Digital transformation isn’t always driven by bottom-line metrics alone. In the wake of a global pandemic, we’re all looking to new technology to help us usher in a better working world. One with flexibility, work-life balance, generational unity, and joy. Join us as Alex Andrenacci and Ralph Thompson, technology transformation leaders at Ernst & Young discuss what the future of IT looks like from their perspective and how people – clients, employees, their families – are at the heart of it all.   Key Takeaways: [2:24] In the initial groundbreaking stage of any transformation, we must ask ourselves how our work will make a tangible impact on the world. [4:28] For many, success is now about spending less time working and more time with our family and loved ones. The measure of success may not only be the retention and profit, but how happy the employee’s kids are, and how satisfied employees feel in their life as a holistic view. [5:15] How is digital making our work and personal life better? By fostering a growth mindset, better environmental and societal outcomes, and helping people develop skills outside their focused area of work. It’s up to hiring managers and executives to talk early on with potential and new employees about the opportunity for flexible learning and exploring new interests. [8:50] Millennials and Zoomers are more likely to broaden their horizons a little further than the ones we’ve been trained to inhabit. [10:08] When there is the opportunity for personal enrichment and growth, the technologically-centred will show up and contribute more. Ralph talks about one employee who grew out of the socially awkward geek stereotype when he was provided with a way to expand his skillset and develop even more confidence. [15:14] The urgency with which businesses are bringing products and services to market mirrors millennial behaviors. Ralph refers to it as millennial gratification or immediate gratification, where they have a built-in understanding of the digital landscape and the attention economy. [18:05] Millennials bring needed and different perspectives in technology that some of us might be a bit behind on. For example, we hear about Ralph’s daughter and how she brought the company from using an outdated fax machine up to digitizing papers using the phone and email. [20:15] Alex explains that simplification has two aspects: to spend less, and to do more. [22:30] At the end of the day, it’s about delighting the customers. Reflection question: do you use tech to make your customers’ lives better? Are your employees truly happy? Are their children happy and fulfilled? What about you?   Quotes: [8:48] “What we’re looking for is not just people who are great at one particular thing, but ones who are going to develop. They are going to add value.” - Ralph [13:27] What we need is generational unity towards a common goal. It's what we see more often than not, in those companies most willing to embrace a human-centred and principled business model.” - Jo [18:52] “There's a sense of immediacy, there's a sense of digitization that's just inherent. I think it's one of the things that asking basic fundamental questions about why on earth we are doing something that makes no sense, is one of the gifts that young people of technology bring.” - Ralph [19:06] “I think we need to start learning how to do things differently in order to drive the change that we all want to drive.” - Alex [22:39] “Do you use tech to make your customers’ lives better? Are your employee’s kids happy? Are your employees themselves fulfilled? And what about you? If you answered yes, you might just be the kind of transformation we need - digital or not.” - Jo   Continue on your journey: pega.com/podcast   Mentioned: Ernst & Young Ralph Thompson Alex Andrenacci

Data is being called the new oil as companies race to get as much of it as much as possible. But without the right measures to keep certain AI-centric biases in check or forethought to incorporate ethical measures early, the real power of data can become too slick to handle. Listen as CEO Elizabeth M. Adams and author Joe Weinman talk about what the future of IT can (and should) look like. From AI bias to unreliable algorithms to the working harmony between humans and machines, see what we should be accounting for as our IT-enabled future fast approaches.   Key Takeaways: [2:43] Why does bias happen in IT systems? When there isn’t enough diversity in the data sets that the model is being trained on, it takes on this bias in the life of the algorithm. Elizabeth shares an example in facial recognition where the data ends up being sold on the market, a customer uses that data, and makes a decision about whether or not someone is deemed a threat based on biased information. Then, if law enforcement agencies decide to use that data, they can over-police in already over policed communities and cause a systemic problem, all because of that data. [5:35] All areas of our life are impacted by algorithms, from traffic patterns to predictions about who should get a loan, their interest rate, health insurance, and what type of health coverage