The AIX Factor

Dawn Kovach is VP of Business Development at MeBeBot.com,  an AI-powered assistant that delivers instant, accurate answers to employee and manager questions, improving communication and simplifying processes. MeBeBot is integrated into knowledge-based systems like SharePoint and your communications systems like Slack, MS Teams, and Web Chat, providing 24/7 access for HR, IT, Operational, and Sales Enablement questions, enabling HR and all units of the organization to spend more time focusing on more strategic business objectives. As a bonus, we will also talk about Dawn’s parallel life as a writer, with a special interest in  Shakespeare - his work and his life - and how she balances her role with MeBeBot and her writing. We discuss:    The gap in the market that MeBeBot fills; how MeBeBot works, and what it takes to be fully functional within an organization.    As their technology integrates with an organization’s communications systems, how do they address privacy concerns?  The need for HR to adapt to the increasing role of AI in the organization, acknowledging that it may be challenging for HR to embrace this change; why HR must align their needs, concerns, and goals with other departments - IT, operations, and finance - to get buy-in.   What HR leaders need to know to evaluate AI Vendors.  Dawn’s parallel life as a writer: authors she most admires and books she’s written.

Our conversation with Patrick Sullivan, VP of Strategy and Innovation at A-LIGN, a leading provider of cybersecurity and compliance solutions, was one of the more wide-ranging and provocative ones that we’ve had. Patrick brings over 25 years of experience in the IT security and compliance space, is a TEDx Speaker, a member of the Forbes Technology Council,  and is a self-described AI Ethicist. We discussed:  “Systems thinking”:  how AI needs to be thought of in a broader social context in which everything is connected - change one thing and everything is affected, even if those things are not immediately visible.  How organizations need to think about - and manage - change: how the four domains in organizational systems - people, process, technology, and the organization itself - need to interconnect;   the ADKAR model for implementing change, which involves creating awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement among employees.   Carol Dweck's concept of fixed versus growth mindsets, with Patrick emphasizing the benefits of a growth mindset in business and personal development.  Balancing compliance and innovation in the context of AI implementation.  AIX is about raising your “AIQ,” which we define as knowing what questions to ask. Patrick discusses the one question he is not asked enough. What it means to be an “AI ethicist” and the importance of ensuring that AI systems produce desired behaviors while maintaining individual agency in decision-making.  ISO 56001, a structured framework for organizations to think about and consistently approach innovation (we need to have a pod exclusively on this).  Patrick’s colorful - and apt! - NBA analogy in describing differences in how Europe views AI regulation and how we view it here in the US.  Bag Check: Patrick shares his go-to AI tools, which may surprise you.

Eric discusses his go-to AI tools - he emphasizes the importance of scientific literacy and critical thinking when evaluating AI tools and marketing claims. He explains why he likes Perplexity for research, and an AI-driven OCR (optical character recognition) tool that works! (OCR tech has come a long way from the semi-legible text these tools used to produce). Vero AI is dedicated to helping companies understand AI and other algorithmic solutions. This episode of Bag Check was excerpted from a previous interview: Vero AI’s Instrumental Role in Delivering AI-Augmented Compliance.  

“It’s not the lack of candidates that’s the problem, it’s a process problem.” On this week’s AIX Factor, we spoke with Jonathan Duarte, the Founder and CEO of GoHire, the leading provider of Apply-by-Text solutions that help companies hire high-volume, mobile-first frontline workers. For the last 25+ years, Jonathan has been building Recruitment and HR Technology focused on candidate acquisition, engagement, and recruitment marketing. He joined us from his HQ in San Francisco to discuss:  How his BA in History directly relates to his HR work.   His start as a financial analyst at Aspen Skiing Company, to doing ERP implementations for Gateway, to founding GoHire, and his early experiments with chatbot technology in 2016.   Background on GoHire - how it works, gaps in the market that they  fill.   The definition of “conversational recruiting.”  “It’s not the lack of candidates that’s the problem, it’s a process problem.” How to use multi-channel messaging and AI agents to reach out to candidates more efficiently.  Takeaways from HR.com’s HRWest event in Oakland - the response to his talk on” HR navigating evolving challenges and tech.”  The importance of playing with AI tools creatively before using them professionally.  Bag Check: Jonathan shares his go-to AI tools.  

Mark Wyatt is the founder and CEO of Quantiv Group, a consulting company dedicated to helping other tech firms improve their sales and marketing processes using an agile approach. Mark is the “serial entrepreneur’s entrepreneur”, having founded six companies, two of which were acquired. We discuss:  What drives someone to start six companies, the benefits of “failing fast,” and what he’s learned.  What Quantiv does to improve their sales and marketing processes using an agile approach (making them repeatable, definable, and improvable with data analytics).  How Quantiv integrates AI into its solutions.  What “AI-first business transformation” means, and what it looks like.   Comparing the pervasive nature of AI to the early days of the Internet prompts a nostalgic trip down memory lane - don’t worry, it’s brief.  Bag Check: Mark shares his go-to AI tools. 

