Malcolm Gladwell and Ric Lewis, IBM’s Senior Vice President of Infrastructure, discuss the importance of infrastructure in unlocking the potential of AI.

Malcolm Gladwell sits down with Jason Kelley, GM, Strategic Partners and Ecosystems at IBM, and Kristy Friedrichs, SVP and Chief Partnership Officer at Palo Alto Networks, to discuss the challenges and opportunities that AI brings to the cybersecurity space.

In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Rebecca Finlay, CEO of Partnership on AI, discusses the importance of advancing AI innovation with openness and ethics at the forefront.

In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Jacob Goldstein sat down with Maryam Ashoori, the Director of Product Management and Head of Product for IBM’s watsonx.ai, where she spearheads the product strategy and delivery of IBM’s watsonx Foundation Models. Together, they explored the shift from large general-purpose AI models to smaller, customizable models tailored to specific needs.

When students and teachers embrace this technology, it has the ability to democratize access to education through programs like IBM SkillsBuild. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Dr. Laurie Santos, host of Pushkin’s The Happiness Lab podcast, spoke with Justina Nixon-Saintil,  Vice President and Chief Impact Officer, IBM Corporate Social Responsibility, and April Dawson, Associate Dean of Technology and Innovation and a professor of law. They discuss the importance of lifelong learning, upskilling, and the ethical implications of AI in education.

In a rapidly evolving AI landscape, open-source models can further accelerate the pace of progress and help expand access to all. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell sits down with Mo Duffy, Software Engineering Manager at Red Hat.

As AI technology progresses, its impact on our daily lives—including how we consume our favorite sports— will grow alongside it. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Jacob Goldstein, host of Pushkin’s own What’s Your Problem? sat down with Brian Ryerson, Senior Director of Digital Strategy at the US Tennis Association. They discuss the impact of data on the fan experience, the role that storytelling plays in sports, and how AI has unlocked innovative features, such as AI Commentary and Match Reports.

In a rapidly evolving world, we need to balance the fear surrounding AI and its role in the workplace with its potential to drive productivity growth. In this special live episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell is joined onstage by Rob Thomas, Senior Vice President of Software and Chief Commercial Officer at IBM, during NY Tech Week. They discuss “the productivity paradox,” the importance of open-source AI, and a future where AI will touch every industry.

Entire industries are being reshaped around the new capabilities of generative AI. In this special bonus episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Tim Harford leads a conversation between two leaders in the field. Srinivasan Venkatarajan is the Director of Global Partner Business at Microsoft, focusing on Azure Data & AI and Azure OpenAI. And Chris McGuire is the General Manager of the Global Microsoft Partnership for IBM.

As artificial intelligence progresses, healthcare providers are exploring how the technology can be used to offer personalized care at scale. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Dr. Laurie Santos sits down with Alice Crisci, co-founder and CEO of fertility-care provider Ovum Health.

The capabilities of artificial intelligence are increasing at a breakneck speed. Companies must leverage generative AI to transform everyday customer and employee experiences. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Jacob Goldstein sits down with Susan Emerson, Senior Vice President of Product: AI, Analytics & Data at Salesforce & Matthew Candy, Global Managing Partner of Generative AI at IBM Consulting.

In order to stay competitive in a rapidly changing marketplace, businesses need to adapt to the potential of generative AI. In this special live episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell is joined onstage at iHeartMedia’s studio by Dr. Darío Gil, Senior Vice President and Director of Research at IBM. They chat about the evolution of AI, give examples of practical uses, and discuss how businesses can create value through cutting edge technology.

To deploy responsible AI and build trust with customers, businesses need to prioritize AI governance. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell and Laurie Santos discuss AI accountability with Christina Montgomery, Chief Privacy and Trust Officer at IBM. They chat about AI regulation, what compliance means in the AI age, and why transparent AI governance is good for business.

Open-source innovation is the future of AI. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell and Tim Harford discuss the open-source AI community with Jeff Boudier, head of product and growth at Hugging Face. They chat about the history and future of open-source AI, its critical importance to AI progress, the IBM watsonx partnership with Hugging Face, and how businesses can leverage open-source AI for their specific needs.