someone is granted. [6:13] Joe shares two scenarios about how humans will interact with machines over the next coming decades. First, humans are replaced by machines. Second, and the most likely scenario, humans will collaborate with machines to create a better solution and higher productivity. [8:00] Human supervision can be extremely relevant in using information technology and AI. Joe shares some examples from MIT’s Kevin Slavin such as flash crashes, caused by program trading. [10:54] Responsibility in AI is a shared responsibility between both the technical and non technical teams. Building ethical technology doesn’t eliminate the possibility of unethical results, and we need more resources dedicated to areas like AI Ethics and governance within our companies, especially large ones acting as nation states. [16:27] Elizabeth discusses some best practices that will add ethics into more computer science courses and students get a critical perspective early on. [18:09] Companies that don’t consider themselves to be in the tech business will need to play catch up fast and take on that responsibility themselves before the government has to step in. Hopefully, more companies will begin to take a more serious look at the ethical components of the tech they rely on. Elizabeth discusses the long-wave theory, which talks about how long it takes for all of the different revolutions. [23:27] Will we be in a Terminator SkyNet scenario? Quite possibly, says Joe, but we have to figure out where humans are going to be in the loop and understand what our algorithms are doing and how they're training other algorithms.   Quotes: [2:25] “Data is what they’re calling the new oil, and there’s a race to how much data a company can consume.” - Elizabeth [5:39] “All the technologies that make sense of more data in less time and more intricate ways are fueling some of the most exciting and polarizing advancements.” - Jo [7:57] “The best performance sometimes is through a joint human and machine.” - Joe [14:10] “If you look at human behavior, you have a wide spectrum of possibilities, ranging from Mother Teresa to say a dictator that kills millions of people. The way the technology gets employed, and that is not the technology's fault.” - Joe [18:48] “For those companies who are not able to quickly adapt to this digital moment that we are having, I don’t think they will be around for long. That’s where we are, where we are going to stay, and where the jobs are going to be.” - Elizabeth [25:18] “We have to put ethics at the forefront of all of our business. Whether you think you work in tech or not.” - Jo   Continue on your journey: pega.com/podcast   Mentioned: Elizabeth Adams: Twitter | LinkedIn EMA Advisory Services Joe Weinman: Twitter | LinkedIn Digital Disciplines Cloudonomics Kevin Slavin

A new year means a new journey to discover all the ways technology is changing the ways we work, communicate, and live our lives. Welcome to the latest season of Bold stories. Future focused. Very soon, we’ll be exploring more topics around the future of data, IT, diversity, customer experience, and more – with in-depth miniseries premiering all year long. Get ready for brand new experts, more transformative insights, and even bolder stories about the tech shaping our tomorrow.

Over the course of season two, we’ve spoken with some truly magnificent guests about how the tech of today is shaping the world of tomorrow. As our final guest of the season, Pega CTO and VP of Product Marketing Don Schuerman gives his perspective on the topics we’ve covered so far, from hyperautomation to extended edge to distributed cloud. Plus, get Don’s take on how far the pandemic has pushed us into the future, how software and people can work better together, the role of bias awareness in AI, and more.   Key Takeaways: [1:39] Don Schuerman, CTO & VP of Product Marketing at Pegasystems talks about how many years the pandemic has accelerated us forward. It’s an interesting paradox because in some aspects it has felt like a period of standing still, yet there was also this wormhole in technology that we accelerated through what would usually be a 5 to 10 year adoption period for technology. Organizations had to think more deeply about data, and that’s why AI governance became more important. [4:56] It’s not just about implementing software, but having the resources (and the people) to do it. [6:11] Where does Don think the future of automation lies? In leveraging data, analytics, intelligence, and being able to self optimize your processes. Hyper-automation brings more and more data with it, which means we need more processing power in order to get through a more distributed cloud. This means data can be stored more efficiently across many data centers, allowing for faster processing and more built-in backup systems in case one data center fails. [9:00] Fay Arjomandi, CEO of mimik Technology, a hybrid edge-cloud platform, explains how edge devices can disseminate data faster and more intelligently when we compute at the edge. We also have a greater ability to identify and understand what data is really important