Sri Chellappa is CEO and Co-Founder, Engagedly, an AI-enabled people strategy platform that redefines performance appraisals by simplifying and incorporating elements of employee engagement and development into the performance review process. Sri brings over 20 years of experience leading organizations in software development and consulting,  which includes managing teams at EY and Capgemini. We discuss:  His movie-making background - Sri has written and directed seven movies: two documentaries, and five feature films (the Coen Bros. are an influence).  The gaps in the marketplace that led him to start Engagedly 10 years ago.  How Engagedly “transforms the way talent is managed.” The question/s HR people most often ask.  The biggest challenges in managing talent over the next 12 months. His 2024 book, Into the Blue: Implementing Ikigai Philosophy to Create a Meaningful Workplace.  Bag Check: Sri discusses his go-to AI tools. 

Eric Sydell is Co-founder and CEO of Vero AI, a firm dedicated to helping companies understand AI and other algorithmic solutions. Eric has a Ph.D in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, and is an experienced Consultant, R&D Leader, and Entrepreneur in the staffing and recruiting industry. Topics we discuss include:  With several guitars visible in his office, we couldn’t resist spending the first five-plus minutes discussing Eric’s guitar-making hobby - the challenges of crafting playable instruments and his dedication to perfecting the process.   Eric’s career journey, from I/O to AI.    The gaps in the audit/compliance marketplace that led to the founding of Vero AI.  How Vero works as a compliance/governance risk compliance (GRC) tool to assist human auditors in processes like ISO 27001 and Sarbanes-Oxley. (Eric insists on the need to ensure human-centricity.)   The current state of AI regulation, the importance of scientific literacy in evaluating AI tools, and the opportunities/challenges of the rapid evolution of AI and large language models. Other planned applications of Vero’s technology beyond compliance.  Bag Check:  Eric shares his go-to AI tools.   

Genevieve Bartuski is a licensed psychologist who brings a unique perspective to the intersection of psychology, privacy, and AI governance.  In her private practice, she focuses on clinical work, addressing severe and persistent mental illness, as well as family and relationship dynamics. She also leads a boutique consulting firm that applies behavioral science to privacy compliance and AI governance. Her approach helps organizations navigate ethical AI development, data protection challenges, and the broader impact of technology on human behavior and organizational culture. Her background in clinical forensic psychology, her work at a maximum security prison, and as a hostage negotiator. How a psychologist ends up in privacy and AI governance consulting.  The impact of digital environments - particularly AI - on the psychological well-being of today’s workforces.. The emergence and spread of “therapy bots” and their critical shortcomings:  lack of transparency, inability to fulfill “duty to warn” obligations when a patient expresses suicidal ideation,  etc.  The problem of Shadow AI and how to manage/decrease it (hint: through education and a deeper dive into why individuals need such “extracurricular” tools - is it a sign of being overwhelmed, stressed?)  How behavioral psychology applies to privacy compliance and AI governance  Bag Check: Genevieve shares her go-to AI tools.  Bonus chat: Genevieve joins the podcast from southwest Virginia, near the Tennessee and North Carolina borders…two hours from Dollywood, a popular destination for Genevieve and her family over the years. We discuss Dollywood, pay our respects to the recently passed Carl Dean, and pay homage to the queen herself.  

Faisal Hoque is an award-winning entrepreneur, world-renowned technologist, tech executive, and best-selling author with over three decades of experience working with leadership at some of the world's most iconic - and complex - organizations. Faisal goes deep into his impressively deep bag of AI "tricks." (Go here for the full conversation - from his inspiring personal journey to why "persona management" will be a thing in 2025.)  

Dr. Anna Tavis is a Clinical Professor and Chair of the Human Capital Management Department at the NYU School of Professional Studies, where she leads MS degree and certificate programs in Human Capital Management. She is also the co-author of Humans at Work: The Art and Practice of Creating the Hybrid Workplace and the newly released bestseller The Digital Coaching Revolution—a must-read for professionals navigating AI-driven coaching, digital assistants, and personalized learning in the age of automation. This week I'm joined by my cohost, straight outta Tokyo, Mr. Michael Piker, VP, Global Total Rewards for Shiseido, the global beauty giant. We discuss:  How Anna has managed to navigate leadership roles in the corporate sector and academia.  The one or two indispensable characteristics leaders across all sectors need to be effective in this environment.    The evolution of human capital management over the years (with shout-outs to Peter Drucker, Milton Friedman and neoliberalism’s influence, etc. )  Her latest book, The Digital Coaching Revolution, which explores AI-driven coaching.     As agentic AI matures and takes its place in the organization, what must leaders do to keep employees in harmony with their robot cohort?  Why Anna urges HR people to learn to code - yes, you heard that right! HR people should learn to code.  Advice Anna gives to young people early in their HR careers as they navigate this new world of AI-augmented work.  Class is in session!