Super Data Science: ML & AI Podcast with Jon Krohn

Zack Kass speaks to Jon Krohn about his bestselling, tech-positive book, The Next Renaissance, that charts the rapid progress of humanity and the benefits that artificial intelligence will bring to us, as well as why a future where intelligence is a cheap and abundant resource will give humanity an edge. Elsewhere in the show, Zack discusses why it’s important to hold parents, teachers and students accountable for their education, why it is incumbent on us to build a healthier relationship with technology, and his 4 principles for thriving in the age of AI. This episode is brought to you by the⁠ ⁠⁠Cisco⁠, by ⁠Acceldata⁠ and by ⁠⁠ODSC, the Open Data Science Conference⁠⁠. Additional materials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.superdatascience.com/975⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Interested in sponsoring a SuperDataScience Podcast episode? Email natalie@superdatascience.com for sponsorship information. In this episode you will learn: (03:14) About Zack Kass’ book, The Next Renaissance (20:18) The importance of literacy skills in the age of AI (28:01) AI in education (41:01) Principles for living in the era of AI

In this week’s Five-Minute Friday, Jon Krohn holds the AI bubble up to the light. He points to the deep greyzone found in AI startups like Cluely that are established on dubious ideas (Cluely’s tagline was “cheat on everything”) and funding bluster, as well as the staggering spending by companies on infrastructure and researcher salaries. Listen to the episode to hear about the historical precedents to the AI bubble that go all the way back to the invention of the railway, what to make of current investments in AI, and what you can do about these changes as an AI practitioner. Additional materials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.superdatascience.com/974⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Interested in sponsoring a SuperDataScience Podcast episode? Email natalie@superdatascience.com for sponsorship information.

No one should be manually writing code in 2026, thinks Chris Fregly, Jon Krohn’s guest on this week’s episode. In this interview about Chris’ latest book, AI Systems Performance Engineering, he explains why it’s so important to consider memory bandwidth when evaluating GPU performance, that understanding the full hardware software stack is the most valuable skill for anyone working in AI development, and which shortcuts we still shouldn’t ever take when writing code, even though we might be outsourcing a great deal to generative AI. This episode is brought to you by the ⁠⁠Cisco, by Acceldata and by ⁠ODSC, the Open Data Science Conference⁠. Additional materials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.superdatascience.com/973⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Interested in sponsoring a SuperDataScience Podcast episode? Email natalie@superdatascience.com for sponsorship information. In this episode you will learn: (03:39) Why Chris wrote AI Systems Performance Engineering  (21:39) Essential coding metrics  (37:24) The importance of inference when coding (42:11) How to manage workflows while using AI agents (51:37) Where and how to invest in the AI market

Jon Krohn recaps the month of February in this episode of In Case You Missed It. Across four interviews with Will Falcon (Episode 965), Tom Griffiths (Episode 969), Antje Barth (Episode 963), and Praveen Murugesan (Episode 967), Jon questions the brains behind some of the AI industry’s most innovative companies about launching a startup, developing a popular product, what artificial intelligence can still learn from human intelligence, and how AI might finally start to think on its own. Additional materials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.superdatascience.com/972⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Interested in sponsoring a SuperDataScience Podcast episode? Email natalie@superdatascience.com for sponsorship information.

Lin Qiao, CEO of Fireworks AI, talks to Jon Krohn about how she builds effective models quickly, why coding agents can perform at the level of a junior engineer, and what she attributes to the success of Fireworks AI: True to its name, the company exploded into the AI industry with over $300 million secured in venture capital, as well as netting a further $250 million Series C funding. For Lin, many enterprises miss out by not being familiar with open models. Open models give a lot of control to the user, offering customizability and at a much lower price point. Listen to hear how Fireworks AI helps companies continue to save money through AI. This episode is brought to you by the⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Dell⁠⁠⁠, by⁠ ⁠⁠Intel⁠⁠⁠, by ⁠Cisco⁠ and by ⁠Acceldata⁠. Additional materials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.superdatascience.com/971⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Interested in sponsoring a SuperDataScience Podcast episode? Email natalie@superdatascience.com for sponsorship information. In this episode you will learn: (01:19) All about Fireworks AI (24:16) Why companies need to take notice of open models (33:05) The commercial viability of slow-reasoning models (38:51) Fireworks AI’s approach to model performance evaluations