Major breakthroughs in artificial intelligence research often reshape the design and utility of AI in both business and society. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell and Jacob Goldstein explore the conceptual underpinnings of modern AI with Dr. David Cox, VP of AI Models at IBM Research. They talk foundation models, self-supervised machine learning, and the practical applications of AI and data platforms like watsonx in business and technology.

As businesses adopt AI, a new era of problem-solving, innovation, and creative decision making can be brought to scale. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell and Jacob Goldstein explore the future of AI for business with Kareem Yusuf, Senior Vice President of Product Management and Growth for IBM Software. They discuss the advent of foundation models, how AI can transform data storage and decision making, and how next-generation AI platforms like watsonx from IBM can empower businesses to use AI at scale.

Education has the power to show students a path they had never considered before. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell and Dr. Laurie Santos take on tech education at HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) with Dr. Derrick Warren, Dean of the College of Business at Grambling State University (former Associate Dean at the Southern University College of Business). They talk about the partnership between IBM SkillsBuild and Southern University to co-create a cybersecurity leadership center for HBCU students and discuss how exposure to first-experiences inspires creativity.

After a historic 355 days in orbit, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei returned to Earth on March 30, 2022, breaking the record for the longest single spaceflight by an American. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell and Mark Vande Hei discuss conducting experiments in space, the impact of extended spaceflight on humans, and the spiciness of space chili peppers.

The Salesforce platform can empower businesspeople to create digital solutions without writing code. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell takes on this topic with Jacob Goldstein, host of What’s Your Problem?, and guest Phil Weinmeister, Head of Product, Salesforce Americas, at IBM. They discuss human-centric design, the low-code/no-code approach, and how IBM Consulting powers digital transformations with the Salesforce platform.

Having a good data strategy can streamline the way a company does business. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell takes on this topic with Ronald Young Jr., host of Solvable, and guest Nicholas Renotte, Data Science and AI Technical Specialist at IBM. They discuss how data literacy can help make a business more efficient, the fundamentals of data management, and why data is step one to AI solutions.

Intelligent automation can help combat the human biases that can lead to discriminatory hiring practices. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell takes on this topic with Jacob Goldstein, host of What’s Your Problem?, and guest Angela Hood, founder and CEO of ThisWay Global. They discuss how intelligent automation can accelerate inclusive hiring practices, why machines can mitigate bias but not remove it, and why diverse companies are more competitive.

Sustainable supply chains are good for the planet and good for business. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell takes on this topic with Tim Harford, host of Cautionary Tales, and guest Sheri Hinish, IBM’s Global Sustainability Services Leader and Offering Leader for Sustainable Supply Chain, known as the “supply-chain queen.” They discuss the supply-chain crisis and why transparent, responsible supply chains are imperative for our future.

In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell takes on this topic with Lauren Ober, host of The Loudest Girl in the World, and guests Brett Phaneuf and Don Scott, the engineers behind the Mayflower Autonomous Ship project. The two explain how automation and AI allowed them to reimagine the design and use of a ship at sea and their implications beyond maritime navigation.

The headlines tell us cyberattacks are a big, consistent threat to business data – and ours. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell takes on this topic with Tim Harford, host of Cautionary Tales, and Stephanie “Snow” Carruthers, Chief People Hacker for X-Force, IBM. Snow and her team are finding creative solutions to test their clients’ security, including hacking into their systems before criminal hackers do.

Advocating for artificial intelligence to be built and deployed ethically is no longer just a compliance issue but more of a business imperative. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell takes on this topic with Dr. Laurie Santos, host of The Happiness Lab, and Phaedra Boinodiris, Trust in AI Practice Leader within IBM Consulting. Phaedra’s team at IBM is creatively tackling the global need to build trustworthy AI by approaching the challenge holistically, implementing design thinking to address problems before they arise.

Historically, there have been cultural biases that have complicated the home-buying process and made home ownership difficult for those in disadvantaged and underserved communities. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm takes on this subject with Jacob Goldstein, host of What’s Your Problem?, and Bryan Young and Steven Better, the cofounders of Home Lending Pal. These two visionaries are using IBM technology, including AI, blockchain and cloud, to create a home-loan process that’s more transparent, secure and equitable.

