Human In The Loop

This week we welcome back Derrick Edward who is a technical founder with deep software engineering & Al experience. He co-founded Harnex AI, an Al-native agency helping businesses adopt Al across ANZ, and now he’s building a global B2B Al platform called AuraScope so brands stay visible in the Al search era.We discuss:· Why AEO is the new frontier of digital visibility and why the brands that ignore it now will be playing catch-up fast· What it actually takes to get your business in front of AI-generated answers the practical steps leaders can take today· What possessed Derrick to come back again, what's changed since his first episode, and what impressions we're getting better atDerrick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derrick-edward/AuraScope website: https://aurascope.co/Harnex AI website: https://www.harnex.ai/Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLFollow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLEmail alaina@rushdigital.co.nz if you have feedback, comments, questions or compliments Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Bergin is EGM Technology Research & Advocacy at Xero, leading the company’s exploration of emerging technologies and their impact on small business. He has a background in technology strategy, enterprise architecture, and digital innovation leadership. James is an active member of Aotearoa’s technology community, and is a regular voice on how AI and other disruptive technologies can be adopted responsibly to create better outcomes for small businesses.We discuss:· The “green shoots” that make us hopeful we can use AI for good at work and in society· Where he's currently seeing AI move the needle most for small businesses· Frameworks he's using right now to think about AI and value creationJames on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/jamesberginJames' website: https://jamesbergin.com/For more on Xero's approach to AI and building for the future of finance: https://blog.xero.com/us/news-events/accountable-intelligence-ai-jax/Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLFollow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLEmail alaina@rushdigital.co.nz if you have feedback, comments, questions or compliments Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Geoff Christopher is a financial advisor and co-founder of Afterburner, a rapidly growing AI platform that automates the admin-heavy parts of mortgage and lending advice so advisers can focus on real client conversations and outcomes.He brings a wealth of cross-industry experience spanning banking, regulatory consulting, luxury retail, and financial advisory which has cultivated a drive to innovate within the financial services landscape.We discuss:· Built by advisors for advisors: becoming a tech entrepreneur alongside being a financial advisor · Data / security / regulation / compliance: the complexity of working in the fintech space in NZ· For both advisors and their clients, what should be handled by humans versus offloaded to AI?Geoff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoff-c-55ba6522/Afterburner: https://www.afterburner.co.nz/Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLFollow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLEmail alaina@rushdigital.co.nz if you have feedback, comments, questions or compliments Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scott Bishop is Chief Commercial Officer at Awanui Group, New Zealand's largest diagnostic testing provider, where he drives growth strategy, data innovation, and new service development. Originally from the United States, Scott has been in Aotearoa since 2015 and has built a reputation for strategic, hands-on leadership across some of the country's most recognisable brands.Before joining Awanui, Scott served as Chief Innovation Officer at Z Energy, where he led the Innovation Refinery and launched customer-focused solutions like Fastlane and Sharetank. He’s also held senior innovation and product roles at IAG, Amazon and Microsoft. He's known for coaching teams, launching new products, and helping organisations adapt to emerging market challenges.We discuss:· How to convince leadership teams to prioritise innovation - not as a side project, but as a strategic necessity· The importance of keeping the customer at the centre of innovation, and then how to go on to educate them to adopt new technologies/initiatives· The most effective thing in helping everyday employees think and act like entrepreneurs· What New Zealand companies most need to evolve to remain relevant on the global stageBODYiQ: https://bodyiq.co.nz/nzScott on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottkbishop/Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLFollow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLEmail alaina@rushdigital.co.nz if you have feedback, comments, questions or compliments Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Craig Boxall is Chief Product Officer & Founder of Nexties, an education technology venture focused on helping learners and organisations build future-ready skills. Alongside this, he is involved with Liven Labs, where he brings together his experience in AI-driven product innovation, venture building, and digital strategy. His work at Nexties and Liven Labs builds on nearly two decades of founding and scaling digital businesses, including Pixel Fusion and Onceit, plus senior product leadership roles in AI and Web3 companies.We discuss:· the functionality, technology, and philosophy of the Nexties platform· modern support tools and a new approach to career guidance · the undeniable impact of being able to envision a future Nexties: https://nexties.com/Craig on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigboxall/Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLFollow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLEmail alaina@rushdigital.co.nz if you have feedback, comments, questions or compliments Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Alaina, Danu, and Hamish trade their usual guest format for a freewheeling conversation about what actually mattered in AI and tech over the past year, and what was just noise.From infrastructure realities like RAM shortages and power grid constraints to the hype around solid-state batteries at CES, we try to separate genuine breakthroughs from marketing spin including:· the evolution of robotics (Boston Dynamics, anyone?)· the messy ethics of training data collection· why cybersecurity in New Zealand still feels like we're living in 2015The discussion veers through disaster preparedness, the surprising complexity of getting robots to walk, and why slowing down - whether it's your reading habits or your AI implementation - might be the smartest strategy for 2026.Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLFollow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLEmail alaina@rushdigital.co.nz if you have feedback, comments, questions or compliments Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In May 2022 we hosted our first ever "live podcast" during Techweek before we officially had a podcast... And we were so lucky to have the incredible Lucy Blakiston from SYSCA as our guest, in conversation with Danu.Back then events were being paused due to COVID (as we found out first hand), AI was a much smaller part of the conversation, and Luce was still in her anonymous phase!Fast forward to 2026: it's been a long time since we had to cancel an event due to COVID, AI is almost all the conversation, and Lucy dropped the anonymity - which has given us the reason to finally release this conversation. If you don't know who Lucy Blakiston is, she's the CEO and editorial director of SYSCA, a media brand that helps mainly young people make sense of global news and online culture in an accessible, informal way. She's also the co-author of “Make It Make Sense”, a bestselling collection of personal and cultural essays written with her friend and collaborator Bel Hawkins. She's also a semi-finalist for the 2026 Young New Zealander of the Year.SYSCA website: https://www.shityoushouldcareabout.com/SYSCA substack: https://shityoushouldcareabout.substack.com/Lucy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucyblakiston/Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLFollow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLEmail alaina@rushdigital.co.nz if you have feedback, comments, questions or compliments Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us as we Loop Back to clarify comments and claims from last week's episode, as well as chat about any new news from the world of tech and AI.· Fäviken Sweden https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A4viken· Deborah Ann Woll Teaches Jon Bernthal Dungeons and Dragons https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpVJZrabMQE· About prion diseases https://www.cdc.gov/prions/about/index.html · Mental Health apps in NZ https://healthify.nz/apps/m/mental-health-and-wellbeing-appsFollow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLFollow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLEmail alaina@rushdigital.co.nz if you have feedback, comments, questions or compliments Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us as we Loop Back to clarify comments and claims from last week's episode, as well as chat about any new news from the world of tech and AI.ChatGPT has become Nickelback: https://scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2024/11/05/chatgpt-has-become-nickelback/Spurious Correlations: https://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlationsFollow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLFollow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLEmail alaina@rushdigital.co.nz if you have feedback, comments, questions or compliments Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us as we Loop Back to clarify comments and claims from last week's episode, as well as chat about any new news from the world of tech and AI.3blue1brown https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjZofJX0v4MPlease Subscribe! We would love that very much.Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLFollow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLEmail alaina@rushdigital.co.nz if you have feedback, comments, questions or compliments Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vindhya Joseph specialises in developing scalable technology solutions for large organisations, drawing on her academic foundation in information systems and technology management from Oregon State University.Currently an enterprise architect at Foodstuffs, she brings a wealth of experience to engineering leadership drawing from time at JumpCloud, Unibuddy and Microsoft.We discuss:- architecting future-ready systems within enterprise- where to start with AI in a large organisation- the need for everyone to look out for coming generationsVindhya on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vindhyaj/Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLFollow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLEmail alaina@rushdigital.co.nz if you have feedback, comments, questions or compliments Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Camelia Petrus is an Organisational Psychologist and Ethical Workplace specialist, known for delivering science-backed keynotes on ethical leadership, Emotional Intelligence, and human behaviour. With a Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology and certifications in coaching, Emotional Intelligence, Nonviolent Communication, and Positive Psychology, she equips executives and professionals with practical strategies for resilience and workplace transformation. Camelia has spoken at major conferences and forums, including CAANZ, the New Zealand Psychological Society, and corporate leadership events, where she empowers leaders and teams to navigate complexity and lead with integrity, empathy, and purpose.We discuss:- how to make ethical leadership decisions in the AI age- why defining your values is critical- the importance of staying curious Camelia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camelia-petrus-pgdip-io-psychology-9010394/Core Purpose Leadership Development: https://www.corepurpose.co.nz/Resources, sources and corrections:GROK Cards: https://www.corepurpose.co.nz/resources-core-purpose-valuesNeal Stephenson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neal_StephensonThings Will Work Out: https://www.peopleiveloved.com/products/things-will-work-out-printFollow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLFollow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLEmail alaina@rushdigital.co.nz if you have feedback, comments, questions or compliments Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bindi Norwell is a highly accomplished New Zealand business leader, currently serving as the Group Chief Executive of ProCare, a major healthcare provider in New Zealand, and JV Health Accelerator co-chair. With over 25 years of experience across sectors such as health, property, professional services, and telecommunications, she is known for her commitment to health equity, technology-driven transformation in healthcare, and empowering teams.In recent years, Bindi has been driving the adoption of AI and machine learning into primary care to improve efficiencies, relieve some of the administrative burden on GPs and nurses, improve patient experience, and help achieve more equitable health outcomes for the people of Aotearoa.We discuss:- how AI is an enabler for tech- the opportunities and hurdles in the healthtech prodcurement process- what the future for primary care could look likeProCare: www.procare.co.nzHealth Accelerator: www.healthaccelerator.co.nzBindi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bindi-norwell/Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLFollow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzLEmail alaina@rushdigital.co.nz if you have feedback, comments, questions or compliments Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.