AI, Hardware, and the Future of Intelligent Systems
Where AI Works: Conversations at the Intersection of AI and IndustryShow Notes
How can artificial intelligence not just transform industries but also create real business value? On this premiere episode of season two of Where AI Works, host Serguei Netessine is joined by Alan Lee, CTO of Analog Devices Incorporated, to discuss strategies for the practical deployment and monetization of AI. They explore how AI can enhance product development and predictive maintenance while addressing challenges like power efficiency and hardware constraints. Alan also shares how AI-powered innovations can open new revenue streams and competitive advantages, turning AI from a simple buzzword into measurable business outcomes. The conversation highlights the critical role of edge computing for real-time data processing as well as the cultural collaboration needed between technologists, data scientists, and even skeptics to unlock AI’s full potential. You’ll also hear Alan’s vision for a future where machine intelligence of some sort will exist everywhere, and his advice to other business leaders about when to proceed cautiously and when to go ‘all in’ when it comes to AI.
Episode Highlights:
10:13 - Alan discusses strategies for managing the cultural conflict that can arise within organizations when new technology is implemented.
14:26 - Alan shares a counterintuitive take on the tension between technologists and what he calls “AI skeptics” across different business units.
17:31 - Alan lays out his vision for the future; a world where machine intelligence of some kind will be ubiquitous and pervasive.
19:21 - Alan talks about the challenge of monetizing AI when it still hasn’t realized its full potential in helping us solve some of the world’s most pressing problems.
More from Where AI Works: Conversations at the Intersection of AI and Industry
What happens when AI stops being a tool and starts reshaping how decisions get made? Who has the judgment and responsibility to double-check the work that AI is doing? And what actually separates companies that are scaling AI from those that are just experimenting?
If AI removes traditional constraints on execution, what becomes the limiting factor? AI can now generate, summarize, and analyze, but it still can’t judge. And as many business leaders are learning, that can cause a new wrinkle in workflows.
How is AI transforming product development inside large-scale organizations? What does it look like when teams move from Product Requirements Documents to rapid prototyping? And how are roles, workflows, and decision-making changing in our increasingly AI-first world? On this episode of Where AI Works, host Matthew Bidwell sits down with Paul Stathacopoulos, Vice President of Product for Focus Categories and International Cross Border Trade at eBay, to find out how AI is reshaping the way products are built and delivered inside one of the world’s largest online marketplaces. Together, they explore how eBay is using AI across three key areas: improving customer-facing experiences, unlocking insights from massive datasets, and fundamentally transforming product development workflows. They also discuss the shift from traditional PRDs to rapid, AI-generated prototypes, and how “vibe coding” is enabling teams to test ideas with customers in a period of days instead of months. Finally, they unpack how AI is blurring roles across product, design, and engineering, and why adopting an AI-first mindset is critical to staying competitive in a rapidly evolving landscape.
It’s a question that looms large for any business leader these days, but the stakes are even higher for those that manage massive workforces: as AI transforms the workplace, what happens to jobs and the people doing them? On this episode of Where AI Works, host Matthew Bidwell speaks with Donna Morris, the Chief People Officer at Walmart, about what it means to introduce AI across one of the largest workforces on the planet; more than 2.1 million associates around the world. Morris explains the company’s “people-led, tech-powered” approach, where AI is used to augment employees rather than replace them. She also discusses the emergence of new roles like AI agent-builders , and explores the skills that matter most in an AI-driven workplace. While technical expertise is important, Morris argues that adaptability, communication, curiosity, and interpersonal skills will define the most successful employees in the years ahead. For leaders navigating this rapid change, the takeaway is simple: invest in people, build new skills, and be sure to bring your workers along for the ride.
The way we think about jobs is changing. As artificial intelligence reshapes how work gets done, traditional roles and titles are giving way to something more fluid: a skills-based economy. But while organizations are moving quickly to redefine what they need, workers and educators are still catching up, creating a growing gap between the skills people claim to have and the capabilities employers truly value.