligence in order to provide access to quality maternal healthcare. We discuss what it means for clinicians to be culturally competent, and how they use data and AI to provide services such as virtual ultrasounds from home, post-partum care and a community of online support. We talk about data privacy and what it means to disrupt the healthcare space, an industry that is so ripe for disruption. Mohamed also provides insight on his experience as a Black entrepreneur and advice on navigating that space.

In this episode I chat with Josh LaMar, who after many years of doing Design Research at Microsoft now heads Amplinate, a Design firm that fast-tracks domestic and international product growth, helping tech companies save millions by building the right product for the right audience in the right markets. We discuss LGBT representation in Tech, what it means to be inclusive when designing software products by being cognisant of cultural and global differences. We discuss the type of data they use, the difference between qualitative and quantitative data and how they complement each other in this field. Josh gives us some tips on how to implement inclusive design in our product management processes as well as what he's excited for in the future of design research.

In this special episode to commemorate National Coming Out Day on October 11th, I give my perspective on what it means to come out in the workplace, why it's important and why it's not a singular event but rather something that happens continuously throughout our careers.

I chat with Geographer and Data Scientist Peter Lenz, Head of Data Science at Near, about geo-location data - what is it? How is it used and what are some of the ethical concerns around it? We discuss how it's collected - from cellphones to Satellites, and we talk about the democratization of space and how accessible it has become for private enterprise to launch satellites. Lastly I get Peter's perspective on some interesting data-related topics that have been in the news lately. As always Peter is a master storyteller and a veritable encyclopedia of information so this is a special episode!

In this episode we talk to Fara Ashiru Jituboh, Co-Founder and CEO of Okra, a Nigerian Financial tech startup who's mission is to digitize financial services in Africa and connect a Billion Africans to the Global Economy. We discuss what it means to build Africa's financial data network, the social consequences like building and strengthening a middle class. We discuss how they think about the financial data they collect and use for anything from personalization of services to fraud detection all while maintaining privacy and security for their customers. We also touch on Fara's experience as a Black Female tech startup founder and hear her one word of advice for anyone embarking on the path of Entrepeneurship.

Join the discussion with Dr. Lauren Moores, Head of Data Innovation at Montai Health about her work on the data advisory board of USA for UNHCR, a nonprofit organization that supports the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and builds awareness and support for the global refugee crisis. We discuss how data is utilized in that work to help address the Refugee Crisis, her take on corporations doing work for social good, AI and the issue of privacy in health tech, as well as why I won't be doing the 23 & me thing anytime soon.

I talk to James Hodson, CEO and board member of AI FOR GOOD, an organization that aims to use AI to affect meaningful social change. We discuss how the organization defines social good, how Corporations and Academia are hampered in their ability to push social innovation and how AI For Good seeks to fill that void. We discuss a few of their projects, especially around diversity and inclusion in the workplace - quantifying and measuring corporations' adherence to their D&I goals. We also discuss why public confidence in AI algorithms (such as social media) is at an all time low And how we could improve Data Science education in order to better align algorithms with societal improvement.

THIS EPISODE IS FIRE! No, literally, it's about fire. And water. And Climate Change! I talk to Professor Naomi Tague of the UC Santa Barbara Bren School of Environmental Science and Management about her research predicting and forecasting forest fire frequency and severity in California as well as modeling how water flows through landscapes. We discuss how she does her research, what data is used in the models and how machine learning helps at different points. We also discuss how to visualize the results and how society benefits from her work - from urban planning to forest management. Finally talk about the state of climate research today and demystify the two most important things YOU need to know about it!

I talk to Jerelyn Rodriguez, co-founder and CEO of The Knowledge House, an organization created with the purpose of closing the gaps in the education­-to-­employment pipeline by leading digital skills training in coding and design for underserved young people in the Bronx. TKH combines technology training, career support, and a comprehensive network of partners to help disconnected job seekers secure rewarding careers in the tech economy and become financially independent, fostering the next generation of tech and data wranglers. Jerelyn and I discuss how TKH came to be, its different programs, the exciting expansion into new Markets (LA, Atlanta and Newark), how they combat hiring bias against black female candidates, the type of help and support they need from the tech community as well as and her own experience as a black innovator and social entrepeneur.