Working with code-gen models and Claude Code: In this Five-Minute Friday, Jon Krohn addresses how AI superstars like Andrej Karpathy are using AI agents in their coding work, the outlook for code-gen in 2026, and how you can get started. Hear about Karpathy’s work as well as the soaring success of Peter Steinberger and how he managed to surpass the GitHub commit rate of teams as an individual working with AI agents. Additional materials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.superdatascience.com/970⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Interested in sponsoring a SuperDataScience Podcast episode? Email natalie@superdatascience.com for sponsorship information.

Princeton Professor Tom Griffiths talks to Jon Krohn about his new book, The Laws of Thought, which grapples with the mathematical models behind biological and artificial intelligence, and what makes the human brain so fascinating for psychologists and computer scientists to study. In this episode, he details how the mathematical principles governing the external world can also be used to explore cognitive science, or “the internal world.”  This episode is brought to you by the ⁠⁠Dell⁠⁠, by ⁠⁠Intel⁠⁠, by Cisco and by Acceldata. Additional materials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.superdatascience.com/969⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Interested in sponsoring a SuperDataScience Podcast episode? Email natalie@superdatascience.com for sponsorship information. In this episode you will learn: (01:18) Tom Griffiths’ current research (21:23) On mathematical inference in LLMs (35:19) How to engineer inductive bias (52:00) How to model curiosity into AI systems

Now that AI agents can develop new apps from product development to delivery, do AI developers have reason to worry about their careers? Podcast host Jon Krohn addresses the stark predictions that AI could “eliminate half of all entry-level white-collar jobs” by going back to the data. Find out why the numbers show a very different picture, which in-demand occupations have increased by 40% since late 2022, and Jon’s advice on why technical professionals shouldn’t panic in this latest Five-Minute Friday.  Additional materials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.superdatascience.com/968⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Interested in sponsoring a SuperDataScience Podcast episode? Email natalie@superdatascience.com for sponsorship information.

VP of Engineering at Samsara Praveen Murugesan talks to Jon Krohn about processing 20 trillion data points covering 90 billion miles across private and public sectors, how the company helps truckers who operate long hours and travel for long stretches without cellphone signal, and who they’re looking to hire to help this physical AI pioneer keep on developing high-impact solutions for real-world problems. And, if you’re looking to work for the company, there’s no better time to apply, and you’ll want to listen to the end of the show to hear exactly what Praveen looks for in new hires. This episode is brought to you by the ⁠⁠Dell⁠⁠, by ⁠⁠Intel⁠⁠, by Acceldata and by the ODSC, the Open Data Science Conference⁠. Additional materials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.superdatascience.com/967⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Interested in sponsoring a SuperDataScience Podcast episode? Email natalie@superdatascience.com for sponsorship information. In this episode you will learn: (01:01) The challenges of working with logistics data  (16:43) Operating Edge AI in logistics and construction sectors (28:43) How quantum computing might redefine logistics (40:09) The real cost of swapping human heuristics for algorithmic planning (44:45) How to get a job at Samsara

Jon Krohn gives Five-Minute Friday listeners all the details about the new social network causing a stir, Moltbook. What makes Moltbook so unique is that this is the first network designed just for AI agents. It’s an exclusive club, only its alleged 1.5 million registered agents can post, comment, and upvote, but we can watch this real-world experiment in agent ecology from the sidelines. Listen to the episode to hear the fascinating, if disturbing, story of Moltbook’s swift turn into facilitating a digital theocracy and forms of government, and whether this development is a sign of an approaching singularity or rather AI continuing to ape human thought and turn it into slop.  Additional materials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.superdatascience.com/966⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Interested in sponsoring a SuperDataScience Podcast episode? Email natalie@superdatascience.com for sponsorship information.

