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Cambridge Executive Business Insights

Author: Cambridge Judge Business School

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Cambridge Executive Business Insights: Rethinking AI is the second series of the podcast from Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education. Hosted by Jaideep Prabhu, Professor of Marketing at Cambridge Judge, the series explores a timely and provocative question: what if the future of artificial intelligence isn’t about building ever-bigger systems, but about building smarter ones?


The series introduces the concept of frugal AI, an approach to artificial intelligence focused on doing more with less. At a time when AI systems are becoming increasingly resource-intensive, Rethinking AI explores alternative paths that prioritise efficiency, accessibility, and purposeful innovation.


The podcast brings together leading academics, technologists, entrepreneurs, and business leaders to discuss the ideas, stories, and experiments reshaping how we design and deploy AI. Across the series, conversations explore topics such as low-resource innovation, energy-efficient AI models, creative constraints in technology development, and the potential for frugal approaches to expand access and equity.


Through these discussions, the series asks what it means to rethink intelligence in a world facing growing technological and environmental challenges. Ultimately, Rethinking AI explores how we can build AI systems that are not only powerful, but also purposeful, efficient, and inclusive.


About the host


Jaideep Prabhu is Professor of Marketing at Cambridge Judge Business School and a leading expert on innovation, strategy, and inclusive growth. His research focuses on frugal innovation, developing affordable, sustainable solutions that deliver greater value with fewer resources.


Jaideep is the co-author of the internationally acclaimed book Jugaad Innovation and Frugal Innovation: How to Do Better with Less. His work explores how organisations can rethink innovation to make products, services, and technologies more accessible, efficient, and sustainable.


At Cambridge Judge Business School, Jaideep teaches and researches how businesses can harness frugal innovation to address global challenges while creating lasting economic and social impact.

37 Episodes
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To end series two, Jaideep Prabhu brings together highlights from guests who all agree on one thing: AI’s success depends on people, not just technology. Hear why the organisations getting real value treat AI as a focused, top-down programme aimed at the problems that were already on the board agenda before ChatGPT arrived. The episode explores the “skim tax”, the hidden cost of waving AI output through unchecked, paid in quality now and capability later. It also examines why good information matters more than perfect data, why governance should be an accelerator rather than a brake, and the open question of who is accountable when AI gets it wrong. Finally, the episode asks what humans will still bring: creativity, judgement and a healthy dose of “counterflow”.   Featuring Viren Lall (Managing Director of ChangeSchool), Paul Henninger (UK Head of Technology & Data and Global AI Leader at KPMG), Thomas Wenstrom (Managing Director and Nordic Tech & Digital Advantage leader at BCG), David Fearne (Vice President of AI at NTT DATA) and Nick Ford-Young (co-CEO of Boldspace). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In this episode, Professor Jaideep Prabhu is joined by Simone Lenzu, Assistant Professor of Economics and Policy at Cambridge Judge Business School, to look at AI through a macroeconomic lens. Their conversation moves beyond the technology itself to consider where the vast resources flowing into AI are going, and what that means for productivity, investment and the wider economy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In this episode, Viren Lall the Managing Director of ChangeSchool introduces a new way of thinking about AI, one that shifts the focus from technology to leadership attention. He explains why AI should be treated as an investment rather than a convenience, introducing practical frameworks including the AI Allocation Matrix, the AI Investment Loop and the concept of "skim tax", that is the hidden organisational cost of accepting AI's first plausible answer without critical thinking. Viren explores how disciplined practices such as challenging, checking and capturing AI outputs help leaders build organisational capability rather than simply generating faster work. The conversation also examines governance in the age of autonomous AI, arguing that as decisions increasingly happen at machine speed, accountability becomes a board-level responsibility. A thoughtful exploration of how leaders can use AI to strengthen, rather than replace human judgment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In this episode, Paul Henninger, UK Head of Technology & Data and Global AI Leader at KPMG, shares lessons from helping organisations (and KPMG itself) embed AI into everyday business operations. Paul explains why the biggest barriers to AI adoption are not technical but organisational, describing the challenges of fear, focus and friction that emerge as automation scales. He discusses why companies should tackle their biggest business problems rather than isolated AI use cases, how cross-functional teams combining engineers with domain experts accelerate progress, and why meaningful value only comes when organisations redesign entire processes rather than simply adding AI tools. Drawing parallels with previous industrial revolutions, Paul argues that AI requires leaders to rethink structures, governance and ways of working, not just technology. An insightful discussion on why successful AI adoption is ultimately about organisational redesign and human leadership.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In this episode, Laura Joseph, Chief Customer Officer at Tesco Mobile, explains how her organisation is taking a deliberately human-centred approach to AI. Rather than pursuing technology for its own sake, Tesco Mobile starts with customer problems and uses AI only where it genuinely reduces friction, improves service and supports colleagues. Laura discusses proactive customer support, responsible personalisation, AI-assisted contact centres and the governance structures that allow experimentation while maintaining accountability. She also shares how initiatives such as an internal AI Guild and a cross-functional AI Governance Forum are helping build capability across the organisation while ensuring every AI application meets high standards for transparency, security and customer outcomes. This conversation offers a thoughtful blueprint for leaders seeking to deploy AI responsibly, showing that trust, good governance and customer value remain the foundations of successful digital transformation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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