Eccles Business Buzz

By: David Eccles School of Business
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  • Summary

  • Welcome to the Eccles Business Buzz Podcast. My name is Frances Johnson, and your host for our podcast show. We know the Eccles community is only as strong as its alumni network and as I have built relationships with alumni across the nation, I’ve learned how truly remarkable our network is. Our goal is to share alumni stories, perspectives, and voices on topics that are driving conversations around the globe and within our school today. The core values of the Eccles community will underlie everything we discuss here: Entrepreneurial Grit, Continuous Curiosity, Empathetic Global Citizenship, and Impacting Your World.

    Eccles Business Buzz is a production of David Eccles School of Business and is produced by University FM.
    All rights reserved.
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Episodes
  • S7E9: Using AI Agents and Models Effectively feat. Derek Egan

    S7E9: Using AI Agents and Models Effectively feat. Derek Egan
    Jan 9 2025
    We continue our series of conversations about Artificial Intelligence and how it's changing the world around us. In today’s episode, Frances talks to an AI engineer at Google about the ins and outs of the newest crop of AI models and agents.Joining the show to give an insider’s perspective is Derek Egan. Derek is on the Vertex AI team at Google Cloud where he works on helping developers build generative AI-powered agents for their own applications. Derek is also a graduate of the David Eccles School of Business with a degree in Operations Management. David and Frances discuss the difference between models and agents, and why humans are still very much integral to the process. They address the strengths and weaknesses of these types of systems and the ways in which they might be used by organizations most effectively to help them work more efficiently. Derek speaks to the realistic worries of some AI critics and gives some of his own real-life examples of how AI agents help streamline his work life and personal life. Eccles Business Buzz is a production of the David Eccles School of Business and is produced by University fm.Show Links:Derek Egan | LinkedInVertex AI | Google CloudMaster of Science in Business Analytics - The David Eccles School of BusinessDavid Eccles School of Business (@ubusiness) • InstagramEccles Alumni Network (@ecclesalumni) • Instagram Eccles Experience MagazineEpisode Quotes:Google Cloud invests in explainable AI and safety filters to build AI that benefits everyone[09:06] How can we build AI that's beneficial for all is a critical question. At Google Cloud, we take that really seriously for responsible AI. It all starts with a set of AI principles that translates into multiple things in practice as we build these products and up front and not as an afterthought. A few examples of that are ethical reviews. So, internally, there are dedicated teams that essentially conduct ethical analysis and risk assessments for any new product that's going to launch and their job is to identify potential biases. [09:57] We haven't been perfect here and no one has been perfect here because it's a process and we're all learning. And that's also why, as we gain learnings and learn how to interact with these models and how to control the types of responses, we're also building explainability into the models themselves. That's really important. AI will not take away your job but someone who uses it better might. 18:35 If I'm a student at the University of Utah right now in the David Eccles School of Business or an alumni, I would be pretty anxious about this, right? Like, hey, how does AI impact my job? What I would encourage people though, is to think about reframing that question. And the way I reframe it is I don't think AI is going to replace your job, and I don't think you're competing directly with AI for your job. I do think you're going to compete with other people who can competently use AI to do your job and that will lead to disruption. That will lead to a change in the way that works done, day in and day out. So, my guidance, my invitation would be to try it out, embrace AI and start using it. See how it can make you more productive. See how it can take the nitty gritty tasks off of your plate and help you to automate them on your behalf.Derek shares a developer's guide for building AI applications.32:39 If you are a developer and you want to build an application, my guidance would be to identify something that's fairly low hanging fruit, fairly simple, where you're going to get started. And where it's going to be an interaction between the person and the agent and not something that's going to go run autonomously and not have the right feedback loop. And then you can measure and get a sense for how helpful is that agent, and then iterate on it. And I'd encourage you to check out some of the use cases. We have like 185 customer use cases on a blog post published from Google Cloud. But there's a bunch of examples out there and there's a bunch of documentation that we offer as well to help people get started.
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    26 mins
  • S7E8: Human in the Middle: AI Insights feat. Jessica Ellett

    S7E8: Human in the Middle: AI Insights feat. Jessica Ellett
    Dec 26 2024

    We continue our series of conversations about Artificial Intelligence and how it's changing the world around us. Today’s episode focuses on the use of AI in the financial sector and both it’s potential strengths and weaknesses.


    Joining the show to help us start making sense of it all is Jessica Ellett. Jessica is a senior manager and lead modeler at Cambridge Technology, a financial services technology startup. Jessica is also an MSBA graduate from the David Eccles School of Business.


    Jessica shares her insights on developing AI-operationalized applications for large banks, highlighting tools like loan processing applications, financial report generation, and predictive trade outcome models. Frances and Jessica cover the concept of 'human in the middle' AI and the importance of human involvement in AI processes. Jessica also touches on concerns around AI bias, data privacy, and the critical need for business-led AI projects. Jessica also looks forward to what she predicts the landscape of her industry could look like in five years.


    Eccles Business Buzz is a production of the David Eccles School of Business and is produced by University fm.