CEO of Lightning AI Will Falcon speaks to podcast host and Lightning AI fellow Jon Krohn about the company’s merger with Voltage Park, and why Will has named it the “full-stack AI neo-cloud for enterprises and frontier labs”. Lightning AI’s offer is a secure, flexible, and collaborative environment that can run on the cloud, all essentials for early-stage startups. Listen to the episode to hear Will Falcon discuss Lightning AI Studio, founding PyTorch Lightning, and how he came to found his AI company. This episode is brought to you by the Dell⁠⁠, by ⁠⁠Intel⁠⁠, by Fabi and by Cisco. Additional materials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.superdatascience.com/965⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Interested in sponsoring a SuperDataScience Podcast episode? Email natalie@superdatascience.com for sponsorship information. In this episode you will learn: (02:20) Lightning AI’s merger with Voltage Park (20:54) About neo-clouds (43:51) How Will founded Lightning AI (54:48) Current gaps in the AI in workplace

In this first of the year ICYMI episode, Jon Krohn selects his favorite moments from January’s SuperDataScience interviews. Listen to why incentivizing workers is the best way to get them to disclose their use of AI tools and pave the way for an AI-forward future, how AI continues to mimic human development in its own evolution, the importance of evaluation in building AI systems, and how to keep your best employees (and also: how to know your value) with guests Sadie St. Lawrence, Ashwin Rajeeva, Sinan Ozdemir, Vijoy Pandey, and Ethan Mollick. Additional materials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.superdatascience.com/964⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Interested in sponsoring a SuperDataScience Podcast episode? Email natalie@superdatascience.com for sponsorship information.

Bestselling author and Gen AI instructor Antje Barth talks to Jon Krohn about her work at Amazon’s AGI Labs and their newest product Nova Act, as well as where we will see the most success with AI agents and how AI developers can reap those rewards.  This episode is brought to you by the ⁠⁠Dell⁠⁠, by ⁠⁠Intel⁠⁠, by Fabi and by Cisco. Additional materials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.superdatascience.com/963⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Interested in sponsoring a SuperDataScience Podcast episode? Email natalie@superdatascience.com for sponsorship information. In this episode you will learn: (01:23) Amazon’s latest product, Nova Act (11:05) How Nova Act tests reliability (24:01) Where Amazon’s 1000s of gen AI deployments succeed (31:32) How Nova Act maintains its security (36:32) The increasing value of agentic AI developers

Bestselling author of Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI Ethan Mollick speaks to Jon Krohn about just how much US firms have to gain from a willingness to adopt and experiment with AI, as well as the reality behind AI use among employees and the frontier models set to support them even further.  Additional materials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.superdatascience.com/962⁠⁠⁠ Interested in sponsoring a SuperDataScience Podcast episode? Email natalie@superdatascience.com for sponsorship information.⁠⁠⁠

Dr. Vijoy Pandey returns to the show to talk to Jon Krohn about Cisco’s work to advance medicine and mitigate the impact of climate change with distributed artificial super-intelligence. Dr. Vijoy Pandey believes in a future where humans and AI agents work together to tackle our biggest challenges. For this to happen, we will need to have multi-agent systems and open-source platforms that let agents work together, avoiding the phenomenon of AI agents being “isolated geniuses” unable to collaborate. He elaborates on what Cisco is doing to close this gap. This episode is brought to you by the⁠ ⁠⁠Dell⁠⁠⁠, by⁠ ⁠⁠Intel⁠⁠⁠, by ⁠Fabi⁠ and by ⁠⁠⁠⁠Scaylor⁠. Additional materials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.superdatascience.com/961⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Interested in sponsoring a SuperDataScience Podcast episode? Email natalie@superdatascience.com for sponsorship information. In this episode you will learn: (03:55) A definition of artificial super-intelligence (14:03) Distributed learning through Cisco’s Outshift (21:29) The semantic protocols for sharing intent in a distributed artificial super-intelligence framework (37:44) The cognitive memory fabric of the distributed artificial super-intelligence framework (46:24) Using cognitive engines as part of the distributed artificial super-intelligence framework