and respond to it accordingly. [10:32] Extended edge allows us to make decisions about what data gets stored, and where security risks may increase. But why is data privacy so important? [16:24] Don demystifies AI, saying that AI may not be the Terminator nefarious situation we think, but in a flawed world, we sometimes make flawed things with values and biases that reflect our own. [16:50] Elizabeth Adams, AI Technologist and Chief AI and Ethics & Culture Advisor at EMA consulting, illustrated what dangerous AI applications can look like. She talks about her work concerning the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement in Minneapolis. She did her community a huge service by understanding the use of biased AI and tech. [17:43] Don explains why we must stay inquisitive and curious about others, so we can learn from each other and share our unique perspectives. By constantly bringing different perspectives in and we're filling in those blind spots, and we're actually getting to see this big, beautiful picture of the world. [18:52] Galit Ariel suggests AR has a bit of an edge over VR, at least for right now. [21:17] How does technology already subtly fold naturally into the life we are already living? Through simple things like using an Instagram filter, Zoom calls or using a shopping app. [25:08] Our work will need to get more efficient, and our online experiences more immersive. But, we will need people to power all this technology.   Quotes: “AI governance was really about understanding and wrapping around how you use your data in an ethical and empathetic way.” - Don [2:20] “ I think the future of automation and hyper-automation lies in leveraging data, analytics, intelligence, to self optimize your processes. - Don [6:11] “It’s important we understand the way tech that runs our world works, and how our data is used because it’s already becoming deeply ingrained in how we govern ourselves, our companies, and our societies at large.” - Jo [11:50] “ Ensuring a less biased future, without biased tech, can’t just depend on people like Elizabeth who take up the mantle. It depends on organizations, and the people who make them move.” - Jo [16:33] “We find things that we share and we find things that we can teach each other about. And that's wonderful. I think part of that is acknowledging that with your unique perspective also comes your unique set of blind spots and experiences and perspectives that you might not have.” - Don [16:37] “A diversity of perspective is going to be important as we navigate the ongoing shift to a more virtual way of life.” - Jo [18:09] “I love the opportunity that we have now to live through this era, that everything we dreamed of is coming and technology is not something that exists in this other space, but it really is becoming an and indigenous thing to our physical reality.” - Galit [19:48] “My hope is that we as humans, don't let the metaverse replace the actual verse.” - [22:34] Don   Continue on your journey: pega.com/podcast   Mentioned: Don Schuerman Fay Arjomandi Elizabeth Adams Galit Ariel Ready Player One Mark Anderson

As AI becomes more capable, it must collect more data to adapt better to our world. By creating data artificially (and not at the expense of our privacy), our future becomes smarter that much faster. From teaching autonomous cars how to drive using 3D content to helping the blind run without fear using machine learning, our guests talk share the ways they've used synthetic data to achieve big things – and talk about even greater things it can make possible.    Key Takeaways: [2:01] Beatrice and her fellow researchers were handing over their own data to fill gaps in the studies when they did not have enough data, or when there were challenges around convincing subjects to be part of their study. So how could synthetic data have solved these problems? [2:54] Synthetic data is data that is artificially created and has the same statistical properties as the original data. However, when you generate synthetic data, the process is completely irreversible. [3:50] Without synthetic data, if the world has biased information, you may not see equal representation of people in all places and data that represents them. Phil Bayer, an engineer at Google’s Project Guideline, discusses how data bias is no small concern. [6:17] Emna talks about how AI needs to develop new algorithms and methods to detect things and to mimic human behavior, with self-driving cars as an example. [9:07] Phil and his team at Project Guideline are working on a project that allows blind individuals to run outside by detecting a yellow line on the ground. Phil talks about how it all began when a man named Thomas Panek walked into a Google Hackathon and asked if they could help blind people run freely. A few surreal data sets later, Phil was moved by watching Thomas run freely outside. [14:36] Robotic systems might benefit from some virtual reality training, and using 3D environments to train AI on synthetic data is just the tip of the iceberg when we look at what is possible. Peter van der Putten, Director of Decisioning and AI Solutions at Pegasystems, and Prof of Media Technology at Leiden University speaks about how a lot of VR is too perfect, and we can benefit when it has the graininess and character of the real world. [16:57] After Grand Theft Auto 5 was released in 2013, Intel researchers decided to try to make a movie version of the game that would be more photorealistic. They used a machine learning technique that used real-world data. [20:02] Peter’s student research has some interesting implications for how AI systems train best in virtual reality. Phil agrees, saying that using VR as a training site for AI just might be the way of the future.   