Podcasts about implementations

Marty sits down with Jim Carucci to discuss AI as economic agents.CASCDR: https://cascdr.xyz/Jim Carucci on Nostr: https://primal.net/p/nprofile1qqsy2d24rfqzwxc9n2ujku084dlgwqqxrgkervxjpucna7p0q5htppgeluehw0:00 - Intro0:36 - Lacrosse and manifesting4:38 - Open vs centralized AI8:02 - Fold & Bitkey9:33 - LLMs and their biases13:32 - CASCDR basics17:52 - Unchained18:20 - Bitcoin AI synergy30:34 - Progress of the agentic framework36:08 - Implementations of agents41:41 - Nostr, DVMs, MCP46:52 - Open source vs panopticon51:35 - Ideal picture of future AI1:02:03 - Driving bitcoin adoption1:10:48 - PlugsShoutout to our sponsors:Foldhttps://tftc.io/foldCoinkitehttps://coinkite.comUnchainedhttps://unchained.com/tftc/Join the TFTC Movement:Main YT Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/c/TFTC21/videosClips YT Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUQcW3jxfQfEUS8kqR5pJtQWebsitehttps://tftc.io/Newslettertftc.io/bitcoin-brief/Twitterhttps://twitter.com/tftc21Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/tftc.io/Nostrhttps://primal.net/tftcFollow Marty Bent:Twitterhttps://twitter.com/martybentNostrhttps://primal.net/martybentNewsletterhttps://tftc.io/martys-bent/Podcasthttps://www.tftc.io/tag/podcasts/

Why do technology projects often miss the mark?Join John Frehse in this episode of The Impact Exchange as he chats with Mirinda Lowe. Mirinda emphasizes the importance of treating technology implementations as business transformations to ensure success. Key elements for a successful technology rollout include:• A compelling reason for the initiative• Clearly defined roles• A strategic roll-out plan that considers organizational impacts

The Transformation Ground Control podcast covers a number of topics important to digital and business transformation. This episode covers the following topics and interviews:   A New Autonomous AI Agent, Q&A (Darian Chwialkowski, Third Stage Consulting) Business Process Management in ERP Implementations, (Scott Adams, Victaulic) Why Business Process Standardization Fails in ERP Projects   We also cover a number of other relevant topics related to digital and business transformation throughout the show.  

