The line between generic AI capabilities and truly transformative business applications often comes down to one thing: your data. While foundation models provide impressive general intelligence, they lack the specialized knowledge needed for domain-specific tasks that drive real business value. But how do you effectively bridge this gap? What's the difference between simply fine-tuning models versus using techniques like retrieval-augmented generation? And with constantly evolving models and technologies, how do you build systems that remain adaptable while still delivering consistent results? Whether you're in retail, healthcare, or transportation, understanding how to properly enrich, annotate, and leverage your proprietary data could be the difference between an AI project that fails and one that fundamentally transforms your business. Wendy Gonzalez is the CEO — and former COO — of Sama, a company leading the way in ethical AI by delivering accurate, human-annotated data while advancing economic opportunity in underserved communities. She joined Sama in 2015 and has been central to scaling both its global operations and its mission-driven business model, which has helped over 65,000 people lift themselves out of poverty through dignified digital work. With over 20 years of experience in the tech and data space, Wendy’s held leadership roles at EY, Capgemini, and Cycle30, where she built and managed high-performing teams across complex, global environments. Her leadership style blends operational excellence with deep purpose — ensuring that innovation doesn’t come at the expense of integrity. Wendy is also a vocal advocate for inclusive AI and sustainable impact, regularly speaking on how companies can balance cutting-edge technology with real-world responsibility. Duncan Curtis is the Senior Vice President of Generative AI at Sama, where he leads the development of AI-powered tools that are shaping the future of data annotation. With a background in product leadership and machine learning, Duncan has spent his career building scalable systems that bridge cutting-edge technology with real-world impact. Before joining Sama, he led teams at companies like Google, where he worked on large-scale personalization systems, and contributed to AI product strategy across multiple sectors. At Sama, he's focused on harnessing the power of generative AI to improve quality, speed, and efficiency — all while keeping human oversight and ethical practices at the core. Duncan brings a unique perspective to the AI space: one that’s grounded in technical expertise, but always oriented toward practical solutions and responsible innovation. In the episode, Richie, Wendy, and Duncan explore the importance of using specialized data with large language models, the role of data enrichment in improving AI accuracy, the balance between automation and human oversight, the significance of responsible AI practices, and much more. Links Mentioned in the Show: SamaConnect with WendyConnect with DuncanCourse: Generative AI ConceptsRelated Episode: Creating High Quality AI Applications with Theresa Parker & Sudhi Balan, Rocket SoftwareRegister for RADAR AI New to DataCamp? Learn on the go...

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Abstract Hosted by Al Martin, VP, IBM Expert Services Delivery, Making Data Simple provides the latest thinking on big data, A.I., and the implications for the enterprise from a range of experts.

This week on Making Data Simple, we have Wendy Gonzalez, Wendy is an executive that is passionate about building high-performing, high-functioning teams that develop and scale innovative, impactful technology. Wendy has two decades of managerial and technology leadership experience for companies including EY, Capgemini, Cycle30 (acquired by Arrow Electronics) and General Communications Inc. Wendy is an active Board Member of the Leila Janah Foundation. Show Notes 2:39 – How does a CEO run a company from home? 4:50 - Outline the Mission Statement 7:00 – How do you hire people? 8:58 – How big is the company? 9:23 – What’s your secret sauce? 12:10 – How does this tie back to social? 18:38 – Can you talk more about your statistics? 20:55 – How do you separate your business from others? 24:22 – Are these micro models reusable? 25:59 – What is a typically engagement look like? 29:30 - How do clients find you? 30:38 – How did Sama get started? Turing the flywheel Omnivore’s Delemma Sama

Connect with the Team Producer Kate Brown - LinkedIn. Producer Steve Templeton - LinkedIn. Host Al Martin - LinkedIn and Twitter.  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.