Global supply chains have made headlines this year, with businesses in every industry and consumers all experiencing unprecedented volatility. How can companies stabilize this boundless bullwhip? In this episode of Smart Talks, Malcolm talks to Jonathan Wright, Global Managing Partner for Supply Chain Consulting at IBM, about demand forecasting and other technologies that manufacturers and vendors are using to make their supply chains more resilient. This is a paid advertisement from IBM.

Today, consumers, businesses, and governments are united in their sense of urgency about the sustainability of the planet. But how do we go about achieving it? In this episode of Smart Talks, Malcolm talks to Marc Rolfe, Senior Vice President and Head of Strategic Partners Ecosystem Success at SAP, and Jason Kelley, General Manager, IBM Strategic Partners, about how strategic partnerships between companies can create a larger industry shift toward sustainability.

Creating trust and transparency in AI isn’t just a business requirement, it’s a social responsibility. In this episode of Smart Talks, Malcolm talks to Christina Montgomery, IBM's Chief Privacy Officer and AI Ethics Board Co-Chair, and Dr. Seth Dobrin, Global Chief AI Officer, about IBM’s approach to AI and how it’s helping businesses transform the way they work with AI systems that are fair and address bias so AI can benefit everyone, not just a few.

Over the next decade, quantum computing has the potential to revolutionize the way we work and live. In this episode of Smart Talks, Malcolm talks to Dr. Darío Gil, Senior Vice President and Director of IBM Research, about quantum computing and its potential to accelerate discovery and development.

The world is hitting a data tipping point where vast connectivity requires massive network capacity. In this episode of Smart Talks, Malcolm Gladwell talks to David Shacochis, Vice President for Enterprise Technology and Field CTO at Lumen, and Howard Boville, Head of IBM Cloud Platform, about how hybrid cloud is serving as a catalyst for innovation in a world where computing can and must happen everywhere: private clouds, public clouds, the edge of the network.

In this episode, Malcolm Gladwell shares an interview from the Smart Talks archives. Jonathan Strickland speaks with Jason Kelley, a senior leader at IBM, about what blockchain is, how it’s transforming global supply chains with respect to the pandemic, and the broader implications for these trusted transactions.

In this episode of Smart Talks, Malcolm talks to Jim Whitehurst, senior advisor at IBM and an expert in open-source software and innovation. During their conversation, Jim reveals how embracing moments that initially feel like chaos can ultimately lead to more open organizations and broader access to new ideas.

Remote working has kept many businesses afloat over the last year, but has it kept employees productive, enthusiastic, and inspired? In this special episode of Smart Talks, recorded at IBM’s Think Conference, Malcolm spars with his longtime friend Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist and professor at the Wharton School, about what we’ve learned through remote working and how businesses can approach a hybrid model. Can we, and should we, return to “normal”?

In a time that’s been challenging for everyone, perhaps no other industry has been hit harder than healthcare. Anthem, one of America’s leading health benefits companies, needed to be ready to answer member questions at a moment’s notice. In this episode of Smart Talks, Malcolm talks to Anil Bhatt, Senior Vice President and CTO of Anthem, and Glenn Finch, Managing Partner of Global Business Services at IBM, about how AI is helping people interact with healthcare in a whole new way.

Today, women represent approximately 22% of the AI workforce. But IBM is out to change that by increasing diversity not just in hiring but through programs such as Women Leaders in AI that celebrate diversity in the field. In this episode of Smart Talks, Malcolm Gladwell talks to IBM’s new SVP & CMO, Carla Piñeyro Sublett, and Chimka Munkhbayar, co-founder of Agrolly, about their challenges, achievements, and the steps they’re taking to create a more inclusive tech world.

As one of the nation’s largest wireless communication providers, over 120 million subscribers count on Verizon to stay connected, but we’re not just talking about phones. Today, Verizon and IBM are working together to better connect entire industries. In this episode of Smart Talks, Malcolm talks to Srini Kalapala VP, Global Technology, Strategy and Network Cloud at Verizon and Steve Canepa, Global GM & Managing Director of IBM’s Communications Sector about how 5G, Edge Computing and AI will reshape the way work gets done.

