On the 50th episode of Enterprise AI Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (Abnormal Security) and Saam Motamedi (Greylock Partners) talk with Sesh Tirumala, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Western Digital. Western Digital is one of the world's largest data storage manufacturers, with over 51,000 employees, 13,000 patents, and $13 billion in annual revenue. From enterprise data centers to high-performance hard drives for creative professionals, Western Digital has been a storage pioneer for over 50 years. In this conversation, Sesh offers insights into practical applications of AI in enterprise productivity, the critical role of IT in global manufacturing, and the future of IT architecture to enable business transformation.

Quick hits from Sesh:

On AI’s ability to reduce enterprise dependencies on meetings: “We all have this fear of missing out and we try to attend all meetings. What if you told your staff, ‘You don't need to, here's just a snippet that you need to know.’ 90% of the meetings are generally non action driven, so boring and monotonous. You can spare a lot of people from pain, I see value in that.

On the current direction of AI and enterprise data: “If your sales data, procurement data, and contract data are all connected, your system should be able to tell a sales rep, ‘Take this action because your customer is about to churn.’”

On the importance of experimenting with new AI solutions: “You need to jump in and not wait, because if you wait for too long, then you're going to be irrelevant. So, it's important to get your teams to test out of the box solutions. Because I think data is going to be the ultimate differentiator, both from a cost and connective tissue perspective.”

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Enterprise AI Innovators is a show where top technology executives share how AI is transforming the enterprise. Each episode covers the real-world applications of AI, from improving products and optimizing operations to redefining the customer experience.

Find more great insights from technology leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/

Enterprise AI Innovators is produced by Josh Meer.

On the 49th episode of Enterprise AI Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (Abnormal Security) and Saam Motamedi (Greylock Partners) talk with Vineet Khosla, Chief Technology Officer of The Washington Post. The Washington Post is the third-largest newspaper in the United States, with 135,000 print subscribers and 2 and half million digital subscribers. In this conversation, Vineet shares his thoughts on the mainstream integration of AI technology, the transformative impact of AI on journalism, and the future of personalized news delivery.

Quick hits from Vineet:

On proof that AI is having a true impact on our lives: “The Nobel Prize for Physics went to Geoffrey Hinton. The Nobel Prize for chemistry went to Demis Hassabis, the deep mind. This is the first time we’re seeing the top prize in physics and chemistry go to people who created an AI which solved a problem in that field. It is the AI they invented that did such a commendable job that other people were forced to recognize their achievement as being top notch.”

On the impact AI has on human creative roles: “So when these AI models start to be creative, it is understandable everyone's afraid. Let's put that as the baseline and say this is not wrong. It doesn't make anybody bad. But slowly and the way we're doing it with creative tools is that we want AI to do the part of your job that you shouldn't have been doing anyways, and you start to see a change in people's behavior, their hearts and minds. And of course, some people will move faster than others. But when they see the actual benefit, the skeptics will come around and use it to their power.”

On encouraging Productivity and creativity through AI tools: “You give people these tools, let them be productive, let them go on their journey, and you encourage them. You obviously give really good use cases. Like I said, when I was writing code recently, I got the AI to write me most of my unit tests because as an engineer, I hate that. And I know they're super important. There is no way I will check in code without it, but I hate writing them. Now that time gets freed up.”

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Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Enterprise AI Innovators is a show where top technology executives share how AI is transforming the enterprise. Each episode covers the real-world applications of AI, from improving products and optimizing operations to redefining the customer experience.

Find more great insights from technology leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/

Enterprise AI Innovators is produced by Josh Meer.

On the 48th episode of Enterprise AI Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (Abnormal Security) and Saam Motamedi (Greylock Partners) talk with Sathish Muthukrishnan, Chief Information, Data, and Digital Officer of Ally Financial. Ally is an American bank holding company, with over $8 billion in annual revenue and over 11,000 employees. The company provides auto financing, mortgage loans, banking, and other financial services to 11 million customers across the United States. In this conversation, Sathish explores Ally’s groundbreaking journey from mainframes to AI-powered banking, the game-changing role of generative AI in customer support, and his predictions for how AI will redefine personal banking in the years to come.

Producer’s note: This episode was recorded in August of 2024.

Quick hits from Satish:

On the rules for engaging with Gen AI: “Gen AI is new and fast evolving. Like any new technology, there are risks that you have to tackle. We came up with guiding principles for how we use AI: One, let's build use cases that face our internal customers as the technology evolves. Two, there should always be a human in the middle. And three, we cannot allow sensitive information to leave Ally.”

On the necessary data journey to unlock AI’s potential: “AI is having its moment because of the convergence of other hype cycles that have happened. Whether that’s data, cloud, native app development, or any technology investments. If you went through the data journey, and you have cloud enabled, you've made it findable, and you've made it easy to compute the data, now you have the ability to access the data and use the insights, and you can take advantage of this AI explosion.”

On the importance of staying up to date with new technology: “Do not forget to experiment. Do not be afraid of the fast evolving technology. Continue to experiment, have your team be empowered. Whether it’s on the offensive or defensive side, it's extremely important for you to be prepared. You need to continue familiarizing yourself with new technology so you can be prepared.”

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Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Enterprise Software Innovators is a show where top tech executives share how they innovate at scale. Each episode covers unique insights and stories that will help you succeed as a technology leader. Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/

Enterprise Software Innovators is produced by Luke Reiser & Josh Meer.