Hong Minhee is an open source developer and the creator of the Fedify ActivityPub server framework. We talk about how applications like Mastodon and Misskey communicate with one another using ActivityPub. This includes discussions on built-in activites, extending the specification in a backwards compatible way, difficulties implementing JSON-LD, the inbox model, and his experience implementing the specification. Hong Minhee: activitypub profile fedify hollo Specifications: ActivityPub W3C specification JSON Linked Data Resource Description Framework W3C Semantic Web Standards ActivityPub and WebFinger ActivityPub and HTTP Signatures ActivityPub implementations: Mastodon Misskey Akkoma Pleroma Pixelfed Lemmy Loops GoToSocial ActivityPub support in Ghost Threads has entered the Fediverse ActivityPub tools: ActivityPub Academy BrowserPub fedify CLI -- Transcript You can help correct transcripts on GitHub. What's ActivityPub? [00:00:00] Jeremy: Today, I'm talking to Hong Minhee. He is the developer of Fedify. A TypeScript library for building ActivityPub server applications. The first thing I think we should start with is defining ActivityPub. what is ActivityPub? [00:00:16] Hong: ActivityPub is the protocol that lets social networks talk to each other and it's officially recommended by W3C. It's what powers this thing we call the Fediverse which is basically a way for different social media platforms to work together. Users of ActivityPub [00:00:39] Jeremy: Can you give some examples that people might have heard of -- either users of ActivityPub or things that are a part of this fediverse? [00:00:50] Hong: Mastodon is probably the biggest one out there. And you know what's interesting? Meta threads has actually started implementing ActivityPub this summer. So this still pretty much a one way street right now. In East Asia, especially Japan, there's this really popular microblogging platform called misskey. It's got so many forks that people actually joke around and called them forkeys. but it's not just about Twitter style microblogging, there's Pixelfed which is kind of like Instagram, but for the fediverse. And those same folks recently launched loops. Which is basically doing what TikTok does, but in the Fediverse. Then you've got stuff like Lemmy and which are doing the reddit thing up in the Fediverse. [00:02:00] Jeremy: Oh like Reddit. [00:02:01] Hong: Yeah. There are so much more out there that I haven't even mentioned. Um, most of it is open source, which is pretty cool. [00:02:13] Jeremy: So the first few examples you gave, Mastodon and Meta's threads, they're very similar to, to Twitter, right? So that's what you were calling the, the Microblogging applications. And I think what you had said, which is a little bit interesting is you had said Metas threads is only one way. So could you kind of describe like what you mean by that? [00:02:37] Hong: Currently meta threads only can be followed by other ActivityPub applications but you cannot follow other people in the fediverse. [00:02:55] Jeremy: People who are using another Microblogging platform like Mastodon can follow someone on Meta's Threads platform. But the other way is not true. If you're on threads, you can't follow someone on Mastodon. [00:03:07] Hong: Yes, that's right. [00:03:09] Jeremy: And that's not a limitation of the protocol itself. That's a design decision or a decision made by Meta. [00:03:17] Hong: Yeah. They are slowly implementing ActivityPub and I hope they will implement complete ActivityPub in the future. Interoperability through Activities [00:03:27] Jeremy: And then the other examples you gave, one is I believe it was Pixel Fed is very similar to Instagram. And then the last examples you gave was I think it was Lemmy, you said it's similar to Reddit. Because you mentioned the term Fediverse before and you mentioned that these all use ActivityPub and since these seem like different kinds of applications, what does it mean for them to interact? Because with Mastodon and Threads I can kind of understand because they're both similar to Twitter. So you're posting messages and replying, but, but what does it mean, for example, for someone on Mastodon to interact with someone on Lemmy which is like Reddit because they seem very different. [00:04:16] Hong: People in Lemmy and Mastodon are called actors and can follow each other. They have interactions between them called activities. And there are several types of activities like, create and follow and undo, like, and so on. So, ActivityPub applications tend to, use these vocabulary to implement their features. So, for example, Lemmy uses like activities for upvoting and like activities for down voting and it's translated to likes in Mastodon. So if you submit a post on Lemmy and it shows up on your Mastodon timeline. If you like that post (it) is upvoting in Lemmy. [00:05:36] Jeremy: And probably similarly with Pixelfed, which you said is like Instagram, if you follow someone's Pixelfed account in Mastodon and they post a photo in Pixel Fed, they would see it as a post in Mastodon natively and they could give it a like there. Adding activities or properties [00:05:56] Jeremy: And these activities that you mentioned -- So the like and the dislike are those part of ActivityPub itself? [00:06:05] Hong: Yes, and this vocabulary can be extended. [00:06:10] Jeremy: So you can add, additional actions (activities) or are you adding information (properties) to the existing actions? [00:06:37] Hong: It is called activity vocabulary, and there are, things like accept, add, arrive, block, create lead, dislike, flag, follow, ignore invite, join, and so on. So, basically, almost everything you need to build social media is already there in the vocabulary, but if you want to extend some more, you can define your, own vocabulary. [00:06:56] Jeremy: Most of the things that an Instagram or a Twitter, or a Reddit would need is already there. But you're saying that you can have your own vocabulary. So if there's an action or an activity that is not covered by the specification, you can create one yourself. [00:07:13] Hong: Yes. For example, Misskey and Pleroma defined emoji reactor to represent emoji reactions. [00:07:25] Jeremy: Because the systems can extend the vocabulary. What are some other examples of cases where mastodon or any other of these systems has found that the existing vocabulary is not enough. What are some other examples of applications extending it? [00:07:45] Hong: For example, uh, mastodon defined suspended -- suspended property. They are not activities, but they are properties in the activity. ActivityPub consists of several types of objects and there are activities and normal objects like, article. they can have properties and there are several existing properties, but they can be also extended. So Mastodon extended some properties they need. So for example, they define suspended or discoverable. [00:08:44] Hong: Suspended for to tell if an actor is suspended by moderators. Discoverable tells if an actor itself wants to be, searched and indexed, and there are much more properties. Mastodon extended. Actors [00:09:12] Jeremy: And these are, these are properties of the actor. These are properties of the user? [00:09:19] Hong: Yes. Actors. [00:09:21] Jeremy: Cause I think earlier you mentioned that. The concept of a user is an actor, and it sounds like what you're saying is an actor can have all these properties. There's probably a, a username and things like that, but Mastodon has extended the properties so that, you can have a property on whether you wanna be searched or indexed you can have a property that says you're suspended. So I guess your account, is still there, but can't be used anymore. Something we should probably talk about then is, so you have these actors, you have these activities that I'm assuming the actors are performing on one another. What does that data look like and what does the communication look like? [00:10:09] Hong: Actors have their own dereferencable URI and when you look up that URI you get all the info about the actor in JSON-LD format [00:10:22] Jeremy: JSON-LD? [00:10:23] Hong: Yeah. JSON-LD. linked data. (The) Actor has all the stuff you expect to find on a social account name, bio URL to the profile page, profile picture, head image and more. And there are five main types of actors: application, group, organization, person and service. And you know how sometimes on Mastodon you will see an account marked as a bot? [00:10:58] Jeremy: A bot? [00:10:59] Hong: Yeah. Bot and that's what an actor of type service looks like. And the ActivityPub spec actually let you create other types beyond these five. But I haven't seen anyone actually do that yet. JSON-LD [00:11:15] Jeremy: And you mentioned that these are all JSON objects. but the LD part, the linked data part, I'm not familiar with. So what different about the linked data part of the JSON? [00:11:31] Hong: So JSON-LD is the special way of writing RDF. Which was originally used in the semantic web. Usually RDF uses (a) format (that) is called triples. [00:11:48] Jeremy: Triples? [00:11:49] Hong: Yeah, subject and predicate and object. [00:11:55] Jeremy: Subject, predicate, object. Can you give an example of what those three would be? [00:12:00] Hong: For example, is a person, it's a triple. John is a subject and is a predicate [00:12:11] Jeremy: is, is the predicate. [00:12:12] Hong: Okay. And person is a object. That's great for showing how things are connected, but it is pretty different from how we usually handle data in REST for APIs and stuff. Like normally we say a personal object has property like name, DOB, bio, and so on. And a bunch of subject predicated object triples that's where JSON-LD comes in -- is designed to look more like the JSON we are used to working with, while still being able to represent RDF Graphs. RDF graph are ontology. It's a way to represent factual data, but is, quite different from, how we represent data in relational database. And it's a bunch of triples each subject and objects are nodes and predicates connect these nodes. Semantic Web [00:13:30] Jeremy: You mentioned the Semantic web, what does that mean? What is the semantic web? [00:13:35] Hong: It's a way to represent web in the structural way, is machine readable so that you can, scan the data in the web, using scrapers or crawlers. [00:13:52] Jeremy: Scrapers -- or what was the second one? Crawling. [00:13:59] Hong: Yeah. Then you can have graph data of web and you can, query information about things from the data. [00:14:14] Jeremy: So is the web as it exists now, is that the Semantic web or is it something different? [00:14:24] Hong: I think it is partially semantic web, you have several metadata in Your HTML. For example, there are several specification for semantic web, like, OpenGraph metadata. [00:14:32] Jeremy: Cause when I think about OpenGraph, I think about the metadata on a webpage that, that tells other applications or websites that if you link to this page: show this image or show this title and description. You're saying that specifically you consider part of the semantic web? [00:15:05] Hong: That's, semantic web. To make your website semantic web. Your website should be able to, provide structural data. And other people can make Scrapers to scan, structural data from your website. There are a bunch of attributes and text for HTML to represent metadata. For example you have relation attribute rel so if you have a link with rel=me to your another social profile. Then other people can tell two web pages represent the same person. [00:16:10] Jeremy: Oh, I see. So you could have more than one website. Maybe one is your blog and maybe one is your favorite birds or something like that. But you could put a rel tag with information about you as a person so that someone who scrapes both websites could look at that tag and see that both of these websites are by, Hong, by this person. JSON-LD is difficult to implement and not used as intended [00:16:43] Hong: Yeah. I think JSON-LD is, designed for semantic web, but in reality, ActivityPub implementations, most of them are, not aware of semantic web. [00:17:01] Jeremy: The choice of JSON Linked Data, the JSON-LD, by the people who made the specification -- They had this idea that things that implemented ActivityPub would be a part of this semantic web, but the actual implementation of a Mastodon or a Pixelfed, they use JSON-LD because it's part of the specification, but the way they use it, it ends up not really being a part of this semantic web. [00:17:34] Hong: Yeah, that's exactly.. [00:17:37] Jeremy: You've mentioned that implementing it is difficult. What makes implementing JSON LD particularly hard? [00:17:48] Hong: The JSON-LD is quite complex. Which is why a lot of programming language don't even have JSON-LD implementations and it's pretty slow compared to just working with the regular JSON. So, what happens is a lot of ActivityPub implementations just treat JSON-LD like (it) is regular JSON without using a proper JSON-LD processor. You can do that, but it creates a source of headache. In JSON-LD there are weird equivalences like if a property is missing or if it's an empty array, that means the same thing. Or if a property has one value versus an array with just that one value in it, same thing. So when you are writing code to parse JSON-LD, you've got to keep checking if something's an array how long it is and all that is super easy to mess up. It's not just reading JSON-LD that's tricky. Creating it is just as bad. Like you might forget to include the right context metadata for a vocabulary and end up with a JSON-LD document that's either invalid or means something totally different from what you wanted. Even the big ActivityPub implementations mess this up pretty often. With Fedify we've got a JSON-LD processor built in and we keep running into issues where major ActivityPub implementations create invalidate JSON-LD. We've had to create workaround for all of them, but it's not pretty and causes kind of a mess. [00:19:52] Jeremy: Even though there is a specification for JSON-LD, it sounds like the implementers don't necessarily follow it. So you are kind of parsing JSON-LD, but not really. You're parsing something that. Looks like JSON-LD, but isn't quite it. [00:20:12] Hong: Yes, that's right. [00:20:14] Jeremy: And is that true in the, the biggest implementations, Mastodon, for example, are there things that it sends in its activities that aren't valid JSON-LD? [00:20:26] Hong: Those implementations that had bad JSON-LD tends to fix them soon as a possible. But regressions are so often made. Yeah. [00:20:45] Jeremy: Even within Mastodon, which is probably one of the largest implementers of ActivityPub, there are cases where it's not valid, JSON-LD and somebody fixes it. But then later on there are other messages or other activities that were valid, but aren't valid anymore. And so it's this, it's this back and forth of fixing them and causing new issues it sounds ... [00:21:15] Hong: Yeah. Yeah. Right. [00:21:17] Jeremy: Yeah. That sounds very difficult to deal with. How instances communicate (Inbox) [00:21:20] Jeremy: We've been talking about the messages themselves are this special format of JSON that's very particular. but how do these instances communicate with one another? [00:21:32] Hong: Most of time, it all starts with a follow. Like when John follows Alice, then Alice adds both John and John's inbox URI to her followers list, and after John follows Alice, Whenever Alice posts something new that activities get sent to John's inbox behind the scenes. This is just one HTTP post request. Even though ActivityPub is built on HTTP. It doesn't really care about the HTTP response beyond did it work or not. If you want to reply to an activity, you need to figure out the standard inbox, URI and send or reply activity there. [00:22:27] Jeremy: If we define all the terms, there's the actor, which is the person, each actor can send different activities. those activities are in the form of a JSON linked data. [00:22:40] Hong: Yeah. [00:22:42] Jeremy: And everybody has an inbox. And an inbox is an HTTP URL that people post to. [00:22:50] Hong: Right. [00:22:52] Jeremy: And so when you think about that, you had mentioned that if you have a list of followers, let's say you have a hundred followers, would that mean that you have the URLs to all hundred of those follower's inboxes and that you would send one HTTP post to each inbox every time you had a new message? [00:23:16] Hong: Pretty much all ActivityPub implementations have, a thing called shared inbox, it's exactly what it sounds like. One inbox that all actors on a server share. Private stuff like DMs don't go there (it) is just for public posts and thoughts. [00:23:36] Jeremy: I think we haven't really talked about the fact that, when you have multiple users, usually they're on a server, right? That somebody chooses. So you could have tens of thousands, I don't know how many people can fit on the same server. But, rather than, you having to post to each user individually, you can post to the shared inbox on this server. So let's say, of your 100 followers, 50 them are on the same server, and you have a new post, you only need to post to the shared inbox once. [00:24:16] Hong: Yes, that's right. [00:24:18] Jeremy: And in that message you would I assume have links to each of the profiles or actors that you wanted to send that message to. [00:24:30] Hong: Yeah. Scaling challenges [00:24:31] Jeremy: Something that I've seen in the past is there are people who have challenges with scaling. Their Mastodon instance or their implementations of ActivityPub. As the, the number of followers grow, I've seen a post about, ghost one of the companies you work with mentioning that they've had challenges there. What are the challenges there and, and how do you think those can be resolved? [00:25:04] Hong: To put this in context, when Ghost mentioned the scaling, they were not using Message Queue yet. I'm pretty sure using Message Queue would help a lot of their scaling problems. That said it is definitely true that a lot of activity post software has trouble with scaling right now. I think part of the problem is that everyone's using this purely event driven approach to sending activities around. One of the big issues is that when their delivery fails it's the sender who has to retry and not the receiver. Plus there's all this overhead because the sender has to authenticate itself with HTTP signatures every time. Actually the ActivityPub spec suggests using polling too so I'd love to see more ActivityPub software try using both approaches together. [00:26:16] Jeremy: You mean the followers would poll who they're following instead of the person posting the messages having to send their posts to everyone's inboxes. [00:26:29] Hong: Yeah. [00:26:29] Jeremy: I see. So that's a part of the ActivityPubs specification, but not implemented in a lot of ActivityPub implementations, And so it sounds like maybe that puts a lot of burden on the servers that have people with a lot of followers because they have to post to every single, follower server and maybe the server is slow or they can't reach it. And like you said, they have to just keep trying and trying. There could be a lot of challenges there. [00:27:09] Hong: Right. Account migration [00:27:10] Jeremy: We've talked a little bit about the fact that each person each actor is hosted by a server and those servers can host multiple actors. But if you want to move to another server either because your server is shutting down or you just would like to change servers, what are some of the challenges there? [00:27:38] Hong: ActivityPub and Fediverse already have the specification for an account move. It's called FEP-7628 Move Actor. First thing you need to do when moving an account is prove that both the old and new accounts belong to the same person. You do this by adding the all accounts, add the URI to the new account's AlsoKnownAs property. And then the old account contacts all the other instances it's moving by sending out a move activity. When a server gets this move activity, it checks that both accounts really do belong to the same parts, and then it makes all the accounts that, uh, were following the, all the accounts start to, following the new one instead. that's how the new account gets to keep all the, all the accounts follow us. pretty much all, all the major activity post software has this feature built in, for example, Mastodon Misskey you name it. [00:29:04] Jeremy: This is very similar to the post where when you execute a move, the server that originally hosted that actor, they need to somehow tell every single other server that was following that account that you've moved. And so if there's any issues with communicating with one of those servers, or you miss one, then it just won't recognize that you've moved. You have to make sure that you talk to every single server. [00:29:36] Hong: That's right. [00:29:38] Jeremy: I could see how that could be a difficult problem sometimes if you have a lot of followers. [00:29:45] Hong: Yeah. Fedify [00:29:46] Jeremy: You've created a TypeScript library Fedify for building ActivityPub powered applications. What was the reason you decided to create Fedify? [00:29:58] Hong: Fedify is (a) ActivityPub servers framework I built for TypeScript. It basically takes away a lot of headaches you'd get trying to implement (an) ActivityPub server from scratch. The whole thing started because I wanted to build hollo -- A single user microblogging platform I built. But when I tried, to implement ActivityPub from (the) ground up it was kind of a nightmare. Imagine trying to write a CGI program in Perl or C back in the late nineties, where you are manually printing, HTTP headers and HTML as bias. there just wasn't any good abstraction layer to go with. There were already some libraries and frameworks for ActivityPub out there but none of them really hit the sweet spot I was looking for. They were either too high level and rigid. Like you could only build a mastodon clone or they barely did anything at all. Or they were written in languages I didn't really know. Ghost and Fedify [00:31:24] Jeremy: I saw that you are doing some work with, ghost. How is Ghost using fedify? [00:31:30] Hong: Ghost is an open source publishing platform. They have put some money into fedify which is why I get to work on it full time now. Their ActivityPub feature is still in private beta but it should be available to everyone pretty soon. We work together to improve fedify. Basically they are a user of fedify. They report bugs request new features to fedify then I fix them or implement them, first. [00:32:16] Jeremy: Ghost to my understanding is a blogging platform and a a newsletter platform. So what does it mean for them to implement ActivityPub? What would somebody using Mastodon, for example, get when they follow somebody using Ghost? [00:32:38] Hong: Ghost will have a fediverse handle for each blog. If you follow them in your mastodon or something (similar) then a new post is published. These post will show up (in) your timeline in Mastodon and you can like them or share them. Andin the dashboard of Ghost you can see who liked their posts or shared their posts and so on. It is like how mastodon works but in Ghost. [00:33:26] Jeremy: I see. So if you are writing a ghost blog and somebody follows your blog from Mastodon, sort of like we were talking about earlier, they can like your post, and on the blog itself you could show, oh, I have 200 likes. And those aren't necessarily people who were on your ghost website, they could be people that were liking your post from Mastodon. [00:33:58] Hong: Yes. Misskey / Forkey development in Asia [00:34:00] Jeremy: Something you mentioned at the beginning was there is a community of developers in Asia making forks of I believe of Mastodon, right? [00:34:13] Hong: Yeah. [00:34:14] Jeremy: Do you have experience working in that development community? What's different about it compared to the more Western centric community? [00:34:24] Hong: They are very similar in most ways. The key difference is language of course. They communicate in Japanese primarily. They also accept pull requests with English. But there are tons of comments in Japanese in their code. So you need to translate them into English or your first language to understand what code does. So I think that makes a barrier for Western developers. In fact, many Western developers that contribute to misskey or forkey are able to speak a little Japanese. And many of the developers of misskey and forkey are kind of otaku. [00:35:31] Jeremy: Oh otaku okay. [00:35:33] Hong: It's not a big deal, but you can see (the) difference in a glance. [00:35:41] Jeremy: Yeah. You mentioned one of the things that I believe misskey implemented was the emoji reactions and maybe one of the reasons they wanted that was so that they could react to each other's posts with you know anime pictures or things like that. [00:35:58] Hong: Yeah, that's right. [00:36:01] Jeremy: You've mentioned misskey and forkey. So is misskey a fork of Mastodon and then is forkey a fork of misskey? [00:36:10] Hong: No, misskey is not a fork of mastodon. (It) is built from scratch. It's its own implementation. And forkeys are forks of Mastodon. [00:36:22] Jeremy: Oh, I see. But both of those are primarily built by Japanese developers. [00:36:30] Hong: Yes. Whereas Mastodon (is) written in Ruby. Ruby on Rails. But misskey is built in TypeScript. [00:36:40] Jeremy: And because of ActivityPub -- they all implement it. So you can communicate with people between mastodon and misskey because they all understand the same activities. [00:36:56] Hong: Yes. Backwards compatible activity implementations [00:36:57] Jeremy: You did mention since there are extensions like misskey has the emoji reactions. When there is an activity that an implementation doesn't support what happens between the two servers? Do you send it to a server's inbox and then the server just doesn't do anything with it? [00:37:16] Hong: Some implementers consider backwards compatibility. So they design (it) to work with other implementations that don't support that activity. For example misskey uses like activity for emoji reaction. So if you put an emoji to a Mastodon post then in Mastodon you get one like. So it's intended behavior by misskey developers that they fall back to normal likes. But sometimes ActivityPub implementers introduce entirely new activity types. For example Pleroma introduced the emoji react. And if you put emoji reaction to Mastodon post from Pleroma in Mastodon you have nothing to see because Mastodon just ignores them. [00:38:37] Jeremy: If I understand correctly, both misskey and Pleroma are independent implementations of ActivityPub, but with misskey, they can tell when or their message is backwards compatible where it's if you don't understand the emoji reaction, it'll be embedded inside of a like message. Whereas with Pleroma they send an activity that Mastodon can't understand at all. So it just doesn't do anything. [00:39:11] Hong: Yes, right. But, Misskey also understands (the) emoji react activity. So between pleroma and misskey they have exchanged emoji reactions with no problem. [00:39:27] Jeremy: Oh, I see. So they, they both understand that activity. They both implement it the same way, but then when misskey communicates with Mastodon or with an instance that it knows doesn't understand it, it sends something different. [00:39:45] Hong: Yeah, that's right. [00:39:47] Jeremy: The servers -- can they query one another to know which activities they support? [00:39:53] Hong: Usually ActivityPub implementations also implement NodeInfo specification. It's like a user agent-like thing in Fediverse. Implementations tell the other instance (if it) is Mastodon or something else. You can query the type of server. [00:40:20] Jeremy: Okay, so within ActivityPub are each of the servers -- is the term node is that the word they use for each server? [00:40:31] Hong: Yes. Right. [00:40:32] Jeremy: You have the nodes, which can have any number of actors and the servers send activities to one another, to each other's inboxes. And so those are the way they all communicate. [00:40:49] Hong: Yeah. Building an ActivityPub implementation [00:40:50] Jeremy: You've implemented ActivityPub with Fedify because you found like there weren't good enough implementations or resources already. Did you implement it based off of the specification or did you look at existing implementations while you were building your implementation? [00:41:12] Hong: To be honest, instead of just, diving into the spec. I usually start by looking at actually ActivityPub software code first. The ActivityPub spec is so vague that you can't really build something just from reading it. So when we talk about ActivityPub, we are actually talking about a whole bunch of other technical standards too, WebFinger, HTTP signatures and more. So you need to understand all of these as well. [00:41:47] Jeremy: With the specification alone, you were saying it's too vague and so what ends up being -- I'm not sure if it's right to call it a spec, but looking at the implementations that people have already made that collectively becomes the spec because trying to follow the spec just by itself is maybe too difficult. [00:42:12] Hong: Yes. [00:42:14] Jeremy: Maybe that brings up the issues you were talking about before where you have specifications like JSON-LD where they're so complicated that even the biggest implementations aren't quite following it exactly. [00:42:28] Hong: Yeah. [00:42:29] Jeremy: If somebody wanted to, to get started with understanding a little bit more about ActivityPub or building something with it where would you recommend they start? [00:42:44] Hong: I recommend to dig into a lot of code from actual implementations. First, Mastodon, Misskey, Akkoma and so on. There are are some really cool tools that have been so helpful. For example, ActivityPub Academy is this awesome mastodon server for debugging ActivityPub. It makes it super easy to create a temporary account and see what activities are going back and forth. There is also BrowserPub. BrowserPub is this neat tool for looking up and browsing ActivityPub objects. It's really handy when you want to see how different ActivityPub software handles various features. I also recommend to use Fedify. I've got to mention the Fedify CLI, which comes with some really useful tools. [00:43:46] Jeremy: So if someone uses Fedify they're writing an application in TypeScript, then it sounds like they have to know the high level concepts. They have to know what are the different activities, what is inside of an actor. But the actual implementation of how do I create and parse JSON linked data, those kinds of things are taken care of by the library. [00:44:13] Hong: Yes, right. [00:44:16] Jeremy: So in some ways it seems like it might be good to, like you were saying, use the tools you mentioned to create a test Mastodon account, look at the messages being sent back and forth, and then when you're trying to implement it, starting with something like Fedify might be good because then you can really just focus on the concepts and not worry so much about the, the implementation details. [00:44:43] Hong: Yes, that's right. [00:44:45] Jeremy: Is there anything else you. Wanted to mention or thought we should have talked about? [00:44:52] Hong: Mm. I want to, talk about, a lot of stuff about ActivityPub but it's difficult to speak in English for me, so, it's a shame to talk about it very little. [00:45:15] Jeremy: We need everybody to learn Korean right? [00:45:23] Hong: Yes, please. (laughs) [00:45:23] Jeremy: Yeah. Well, I wanna thank you for taking the time. I know it must have been really challenging to give an interview in, you know, a language that's not your native one. So thank you for spending the time to talk with me. [00:45:38] Hong: Thank you for having me.

