Send us a text We're joined by Douwe Kiela, CEO of Contextual.ai and pioneer in RAG research. From deploying AI agents at Fortune 500 companies to shedding light on data privacy and security, Douwe shares his expertise and insights on how to make data simple, effective, and secure. 00:46 Introducing Douwe Kiela 01:37 RAG - Here to Stay or Go? 06:59 LLMs with Context 08:20 Making AI Successful 10:34 Why Contextual AI? 17:18 LLM versus SLMs 20:28 Speed over Perfection 22:07 Hallucinations 26:02 Making AI Easy to Consume 28:50 Defining an Agent 32:53 Reaching Contextual AI 33:14 The Contrarian View 34:37 The Risks of AI 36:53 For Fun

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/douwekiela Website: https://contextual.ai/   Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple?  Reach out to us at [email protected] 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.  Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at [email protected] 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.

Send us a text This week, we’re rewinding one of our most talked-about episodes! Richmond Alake, Developer Advocate at MongoDB, joins us to explore how databases power the future of AI. From RAG best practices to the truth behind AGI hype, Richmond breaks down what it takes to build systems that scale — and think. Show Notes 02:05 Meet Rich Alake 03:57 A Developer Advocate at MongoDB 05:57 Passions and Fate! 08:52 AI Hype 13:14 Oh No… AGI Again 17:30 What Makes an AI Database? 20:42 Use Cases 25:41 RAG Best Practices 27:40 The Role of Databases 30:05 Why MongoDB Does It Better 32:43 What’s Next 36:13 Advice on Continuous Learning 38:44 Where to Find RichConnect with Richmond: 🔗 LinkedIn 🌐 MongoDB Website 🧠 Register for MongoDB 🤖 AI Agents Article 💾 Best Repo for AI Developers Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at [email protected] 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.

Send us a text What if AI could tap into live operational data — without ETL or RAG? In this episode, Deepti Srivastava, founder of Snow Leopard, reveals how her company is transforming enterprise data access with intelligent data retrieval, semantic intelligence, and a governance-first approach. Tune in for a fresh perspective on the future of AI and the startup journey behind it.

We explore how companies are revolutionizing their data access and AI strategies. Deepti Srivastava, founder of Snow Leopard, shares her insights on bridging the gap between live operational data and generative AI — and how it’s changing the game for enterprises worldwide. We dive into Snow Leopard’s innovative approach to data retrieval, semantic intelligence, and governance-first architecture. 04:54 Meeting Deepti Srivastava 14:06 AI with No ETL, no RAG 17:11 Snow Leopard's Intelligent Data Fetching 19:00 Live Query Challenges 21:01 Snow Leopard's Secret Sauce 22:14 Latency 23:48 Schema Changes 25:02 Use Cases 26:06 Snow Leopard's Roadmap 29:16 Getting Started 33:30 The Startup Journey 34:12 A Woman in Technology 36:03 The Contrarian View🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thedeepti/ 🔗 Website:  https://www.snowleopard.ai/ Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at [email protected] 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.

Send us a text Richmond Alake, Developer Advocate at MongoDB, is an AI/ML practitioner with an academic background in computer vision, robotics, and machine learning.  If databases that scale for AI are your thing, this one is for you. 02:05 Meet Rich Alake 03:57 A Developer Advocate at MongoDB 05:57 Passions and Fate! 08:52 AI Hype 13:14 Oh No.  AGI Again… 17:30 What Makes and AI Database? 20:42 Use Cases 25:41 RAG Best Practices 27:40 The Role of Database 30:05 Why is MongoDB Better At? 32:43 What's Next 36:13 Advice on Contious Learning 38:44 Where to Find Rich? Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/richmondalake Website: https://www.mongodb.com/

Register For MongoDB: https://mdb.link/register_make_data_simple AI Agents Article: https://mdb.link/ai_agents_making_data_simple Best Repo for AI Developers: https://mdb.link/ai_developer_resource  Richmond's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richmondalake/ Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at [email protected] 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.