Quotes: “We basically, as consumers or customers of any type, have no privacy at all. So, of course, I wanted to join this mission to build a technology that would eventually give us what is ours back.” - Beatrice 3:15 “Synthetic data can even help us balance out some of the biases we see in the real world. With synthetic data, you can create worlds that sort of you are hoping for, or that you're envisioning.”  - Phil 5:12 “With synthetic data, you can create realistic 3D content and without too much human effort and you can make more areas diverse.” - Emna 7:09 “To see sort of the variety of ways in which someone can be helped by technology —  like this is really powerful.” - Phil 14:11  “A lot of VR is hyper-realistic. It's not that it's not perfect enough. It's too perfect. It's missing the graininess, and the glossy character of the real world.” - Peter 15:58 “The other thing that has been showing a lot of promise in synthetic data is helping to try and remove bias from datasets. And so I think that's another reason why it's growing in popularity.” Phil - 19:40 “We can create less biased AI. We can share our data with confidence in our privacy.” James - 20:31   Continue on your journey: pega.com/podcast   Mentioned:  Grand Theft Auto  Article by the Imperial College London  Beatrice Milik  Emna Amor  Philip Bayer  Peter van der Putten

Have you ever played around with an Instagram or Zoom filter? Maybe you’re an experienced gamer who’s created and avatar to represent your online identity. That’s augmented reality (AR). And, unlike virtual reality, it launches the virtual world into our tangible, physical world. This unlocks infinite opportunities for real people to connect in unique ways. Listen in as our guests, Catherine D. Henry, Senior VP of Growth at Media.Monks, Alan Smithson, co-founder and CEO of MetaVRse, and Galit Ariel, author of Augmenting Alice: The Future of Identity, Experience, and Reality, discuss how brands should embrace the immersive experiences of AR to get ahead.   Key Takeaways: [1:47] What is the metaverse? Catherine tells us that it is essentially a universe where the physical and digital worlds meet. We are already living in it, and AR, VR, and AI bring a multitude of opportunities for both businesses and consumers. It can sound complicated, but Catherine feels it can be truly and deeply magical. [3:40] How do you help build a virtual economy when you don’t know the first thing about building a virtual experience? Alan explains how he needed to solve this at his company, MetaVRse. It was his job to make virtual reality experiences easier for anyone to build, which makes them more successful. [4:46] Virtual reality puts us right into the virtual world, but augmented reality casts the virtual world onto the physical world: It brings the movie right onto our very real and tactile lives. [5:20] Galit explains why she loves augmented reality, and how this technology is becoming an indigenous piece to our physical reality. She created a filter called “Being Galit Ariel”, where people could go into Snap and try on her look, full of funky glasses and bright lipstick. During COVID, she found this filter created an easy way for her to represent herself in the comfort of her own home. [8:09] The metaverse can help democratize the internet because there could be less judgment when you don’t know who you are speaking with. This allows people to create an identity that they feel really reflects who they are. [10:31] Alan walks us through a tutorial of his MetaVRse platform, and helps us imagine the strange new spaces we might be able to create, whether for art, fun, work, or socializing. [14:01] Galit explains how the wonders of virtual reality might distract us from the beauty and joy that comes from living in our tactile world. [15:30] How will branding and advertising work in these spaces? Brands should get ahead of the trend by being the ones to create their own space, hold events, and engage with fan-created branded experiences. Otherwise, you may have a chicken in Subway trying to sell you a foot-long sandwich. [20:07] Galit explains the need for regulation, even if it slows things down. Companies and users must also be aware of the data that is collected from their extended reality experience, and how it’s being used. Not only could your unique digital signature be tracked, but your body language, physical information, and even inside your home. [24:47] We need to make sure that everyone has access to the virtual internet or metaverse, and that people get an equal chance to build their skillsets in order to participate in the virtual economy.   