Saunter is a designer and bitcoin advocate who works at Alby: one of the most popular Lightning network wallets. In this episode, he describes his experiences with onboarding new users and increasing adoption around the world. Time stamps: Introducing Saunter (00:00:51) Evolution of Alby Wallet (00:01:38) Functionalities of the Alby Wallet (00:02:26) Lightning Business Model Challenges (00:05:46) Bitcoin as a Medium of Exchange (00:07:45) Adoption in Central America (00:09:55) Degrees of Bitcoin Adoption (00:12:59) Integration with Local Payment Systems (00:18:07) Educational Initiatives in El Salvador (00:20:43) Current State of Adoption (00:22:43) Chivo Wallet (00:25:46) Top-Down Adoption Issues (00:28:10) Grassroots Initiatives (00:30:46) Alby Wallet Features (00:35:33) Nostr Integration (00:36:08) Programmability of Bitcoin Lightning (00:39:57) Self-Hosting and Lightning Network (00:43:49) Future of Alby and User Accounts (00:46:27) Exploring Alby Wallet Options (00:51:48) Popular Apps on Alby (00:52:25) Point of Sale App Development (00:53:44) Isolated Balance Feature (00:55:07) User Experience with Alby App (00:56:30) Recommendations for Implementations (00:57:00) App Store Insights (00:58:00) Connecting Alby with Accounts (00:59:51) Channel Management and Backups (01:01:29) User Data Privacy Concerns (01:02:35) Benefits of Adding Alby to Full Nodes (01:04:14) Enhancing Node Capabilities (01:08:26) Inspiration for UX Design (01:12:56) User Testing Insights (01:15:56) Evolution of Lightning Wallets (01:16:52) Branding and Design Philosophy (01:17:53) Concerns About Security Exploits (01:19:25) Adoption Challenges and Perspectives (01:22:47) Bitcoin vs. Stablecoins (01:26:41) Market Dynamics and Adoption Rates (01:29:08) Future of Bitcoin Security (01:30:39) Interconnectedness of Bitcoin Systems (01:33:43) Challenges with Stablecoins on Lightning (01:37:31) Future Changes to Bitcoin Protocol (01:39:21) Discussion on Block Size Increase (01:40:42) Data Compression in Blocks (01:41:24) Cost of Verification Concerns (01:42:04) Layer Two Experiments (01:42:25) Risks of Layer One Changes (01:44:07) Focus on Lightning Network Development (01:45:06) Introducing Alby Wallet (01:45:29) Onboarding New Users (01:45:45) Benefits of Alby Hub (01:46:32) User-Friendly Lightning Node Setup (01:47:46) Following Saunter's Work (01:48:27)

Just when you think the bankers of the world couldn't be more in love -- with AI, that is -- along come four fintech experts to lay it all out for us in 2025. It promises to be the year of "agentic AI," among other things. And if that cute chatbot leaves roses on your desk, so much the better. Thanks to our special podcast guests: Joseph Ahn, CSO and Co-Founder, Delfi Amy Orosco, Director of Customer Success & Implementations, SWIVEL Mitch Rutledge, CEO and Co-Founder, Vertice AI Ed Vincent, CEO, SRA Watchtower

Agile World is excited to be back and talking with the team from JCURV about some really interesting case studies. The first part of the show is about bringing Agile practice into strategic working in AI and still ensuring tangible value delivery. The second part of the show focuses rapid problem solving using Agile in Healthcare to ensure quick Cancer detection.GuestsEmily Merkel Manager at JCURV | Enterprise Product and Agile TransformationsMichael Connor Director at JCURVPayal Jain Managing Director at JCURV & Chair of Women in Data®Co HostsSabrina C E NotoKarl A L Smith© 2025 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Agile World ®⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠News and Broadcast Network ⁠California, USA | Music by Debs fromDetoxen (Facebook)

Join this channel to get access to perks such as Weekly Zoom Calls & Private Discord!! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4Bq... Free 30 Day Trial to Go2Lister https://www.go2lister.com/mikeI help teach people how to make money selling books on Amazon, leveraging the platform's vast reach and the profitability of reselling used books. How to sell books on Amazon? Selling books on Amazon can be an excellent side hustle or a full-time endeavor, particularly if you enjoy thrifting through places like Goodwill for hidden treasures. How to start selling on Amazon is accessible, and with my guidance on how to sell books, DVDs, CDs, and other media, beginners can quickly learn the ropes. Utilizing Amazon FBA streamlines operations, allowing sellers to focus more on sourcing and less on logistics. As a reselling coach, I provide tutorials and guidance on navigating challenges like ungating and optimizing listings for maximum visibility and sales. Whether you're looking for a part-time side hustle or aiming to become a full-time reseller, I will teach you the ins and outs of thrifting books and selling books online and can pave the way to creating passive income streams and achieving business growth.

