Leading the Shift

Would it surprise you that some of the most impressive generative AI innovations are happening in older, larger, highly regulated industries such as financial services? Christina Pieretti, GM of digital insights at Moody's, shares how her team-built Research Assistant, a first-of-its-kind search and analytical tool powered by generative AI. Since its launch in December 2023, Research Assistant is the product with the fastest adoption to date in Moody's history. Christina shares how Moody’s considered the opportunities of generative AI, how they engaged deeply with customers during the development process, and how they centered trust from the start—all best practices for building innovative and trustworthy products.

Guest: Cristina Pieretti | Moody's

Learn more about Research Assistant: How GenAI is rewiring financial services

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Host: Susan Etlinger

The Leading the Shift podcast is a place for experts to share their insights and opinions. As students of the future of technology, Microsoft values inputs from a diverse set of voices. That said, the opinions and findings of our guests are their own and they may not necessarily reflect Microsoft's own research or positions.

Most of us think of generative AI in the context of text or image generation, but it’s also a powerful tool for scientific discovery. In this episode, Susan Etlinger speaks with Ade Famoti, a senior leader on the Microsoft Research Accelerator team, about what he calls “AI’s physics moment,” and why he believes generative AI feels fundamentally different from past platform shifts. Ade shares examples of the work Microsoft Research is doing to uncover the opportunities of generative AI for materials discovery—to improve energy efficiency and carbon capture, and for drug discovery, to fight disease. Ade also highlights the role of culture in building trust, informing priorities and driving adoption of emerging technologies.

Guest: ⁠Ade Famoti⁠ | ⁠Microsoft Research⁠

Learn more about ⁠AI and Materials Discovery⁠.

Learn more about ⁠AI for Science⁠.

Learn more about ⁠inorganic materials design⁠.

Host: ⁠⁠Susan Etlinger⁠⁠

Get more ⁠innovation insights⁠ from ⁠Microsoft Azure⁠.

Discover and follow other ⁠Microsoft podcasts⁠.

The Leading the Shift podcast is a place for experts to share their insights and opinions. As students of the future of technology, Microsoft values inputs from a diverse set of voices. That said, the opinions and findings of our guests are their own and they may not necessarily reflect Microsoft's own research or positions.

You’ve heard of data-driven products, data-driven services and data-driven business models, but data.org is pioneering an entirely new field: data for social impact. In the premiere episode of Leading the Shift, guest Perry Hewitt, Chief Marketing and Product Officer at data.org, shares how the organization is taking data and AI and applying it to the world’s most challenging problems. Perry shares the results of the Generative AI Skills Challenge, including initiatives focused on dispelling misconceptions about women’s health in India, upskilling women entrepreneurs in northern Nigeria and creating intensive AI curricula for teachers, students and businesses in rural Mississippi. It’s a rigorous and innovative approach built around trust, respect and co-creation—as applicable to business as it is to the public sector.

Guest: Perry Hewitt | data.org

Get more innovation insights from Microsoft Azure.

Discover and follow other Microsoft podcasts.

Host: Susan Etlinger

The Leading the Shift podcast is a place for experts to share their insights and opinions. As students of the future of technology, Microsoft values inputs from a diverse set of voices. That said, the opinions and findings of our guests are their own and they may not necessarily reflect Microsoft's own research or positions.

“I like to think about proprietary data as an organization’s collective intelligence,” says Teresa Tung, Global Lead of Data Capability at Accenture. Teresa is a prolific inventor, holding over 225 patents and applications, and she leads the vision and strategy that ensures that Accenture is prepared for ever-changing data advancements. In this episode, Susan and Teresa discuss the changing nature of data and its value to an AI strategy. Teresa shares six insights to help organizations derive value from their proprietary data, including: the importance of unstructured data, the potential of synthetic data; why context is key for AI; data governance and security; and how generative AI can jumpstart data readiness. It’s a master class in data strategy, and a must-listen for anyone who is curious about how to get the most from their data, AI and cloud investments.

Guest: Teresa Tung | Accenture

Blog: 6 insights to make your data AI-ready, with Accenture's Teresa Tung

Get more innovation insights from Microsoft Azure.

Discover and follow other Microsoft podcasts.

Host: Susan Etlinger

The Leading the Shift podcast is a place for experts to share their insights and opinions. As students of the future of technology, Microsoft values inputs from a diverse set of voices. That said, the opinions and findings of our guests are their own and they may not necessarily reflect Microsoft's own research or positions.

“Generative AI has done a ton for us. But where I'm also really interested is how it can help us bring together new sources of data that weren't able to be brought together before,” says Shirli Zelcer, Chief Data and Technology Officer at dentsu. Shirli shares her career journey from statistician to C-suite executive, and how it parallels the evolution of data and analytics from back-office practice to C-suite priority. She shares insights not only on the value of data for generative AI, but how generative AI is transforming the data space by helping organizations map the customer journey and better understand their needs in a trustworthy and innovative way. Finally, Shirli reminds us, “we're still so early on in this conversation—and this whole platform shift—that we haven't really even seen a lot of the impact that we're going to see in the future.”

Guest: Shirli Zelcer | dentsu

Related: Your Intelligent Data Strategy for AI

Get more innovation insights from Microsoft Azure.

Discover and follow other Microsoft podcasts.

Host: Susan Etlinger

The Leading the Shift podcast is a place for experts to share their insights and opinions. As students of the future of technology, Microsoft values inputs from a diverse set of voices. That said, the opinions and findings of our guests are their own and they may not necessarily reflect Microsoft's own research or positions.

“In many ways, the future of AI is how it’s going to empower people to be even more creative and even more expressive,” says Robby Ingebretsen, Founder and Creative Director of Pixel Lab. In this episode, Susan and Robby discuss the evolution of technology in the music industry—from Robby’s father’s early work in digital sound to the invention of the synthesizer—and how it parallels the AI platform shift. Robby shares a recent project they worked on with Coldplay, where they created an AI-powered fan remix experience that builds on the release of Coldplay’s new album, "MOON MUSiC," and its film compendium, "A Film For The Future." They discuss the process Pixel Lab used to map video content to user inputs, techniques to minimize energy consumption, and what Robby has learned by using generative AI to further his practice as a developer. This episode offers insights for any industry seeking to deepen engagement with its audiences.

Guest: ⁠Robby Ingebretsen⁠ | ⁠Pixel Lab⁠

Blog: ⁠Coldplay evolves the fan experience with Microsoft AI⁠

Related: Building AI Solutions That Drive Value

Get more ⁠innovation insights⁠ from ⁠Microsoft Azure⁠.

Discover and follow other ⁠Microsoft podcasts⁠.

Host: ⁠Susan Etlinger⁠

The Leading the Shift podcast is a place for experts to share their insights and opinions. As students of the future of technology, Microsoft values inputs from a diverse set of voices. That said, the opinions and findings of our guests are their own and they may not necessarily reflect Microsoft's own research or positions.

The AI platform shift brings immense opportunity, but the road to success isn’t always clear. On "Leading the Shift," a new podcast from Microsoft Azure, we'll talk to people doing just that—leading the platform shift in organizations of all kinds to learn with them along the way. Guests share personal experiences and pragmatic advice for navigating first-of-their-kind challenges and delivering meaningful, trustworthy innovation to their teams, customers, and communities. Whether you’re a decision-maker, a developer, or just curious about this new era of tech, join us to hear how real people tackle real innovation, in real life. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts starting January 28, 2025.