Making Data Simple

{Replay} AI Risks, Ethics & Law — with Christina Montgomery Chief Privacy Officer, General Motors and former IBMer

Send us a textShe’s the legal powerhouse behind IBM’s AI ethics strategy — and she makes law fun. In this encore episode, we revisit a fan favorite: Christina Montgomery, formerly IBM’s Chief Privacy and Trust Officer, now Chief Privacy and Trust Officer, GM. From guarding the gates of generative AI risk to advising on global regulation, Christina gives us a front-row seat to what’s now, what’s next, and what needs rethinking when it comes to trust, synthetic data, and the future of AI law.📍 Timestamps: • 01:00 Christina Montgomery! • 04:36 My Daughter and the Bar • 08:36 Chief Privacy and Trust Officer • 11:37 Keeping IBM Out of Trouble • 13:34 Client Conversations • 16:23 Where to Be Bullish and Bearish • 20:52 The Risks of LLMs • 24:21 NIST and AI Alliance • 28:26 AI Regulation • 36:13 Synthetic Data • 38:00 Misconceptions • 40:07 Worries • 41:27 The Path to AI • 43:13 Aspiring Lawyers🔗 Christina on LinkedIn 🌐 IBM AI EthicsWant to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at almartintalksdata@gmail.com and tell us why you should be next. The Making Data Simple Podcast is hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM, where we explore trending technologies, business innovation, and leadership ... while keeping it simple & fun.

Beyond the Buzz: Mastering Prompts & Agents with Jonathan Mast

Send us a textThe AI Advantage: Get Better Results from LLMs with the Perfect Prompt On this episode of Making Data Simple, we’re joined by Jonathan Mast, AI consultant and coach at Whitebeard Strategies and creator of the Perfect Prompting Framework™. Jonathan’s not just riding the AI wave—he’s teaching business leaders and everyday users how to surf it, with simple, actionable tools that unlock meaningful results from large language models.If you've ever stared at a prompt box wondering what to type—or worse, gotten garbage back from AI—this episode is for you. We talk about what works, what doesn’t, and what’s coming next (agents, anyone?). Plus, Jonathan breaks down his 4-step framework that’s helping 300K+ community members and clients scale AI with clarity and confidence.⏱️ Episode Timestamps01:34 Introducing Jonathan Mast04:13 Digital Agency05:29 Whitebeard Strategies08:06 ADD09:57 Back to Whitebeard14:51 The Perfect Prompting Framework21:36 The Four Step Method24:58 What if You Don't Use AI?28:37 Agents30:08 Whitebeard Engagements32:42 Getting Started36:39 What's True But Not a Consensus?37:23 For Fun🔗 Connect with JonathanLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanjmast/Website: https://whitebeardstrategies.com#MakingDataSimple #PerfectPromptingFramework #AIforBusiness #AIProductivity #JonathanMast #PromptEngineering #LLMs #AIAgents #WhitebeardStrategies #TechPodcast #DataSimplifiedWant to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at almartintalksdata@gmail.com and tell us why you should be next. The Making Data Simple Podcast is hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM, where we explore trending technologies, business innovation, and leadership ... while keeping it simple & fun.

From Burnout to Breakthrough: Dave Garrison on the Science of Motivation (Part 2)

Send us a textWe’re back with Part 2 of our must-listen conversation with Dave Garrison, leadership strategist and veteran CEO, on what it really takes to unlock performance through engagement.In this episode, we go deeper into the psychological drivers of motivation — autonomy, mastery, and purpose — and explore how to stop employee churn, combat burnout, and lead with clarity (not just charisma). Plus: how to rethink your approach to hiring and the controversial take on using AI in leadership decisions.Stick around for a surprise recap guest who brings it all home. 💥🕒 Time-Stamps: 00:12 – Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose 04:48 – How to Stop Churn 07:10 – Laying the Hammer Down 08:00 – Burnout 14:50 – Are You Using AI Wrong? 16:27 – Energy Level 17:40 – Coach Katherine Mayne's Take 19:57 – Hire for Aptitude, Fire for Attitude 22:19 – The Recap🔗 Connect with Dave on LinkedIn 📘 Explore his book, Buy-InWant to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at almartintalksdata@gmail.com and tell us why you should be next. The Making Data Simple Podcast is hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM, where we explore trending technologies, business innovation, and leadership ... while keeping it simple & fun.