WELCOME TO THE MWSA PODCAST FOR TUESDAY, FEB. 04th   With the threat of 25% Tariffs on American goods ‘off the table' for 30-days – where do we go from here – and what does this mean for Canadian businesses and consumers with a potential ‘trade war' still in the conversation? We get the thoughts of Mercedes Stephenson - Global News Ottawa Bureau Chief & Host of “The West Block”. Next – we continue our ‘tariff talk' with Gary Mar – President and CEO of the Canada West Foundation. We get Mr. Mar's thoughts on why President Trump pushed the ‘pause button' on implementing the Tariffs this week – and what we can do as a country to lessen the impact of a looming ‘trade war' – with our biggest trade partner. And finally - as Valentine's Day approaches, Canadians are celebrating the idea of finding their “perfect match.” But….in this unique case – that ‘match', comes with 4 legs! We speak with Gary Hiney – a Red Deer man suffering from vision loss – about the “Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides”. We hear about the important service they provide – and get details on how YOU can make a difference, and lend a hand to someone in need of a Guide Dog.

In this episode of the Risk Intel Podcast, SRA Watchtower's own Cathy Jackson, Director of Implementations and a seasoned risk management expert joined host, Ed Vincent, to explore the evolving nature of Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) and how financial institutions can ensure their KRIs remain effective and actionable. Listen to the full episode to learn more.Follow us to stay in the know!

Episode Summary: In this episode, Maribel Lopez speaks with Dell's Chief Technology Officer and Chief AI Officer John Roese about Dell's enterprise AI technologies from their development to their future. Roese explains how the initial magical thinking around artificial intelligence has shifted into a more practical approach that aims to maximize the benefits of each implementation. He also discusses the emerging trends and ideas that he is seeing in the AI space.Key Themes: Maribel and John start by delving into enterprise AI and AI markets in general. John explains the types of AI markets and how enterprise AI differs from other applications. The conversation then moves into the challenges of AI and the steps that Dell is taking to address them. Next, John and Maribel reflect on the near-universal reactive approach that companies took to AI two years ago and how parts of that approach backfired or fizzled out. While this technology could have been approached better, its widespread use has provided companies with a real world understanding of LLMs and their applications. Now, companies take a more practical approach to AI while continuing to innovate. The key innovation that Roese highlights is agentic architecture. This technology differs from previous generative AI applications because it can operate autonomously and is highly specialized. Individual “agents” can have job descriptions that they are trained for much like a human being, and they can interact with each other as a human team would. For detailed show notes, navigate the episode using the time stamps below:[1:26] Maribel introduces the guest of the episode, John Roese. Roese is the CTO and Chief AI Officer at Dell Technologies. [1:59] The AI market is not a singular market – there is a traditional market, a training market, and an enterprise market. The enterprise market is very pragmatic in its applications. [4:10] Maribel asks about the challenges businesses see in enterprise adoption. Early discussions of new AI technology treated it like magic. Now that we have real world use cases and a better understanding of the technology, Dell is able to have grounded conversations about AI applications with real impacts. [7:48] Roesch explains the challenges that Dell is facing with AI. One of the challenges was determining where to prioritize as a company. Another is the process by which you develop application ideas. Dell had this issue when bringing ideas that were not fully formed to their legal team. [11:44] No one got AI perfectly right. Almost universally, companies reacted at the technical level before looking at business priorities. Roese encourages companies to move toward a more thoughtful approach to AI technology.[13:36] Dell learned that its goal was to add in the minimum sufficient AI structure to address the maximum use cases. In Dell's case, half of their use cases were related to converting proprietary data into generative outcomes. Creating one model to handle all of these cases is the most efficient approach. [15:05] Maribel asks Roese about the trends Dell is seeing in AI. Roese points to the emergence of agentic architecture. The idea behind agentic architecture is that they are autonomously performing agents with very specialized purposes. They can be combined much like a team of human beings. Follow John Roese: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnroese/ Learn more about Dell's AI solutions: https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/scc/sc/artificial-intelligence Follow Maribel Lopez on X/Twitter: https://x.com/maribellopez Subscribe to Maribel Lopez on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MaribelLopezResearch Follow Maribel Lopez on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/maribellopez/ 

The Transformation Ground Control podcast covers a number of topics important to digital and business transformation. This episode covers the following topics and interviews:   Macy's Big Accounting Scandal, Q&A (Darian Chwialkowski, Third Stage Consulting) Keys to Successful ERP Implementations (Alec Epstein, Bryant Park Consulting) Top Transformation Mistake You're Making   We also cover a number of other relevant topics related to digital and business transformation throughout the show.  

Neel Nanda, a senior research scientist at Google DeepMind, leads their mechanistic interpretability team. In this extensive interview, he discusses his work trying to understand how neural networks function internally. At just 25 years old, Nanda has quickly become a prominent voice in AI research after completing his pure mathematics degree at Cambridge in 2020. Nanda reckons that machine learning is unique because we create neural networks that can perform impressive tasks (like complex reasoning and software engineering) without understanding how they work internally. He compares this to having computer programs that can do things no human programmer knows how to write. His work focuses on "mechanistic interpretability" - attempting to uncover and understand the internal structures and algorithms that emerge within these networks. SPONSOR MESSAGES: *** CentML offers competitive pricing for GenAI model deployment, with flexible options to suit a wide range of models, from small to large-scale deployments. https://centml.ai/pricing/ Tufa AI Labs is a brand new research lab in Zurich started by Benjamin Crouzier focussed on ARC and AGI, they just acquired MindsAI - the current winners of the ARC challenge. Are you interested in working on ARC, or getting involved in their events? Goto https://tufalabs.ai/ *** SHOWNOTES, TRANSCRIPT, ALL REFERENCES (DONT MISS!): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/36dvtfl3v3p56hbi30im7/NeelShow.pdf?rlkey=pq8t7lyv2z60knlifyy17jdtx&st=kiutudhc&dl=0 We riff on: * How neural networks develop meaningful internal representations beyond simple pattern matching * The effectiveness of chain-of-thought prompting and why it improves model performance * The importance of hands-on coding over extensive paper reading for new researchers * His journey from Cambridge to working with Chris Olah at Anthropic and eventually Google DeepMind * The role of mechanistic interpretability in AI safety NEEL NANDA: https://www.neelnanda.io/ https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GLnX3MkAAAAJ&hl=en https://x.com/NeelNanda5 Interviewer - Tim Scarfe TOC: 1. Part 1: Introduction [00:00:00] 1.1 Introduction and Core Concepts Overview 2. Part 2: Outside Interview [00:06:45] 2.1 Mechanistic Interpretability Foundations 3. Part 3: Main Interview [00:32:52] 3.1 Mechanistic Interpretability 4. Neural Architecture and Circuits [01:00:31] 4.1 Biological Evolution Parallels [01:04:03] 4.2 Universal Circuit Patterns and Induction Heads [01:11:07] 4.3 Entity Detection and Knowledge Boundaries [01:14:26] 4.4 Mechanistic Interpretability and Activation Patching 5. Model Behavior Analysis [01:30:00] 5.1 Golden Gate Claude Experiment and Feature Amplification [01:33:27] 5.2 Model Personas and RLHF Behavior Modification [01:36:28] 5.3 Steering Vectors and Linear Representations [01:40:00] 5.4 Hallucinations and Model Uncertainty 6. Sparse Autoencoder Architecture [01:44:54] 6.1 Architecture and Mathematical Foundations [02:22:03] 6.2 Core Challenges and Solutions [02:32:04] 6.3 Advanced Activation Functions and Top-k Implementations [02:34:41] 6.4 Research Applications in Transformer Circuit Analysis 7. Feature Learning and Scaling [02:48:02] 7.1 Autoencoder Feature Learning and Width Parameters [03:02:46] 7.2 Scaling Laws and Training Stability [03:11:00] 7.3 Feature Identification and Bias Correction [03:19:52] 7.4 Training Dynamics Analysis Methods 8. Engineering Implementation [03:23:48] 8.1 Scale and Infrastructure Requirements [03:25:20] 8.2 Computational Requirements and Storage [03:35:22] 8.3 Chain-of-Thought Reasoning Implementation [03:37:15] 8.4 Latent Structure Inference in Language Models

The UK Humanitarian Innovation Hub (UKHIH), Elrha, and Humanitarian AI Today bring panelists together to discuss transparency and strategies for improving transparency and accountability in AI implementations. Michael Hind, Distinguished Research Staff Member at IBM Research; Shadrock Roberts, Director of Global Data Protection & Privacy at Mercy Corps; Scott Turnbull, Chief Technology Officer at Data Friendly Space; Liam Nicoll, Signpost Product Lead at Signpost AI Lab; and Sarah Spencer, a consultant who regularly speaks on humanitarian operations and applications of artificial intelligence, contribute their insights on transparency and ways of improving transparency and accountability in AI implementations. Touching on the existing landscape of AI initiatives within the humanitarian sector, key players, and what transparency means broadly and in practice, their views connect the humanitarian and technology communities and provide valuable insight into why transparency is crucial for building trust in AI systems and engaging stakeholders in developing and leveraging uses of AI for good. The panel discussion, guest hosted by Brent Phillips from Humanitarian AI Today, mixes input on AI systems, technical information disclosure, AI governance and regulation, and how humanitarian organizations are approaching developing, testing and deploying safe, responsible and trustworthy AI applications that are transparent and accountable to end users. Panelists each share their views on ways of improving transparency and offer ideas on directions to expand the transparency conversation. In closing, panelists provide a strong case for greater information sharing on AI use cases and greater inclusivity around transparency throughout the AI building and deployment process. This episode is part of a six-part panel discussion series sponsored and produced by Humanitarian AI Today in collaboration with the UK Humanitarian Innovation Hub (UKHIH) and Elrha, with funding from UK International Development from the UK government.   More information about this episode, its focus and upcoming discussions can be found by subscribing to the UK Humanitarian Innovation Hub and Elrha's new AI newsletter: http://ukhih.org/newsletter.