Quotes: [10:20] “I love the creative properties because people build worlds that conform to their wildest imagination.” - Catherine [14:01] “We still have this inherent need to touch and experience things, and if we can add richer layers to this world, the beauty of augmented reality will create a deeper experience of our real world, without losing contact with it.” - Galit [19:09] “Every surface is a potential media content platform. So, we need to think about the different ways in which people are engaging with media and meet them there.” - Catherine [21:57] “I think we all need to kind of buckle up and be more responsible about what we're doing, how we're doing, and why.” - Galit [24:24] “As the metaverse continues to become a more prominent part of our lives, privacy and regulation will become a more prominent part of the conversation. But who gets to participate in that conversation depends on who has access to the tech.” - James [24:48] “We need to make sure that there are standards that allow for everyone to access this virtual internet or metaverse and get an equal chance to build their skillsets to participate in the virtual economy.” - Catherine   Continue on your journey: pega.com/podcast   Mentioned: Catherine D. Henry Media.Monks Alan Smithson MetaVRse Galit Ariel Augmenting Alice: The Future of Identity, Experience, and Reality.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is all around us. Do you see it? Do you know when you’re experiencing it? From your friend suggestions to your thermostat, from chat bots to Google searches, AI is ever-present and always learning. With enough power to help during a global health crisis and enough specificity to help resolve your personal banking dispute, the use cases for AI are truly endless – with opportunities spanning across industries. Three experts, consultant Nia Christian, researcher Peter van der Putten, and CEO and Founder of NewVantage Partners Randy Bean discuss what AI is and where to look for the data that’s used to power it.   Key Takeaways: [2:58] What is artificial intelligence, and why should it matter to your organization? AI is already very much immersed in our lives, from social media friend suggestions to driving a Tesla, predictive text, even passport, and ID scanners. AI is everything from Roombas to full-scale robotic, back down to Zoom calls and banking apps. [4:47] AI is an ever-changing definition, but one constant is that the processes require loads of data to build intelligence. AI data processing can save lives if we know what data to look at. [5:41] As a Big Data and AI thought leader, Randy has some important examples of how AI helped in the time of COVID, to accelerate vaccines and help us learn from data. [6:30] For Peter, he is most excited about the impact technology will have on society. He discusses an example of how the Commonwealth Bank of Australia not only used customer data to deliver better customer empathy through AI but built its AI systems around delivering financial well-being. [9:15] Randy explains how organizations must optimize first hand, with an example of working with the US Department of Defense to help them learn how to use their data more effectively in case of a drone strike. [11:48] What data matters, and how can you tell the difference between useful data and excess? Randy explains that it is synergistic, and your digital system must interact with your real-world system, not seek to replace it. We also must plan for how it will affect everyone from our vendors to our customers, employees, and CEOs. [14:49] It will be up to us to take control of how we apply our technology if we want to make sure that our AI programs do not harm anyone. [17:49] The key principle will be to make sure our AI accounts for mistakes and biases, and that it is empathetic and accessible to everyone. [19:08] AI already responds to user values based on clicks and engagement, especially in social media. How does this translate into us holding AI responsible for its “intelligence” and decision-making? Peter suggests that AI is a reflection of our values and our actions, and it’s possible we can use that information to foster human connection and support. [22:00] Developing useful and ethical AI means putting in the work ourselves and knowing what your organization or mission stands for.   Quotes: [6:30] “I think what I’m most excited for is all of the people that the technology is going to impact.” - Peter [10:40] “Organizations are drowning in a sea of data, essential data, that could be used more effectively towards their goals, which could have small and large scale implications.” - Jo [12:08] You need to be laser-focused in terms of understanding what data is most important and what data is most crucial.” - Randy [13:39] Whenever new technologies are brought into an organization, people effectively have to change their behaviors. These are things that can take years, and in some instances, even decades.” - Randy [17:23] If we want computers to learn values we aspire to, we must first be clear about what those values are.” - Jo [22:08] “Eliminating biases and implementing AI programs that treat customers and clients the way you’d like to be treated seems to be at the heart of successful data transformation.” - Jo   Continue on your journey: pega.com/podcast   Mentioned: Nia Christian Digital Fastforward Peter van der Putten Randy Bean Fail Fast, Learn Faster