I chat with Dr. Ira Cohen, Founder and chief data scientist at Anodot, about how his company uses a machine learning technique called anomaly detection to help businesses avoid being impacted by surprises We discuss what anomaly detection actually is (spoiler: you learn what's normal and then detect abnormalities), why it's challenging to define quote/unquote “normal” behavior and how black swan events such as I dunno a global pandemic that suddenly shuts down the whole world affect these techniques. We also discuss what Ira looks for in potential data scientists (hint: it's not necessarily anomaly detection skills) and what he's excited for in 2021.

Who's Your Data goes Global.  I talk to Serial Entrepeneur and Growth Strategy expert Kristin Luck who has started multiple marketing technology companies and is currently president of ESOMAR, a Global association of market research companies that promotes data ethics, research standards and protection. We discuss her experience using data to grow and scale companies, her vision for ESOMAR during her tenure, what it means to think about data ethics on a Global scale and tackling diversity through sensitivity to cultural differences around the world. We talk about Women In Research, the non-profit organization Kristin founded to champion Women in the Marketing Analytics industry. We discuss the trend of Brands diving into social activism  and finally some great advice Kristin has for women starting out in the industry.

Voice data is the future. In this episode we talk to  Dr. Yared Alemu, founder and CEO of TQIntelligence, that uses AI and voice recognition technology to identify and diagnose trauma in at-risk, under-privileged youth. We discuss the lack of funding, expertise and data in public mental health services today and how TQIntelligence addresses this challenge and strives to provide quality mental health services to  these communities. We discuss what trauma is and the challenges of collecting data and addressing its biases. Dr. Alemu also shares his experience as a Black founder in the startup ecosystem and we discuss the cognitive energy minorities have to expend in order to exist in certain spaces. Lastly we discuss the future and why you should pay attention to Walmart and Amazon when it comes to the future of mental health services

Journalist/pop-culture-expert-turned-tech-entrepeneur Chris Witherspoon joins me to discuss his social app startup PopViewers and how it democratizes the space of content reviews by a social community that creates an innovative set of data points around content consumption that traditional media companies do not capture.  Chris discusses his journey from journalism into tech and how an outsider's perspective as a Gay Black Founder underscored the lack of representation in the tech innovation space, how he needed to set his own example, how being your true authentic self is the best way to accomplish those goals and how 2021 is going to be an exciting year for content consumption in a community

Jason Scott, head of Google Startup Accelerator in the US, discusses how the Black Founders Accelerator and Women Founder Accelerator programs came into being, the challenges of being an underrepresented founder in the tech entrepreneur space, the importance of thinking about inclusivity early in a startup's life - avoiding bias in the data, the team and the product to prevent the exclusion of addressable markets. We discuss Jason's article on Medium that discusses the difference between being an ally to underrepresented communities vs. being an accomplice. Jason also shares his secret to figuring out what a fulfilling career looks like, and what he's excited for in 2021 in the inclusive innovation space. 00:00 - introduction 02:50 - Google Startup Accelerator 08:54 - Thinking about Inclusivity early in a startup's lifecycle 14:30 - Bias in data and in the product 19:18 - Being an ally vs. being an accomplice 30:08 - The secret to finding a fulfilling career 33:08 - Looking ahead to 2021 in the Inclusive Innovation space

Join us as my guest Dr. Melinda Han Williiams, Chief Data Scientist at DStillery, and I discuss creating your own voice and career path, whether or not a PhD is necessary for a career in Data Science and how AI-based desserts may just be the end of human civilization as we know it.

Trailer for season 1 of the new Who's Your Data podcast! Join us to learn how Life affects data and how Data affects life. Thoughts on a career in Data Analytics and Data Science, inclusivity and representation in Tech, and conversations with interesting people in the industry are all on the menu.