The Data Exchange with Ben Lorica

A series of informal conversations with thought leaders, researchers, practitioners, and writers on a wide range of topics in technology, science, and of course big data, data science, artificial intelligence, and related applications. Anchored by Ben Lorica (@BigData), the Data Exchange also features a roundup of the most important stories from the worlds of data, machine learning and AI. Detailed show notes for each episode can be found on https://thedataexchange.media/ The Data Exchange podcast is a production of Gradient Flow [https://gradientflow.com/].

How AI Is Reshaping Jobs, Budgets, and Data Centers

Ben Lorica and Evangelos Simoudis of Synapse Partners explore the complex reality behind AI-driven layoffs, from automation and upskilling gaps to strategic shifts in R&D. They also dive into the massive capital investments in AI, discussing the growing pressure for ROI and the emergence of LLMOps as a form of financial management. Subscribe to the Gradient Flow Newsletter 📩 https://gradientflow.substack.com/ Subscribe: Apple · Spotify · Overcast · Pocket Casts · AntennaPod · Podcas...

11-15
32:38

Making Data Engineering Safe for Automation and Agents

Ciro Greco, Co-founder & CEO at Bauplan, joins the podcast to discuss a new paradigm for data engineering rooted in software engineering principles. He explains how treating the data lakehouse like a software project — with version control, branching, and transactional pipelines — creates a robust and safe environment for development. Subscribe to the Gradient Flow Newsletter 📩 https://gradientflow.substack.com/ Subscribe: Apple · Spotify · Overcast · Pocket Casts · AntennaPod...

11-13
49:41

Is Your Database Ready for an Army of AI Agents?

Mike Freedman and Ajay Kulkarni, founders of Tiger Data, join the podcast to unveil Agentic Postgres, a database re-imagined for AI agents. Subscribe to the Gradient Flow Newsletter 📩 https://gradientflow.substack.com/ Subscribe: Apple · Spotify · Overcast · Pocket Casts · AntennaPod · Podcast Addict · Amazon · RSS. Detailed show notes - with links to many references - can be found on The Data Exchange web site.

11-06
55:36

Beyond the Dashboard: Collaborative Analytics in Slack

Nick Schrock, CTO of Dagster, discusses the critical role of data orchestration in the AI era, framing “context pipelines” as the new data pipelines that form the foundation of any AI strategy. He introduces Compass, a new Slack-native tool for collaborative, exploratory data analysis designed to replace the 80% of ad-hoc BI dashboards. Subscribe to the Gradient Flow Newsletter 📩 https://gradientflow.substack.com/ Subscribe: Apple · Spotify · Overcast · Pocket Casts · AntennaPod ·...

10-30
45:56

Stop Piloting, Start Shipping: A Playbook for Measurable AI

Ben Lorica and Evangelos Simoudis discuss AI-bubble signals (runaway revenue multiples, circular financing), why many enterprise pilots stall, and what separates leaders (use-case matrices, cross-functional ownership, hard metrics). They also examine U.S.–China tech competition in robotics and semiconductors, and offer a pragmatic view on humanoid robots — what works now versus what’s still research-grade. Subscribe to the Gradient Flow Newsletter 📩 https://gradientflow.substack.com/ Su...

10-25
29:41

Databases for Machines, Not People

Luke Wroblewski of Sutter Hill Ventures joins the podcast to discuss the paradigm shift in building AI applications. He explains how the traditional model of “code + database” is being replaced by “URL + model,” where the AI agent itself becomes the application logic. Subscribe to the Gradient Flow Newsletter 📩 https://gradientflow.substack.com/ Subscribe: Apple · Spotify · Overcast · Pocket Casts · AntennaPod · Podcast Addict · Amazon · RSS. Detailed show notes - with link...

10-23
27:42

When AI Agents Need to Talk: Inside the A2A Protocol

Heiko Hotz and Sokratis Kartakis of Google Cloud discuss the Agent-to-Agent (A2A) protocol, a new standard for enabling collaboration between AI agents built on different frameworks. Subscribe to the Gradient Flow Newsletter 📩 https://gradientflow.substack.com/ Subscribe: Apple · Spotify · Overcast · Pocket Casts · AntennaPod · Podcast Addict · Amazon · RSS. Detailed show notes - with links to many references - can be found on The Data Exchange web site.

10-16
29:23

The Infrastructure for Production AI

Zhen Lu, CEO of Runpod, joins the podcast to discuss what it means to build an “AI-first” cloud, moving beyond the architectures of the Web 2.0 era. Subscribe to the Gradient Flow Newsletter 📩 https://gradientflow.substack.com/ Subscribe: Apple · Spotify · Overcast · Pocket Casts · AntennaPod · Podcast Addict · Amazon · RSS. Detailed show notes - with links to many references - can be found on The Data Exchange web site.

10-09
47:32

How to Make Your Data Truly AI-Ready

Yoni Leitersdorf, CEO of Solid, joins the podcast to demystify why simply pointing an LLM at a database for text-to-SQL doesn’t work. He explains the critical need for a semantic layer to provide business context, turning raw data into a “Rosetta Stone” that AI can actually understand. Subscribe to the Gradient Flow Newsletter 📩 https://gradientflow.substack.com/ Subscribe: Apple · Spotify · Overcast · Pocket Casts · AntennaPod · Podcast Addict · Amazon · RSS. Detailed show...