What if you could test run your dream job before entering the workforce? As a scientist in a lab or a marine biologist in the ocean? With the immersive learning capabilities of virtual spaces, some of our youngest students are being given that opportunity. Listen as Jessica Ochoa Hendrix, co-founder and CEO of Killer Snails, a virtual reality company building games for classrooms, along with Dr. Jacquelyn Morie and Dr. Skip Rizzo chat about how immersive learning is the future of education.   Key Takeaways: [1:52] Before she was a technologist, Jessica Ochoa Hendrix was the Director of Organizational Learning at a charter school network called Uncommon Schools. At a secret science club, she saw the beginnings of what it would take to get more young people, particularly young women, interested in science. The beginnings of her company, Killer Snails was then formed as a way to make learning even more immersive and put the students into the role of scientists even further. Jessica and her team created BioDive, a VR game for the classroom, that uses virtual and augmented reality to ensure students are capable of doing the actual tasks that scientists do in the workplace. [4:06] Dr. Morie speaks about how, from the early days, educators looked at VR as a kind of miracle medium. You can make something large or small, and we learn through embodiment. [6:53] Jessica explains where the name Killer Snails came from. Just as deadly as these creatures can be, scientists have been using their venom to create therapeutic drugs, and the dichotomy highlights how science has incredible yet bizarre creatures constantly being studied and explored. [7:32] The biggest challenge, Dr. Morie explains, is keeping up with a technology that is moving at light speed. We need schools to have supportive IT departments, so this technology can seem less daunting and overwhelming for teachers. [12:13] Jessica believes we can use VR to help students and trainees at a new job by creating memorable experiences. This can help students see themselves as future professionals, and spark a passion for fulfilling their career dreams. [14:20] Dr. Skip Rizzo talks about an example of a cognitive variable called mental rotation, where a large sample size of men outperformed women because of the way the task was presented. Noticing these biases as we build VR and augmented reality is extremely important to even the playing field and also debunking age-old biases in education. [19:39] We can use world-building games like Minecraft and Fortnite to help students learn how to collaborate and lead, even with other children across different cities, states, and countries. Dr. Rizzo suggests this has the power to change how we perceive ourselves and one another. [20:53] VR can help promote empathy, inclusion, and show us really what it feels like to walk in the shoes of someone different than us. [22:50] It is very important to make sure that the creators building our virtual worlds are reflecting all of the realities that we currently have. [24:11] VR gives users a deeper sense of agency than if they were watching TV because you are actually choosing your experience rather than being a passive participant.   Quotes: “VR speaks to our embodied self and we learn things through embodying it.” - 5:00 Dr. Morie “You need schools to have a good IT department that can support those teachers and make it less scary, and make their lives a little easier so they can convey the things that they do best to these students. - 10:40 Dr. Morie “It's really important to elicit this kind of emotional response from students and particularly girls and other people who are underrepresented in science to get this kind of emotional response because we want them to remember it.  - 14:25 Jessica “VR experiences are memorable not only because of their pseudo-physicality but because of their ability to evoke powerful emotions.” - 17:48  Jo “I think VR is going to be a powerful force in helping change behavior in a prosocial way in these areas to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.” - 20:34 Skip “If we are going to be putting people into simulations in which they are intended to have a bodied experience, we need to make sure that all kinds of bodies are being represented.”   - 22:16 Jo “It's not just making a story and putting someone in that story world, it's making an experience where the story arises from a person's choices and actions in that world.”  - 27:05 Dr. Morie    Continue on your journey: pega.com/podcast   Mentioned: Dr. Morie Dr. Rizzo Killer Snails Immersive Research Learning Network Conference BioDive! 1000 Cut Journey

