#153 From Data Literacy to AI Literacy with Cindi Howson, Chief Data Strategy Officer at ThoughtSpot

For the past few years, we've seen the importance of data literacy and why organizations must invest in a data-driven culture, mindset, and skillset. However, as generative AI tools like ChatGPT have risen to prominence in the past year, AI literacy has never been more important. But how do we begin to approach AI literacy? Is it an extension of data literacy, a complement, or a new paradigm altogether? How should you get started on your AI literacy ambitions? 

Cindi Howson is the Chief Data Strategy Officer at ThoughtSpot and host of The Data Chief podcast. Cindi is a data analytics, AI, and BI thought leader and an expert with a flair for bridging business needs with technology. As Chief Data Strategy Officer at ThoughtSpot, she advises top clients on data strategy and best practices to become data-driven, speaks internationally on top trends such as AI ethics, and influences ThoughtSpot’s product strategy.

Cindi was previously a Gartner Research Vice President, the lead author for the data and analytics maturity model and analytics and BI Magic Quadrant, and a popular keynote speaker. She introduced new research in data and AI for good, NLP/BI Search, and augmented analytics, bringing both BI bake-offs and innovation panels to Gartner globally. She’s frequently quoted in MIT, Harvard Business Review, and Information Week. She is rated a top 12 influencer in big data and analytics by Analytics Insight, Onalytca, Solutions Review, and Humans of Data.

In the episode, Cindi and Adel discuss how generative AI accelerates an organization’s data literacy, how leaders can think beyond data literacy and start to think about AI literacy, the importance of responsible use of AI, how to best communicate the value of AI within your organization, what generative AI means for data teams, AI use-cases in the data space, the psychological barriers blocking AI adoption, and much more. 

Links Mentioned in the Show:

The Data Chief Podcast 

ThoughtSpot Sage 

BloombergGPT 

Radar: Data & AI Literacy

Course: AI Ethics 

Course: Generative AI Concepts

Course: Implementing AI Solutions in Business