With hybrid cloud and AI, businesses today can challenge the limits of how they put their data to work across the organization. In this episode of Smart Talks, Malcolm talks to Rob Thomas, SVP Cloud and Data Platform at IBM about what’s possible, and the steps businesses can take to access more of their data to help them make more informed decisions.

This episode is no longer available. We encourage you to explore other episodes from Smart Talks with IBM.

It’s paramount for businesses in any sector to have visibility into their supply chain. In this episode of Smart Talks, Jonathan Strickland talks with Jason Kelley, General Manager of Blockchain at IBM, about what blockchain is, how it’s transforming global supply chains with respect to the pandemic, and the broader implications for these trusted transactions.

To improve the diversity in the tech industry and racial tolerance in the country, we need novel, tangible ideas. In this episode of Smart Talks, Jonathan Strickland talks with IBM Distinguished Engineers Dale Davis Jones and Lysa Banks, along with Creative Architect Britni Lonesome, about their involvement with the Call for Code for Racial Justice effort and how listeners can get involved with the tech solutions they're developing.

Robert and Joe talk with IBM's Joel Mangan, Executive Director of P-TECH, and recent P-TECH graduates Suyhalia Karim-Doran and Eric Cholula-Martinez about how P-TECH, a groundbreaking public education model, is addressing education and workforce development challenges for underserved students.

How can advertising evolve to respect the growing privacy concerns of consumers? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the future of artificial intelligence in digital advertising with Sheri Bachstein, Global Head of Watson Advertising and The Weather Company, an IBM Business.

Human trafficking to create slave labor has persisted globally for centuries, devastating the lives of millions, and frustrating those who work tirelessly to end it. On today's episode, John McGrath, Sr. Solution Architect at IBM, and Neil Giles, CEO of the Traffik Analysis Hub, discuss how the IBM Cloud-based Hub, powered by IBM Watson helps organizations securely share and analyze data to help curb modern human slavery.

COVID-19 has shined a spotlight on the already pressing disparities in public health. In this episode of Tech Stuff, Jonathan Strickland chats with Dr. Kyu Rhee, Chief Health Officer at IBM, and Dr. Irene Dankwa-Mullan, Deputy Chief Health Officer of IBM Watson Health, about how data and technology are helping to address these issues during the pandemic and beyond.

While the world struggles with the chaotic realities of COVID-19, cybercriminals are pouncing. In this episode of Tech Stuff, Jonathan Strickland chats with Wendi Whitmore, VP of IBM Security X-Force Threat Intelligence, and Allison Ritter, Program Leader, IBM Security Command Center, about how they are helping businesses stay prepared and resilient within a rapidly evolving threat landscape.

This episode is no longer available. We encourage you to explore other episodes from Smart Talks with IBM.

Project Debater is the first AI system that can debate humans on complex topics, with a larger ambition of helping people build persuasive arguments and make well-informed decisions. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe chat with Project Debater Lead Researcher, Noam Slonim and IBM VP for Data and AI, Madhu Kochar.

How is AI helping organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the topic with Ritika Gunnar, Vice President of IBM’s Data and AI Expert Labs and Learning, and Jay Bellissimo, IBM’s General Manager for the U.S. Public and Federal Market.

The supply chain is vital to life in the modern world, and the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted this flow of goods and materials to a considerable degree. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe chat with IBM Global Managing Director for Consumer Industries Luq Niazi and Partner at the Consumer Center of Competence (CoC) at IBM Karl Haller.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of people into a new lifestyle and raised many challenges. Among those are how do we pursue learning from home? How can technology help us when we can't leave the house? Kristin Wisnewski and Grace Suh join the show to talk about initiatives designed to help students learn in our new remote reality.

How is technology playing a role in the search for an effective treatment for COVID-19? Dave Turek of IBM joins the podcast to talk about how high performance computing can help speed up the process.

Cameron Clayton, the General Manager of IBM Cloud Ecosystem and of The Weather Company, an IBM business, joins the show to talk about how artificial intelligence and cloud computing provide the horsepower needed to provide localized tracking tools for the COVID-19 outbreak.

In the first episode of the Smart Talks series, Jonathan talks with Bryan Knouse of Project OWL, winner of IBM's Call for Code, and Alisa Maclin of IBM, to learn about how mesh networks can help restore communications to areas devastated by natural disasters.