Distance, isolation, and trauma are all too real for many, especially over the last year and a half. From physically isolated elders living in senior care to emotionally isolated veterans back home from deployment, there are so many people Kyle Rand, co-founder and CEO at Rendever, and psychologist, Dr. Skip Rizzo, are looking to help. Tune in to learn more about their vision for changing how we can move forward through connections – with the limitless possibilities of VR.    Key Takeaways: [1:11] For Skip, the key to using Virtual Reality is engaging people in things they can benefit from. Kyle saw VR as an opportunity for empowering seniors and to help broaden their world, especially those in long-term care facilities. [4:23] Skip discusses his work with people who needed cognitive rehabilitation from traumatic brain injuries. He experimented with the game SimCity and found great opportunities in gamifying cognitive rehab even just with the emerging technology in the 1990s. He feels now as though VR’s vision has finally caught up to the technology. [6:26] What exactly can VR do for us? It can provide a whole lot more than just entertainment. Kyle’s technology helps seniors cross off bucket list items, even visit their childhood home and gives them the opportunity to access memories that can help raise their mood and fight off the doldrums of isolation. [10:15] Kyle shares a story of how VR helped rehab a dementia patient and bring back her happiness and upbeat personality. [13:04] Skip and his colleague Barbara had already built a virtual Vietnam simulation in the late nineties, where patients could go into the environment with supervision from a professional at a pace they can handle. [16:39] Social isolation is as detrimental to one’s health as smoking 15 cigarettes and is terrible for all of us, especially in the aging demographic. The pandemic gave many of us a feeling for the first time of being isolated, and VR can act as a tool to allow us to connect with each other, friends, family, and even caregivers. Kyle and his team at Rendever are launching a new study that pairs residents of senior living communities with family members with family members that live at a distance to see how we can better use technology for social health. [18:53] Another profound opportunity is helping those in professions that come with a high amount of stress. Doctors and nurses have the highest suicide rate of any profession, and Skip believes we can take what we have learned from working with veterans and expand it to others. [20:28] Virtual humans? Yes, Skip believes that AI-powered pseudo-people can be placed in VR simulations, and that may be the next step in virtual reality treatment. This can provide all the elements of talking to a real person without any of the judgement or time constraints. [22:18] This industry really takes the mindset that all ships rise together. It’s a very collaborative industry and one that is full of creativity. [23:36] We see a future in which virtual reality technology can empower communities to thrive way past the four walls of any building. [24:33] VR isn’t just about anywhere, it’s about anyone.   Quotes: [1:50] “The key here was engagement, engaging people in things they could benefit from.” - Skip [4:06] “We looked at this technology as this incredible tool that really allows people to connect with the world outside of the four walls that they are confined within.” - Kyle [5:05] We could get multiple seniors to put on these headsets together and share an experience and have that moment of joy, have that moment of happiness together, that gives us a really exciting opportunity to build a relationship and build a conversation, get people to talk and connect through these experiences.” - Kyle [15:50] “There’s a lot of power here, and a lot of potential to do good and improve the human experience.” - Skip [22:22] “I think VR will never be as natural as breathing, but VR will be as natural as jumping into a Zoom meeting or turning on Netflix.” - Kyle [23:36] We see a future in which virtual reality technology can empower communities to thrive way past the four walls of any building. - Kyle [24:33] Because VR isn’t just about anywhere. It's about anyone. - Jo   Continue on your journey: pega.com/podcast   Mentioned: Rendever Kyle Rand Dr. Skip Russo USC Institute for Creative Technologies

How often do we trust the technology around us? Should we ever? CEO and founder of EMA Advisory Services, Elizabeth Adams wants to know – especially as it relates to AI surveillance. Smart phones, social media, and facial and voice recognition are commonplace for many. But do we know what, if any, ethical considerations shaped their development? That’s why Elizabeth is on a mission to fight for ethical, human-centric AI. Join us as we uncover hard truths about the role civic tech plays in our communities.    