10-02
45:49

Beyond the Agent Hype

Ben Lorica and Evangelos Simoudis discuss some takeaways for AI practitioners from the recent AI Conference. They cover the disconnect between the hype and reality of AI agents in the enterprise, the critical importance of building reliable and trustworthy AI applications, and the potential impact of new H-1B visa policies on tech startups and innovation. Subscribe to the Gradient Flow Newsletter 📩 https://gradientflow.substack.com/ Subscribe: Apple · Spotify · Overcast · Pocket Casts ·...

09-27
29:35

How to Build and Optimize AI Research Agents

Jakub Zavrel, CEO of Zeta Alpha, joins the podcast to discuss the practical evolution from traditional enterprise search to powerful “deep research” systems. Subscribe to the Gradient Flow Newsletter 📩 https://gradientflow.substack.com/ Subscribe: Apple · Spotify · Overcast · Pocket Casts · AntennaPod · Podcast Addict · Amazon · RSS. Detailed show notes - with links to many references - can be found on The Data Exchange web site.

09-25
38:41

Why Digital Work is the Perfect Training Ground for AI Agents

Andrew Rabinovich, CTO and Head of AI at Upwork, discusses how digital work marketplaces serve as ideal testing grounds for AI agents, exploring their custom reinforcement learning approach called RLEF (Reinforcement Learning from Experience). Subscribe to the Gradient Flow Newsletter 📩 https://gradientflow.substack.com/ Subscribe: Apple · Spotify · Overcast · Pocket Casts · AntennaPod · Podcast Addict · Amazon · RSS. Detailed show notes - with links to many references - ca...

09-18
42:16

Beyond the Chatbot: What Actually Works in Enterprise AI

Jay Alammar is Director and Engineering Fellow at Cohere and co-author of the O’Reilly book “Hands-on Large Language Models.” Subscribe to the Gradient Flow Newsletter 📩 https://gradientflow.substack.com/ Subscribe: Apple · Spotify · Overcast · Pocket Casts · AntennaPod · Podcast Addict · Amazon · RSS. Detailed show notes - with links to many references - can be found on The Data Exchange web site.

09-11
38:24

Why China's Engineering Culture Gives Them an AI Advantage

Ben Lorica and Evangelos Simoudis discuss three critical topics for AI practitioners: the complexities of AI regulation, with debates over foundation model oversight versus domain-specific regulations and concerns about IP protection in AI training data. Subscribe to the Gradient Flow Newsletter 📩 https://gradientflow.substack.com/ Subscribe: Apple · Spotify · Overcast · Pocket Casts · AntennaPod · Podcast Addict · Amazon · RSS. Detailed show notes - with links to many refe...

09-06
52:45

Predictability Beats Accuracy in Enterprise AI

In this episode, Anant Bhardwaj, CEO of Instabase, provides a pragmatic guide for AI practitioners building enterprise solutions. Subscribe to the Gradient Flow Newsletter 📩 https://gradientflow.substack.com/ Subscribe: Apple · Spotify · Overcast · Pocket Casts · AntennaPod · Podcast Addict · Amazon · RSS. Detailed show notes - with links to many references - can be found on The Data Exchange web site.

09-04
44:11

2025 AI Governance Survey

Ben Lorica and David Talby present findings from the 2025 AI Governance Survey of 350+ respondents, revealing that while 30% have AI models in production, there are significant gaps in risk management practices. 🚨 This episode is based on an online presentation, see the YouTube version for a visual presentation. Subscribe to the Gradient Flow Newsletter 📩 https://gradientflow.substack.com/ Subscribe: Apple · Spotify · Overcast · Pocket Casts · AntennaPod · Podcast Addict · Amazon ...

08-28
39:23

The Fenic Approach to Production-Ready Data Processing

Kostas Paralis, co-founder of Typedef , discusses Fenic, an open-source data frame framework designed specifically for AI applications that treats inference as a first-class operation within the query engine. Subscribe to the Gradient Flow Newsletter 📩 https://gradientflow.substack.com/ Subscribe: Apple · Spotify · Overcast · Pocket Casts · AntennaPod · Podcast Addict · Amazon · RSS. Detailed show notes - with links to many references - can be found on The Data Exchange web...

08-21
46:45

When AI Eats the Bottom Rung of the Career Ladder

Ben Lorica and Evangelos Simoudis discuss three critical trends shaping the AI industry: the “Great Hollowing Out” where AI automation is eliminating entry-level positions and disrupting talent pipelines, the financial implications of rapid AI hardware depreciation versus traditional accounting practices, and OpenAI’s shift to router-based model selection as foundation model providers search for sustainable business models. Subscribe to the Gradient Flow Newsletter 📩 https://gradientflo...

08-16
27:57

From NotebookLM to Audio Companions: Why Google’s AI Team Went Startup

Raiza Martin, co-founder of Huxe and former leader of Google’s NotebookLM team, discusses leaving Google at the height of NotebookLM’s success to build an audio-first personal AI companion. Subscribe to the Gradient Flow Newsletter 📩 https://gradientflow.substack.com/ Subscribe: Apple · Spotify · Overcast · Pocket Casts · AntennaPod · Podcast Addict · Amazon · RSS. Detailed show notes - with links to many references - can be found on The Data Exchange web site.

08-14
32:33

The AI-Native Notebook That Thinks Like a Spreadsheet

The discussion with CEO Akshay Agrawal covers how Marimo’s AI integration provides runtime context to LLMs for superior code generation, its adoption across industries from cybersecurity to DevOps, and the technical innovations that make notebooks viable for production environments. Subscribe to the Gradient Flow Newsletter 📩 https://gradientflow.substack.com/ Subscribe: Apple · Spotify · Overcast · Pocket Casts · AntennaPod · Podcast Addict · Amazon · RSS. Detailed show notes - ...

08-07
42:26

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