For 2026’s first episode of In Case You Missed It (ICYMI), Jon Krohn selects 6 clips from December for a wide-ranging look at the current state of AI in business and beyond. Hear from Joel Beasley (Episode 945), Jeff Li (Episode 947), Sandy Pentland (Episode 949), Josh Clemm (Episode 951), Penelope LaFeuille (Episode 952), and John Roese (Episode 953) on ensuring your AI systems get adopted and succeed in their goals, interesting ways to use AI for standup comedy routines, and more. Additional materials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.superdatascience.com/960⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Interested in sponsoring a SuperDataScience Podcast episode? Email natalie@superdatascience.com for sponsorship information.

AI entrepreneur and bestselling author Sinan Ozdemir speaks to Jon Krohn about the practical differences between agentic AI and AI workflows, why evaluating accuracy on its own won’t tell you enough about AI models, and more about his latest book Building Agentic AI.  This episode is brought to you by the ⁠⁠Dell⁠⁠, by ⁠⁠Intel⁠⁠, by Fabi and by Cisco. Additional materials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.superdatascience.com/959⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Interested in sponsoring a SuperDataScience Podcast episode? Email natalie@superdatascience.com for sponsorship information. In this episode you will learn: (04:57) Exploring the differences between workflows and agents (17:03) How to work out parameter count for a given task (25:26) The best way to evaluate LLMs (33:12) How to run hybrid workflow + agentic projects effectively

In this #sponsored Feature Friday episode, Salesforce’s Rahul Auradkar speaks to Jon Krohn about the company’s unified data engine and how its acquisition of Informatica provides the missing context layer for AI models and agents. Hear how Salesforce’s Data 360 helps customers to get accurate and insightful information about their business, and what AI models need to benefit a company’s bottom line (hint: it’s not only large amounts of data!) Additional materials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.superdatascience.com/958⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Interested in sponsoring a SuperDataScience Podcast episode? Email natalie@superdatascience.com for sponsorship information.

AI agents, data lakes, and managing data sprawl: Ashwin Rajeeva, cofounder and CTO of Acceldata, speaks to Jon Krohn about how the agentic data management startup raised over $100 million in venture capital to expand its business in automating data quality assurance as well as cataloguing and pipeline maintenance across enterprise environments. Acceldata utilizes multiple agents to solve enterprise-grade questions with company data. It also uses autonomous data pipelines that can detect and fix issues without human intervention, and the platform’s agentic data management system ADM also lets humans stay in the loop wherever needed.  This episode is brought to you by the ⁠⁠Dell⁠⁠, by ⁠⁠Intel⁠⁠, by Fabi and by Cisco. Additional materials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.superdatascience.com/957⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Interested in sponsoring a SuperDataScience Podcast episode? Email natalie@superdatascience.com for sponsorship information. In this episode you will learn: (03:25) About Acceldata and xLake (15:03) Autonomous data pipelines (21:02) How and when to keep humans in the AI loop (27:43) How Acceldata solves ‘data sprawl’ (31:53) Habits of successful tech leaders

#Sponsored SVP, Head of Product for Salesforce’s AppExchange & Ecosystem, Tyler Carlson, talks to Jon Krohn about taking AI agents from prototype to enterprise-grade production with the Agentforce 360 Platform. Though we may now have plenty of tools to build demos for AI agents, most teams still struggle to turn early prototypes into secure and scalable products. With Salesforce’s Agentforce 360 Platform, users can build customer-focused agentic applications with a multi-LLM planner service for reasoning and logic, as well as a new scripting language for deterministic control over how agents interact with the contextual layer of the Salesforce data model. Learn how Salesforce’s WYSIWYG schema builder helps customers build fully functional applications with low- and pro-code capabilities, the common mistakes that innovators make when moving from prototype to production, and whether AI agents might replace non-agentic AI applications in this Feature Friday. Additional materials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.superdatascience.com/956⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Interested in sponsoring a SuperDataScience Podcast episode? Email natalie@superdatascience.com for sponsorship information.