Data Debrief: Trad AI, Gen AI, and the Fight for Relevance

About this episode

The episode discusses the evolving landscape of AI, contrasting traditional and generative AI, and the implications for organizations.

Welcome to another episode of Data Debrief, the companion show to Driven By Data: The Podcast, where hosts Catherine Dowden-King and Kyle Winterbottom sit down to unpack Tuesday’s conversation, share what’s been on their minds, and explore what’s really happening across the data and AI landscape. Fresh off Kyle’s return from holiday, the pair dive into Tuesday’s episode with Daragh Kelly, Chief Data Officer at The Economist, unpacking the ideas that stood out most, and a few that challenge the dominant narratives in the market right now. They cover: Why the concept of “Trad AI” (traditional machine learning and data science) is a useful lens, and how the market is blurring the lines between legacy AI and the new wave of generative and agentic capabilities The ongoing hype cycle in AI, why it’s nothing new, and how organisations risk getting distracted by buzzwords rather than focusing on real outcomes The growing gap between building AI solutions and making them scalable, reusable, and commercially viable The importance of defining what “AI” actually means inside your organisation, and why vague language is creating confusion at the board level The tension between speed and…

People in this episode

Hosts: Catherine Dowden-King, Kyle Winterbottom

Guest: Daragh Kelly

Topics covered

• Trad AI
• Generative AI
• AI hype cycle
• AI scalability
• AI definitions
• Operating models
• Insight generation

Keywords

• Trad AI
• Generative AI
• AI scalability
• AI definitions
• hype cycle
• data science
• machine learning

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Economist

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