Hazel Weakly joins Justin and Autumn to talk about when to build abstractions and how to implement them. They also share experiences from tech conferences, and delve into the importance of building community and psychological safety in tech environments.

Learning happens when you make mistakes. In our time working on implementations, we won't hide–we've made some mistakes that we learned from. In this episode, Doug and Jess have an insightful discussion about CRM implementations and projects that have gone wrong. They share real-life examples of setbacks Lift has faced, what mistakes were made, and the key lessons learned to help you avoid similar pitfalls.For updates on new episodes follow us on:LinkedIn: Lift Enablement, Doug Davidoff, Jess CardenasSubscribe to our YouTube channel!You can access the show notes and watch the video version of the show on our page. Thanks for listening and remember to just say no to shitty RevOps!

The Transformation Ground Control podcast covers a number of topics important to digital and business transformation. This episode covers the following topics and interviews:   Hubspot's Acquisition of Cacheflow, Q&A (Darian Chwialkowski, Third Stage Consulting) Business Intelligence in ERP Implementations (Dominique Frechette, GURUS Solutions) Keys to Oracle Fusion Cloud Implementation Success   We also cover a number of other relevant topics related to digital and business transformation throughout the show.  

Let's dive into the importance of collaboration between business and data teams, and how to navigate the complexities of AI implementations. My guest today is Andreas Welsch. He is an internationally recognized AI leader, advisor, and the best-selling author of the "AI Leadership Handbook." With over 23 years of experience, including key roles at SAP, Andreas has been instrumental in helping Fortune 500 companies turn technology hype into real business outcomes. Andreas will share insights from his book and valuable advice for organizations embarking on their AI journey.

The Transformation Ground Control podcast covers a number of topics important to digital and business transformation. This episode covers the following topics and interviews:   How to Localize Your AI Strategy, Q&A (Darian Chwialkowski, Third Stage Consulting) ERP Implementations the Right Way (Brett Beaubouef, Digital Transformation Author & Consultant) How Agile Leads to Digital Transformation Failure   We also cover a number of other relevant topics related to digital and business transformation throughout the show.  

In today's complex financial landscape, effective risk management is critical for the stability and success of any financial institution. Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) teams play a central role in this process, ensuring that organizations are well-protected against potential risks while maintaining compliance with regulatory standards. But how exactly does GRC fit into the broader picture of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and how does GRC differ from the Audit function? This Risk Intel episode features Cathy Jackson, Director or Implementations at SRA Watchtower, who answers four key questions to help you understand the responsibilities of the GRC and Audit teams, how they operate, and how they integrate with ERM. Give it a listen to learn more.Follow us to stay in the know!

Send me a Text Message hereFULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/587 What if you could master the art of balancing a demanding career with a fulfilling personal life? Join us as we sit down with Kirti Prajapati, a modern workplace architect and independent M365 consultant from India, who reveals his secrets to maintaining a harmonious lifestyle. Through his dedication to homemade food, regular gym visits, and balanced nutrition, Kiriti shares how he stays healthy and energized. He also opens up about the importance of family, the joy of solitary meditation in cafes, and his commitment to quarterly vacations—all while managing a busy consulting schedule.But that's not all. Dive into game-changing Power Platform implementations with us as we spotlight groundbreaking projects across industries. Learn how a UK-based company transformed their bicycle rental system, fostering employee well-being and realizing cost savings through Model-Driven apps, React web applications, and Azure Logic Apps. Discover how a government agency enhanced their portfolio management with the Power Platform, outperforming SAP, Salesforce, and ServiceNow in terms of security and scalability. We'll also discuss strategies for maximizing productivity through seamless technology transitions and automated deployment processes, ensuring user satisfaction and management approval. Don't miss this insightful conversation on the powerful impact of thoughtful technology integration! 90 Day Mentoring Challenge 10% off code use MBAP at checkout https://ako.nz365guy.comSupport the Show.If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening

This podcast is hosted by edWeb.net.The webinar recording can be accessed here.This edWeb podcast is the kickoff to edWeb's Mental Health & Wellness Week, a series to help drive awareness and support for educator and student wellness. Listen to this edWeb podcast for a discussion with Dr. Christopher Jenson and a panel of education leaders with deep experience in the field of mental health and wellness. This session focuses on where we are now in supporting staff and student mental health:Implementations currently in place: Are we happy with them? Why or why not?The current assets and limitations of schools: What are they? What roles do we feel communities are pushing us into?Do schools have the responsibility and/or capacity to help with treatment of staff and students?The role of embedded skills and preventive mental health (novel approach) with a discussion of the research data and perspectives from presentersThis edWeb podcast is of interest to PreK-12 educators, counselors, and administrators who want to learn more for their own self-care and for the mental health and wellness of their students.edWeb.netedWeb is an award-winning professional learning network that serves the global education community.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

ORDER MY NEW BOOK: The Final Countdown: https://a.co/d/50cqrCB CONTACT MY TEAM & I: https://www.thirdstage-consulting.com... FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: contact@majortom-productions.com

Eric and I chat about AI implementations. What do you need to be successful?

The podcast interview explores the role of RISC-V in the automotive sector. It begins with a brief introduction to RISC-V, explaining it as an open standard instruction set architecture (ISA). The discussion then shifts to current automotive trends from a processing perspective, highlighting advancements and the increasing importance of robust, high-performance computing. 

July 4, 2024: Michael Restuccia, SVP and CIO of Penn Medicine, explores the complexities and triumphs of leading a major academic medical center's IT department for over 17 years. How does one maintain momentum and innovation over such a long tenure? Michael delves into the importance of building a strong, mission-driven team and fostering a collaborative culture, especially in a hybrid work environment. They discuss the challenges of balancing budgets, the evolution of electronic health records, and the cautious yet optimistic approach to integrating AI in healthcare. What qualities make a successful team member in such a demanding field, and how do you retain top talent amidst fierce competition? Michael also shares insights into how technology can reduce administrative burdens for clinicians, improve patient care, and drive operational efficiency. This conversation provides a deep dive into the strategic thinking required to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare IT.Key Points:Leadership ChallengesTeam BuildingBudget ManagementEHR EvolutionTechnology IntegrationSubscribe: This Week HealthTwitter: This Week HealthLinkedIn: Week HealthDonate: Alex's Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer

In this latest episode, Carla Sarti, former VP GBS - Lear Corporation, joins Mustansir Saifuddin to share what she's learned in her decades of experience, with both business and technology, about how businesses and teams can be successful in any IT implementation. From teamwork to fundamental project management, to supplier relations, Carla dives in to highlight quick takeaways that you can implement to make an even bigger impact with your IT implementation. Carla Sarti was most recently the Vice President of Global Business Services at Lear Corporation – a position she held since April 2018.  Prior to this position she was Vice President of Non Production Purchasing and Director of Shared Services.   Prior to Lear, she served as Account Executive at ACS, a Xerox company (now Conduent) where she acted as chief strategy officer and Director of Sales for many large accounts in the Finance and Accounting Outsourcing area.  She spent five years at Delphi Corporation in numerous roles of increasing responsibility including managing the SAP environment after implementation and working as a Lean expert for the Cockpits business.  She also worked as a plant and divisional financial analyst at TRW and an operational auditor at the Budd Company. Connect with us: LinkedIn Carla Sarti Mustansir Saifuddin Innovative Solution Partners  Twitter:  @Mmsaifuddin YouTube or learn more about our sponsor Innovative Solution Partners to schedule a free consultation.    Episode Transcript: [00:00:00] Mustansir Saifuddin: Welcome to Tech Driven Business brought to you by Innovative Solution Partners. Carla Sarti, a seasoned executive, shares her insights that any team can use for leading successful IT projects. From understanding business processes to the importance of transparency, teamwork, and supplier relations, Carla reveals the key ingredients for project success. [00:00:30] Welcome to Tech-Driven Business Carla. How are you? [00:00:33] Carla Sarti: I'm great. Thanks for having me. Great to see you. [00:00:38] Mustansir Saifuddin: It's great to have you on our show. And I'm glad that , you took the time out to share some of your thoughts and leadership with us today, [00:00:46] Carla Sarti: Absolutely. [00:00:48] Mustansir Saifuddin: so our topic is going to be Secrets to successful IT projects. How does it sound to you? [00:00:55] Carla Sarti: Amazing. It's 1 of my passions. [00:00:58] Mustansir Saifuddin: I know, I know. And I think that's going to be something that it will be very helpful to our listeners, especially in this day and age where technology is changing so fast. There are so many different options available. And I. T. Is in the middle of all of this. Let me start with this. You know, I want to set the stage. [00:01:15] So let's begin with this. Can you share some background on how you How did you find yourself leading I. T. Projects you started your career in a totally different arena? [00:01:29] Carla Sarti: Absolutely. So, yes, I have a business degree of my MBA. I started in audit and very specific businesses, purchasing finance, et cetera. But technology was always something that I was very curious and passionate about. When I was a co op at TRW, the vice president of finance came to me one day and I'm going to date myself a little bit here, but we were on Lotus 1, 2, 3, and he had a disc in his hand and he said, Carla or little kid or whatever he called me. [00:02:00] Here's a disk of Excel. I would like all of our reports moved from Lotus 1, 2, 3, put on Excel and let's review them next week. And I said, okay, let's go. And so I taught myself Excel and I really started to understand the power of technology. And that's just such a basic example. Right. So while I was still a co op, I got involved in an SAP implementation and That really opened my eyes to what technology can bring, and I've been into it ever since. [00:02:32] So different functional groups I've been in, I've always brought best in class processes along with the technology side, because I think it is, it goes hand in hand, but I've done everything from SAP, Coupa, SharePoint, RPA, and now dabbling in AI. [00:02:50] Mustansir Saifuddin: Absolutely. You know, it doesn't matter matter where you start? You know, even having a business degree, like you mentioned technology is always with you and it's around you. So you got to either embrace it and you got to go with the flow or you're going to fight it, right? So I, I like the approach that you mentioned that, you know, your first inital foray into this whole technology area was just, you know, just of the iceberg, right? [00:03:14] You got into this thing and now Years later, you are much ingrained in this whole technology stack. So, let's talk about your experience. You have decades of experience. What do you see as some key factors that contribute to the success of IT projects, which is so important? [00:03:33] Carla Sarti: So I'm going to start with the assumption that before you implement any sort of technology, You've really understood your business, right? And where are your business processes? What needs to be cleaned up? You're not just bringing in technology to bring in technology because I don't think that's ever usually successful, but so you've done that and then you've really understood again, the current processes. [00:04:01] The gaps that you have and what is your success criteria? I think a lot of people, a lot of companies don't look at what success looks like at the very beginning. And they say, Oh, okay. Yeah. We're just going to implement this. We heard it's the best solution and they don't think through, what are we trying to achieve? [00:04:19] That, that really starts dictating what a successful project looks like. Then you through the whole. Project. You obviously have to have the right team members on the project, having an executive sponsor that can break down roadblocks. I've seen projects that the best ones typically have a business person leading them. [00:04:44] Because they understand what's trying to be accomplished. Not that IT can't lead projects and they are definitely very integral to the process. But typically, when a business person runs them, they're implemented quicker. The understanding is there. The right process mapping has been done, et cetera. So you've got the right people. [00:05:07] Probably have suppliers in the mix, because what company has all that skill set on hand? So you have to have the right suppliers. And then through the course of it, you have to have the right governance. So the communication process, the transparency of where the project truly is, because as you know, IT projects are not a hundred percent foolproof, right? [00:05:33] Something always happens in any kind of project, whether you're building a house, you're, you're baking a cake or whatever it is, something goes wrong and you've got to have the right transparency and communication. To understand what to do next, then obviously you could have the best tool in the world. [00:05:51] The best project. It's going great. You have to have change management methodology and processes embedded in the project because if people aren't going to use it. What does it matter? Right? And I mentioned Excel when I was a co op, a lot of people still use Excel and you could put in the best shiny new toy technology. [00:06:13] People are comfortable with Excel. So you've got to explain to people how their jobs going to change and give them the appropriate training to make it a true success. In the end. [00:06:25] Mustansir Saifuddin: For sure. And I think you touched upon a lot of it. Some very key points. You know, starting with a champion, you know, has to be a business. How do they currently do the job? How can they do it better? You know, governance, such a key piece. You need to have that in place, change management, you know, I've been in technology field for so many years. [00:06:44] That's one thing that we know. If there is no good change management in place, It doesn't matter what technology, what kind of resources or what kind of supplier you're using, it doesn't go well. The end user needs to be on board. They need to really be part of the whole implementation process in order for them to adapt and then be the voice of the new tool because they are the ones who will be actually living with it, doing it on a daily basis. [00:07:15] So great point. [00:07:15] Carla Sarti: And people get scared. I mean, they get really nervous when a new project's coming, right? And especially in the age of AI, people think they're going to lose their jobs and companies need to do a really good job explaining. No, no, no. So you do this today, but tomorrow we need you to do that. And actually you'll probably be more fulfilled doing. [00:07:36] The new, but it's just that, that way of explaining and coaching them through it and not just dumping something on their lap. [00:07:45] Mustansir Saifuddin: Absolutely. And that's the key, right? How is it helping the real users of the system that this implementation or this piece of software doesn't matter? You're doing an E. R. P. implementation. You do some kind of data analytics project or any other systems that you're putting in place. It is there to help the business move to the next level. [00:08:08] How can we be more profitable? How can we make it easier for our customers to deal with us? different scenarios, right? And this and all of these are bundled together to give you the next level of the best, right? How can you do your job a better way than what you're currently doing? So totally agree with you. Now you touched upon one key fact, right? The idea of finding the right supplier. So how do you find the right supplier to support your initiatives? Can you share examples of successful IT projects? Where your supplier collaboration was very effective. [00:08:44] Carla Sarti: Finding the right supplier is key to the equation. I've always looked for a valued, trusted business partner. And. You know, there's, there's a lot of ways to get there. And I think a lot of it is being up front in the initial RFP process. [00:09:03] And you've got to have as much information for the supplier as possible to bid on because what you don't want is. Death by change order later because they didn't understand the project. You didn't understand the project as the business. That breaks down a relationship really, really fast. So again, more of that transparency, the collaboration. Some of the best projects I've had and I can't go into a lot of detail on them, but we implemented a tool in 18 months at one of my companies and really the success of the project was a lot. [00:09:39] on the supplier side. We brought somebody in with a great skill set in the tool that we were building. They had a road map. They had this amazing design methodology and the right questions were asked. The right people were brought by us as the company and, you know, we got off to a great start when things did go wrong. [00:10:02] They were very, very transparent. They said, okay, we need to get together. Let's pull everyone together. Let's get these questions answered. And they didn't hide things. We didn't hide things. It was probably the best project I've ever implemented. And that's what it takes. Again, that collaboration, transparency, and that win win from both sides. [00:10:25] Mustansir Saifuddin: Absolutely. I think you touched upon all the things that a successful project should look like, especially from a practices point of view, the strategy point of view and the relationships standpoint. Right? All of these work together and. You know, I, I just use the example of many different projects that I've done. [00:10:44] And, you know, especially when you're working with clients, transparency up front really helps. It sets the stage and make sure that both the client and the supplier are on the same page. And when you start off with that approach, things, like I said, things can go wrong, but you have a plan in place how to mitigate those issues, how do we get on the same page and make sure that whatever things that are an obstacle to the project are taken care of working collaboratively versus, you know, us versus them. [00:11:18] Carla Sarti: Right. Exactly. That's the last thing you want to get into in a project. It's already complex enough, [00:11:24] Mustansir Saifuddin: Yeah. And, like you mentioned earlier, right, that always something that comes up. You, you have the best of the intentions, but it can be a business challenge. There can be a technology challenge. There can be integration challenges. All different factors play a role into things can go in a different direction very quickly. [00:11:46] Carla Sarti: right? Oh, we didn't know this site had this approval process in here. And oh, this one has a different one. You find things as you get the project going and you have to be agile. You have to be flexible. You can't have. You know, the last thing you want is a supplier that's like, Oh no, you know, this, this is what we were brought in for. [00:12:06] I mean, we can talk about commercials, but you know, let's just all collaborate and get it done. That's where you need that trusted relationship because you don't want the supplier thinking, Oh, okay. They're going to ask me to do this for free. And you don't want the customer to be like, okay, they're not going to be able to do it. [00:12:23] So you've got to have that open dialogue going. [00:12:26] Mustansir Saifuddin: For sure. So, on a personal note, how do you stay on top of this fast changing pace of technology? What's, what's your secret sauce? [00:12:36] Carla Sarti: I've always been a constant learner always right? I mean, and I think being a co op at 18 years old, really drove that in me. It was the time, I kind of want to date myself it was the time when computers were kind of just starting to be used and I saw people just fumbling with the mouse. I mean, think of that in today's day and age, right? [00:13:01] I mean, back then people were fumbling with mice. I was like, oh my goodness, I never want to be in a position where, I'm not kind of at the forefront of technology. And I'm just a learner anyway. So, you know, whether it be books podcasts really from a technology standpoint, I think is what keeps me up to date. [00:13:21] I love the podcast. It's called All in One it's for billionaires that. Actually have very different views on things, whether it be politics or technology or science, and they talk about everything under the sun. Nvidia actually has an AI podcast. It's called the AI podcast, and then there's AI today. [00:13:44] And then being in GBS and shared services, a lot of my career, I stay on top of those things with SSO next. And they talk about technology, tons of technology within that realm as well. I read tons of articles on LinkedIn, the Wall Street Journal, and then definitely leadership books. I know that's not necessarily technology, but. [00:14:05] When you're talking about leading people again through change, and, you know, the best way to be collaborative, I find that to be extremely helpful. Patrick Lencioni is one of my favorite authors The 5 Dysfunctions of Team, one of my favorite authors. Favorite books. And he writes very much like fiction. [00:14:23] So it's really easy to get through. I don't know if you've ever listened to or read Jocko Wilnick's books, but he has extreme ownership and a couple others, phenomenal books, right? I mean, just kind of look at yourself in the mirror and it, it goes to project management, so extreme ownership. Am I doing everything I possibly can to be successful? [00:14:44] Have my team be successful. So really good one for project management. Mustansir. [00:14:50] Mustansir Saifuddin: Nice, I think you've got a whole slew of resources available at your fingertips that's good. I think like one thing that I really liked about your approach, I mean, you've seen it all, you've played different roles, It's refreshing to see someone like you in your space that you still find yourself as a student, you know, still keep on learning and be able to keep yourself ahead of the curve. [00:15:12] And I think that's the key, right? The different roles we play depending on what you're doing your daily job, but at the same time, looking around and seeing what else is going around you. We live in the space of, and the times of Gen AI. AI being disruptive and how it will change our lives. It's already is changing, you know how do you stay ahead or at least keep up with the technology? [00:15:39] I think is the key to your success. So that's what it seems like you you've been very much in tune with it. [00:15:46] Carla Sarti: Absolutely. One of the coolest things I ever did was reverse mentoring. So I had someone younger in the organization mentoring me, right? And then it helps you get into their shoes and understand what drives the next generation. What tools and technology are they using? It's really fascinating. And of course I, I use my kids too. [00:16:08] You know, I have a 19 year old and a 17 year old and just understanding: How they think, what they're looking at, what they're using, chat, what's GPT 4 all about. You know, you got to stay on top of things. [00:16:21] Mustansir Saifuddin: Yeah, they are the best teachers. I mean you think about technology I mean this younger generation is amazing and how they are adapting and all that. Let's get into the conversation about you know, we talked about successful supplier collaborations very key, right, important but what are some of the common challenges companies face? [00:16:41] With IT suppliers during a project. Can you share some ideas on thoughts on that? [00:16:49] Carla Sarti: I think one of the ones I've seen is where someone's oversold their capabilities, right? You've got a supplier, maybe they did a really good job on one project and they're asked to bid on another. And as a company, and again, trying to find that trusted supplier, it's very easy to fall into, well, let's just use these guys that were successful before. [00:17:13] You've really got to evaluate, are they going to be successful for this project? And of course they want business. Everyone wants business, but you've really got to look and say, okay, can I deliver on this project? Because if I can't. I'm actually going to ruin my reputation within the company. So just being honest and making sure again, from the company's standpoint, you're choosing the right supplier and that the suppliers. [00:17:42] Again, understanding the project that you're trying to implement and maybe they don't understand at first and they think they can deliver on the project. So, as a supplier, I would say, make sure you ask the questions. Be curious. Why are you doing this project? What exactly are you looking for? Oh, okay. [00:18:02] It's in this space. Okay. We don't have people in that space. Well, I can maybe bring people in to do that. You know, really understanding, that side to me, can really change the dynamic there. And then again, I'm not gonna, I'm going to keep talking about the transparency. If the supplier cannot be transparent when there is an issue, it's not going to be good.. I've always told people whether they work for me or a supplier, Bad news doesn't get better with time. You've got to bring these things forward. We've got to come up with solutions together. I don't care whose fault it is. [00:18:38] Mustansir Saifuddin: Yeah, [00:18:39] Carla Sarti: Like, ultimately, I want this project to be successful. So let's work together to get that done. [00:18:45] Mustansir Saifuddin: absolutely Absolutely. I think and and that's where I my question to you is how do you mitigate those issues? Everybody wants a smooth and successful implementation. It's just Everybody thinks that's how it should go, but we all know there are challenges. [00:18:59] Carla Sarti: Mm hmm. [00:19:00] Mustansir Saifuddin: you maybe share some ideas, thoughts on how do you mitigate those issues or something that you may have seen in the past? [00:19:08] Carla Sarti: So we, a lot of times, use just basic project management. Fundamentals, right? You've got your project plan. Are you on plan or not? Then you look at what can go wrong. Okay, you list out all the things that you think could go wrong and you start putting mitigating plans together on that, right? And having meetings around those things. [00:19:31] Okay, guys, how are we doing? Are we getting the data? That's going to be a big thing here. Did we get it? Did we not? What do we need to do? And again, having the right people on the project. So do you have somebody who can go in, break down those roadblocks if things aren't getting done, building the right relationships, again, you got to have the right people who can build relationships. [00:19:53] Project management, as you know, It's almost more about being a psychologist than anything else. I mean, you've got to bring people together that maybe don't normally work together. They have very different personalities. You've got people on the IT side that have different personalities than the project side. [00:20:11] So you've got to make sure that you understand those factors and use project management methodology. It's there for a reason. I mean, I've seen people, they're like, Oh, we don't need a project plan. Yeah. Like what? What are you talking? How do you do a successful project without a project plan? You don't even know what's coming next. [00:20:31] You don't even know where you are in the cycle. Are you on track? Are you not? So I think those things, honestly, like don't overlook the fundamentals. [00:20:41] Mustansir Saifuddin: No, I think that's a great advice. I one thing I, I, I like about your approach or your thinking is a project manager being a psychologist. You know, how many times you go through these, these iterations of projects after projects, you know, being a.supplier ourselves. I mean, I, I really appreciate your thought process on that because there's so many different stakeholders in any given time and project where you may have one stakeholder on board, but you may have someone else either business, I. [00:21:11] T. Whatever else you're working with. They may be either lost. They don't agree with your approach or there's something else that in this space. And you needs someone who can actually mitigate all those different pieces of the, [00:21:25] Carla Sarti: Mm [00:21:26] Mustansir Saifuddin: puzzle and bring it all, all of them together in a way they see the value. [00:21:30] It's all about value proposition and making sure that the end product is what the customer is asking for. Can we deliver? If we can deliver, what is the game plan? How do we go about making sure that we are all on the same page? Because at the end of the day, Once it is delivered correctly, It's a win win, you know. so [00:21:48] Carla Sarti: Hmm. [00:21:49] Mustansir Saifuddin: Do appreciate that insight into it and I know we talked about a lot of different things. I like to ask this one parting question. [00:21:58] What is that one key takeaway? You want to leave with our listeners today. [00:22:05] Carla Sarti: IT projects are very complex. So again, I would say the fundamentals are key. Understand what you're trying to accomplish. That is number one, understand the processes, get the right team involved, the right supplier, and set yourself up for success. So fundamentals. Use project management. Methodology for sure. [00:22:33] I mean, it's there for a reason and have the right, the right people on the project is key. I know I'm doing like five different key takeaways here in Mustansir, but really again, it's just so complex and the fundamentals, the right people and, and the right methodology, key, [00:22:51] Mustansir Saifuddin: No, thank you. Great advice and great takeaways. And I think once we have all these different pieces of the puzzle together, it's a recipe for success. So with that I'd like to conclude our session and I'd like to thank you for coming on on our show It was a pleasure having you. [00:23:08] Carla Sarti: likewise. Thank you for having me. [00:23:10] Mustansir Saifuddin: Thanks for listening to Tech Driven Business brought to you by Innovative Solution Partners. Carla shared valuable insights that can be used immediately by your IT team her main takeaway, focus on the fundamentals that include understanding your objectives, involving the right team of staff and suppliers, and stick to solid project management methodologies. [00:23:33] We would love to hear from you. Continue the conversation by connecting with me on LinkedIn or Twitter. Learn more about Innovative Solution Partners and schedule a free consultation by visiting isolutionpartners. com. Never miss a podcast by subscribing to our YouTube channel. Information is in the show notes.

