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Welcome to Sidecar Sync: Your Weekly Dose of Innovation for Associations. Hosted by Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias, this podcast is your definitive source for the latest news, insights, and trends in the association world with a special emphasis on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its pivotal role in shaping the future. Each week, we delve into the most pressing topics, spotlighting the transformative role of emerging technologies and their profound impact on associations. With a commitment to cutting through the noise, Sidecar Sync offers listeners clear, informed discussions, expert perspectives, and a deep dive into the challenges and opportunities facing associations today. Whether you're an association professional, tech enthusiast, or just keen on staying updated, Sidecar Sync ensures you're always ahead of the curve. Join us for enlightening conversations and a fresh take on the ever-evolving world of associations.
110 Episodes
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Send us a text When an association with 85 years of food science knowledge decides to launch an AI product, what happens? In this episode, Mallory Mejias sits down with Jay Gilbert, Director of Scientific Programs and Product Development at the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), to explore how IFT built CoDeveloper, an AI-powered platform designed to streamline R&D in food innovation. Jay shares how his journey from student member to staff gave him a unique edge in shaping tech that’s...
Send us a text In this episode of Sidecar Sync, Mallory Mejias and Amith Nagarajan dive into three high-octane AI developments reshaping the landscape of innovation. They kick things off with Claude Haiku 4.5, Anthropic’s blazing-fast small model offering near-frontier performance at a fraction of the cost. Then, the hosts explore diffusion models—an architectural shake-up that could revolutionize how AI generates language. Finally, they venture into orbit with Google’s ambitious Project Sunc...
Send us a text Live from digitalNow 2025 in Chicago, this special edition of Sidecar Sync brings together voices from across the association world, sharing real-life examples of AI implementation, leadership innovation, and strategic transformation. Mallory Mejias speaks with leaders from the American Paint Horse Association, the Missouri State Teachers Association, AGRiP, and more to uncover how associations are moving from ideation to execution with AI. Whether it’s slashing support calls w...
Send us a text In this episode of Sidecar Sync, Mallory Mejias is joined by marine biologist and behavioral researcher Dr. Denise Herzing for a one-of-a-kind conversation about dolphins, data, and deep learning. Dr. Herzing shares insights from her 40-year study of Atlantic spotted dolphins and how that lifetime of underwater research is now powering DolphinGemma—an open-source large language model trained on dolphin vocalizations. The two discuss what it means to label meaning in animal comm...
Send us a text In this solo episode, Mallory Mejias takes the reins to unveil what digitalNow 2025 reveals about the current state of AI in associations—spoiler alert: we're officially in the "AI adolescence" phase. From cultural adoption to trust-building, she unpacks the four key insights her analysis surfaced from the event’s full schedule. But that’s not all—Mallory goes off-script to live-build a conference session recommender app on air, showing how even non-technical folks can leverage...
Send us a text In this episode, Mallory Mejias sits down with UX and content strategy expert Bryan Kelly to explore how the longevity economy—a massive shift toward a population dominated by adults over 50—is transforming digital experiences. Bryan dives into why designing for older adults is less about age and more about behaviors, values, and life stage. He breaks down the common UX mistakes organizations make and shares practical strategies for building trust, clarity, and confidence into ...
Send us a text In this episode of Sidecar Sync, Mallory Mejias and Amith Nagarajan dive into three seemingly distinct but tightly connected topics: a groundbreaking robotic hand from China that could redefine how machines interact with our world, the growing movement of mandatory AI literacy training sweeping through corporations and governments, and new data from Anthropic showing a widening economic divide in AI adoption. They explore what these trends mean for the future of work, equity, a...
Send us a text This week on Sidecar Sync, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias dive deep into OpenAI’s biggest moves of the year—starting with how ChatGPT has evolved into a no-code platform capable of building full applications in minutes. They explore the implications of AgentKit, voice-first workflows, and whether associations should adopt or avoid these locked-in ecosystems. Mallory reveals how ChatGPT Pulse, a $200/month personal AI assistant, is reshaping expectations around newsletters a...
Send us a text In this jam-packed episode of Sidecar Sync, co-hosts Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias tackle five cutting-edge AI developments, all (mostly) fitting into three big buckets. From the powerhouse that is Claude 4.5 Sonnet to OpenAI's stunning new Sora 2 video model, this episode dives into real-world use cases, experiments, and emerging tools that are reshaping how associations can work smarter. They also break down the promise of computer use models, the future of AI-native bro...