Send us a text More on GenAI, Hallucinations, RAG, Use Cases, LLMs, SLMs and costs with Armand Ruiz, Director watsonx Client Engineering and John Webb, Principal Client Engineering.  With this and the previous episode you'll be wiser on AI than 98% of the world.

00:12 Hallucinations02:33 RAG Differentiation06:41 Why IBM in AI09:23 Use Cases11:02 The GenAI Resume13:37 watson.x 15:40 LLMs17:51 Experience Counts20:03 AI that Surprises23:46 AI Skills26:47 Switching LLMs27:13 The Cost and SLMs28:21 Prompt Engineering29:16 For FunLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/armand-ruiz, linkedin.com/in/john-webb-686136127 Website: https://www.ibm.com/client-engineering

Love what you're hearing? Don't forget to rate us on your favorite platform! Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple?  Reach out to us at [email protected] 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.  Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at [email protected] 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. Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at [email protected] 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.

Send us a text Understanding Search, GenAI, RAG methodology, and vector databases with Nixon Cheaz, Engineering Lead at IBM's Experience Engine.   02:24 Meet Nixon Cheaz04:32 Search without Google06:35 Experience Engine08:30 Elements of Good Search12:46 Search Data Source15:36 GenAI Use Cases and Vector DBs 19:40 Foundational Models?22:07 Impact of Vector DBs25:38 IBM Public Content DB28:02 Use Cases29:58 IBM Technologies32:54 RAG40:12 Health is WealthLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nixon-cheaz

Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple?  Reach out to us at [email protected] 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.  Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at [email protected] 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.

Send us a text More on GenAI, Hallucinations, RAG, Use Cases, LLMs, SLMs and costs with Armand Ruiz, Director watsonx Client Engineering and John Webb, Principal Client Engineering.  With this and the previous episode you'll be wiser on AI than 98% of the world.

00:12 Hallucinations02:33 RAG Differentiation06:41 Why IBM in AI09:23 Use Cases11:02 The GenAI Resume13:37 watson.x 15:40 LLMs17:51 Experience Counts20:03 AI that Surprises23:46 AI Skills26:47 Switching LLMs27:13 The Cost and SLMs28:21 Prompt Engineering29:16 For FunLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/armand-ruiz, linkedin.com/in/john-webb-686136127 Website: https://www.ibm.com/client-engineering

Love what you're hearing? Don't forget to rate us on your favorite platform! Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple?  Reach out to us at [email protected] 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.  Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at [email protected] 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.

Send us a text Let's go deep on GenAI, Foundational Models, and LLMs with Armand Ruiz, Director watsonx Client Engineering and John Webb, Principal Client Engineering.  Get a candid view on what is happening in the industy today. 01:40 Meet Armand Ruiz05:09 Meet John Webb06:43 The Client Engineering Practice07:51 GenAI11:50 IBM's AI Approach 13:50 GenAi in the Enterprise 15:47 Where to Start?18:10 RAG Method19:11 IBM's Differentiation21:25 AI Regulation24:22 LLM versus Smaller ModelsLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/armand-ruiz, linkedin.com/in/john-webb-686136127 Website: https://www.ibm.com/client-engineering Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple?  Reach out to us at [email protected] 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.  Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at [email protected] 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.

Send us a text Back to talking Data with Ed Anuff, CPO, DataStax.  With experience at Google, Apigee, Six Apart, Vignette, Epicentric, and Wired, Ed talks the future of databases with AI and GenAI.  

05:04 The Crazy life of Ed Anuff08:12 DataStax defined10:06 Vector Database11:58 GenAI and RAG Pattern18:03 DataStax Differentiation21:39 NoSQL vs SQL24:27 Common AI Use Cases25:47 The Secret to ChatGPT31:10 DataStax 2min Pitch31:42 The Future35:47 Bring AI to the DataLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/edanuff Website: https://www.datastax.com/ Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple?  Reach out to us at  [email protected] 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.  Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at [email protected] 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.