Key Takeaways: [1:56] Elizabeth, a long-time technologist, shares how she came to be involved in the ethical use of AI. After being part of the working poor for many years, she made a decision to focus on giving a voice to the voiceless. [4:31] How does bias get coded into facial recognition? Systems are sold and trained by law enforcement that can be biased in a way that shows Black and Brown people as more suspicious. This can do irreversible harm to communities that are traditionally discriminated against. [6:00] It’s not just facial recognition technology that can be biased and ultimately harmful, it can be other computer vision technologies as well.  Elizabeth discusses the example of how an infrared thermometer used during COVID picked up a firearm image more in darker-skinned users than lighter-skinned ones. When this type of technology is in the hands of governing bodies, this kind of AI can be dangerous to civilians. [6:20] Elizabeth’s work with AI is first and foremost about making tech, especially surveillance tech, safe for citizens. That work took root in the city of Minneapolis, where she zeroed in on civic tech initiatives. Elizabeth explains that civic tech is when the government and the community work together on a shared leadership decision around what technology should be used to help govern society. [7:27] Elizabeth discusses the coalition POSTME (Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology and Military Equipment) that she founded in Minneapolis. The murder of George Floyd by former police officer Derek Chauvin in 2020 sent a shockwave across the world. One that resulted in public demand for greater accountability and oversight of the way citizens, and especially communities of color, are policed. As a technologist focused on civic tech, Elizabeth uses her expertise, coupled with the power of advocacy, to make changes to the kinds of tech that police in Minneapolis can use. [10:41] Often, those doing the surveillance are too removed from those being policed. This is especially dangerous for black and brown communities. Because if the police don’t know the people they’re supposed to be serving, they often fail to distinguish between who is a threat, and who isn’t. [13:49] Clearview AI is a facial recognition technology designed for use by law enforcement. When it was adopted by the city of Minneapolis, Elizabeth’s coalition discovered the tech was using data in clearly unethical ways. In February of this year, the Minneapolis City Council banned the use and voted unanimously to ban the use of facial recognition technology. Although challenging, this was a big win for Elizabeth and her team. [16:01] So what business does AI-driven facial recognition have in the hands of the law? Elizabeth explains how it could be used for good including everything from helping recover someone lost with dementia, and to identify the perpetrator of a crime. [19:18] Whether it’s an issue of bias coded into the AI itself, or just in those using it, we need more attention to the way we govern it, and that needs to start from the design. [20:11] As consumers, we trust new technologies too easily and forget to think about who may be harmed by them. Elizabeth gives the example of Hello Barbie, which was discontinued in 2015 after the AI was powered in a way that could not only speak to kids but listen to them too. [23:02] Elizabeth and other leading technologists have given so much to society but no one has asked what they have given up. Time, educational goals, and personal moments with family all sometimes get lessened by the time it takes to create new and ethical AI that is safe for everyone. [25:20] With endless opportunities to innovate, we need to ask what is its purpose, and who is it serving? How can it bring us together, and who may it potentially hurt?   Quotes: “I made a decision that I would definitely focus on those who are the voiceless, those who have no seat at the table and have no decision-making power or shared decision-making power at the table.” - [2:23] Elizabeth “It starts in the design session with the data. And if the data is not diverse, then the system output will not be able to identify diverse people.” - [4:50] Elizabeth “Often, those doing the surveillance are too removed from those being policed.” - [10:41] Jo “I don't think that we can live in a world post 9/11 here in the US without some sort of surveillance. However, it needs to be ethical. It needs to be explainable. It needs to be trustworthy and transparent. There needs to be some oversight.” - [19:45] Elizabeth “We aren’t going to get away from technology, so why not make it as safe as possible?” - [21:57] Elizabeth “With endless opportunities for tech companies to innovate with AI, we all need to start asking more pointed questions about its purpose, and who exactly it’s serving.” - [25:40] Jo “The future of ethical AI is going to be determined by our ability and willingness to ask big questions. So we need people in every corner of every industry asking: Is this technology safe? Do we understand how it uses our data? Does it have our permission to use it? Did it even ask us? And if it does, if we say yes, it needs to be because it serves a purpose. Because it serves us all.” - [27:03] Jo   Continue on your journey: pega.com/podcast   Mentioned: Elizabeth Adams: Twitter | LinkedIn EMA Advisory Services Safety Not Surveillance Coalition Joy Buolamwini Coded Bias