Send us a text In this special interview edition of Sidecar Sync, Mallory Mejias sits down with Shekar Sivasubramanian, Head of the Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence, to explore how AI can be deployed at scale for social good. Shekar shares powerful stories of AI in action—from an oral reading fluency assistant helping millions of Indian children, to smartphone-powered pest detection for rural farmers. This episode dives into designing for deployment (not just innovation), buildi...
Send us a text In this special 100th episode of Sidecar Sync, co-hosts Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias take a celebratory stroll down memory lane, unpacking the journey from the show’s inception in 2023 to today. They reflect on five distinct podcast eras, distill the top 10 AI insights echoed across episodes, and get candid about the surprising speed of tech transformation in the association space. You’ll hear how Mallory used Claude and Google Colab to distill hundreds of transcripts, wh...
Send us a text Is the future of associations being rewritten by influencers? In this episode, Mallory Mejias is joined by Jackson Boyar, co-founder and CEO of Rallyboard, for a sharp and forward-thinking conversation about how digital creators are reshaping professional learning. They explore the competitive rise of “influencer-led” communities like Josh Bersin Academy, how associations can leverage trust and networks in the AI era, and why curated cohorts could be the key to long-term engage...
Send us a text In this audio-focused episode of Sidecar Sync, Mallory Mejias and Amith Nagarajan explore three groundbreaking advancements in AI audio technology—starting with Google’s real-time voice translation for seamless cross-language communication. They then unpack Microsoft’s open-source Vibe Voice, capable of generating full-length, multi-speaker podcasts, before diving into ElevenLabs Music, an AI tool creating fully-licensed, studio-quality tracks from simple prompts. Tune in for l...
Send us a text Thomas Altman, co-founder of Tasio and Betty, joins Mallory Mejias for an electrifying deep dive into the future of AI through the lens of world models—AI systems that don’t just respond but simulate environments and predict outcomes. From Genie 3’s physics-aware interactive worlds to the transformative potential for associations in training, events, and strategy, this episode unpacks the profound shift from reactive AI to systems that “understand” the world. Thomas also shares...
Send us a text In this episode of Sidecar Sync, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias tackle the latest developments in AI with a fast-paced series of updates—from Claude overtaking ChatGPT in the voice mode battle, to Google's shockingly tiny Gemma 3 model, to the rocky rollout of GPT-5 and what it teaches us about innovation at scale. Then, the duo zooms out for a big-picture look at AI’s massive and growing energy demands. Can AI keep advancing without breaking the grid? Enter neuromorphic co...
Send us a text In this episode of Sidecar Sync, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias dive into two groundbreaking releases from OpenAI: the long-awaited GPT-5 and the surprising return to open source with GPT-OSS. They unpack the shift toward simplified AI interaction, the implications of automatic model selection, and what GPT-5’s real-world performance means for power users. Then they explore how the new OSS models may radically reshape how associations build and deploy custom AI solutions. P...
Send us a text In this episode of Sidecar Sync, co-hosts Mallory Mejias sits down with Dr. Nicola Sahar to explore how a University of Toronto med student dove head-first into clinical AI research and went on to found Semantic Health, an AI-powered medical coding platform later acquired by the American Academy of Professional Coders in 2023. They unpack the art and science of medical coding, discuss why AI will augment rather than replace coders, dive into the critical role of data privacy an...
Send us a text In this episode of Sidecar Sync, Mallory Mejias and Amith Nagarajan cover a trio of urgent topics shaping the AI landscape. They kick off with Anthropic’s surprising rise to enterprise dominance—fueled not despite, but because of its safety-first approach. From there, the conversation heats up around accelerating predictions for artificial general intelligence (AGI), with some forecasting human-level AI by 2027. Finally, the hosts zoom out to tackle the hidden but massive infra...
Send us a text Are we ready for a world where AI agents write our blogs and robots clean our homes? In this episode, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias dive deep into the rise of agentic AI and the future of robotics. They explore how digital workforces powered by open-source platforms like MemberJunction are already transforming productivity, especially in marketing. Then, they pivot to the physical world, breaking down NVIDIA’s fascinating vision of the “Physical Turing Test” and simulation...
Send us a text In this heartwarming and enlightening episode, co-hosts Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias welcome the dynamic father-son duo, Conor and Finn Grennan, to discuss their journey teaching generative AI in Nepal. Connor, Chief AI Architect at NYU Stern, and his 16-year-old son Finn share stories of cultural resonance, the universal challenges of AI adoption in education, and how peer-to-peer learning can drive real change. From Kathmandu classrooms to critical thinking conundrums, ...
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