Join Car and Keyan to discuss Stacker News' top posts of the week, Car & Keyan's favorite posts of the week, and top stackers for the week of June 21st, 2024.Follow the conversation of the episode on SN.Time Stamps:02:24 - My project got hacked and user funds were stolen29:11 - PlebDevs Beginner Backend Series32:36 - Doom is not a strategy41:19 - Bitcoin Circular Economy - a hard to achieve goal for many people46:44 - Ecash on Bitcoin Educational Resources48:17 - Long-Term Support For Calle50:02 - Ramifications Of A Samourai Plea Bargain57:14 - What are your thoughts on Bitcoin losing the Darknet59:26 - DoS Disclosure: LND Onion Bomb1:02:29 - Lugano Trip Report1:03:32 - Ideas and Implementations of Bounties1:06:06 - Ego Death Capital?1:08:12 - Some Thoughts on My Failed SN Recruitment EffortShoutout @Wumbo for time stamps. Zap em!We love the Fountain app for Lightning 2.0 podcasting, Send us a Boost, and we will read it on the next SNL.Find Car on NostrFollow Car on SNRead Thriller BitcoinFollow Thriller on NostrFollow Thriller on Zap.StreamFollow Thriller on YouTubeContribute to ~buildersLearn more about PlebLabFollow Keyan on TwitterFollow Keyan on NostrFollow Keyan on SNFollow Stacker News on NostrLearn more about Stacker News

Why you should listenLearn why mapping out business processes is crucial before implementing technology solutions and how this can lead to more successful projects.Discover the importance of speaking the same language as your clients and building long-term, trust-based relationships.Get insights into integrating platforms like Rootstock with Salesforce to provide comprehensive solutions tailored to specific industries.You're handed a potential client lead but quickly realize there's a significant missing step: the right process. In this episode, I sit down with Jessie Mead, co-founder of Cloud Journey Consulting Group. Jessie shares her extensive experience in the Salesforce ecosystem and her journey from the financial sector to becoming a top Salesforce consultant with over 17 certifications. We delve into the importance of getting business processes before implementing technology solutions and how a tool can make a significant difference. Don't miss this insightful conversation on optimizing your business processes for success.About Jessie MeadJessie Mead has been at the forefront since the early years of the Salesforce platform. Previously serving years as a Marketing Executive in the finance world, Jessie designed and implemented a groundbreaking M&A platform that led to her selection for M&A Advisors 40 under 40. She chose Salesforce as a career, has 17 certifications, and has helped countless businesses succeed with Salesforce. Jessie lives in Dallas. She has a passion for photography and loves to travel at every opportunity.Resources and LinksCloudjourneygroup.comJessie's LinkedIn profilePrevious episode: 542 - 7 Profit Drivers for Tech ConsultantsCheck out more episodes of The Paul Higgins ShowTech Consultant's RoadmapJoin our newsletterJoin the Tech CollectiveSuggested resourcesFind out more about Paul and how he can help youBONUS: Jessie offers complimentary Salesforce/Certinia architecture reviews if you'd like a health check of your current org! Take advantage of this offer by sending Jessie a LinkedIn message and letting her know you heard her podcast episode.

The first thing we noticed at URBNSURF Sydney was that everyone wore a name badge. “Dude maintaining the pool” now has a name (it's Keith by the way.) This simple customer experience measure hints at the kind of changes Jennifer Vandekreeke has in mind for Australia's premier surf park business. In her previous roles, she drove growth for travel and leisure companies, notably Carnival Cruise Lines. Having taken the reins from Damon Tudor, we were curious to find out how Jenn's experience making big, giant boats profitable (hint: wave pools are also just big, expensive pieces of machinery as well) parlay into the world of surf parks.

The Transformation Ground Control podcast covers a number of topics important to digital and business transformation. This episode covers the following topics and interviews:   Oracle's Pressure on Customers to Update License Agreements, Q&A (Darian Chwialkowski, Third Stage Consulting) Software Integration in ERP Implementations (Mark Simon, Celigo) Why Change Management is Overrated   We also cover a number of other relevant topics related to digital and business transformation throughout the show.  

ORDER MY NEW BOOK: The Final Countdown: https://a.co/d/50cqrCB CONTACT MY TEAM & I: https://www.thirdstage-consulting.com/contact-us/ FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: contact@majortom-productions.com

Michael Kannisto runs a think tank called MindemicLab, which utilizes scenario planning, wargame simulation, and predictive modeling to help organizations develop strategies that will be effective across multiple possible futures. Michael began his career as a research chemist, but quickly realized that while molecules always act predictably and consistently, people rarely do. He has spent much of his career in corporate Human Resources exploring the uncertainty that comes along with having humans in the workplace. Large, successful, well-funded organizations frequently experience failure when purchasing technology or implementing new policies. This is mainly the result of unanticipated changes that occur along the way. Michael started MindemicLab as a resource to help others “rehearse” alternative futures, and thus increase their likelihood of success. Prior/ongoing work in this area includes deep dives into The Future of Work, The Future of Early Career Recruiting and The Future of Disability. Plastic Love by Mayiya Takeuchi Virtual HR Technology Conference

Episode Notes Join us this week on TXL as we sit down with Ed Newman, industry expert and author from talentEXP, to explore the transformative concepts outlined in his latest book Phenom Do.  In this episode, he'll address the challenges HR faces when implementing new tech by advocating for a user-centric, experience-first approach. Find out how to win organizational buy-in, leverage AI to augment human capabilities, and navigate common implementation pitfalls. Get notified for all upcoming TXL episodes here: https://info.phenom.com/talent-experience-show-subscribe/

Many organizations going through digital transformations do so because they want to harmonize the systems that they have. But what exactly is system harmonization and what can we do to achieve that? That's what I will be discussing today. #digitalstrategy #digitaltransformation #interoperability ORDER MY NEW BOOK: The Final Countdown: https://thefinalcountdown.com/