    Show Links:
    • Jessica Ellett | LinkedIn
    • CTFSI - Cambridge Technology Financial Services Inc.
    • Master of Science in Business Analytics - The David Eccles School of Business
    • David Eccles School of Business (@ubusiness) • Instagram
    • Eccles Alumni Network (@ecclesalumni) • Instagram
    • Eccles Experience Magazine


    Episode Quotes:


    How the MSBA programme equipped Jessica to be a voice in the AI space


    [37:02]: When I first finished in 2018 with the MSBA program, I got multiple job offers afterwards when we moved here to Charlotte, North Carolina. And, often, it was kind of an undefined structure. Hey, what can you help us do? What can you help us know or ask? Help us do this in a better way, or help us ask the right questions. And so I think it's still young enough—I mean, the whole program, data science programs, MSBA programs—within the last 10 years, I would consider that a really young program. And so new talent coming out of those are going to be the thought leaders on how AI gets adopted and how these programs run at different companies. And think about that. So you come out of this program and you think, "Well, I don't know much. I just got this degree, or I don't have a lot of application." But people are willing to listen to you because you've had focused study on this topic more than they have, so for better or for worse, you're going to be a voice in that space.


    How AI works best with people by having the human in the middle


    [07:24]: Think of AI as the best assistant you've ever had, but you need the right systems or processes in place to interact with that assistant to get the most out of them, right? So, it's not just building or designing the perfect assistant. It's when am I going to use them? How am I going to use the output? How do I give it the right information to get out of it? What I want—all that interaction. That's human in the middle. You have to design that well to get the most out of it.


    Why do AI projects need to align with business goals?


    [41:18]: I'd say AI projects need to align with the business goals, not just tech advancements. You have a shiny new tool, and you want to use it but don't lose sight of what the business goal is. Using a shiny new tool could be expensive. If you suddenly have to build the whole machine that it fits with, that could get expensive. So, I'd say that transformation has to have a business-led approach because it has to align with the business goals. And if none of the business goals are ready or positioned to need AI—which is hard to believe—but it could be possible, then it doesn't fit in the plan or the goals.
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    32 mins
  • S7E7: Navigating the New AI Frontier feat. Mark Sunday

    S7E7: Navigating the New AI Frontier feat. Mark Sunday
    Dec 12 2024
    Today we are starting our series of conversations about Artificial Intelligence and how it's changing the way we learn, work, and even play. AI is a hot topic with the potential to do a lot of good. But there are also a few pitfalls that we should all be aware of.Joining the show to help us start making sense of it all is Mark Sunday. Mark spent 20 years as the CIO at Oracle/Siebel, and prior to that role, he spent 10 years at Motorola. Retirement hasn't slowed him down one bit. He is still very engaged in the tech industry and currently serves on the boards of Vutility, Quantum Metric, Chassis, Kaltura, and 1440. He is also a member of the Eccles Advisory Board here at the David Eccles School of Business and was appointed by the Governor to Utah's STEM Action Center. He sits down with host Frances Johnson to dive into the evolution of AI technologies, the challenges of bias and discrimination in AI data, and the opportunities AI presents for enhancing human productivity. Emphasizing the importance of retraining and upskilling, this episode highlights the steps organizations and educational institutions must take to integrate AI into their curricula and work environments.Eccles Business Buzz is a production of the David Eccles School of Business and is produced by University fm.Episode Quotes:Examining the risks of AI9:00 When I just type the word “Google,” it comes up with stuff that's relevant. Like, for me, I'm a big Michigan football fan, so Michigan football, AI, [and] a number of other topics. I like that it's showing me stuff, but I hate, hate that, based on what people have demonstrated they like, it's really limiting what information and news and opinions that people get to experience. So, I think it's created an incredible amount of divisiveness within our country. While data can buy a bias, but also using real data, and then just repeating patterns, whether it was hiring male engineers, whether it was suggesting that Black inmates are more likely to create repeat crimes or just creating a filter bubble where we're only exposed to opinions that support or reinforce opinions that we've had, I think is hugely problematic.How should individuals and institutions respond to the rise of AI?11:42 We've always faced this, whether it be computers or the internet just has to change. Yes, jobs are eliminated, should be eliminated. It was underemployment to have people pump your gas, and then, when it became legal in all states except for Oregon, until very recently to be able to pump your own gas, I look at that as underemployment when people aren't reaching the potential of the contribution that they can do. So, what's going to happen is roles are just going to have to change. We need to be aware of that. As individuals, we need to take personal responsibility. But also, as organizations, we need to invest in retraining because there are a lot of new jobs that are created—AI trainers, data scientists, ethics officers. But we're going to have to upskill and adapt.Despite the risks, Mark urges students to embrace AI’s game-changing potential.21:11 We need for our students to be the very, very best at leveraging this technology. It's game-changing. It's as if calculators came out, and when I went to school, nope, we're going to have to select the slide rules, or computers came out and it's going to do the work for all of us, or the web came out and now people can do Google searches. This is far, far bigger. In fact, when we are recruiting for our new dean for the business school, I’m convinced that higher ed will change more in the next 10 years than it has in the previous 100. And AI is going to be the reason for that. And so, as we think of what we're going to be as a business school, as we think of what we're going to be as a university, we need to be prepared for this huge, huge transformation.Show Links:Mark Sunday | LinkedInOracleKahlert Initiative on Technology - The David Eccles School of BusinessSTEM Action CenterDavid Eccles School of Business (@ubusiness) • InstagramEccles Alumni Network (@ecclesalumni) • Instagram Eccles Experience Magazine
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    30 mins

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