🎙️ The Hidden Cost of Disengagement: Dave Garrison on Leadership That Sparks Innovation

Send us a text📝 Show Notes: What if the biggest barrier to your company’s growth isn’t your strategy — but your people’s belief in it?In Part 1 of this powerful two-part episode, we welcome Dave Garrison, seasoned CEO, board member, and leadership strategist with over 25 years of experience driving real-world results. Dave pulls back the curtain on what employee engagement really means — and why it's the key to reducing turnover, boosting innovation, and transforming your business from the inside out.Whether you’re leading a small team or an entire enterprise, this episode delivers practical, battle-tested strategies to move your people from burnout to buy-in.💥 Expect real talk, not fluff. Practical steps, not platitudes. Because leadership isn’t about charisma — it’s about connection.🔗 Connect with Dave on LinkedIn 📘 Check out his book: buyinbook.com🕒 Episode Breakdown:01:43 Meet Dave Garrison06:02 Why is Strategy Hard07:34 What is Engagement?15:48 Trust is a Prerequisite to Conflict19:34 Connecting with "Human Beings"20:45 Creating Friday Night Lights Moments26:46 Slowing Down to Speed Up29:35 The Real Cost of Disengagement🔥 Hashtags: #MakingDataSimple #LeadershipStrategy #EmployeeEngagement #DaveGarrison #BusinessGrowth #TrustAndLeadership #OrganizationalHealth #TeamCulture #WorkplaceInnovation #BuyInNotBurnoutWant to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at almartintalksdata@gmail.com and tell us why you should be next. The Making Data Simple Podcast is hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM, where we explore trending technologies, business innovation, and leadership ... while keeping it simple & fun.

From 9× Safer Cars to Hallucination-Free LLMs: Inside Sama with Duncan Curtis SVP for GenAI & AI Product + Technology

Send us a textFrom Elephant Butts to Ethical AI — Duncan Curtis on De-Risking GenAI at SamaEpisode intro Duncan Curtis, SVP for GenAI & AI Product + Technology at Sama, has shipped everything from autonomous-vehicle platforms at Zoox to game-changing data products at Google. Today he leads a 160-person team that’s reinventing how training data is curated, labeled, and audited so enterprises can ship production-ready GenAI—without the lurking model risk. Sama’s newest release, Sama Automate, is already cutting annotation time by 40 percent while keeping quality above SLAs, and Duncan says they’re “aiming for a 10× improvement by 2025.” (aiuserconference.com, sama.com)If you want the inside track on AI ROI, ethical guardrails, and why A’s hire A’s (but B’s hire C’s!), lean in—this one’s for you. (And yes, we do get to elephant butts.)Timestamped roadmap00:46 Meet Duncan Curtis03:51 The Duncan Brand05:52 Making Time for Yourself08:47 Autonomous Cars — 9× Safer12:21 Favorite Jobs13:24 Inside Sama14:39 Data & LLM Training16:04 De-Risking Models19:08 Ethical AI22:43 Stopping Hallucinations27:18 Data Labeling Deep-Dive31:56 Production-Ready GenAI33:44 AGI Horizons35:34 What Makes Sama Different36:31 Calculating AI ROI38:50 State of the LLMs44:48 Elephant Butts & Closing ThoughtsQuick linksLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/duncan-curtis/Sama: https://www.sama.com/Latest blog: “Sama Introduces New Data Automation Platform” (sama.com)Hear more: Duncan on “Human Guardrails in Generative AI” (DataCamp podcast) (datacamp.com)Hashtags#MakingDataSimple #AIProduct #GenAI #DataLabeling #EthicalAI #AIROI #AutonomousVehicles #PodcastWant to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at almartintalksdata@gmail.com and tell us why you should be next. The Making Data Simple Podcast is hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM, where we explore trending technologies, business innovation, and leadership ... while keeping it simple & fun.