We believe in a future of verifiable computation. The modular future cannot exist without zk. After last weeks video asking "Will ZK eat the modular stack?" and realizing its all but guaranteed, we have set out to learn more about how zkVMs and ZK will make an impact. Our focus today centers on how RiscZero utilizes zk proofs and how zkVM works. At the core of RiscZero's mission is the democratization of ZK technology, making it accessible and simpler for everyone. This effort is crucial as it enables the verification of computations in significantly less time than it takes to perform them, fostering scalable cross-verification without redundancy. We discussed the global state layer with regards to zkVM, and how Risc Zero is implemented into different rollup frameworks such as Sovereign Labs. RiscZero's use of the RISC-V architecture streamlines the integration of ZK proofs by allowing developers to leverage existing codebases, which drastically simplifies the development process. ZK isn't so easy to understand, we tried to make it as easy as possible for you. Hope you enjoy. The Rollup 00:00 Introduction 04:12 Intro to zkVMs 06:08 Verifiable Computation 08:49 Development of zkVMs 11:08 Role of RISC-V Chips 12:19 zkVM Impact on Rollups 19:24 Implementations of zkVM 28:49 Lowering Costs of ZK Proofs 45:46 zkVMs in the Modular Stack RISC Zero Website: https://www.risczero.com/ RISC Zero Socials: / risczero

Too often organizations treat digital transformations like a gamble, they're taking big risks without much of a payoff. What is it we need to know about transformation gambling? That's what I will be discussing today. #digitaltransformation #erpsoftware #digitalstrategy ORDER MY NEW BOOK: The Final Countdown: https://thefinalcountdown.com/

Embark on a journey of business transformation with our latest episode of Beyond the Books, where our host Kevin teams up with Nancy, our seasoned Implementation Director, to uncover the secrets behind growth by design. In this illuminating discussion, we dive deep into the dynamic world of custom-fit implementations, unveiling the strategic maneuvers that propel businesses toward unprecedented growth and success. Join us as we dissect every facet of the implementation process, from meticulous resource vetting to strategic allocation, and unwavering support. Through real-world examples and expert insights, we decode the art of seamlessly integrating new systems into your business framework. Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or a budding startup, this episode is your definitive guide to harnessing the power of tailored implementations and steering your business toward limitless possibilities. Tune in now and unlock the blueprint for sustainable growth in the ever-evolving landscape of modern business.

In this episode of the Risk Intel Podcast, we continue the conversation of hidden factories and highlight real-world examples from subject matter experts in risk management, across the banking industry. Today's guest is Cathy Jackson, Director of Implementations for Watchtower, who brings a unique perspective to the table, having experienced hidden factories, both within financial institutions and while assisting in the implementation of enterprise risk management software. Listen in to host Ed Vincent and Cathy Jackson's conversation or read the summary below to learn more. Follow SRA to Learn More.Follow us to stay in the know!

 In the latest episode of the Risk Intel podcast, Beth Nilles, Watchtower's Director of Implementations, sheds light on the pervasive issues of hidden factories within the banking industry. Through a candid discussion with host Ed Vincent, Beth shares her firsthand experiences and insights into the operational challenges faced by financial institutions, particularly in the realm of data management, data analysis, and the time it takes to compile reporting when relying on manual processes. Follow SRA to Learn More.Follow us to stay in the know!

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: The theory of Proximal Policy Optimisation implementations, published by salman.mohammadi on April 11, 2024 on The AI Alignment Forum. Prelude The aim of this post is to share my understanding of some of the conceptual and theoretical background behind implementations of the Proximal Policy Optimisation (PPO) reinforcement learning (RL) algorithm. PPO is widely used due to its stability and sample efficiency - popular applications include beating the Dota 2 world champions and aligning language models. While the PPO paper provides quite a general and straightforward overview of the algorithm, modern implementations of PPO use several additional techniques to achieve state-of-the-art performance in complex environments [1]. You might discover this if you try to implement the algorithm solely based on the paper. I try and present a coherent narrative here around these additional techniques. I'd recommend reading parts one, two, and three of SpinningUp if you're new to reinforcement learning. There's a few longer-form educational resources that I'd recommend if you'd like a broader understanding of the field [2], but this isn't comprehensive. You should be familiar with common concepts and terminology in RL [3]. For clarity, I'll try to spell out any jargon I use here. Recap Policy Gradient Methods PPO is an on-policy reinforcement learning algorithm. It directly learns a stochastic policy function parameterised by θ representing the likelihood of action a in state s, πθ(a|s). Consider that we have some differentiable function, J(θ), which is a continuous performance measure of the policy πθ. In the simplest case, we have J(θ)=Eτπθ[R(τ)], which is known as the return [4] over a trajectory [5], τ. PPO is a kind of policy gradient method [6] which directly optimizes the policy parameters θ against J(θ). The policy gradient theorem shows that: θJ(θ)=E[inft=0θlnπθ(at|st)Rt] In other words, the gradient of our performance measure J(θ) with respect to our policy parameters θ points in the direction of maximising the return Rt. Crucially, this shows that we can estimate the true gradient using an expectation of the sample gradient - the core idea behind the REINFORCE [7] algorithm. This is great. This expression has the more general form which substitutes Rt for some lower-variance estimator of the total expected reward, Φ [8] : θJ(θ)=E[inft=0θlnπθ(at|st)Φt](1) Modern implementations of PPO make the choice of Φt=Aπ(st,at), the advantage function. This function estimates the advantage of a particular action in a given state over the expected value of following the policy, i.e. how much better is taking this action in this state over all other actions? Briefly described here, the advantage function takes the form Aπ(s,a)=Qπ(s,a)Vπ(s) where V(s) is the state-value function, and Q(s,a) is the state-action -value function, or Q-function [9]. I've found it easier to intuit the nuances of PPO by following the narrative around its motivations and predecessor. PPO iterates on the Trust Region Policy Optimization (TRPO) method which constrains the objective function with respect to the size of the policy update. The TRPO objective function is defined as [10][11] : J(θ)=E[πθ(at,st)πθold(at,st)At]subject toE[KL(πθold||πθ)]δ Where KL is the Kullback-Liebler divergence (a measure of distance between two probability distributions), and the size of policy update is defined as the ratio between the new policy and the old policy: r(θ)=πθ(at,st)πθold(at,st) Policy gradient methods optimise policies through (ideally small) iterative gradient updates to parameters θ. The old policy, πθold(at,st), is the one used to generate the current trajectory, and the new policy, πθ(at,st) is the policy currently being optimised [12]. If the advantage is positive, then the new policy becomes greedier relative ...

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is one of the most common and most popular ERP systems in the marketplace, but what exactly is Microsoft D365 and what is the training your organization needs in order to be successful in their initiatives? That's what I will be discussing in today's training course. #dynamics365 #dynamics365businesscentral #dynamics365 I have broken out each section I will be covering for easy reference: 00:00:00 Introduction / Course Overview 00:02:18 What is Microsoft D365? 00:11:48 Review of Microsoft D365 00:23:19 Strengths of Microsoft D365 00:31:36 Comparison to SAP S/4HANA and Oracle Cloud ERP 00:43:20 Microsoft's Sure Step Implementation Methodology 00:55:10 Biggest D365 Implementation Risks 01:06:38 Preparing for Implementation 01:31:18 Finding the Best D365 Implementers 01:45:53 Lessons from Successful D365 Implementations ORDER MY NEW BOOK: The Final Countdown: https://a.co/d/50cqrCB CONTACT MY TEAM & I: https://www.thirdstage-consulting.com/contact-us/ FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: contact@majortom-productions.com

ERP software vendors are all talking about Artificial intelligence. AI is currently the hottest topic in the enterprise tech space, but is AI a real thing and how does it affect ERP software? That's what I will be discussing today. #ai #chatgpt #erpsoftware ORDER MY NEW BOOK: The Final Countdown: https://a.co/d/50cqrCB CONTACT MY TEAM & I: https://www.thirdstage-consulting.com/contact-us/ FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: contact@majortom-productions.com

Business Requirements are the foundation for any sort of digital transformation or ERP implementation, but what exactly are business requirements and how are they used throughout successful digital transformations? That's what I will be discussing today. #businessprocesses #erpimplementation #digitaltransformation ORDER MY NEW BOOK: The Final Countdown: https://thefinalcountdown.com/

The Transformation Ground Control podcast covers a number of topics important to digital and business transformation. This episode covers the following topics and interviews: Google's AI Controversy, Q&A (Darian Chwialkowski, Third Stage Consulting) Executive Involvement in Digital Transformation (Bruce Siegel, Karrikins Group) How AI is Affecting Digital Transformations We also cover a number of other relevant topics related to digital and business transformation throughout the show. Contact My Team And I: https://www.thirdstage-consulting.com/contact-us/ For Sponsorship Opportunities: contact@majortom-productions.com  

The Transformation Ground Control podcast covers a number of topics important to digital and business transformation. This episode covers the following topics and interviews: SAP S/4HANA vs Oracle Fusion, Q&A Business Process Management in ERP Implementations (JJ Vossen, CEO, Mavim) The Future of Digital Transformations   We also cover a number of other relevant topics related to digital and business transformation throughout the show. This weekly podcast series premiers live on YouTube every Wednesday at 8am New York/1pm London/9pm Hong Kong. You can also subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, Pandora, or your favorite podcast platform.   Register here

The Transformation Ground Control podcast covers a number of topics important to digital and business transformation. This episode covers the following topics and interviews: Artificial Intelligence and the NFL and Developing Countries, Q&A (Darian Chwialkowski, Third Stage Consulting) Change Management for ERP Implementations (Julia Joyce & Sara Stanley-Smith, Third Stage Consulting Europe) Lessons from ERP Failures & Lawsuits   We also cover a number of other relevant topics related to digital and business transformation throughout the show. This weekly podcast series premiers live on YouTube every Wednesday at 8am New York/1pm London/9pm Hong Kong. You can also subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, Pandora, or your favorite podcast platform.   Register here

The Transformation Ground Control podcast covers a number of topics important to digital and business transformation. This episode covers the following topics and interviews: Various Case Studies Behind Project Failures Including Target, Hershey's, Revlon, Haribo and Lidl Why ERP Implementations Fail (John Belden, UpperEdge) Why SAP Implementations Fail (Kyler Cheatham and Wayne Holtam, Third Stage Consulting)   We also cover a number of other relevant topics related to digital and business transformation throughout the show. This weekly podcast series premiers live on YouTube every Wednesday at 8am New York/1pm London/9pm Hong Kong. You can also subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, Pandora, or your favorite podcast platform.   Register here