The AI Forecast: Data and AI in the Cloud Era

AI as a New Class of Risk with Ojas Rege

AI is changing the way businesses operate. But without trust, governance, and accountability, progress stalls. 
Ojas Rege, SVP and GM of Privacy and Data Governance at OneTrust, joins The AI Forecast to explore how organizations can balance innovation with responsibility. He and host Paul Muller unpack why AI represents a “new class of risk,” what it means to design privacy and governance into systems from the very beginning, and how curiosity and context fuel better decision-making with data. 
They also examine the shifting role of organizations as regulators sharpen their focus on AI, the need for new tooling to ensure explainability, and how human oversight will remain essential even as automation scales.  
Stay in touch with Ojas: 
Ojas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ojasrege  
 
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Where GenAI ROI Hides: Unlocking Value in Overlooked Workflows with Christian Lund

AI can’t transform businesses if organizations aren’t prepared to embrace it.
Christian Lund, Co-Founder of Templafy, joins The AI Forecast to explore thoughtful AI deployment in an organization. He and host Paul Muller dive into the realities of today’s AI landscape—from why over 40% of AI projects are likely to be canceled, to the untapped potential of document workflows as a proving ground for successful adoption.
They discuss how quality and context determine whether AI truly adds value, why trust is the indefinable ingredient in scaling AI, and how integrating tools into existing workflows can ease resistance. Christian also shares his perspective on finding “low-hanging fruit” projects that drive early wins, the transformative impact AI will have on knowledge workers, and why purposeful applications focused on ROI will define the future of AI in business.
Stay in touch with Christian:
Christian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianlundcph/ 
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The High-EQ Leader: Why Vulnerability Wins in 2026

As part of our Women Leaders in Technology (WLIT) series on The AI Forecast, we’re joined by Avani Desai, CEO of Schellman, a leading cybersecurity firm. Each quarter, we’ll take a break from the regularly scheduled AI programming on The AI Forecast to direct our attention to this important topic in tech.
Avani shares her journey from a curious kid in Orlando who loved to tinker with technology to becoming a leader in cybersecurity. She reflects on the pivotal moments that shaped her career, like her 15-year journey to accept vulnerability as a means of connection, not failure. She also shares how her leadership style—rooted in empathy, authenticity, and radical transparency (e.g., her “eye-to-eye with Desai” meetings with employees where no question is off limits)—has helped her build trust, inspire teams, and drive innovation. 
To learn more about Cloudera’s Women Leaders in Technology, join the LinkedIn community and visit the home page.
LinkedIn Community: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13104138/ 
WLIT Website: https://www.cloudera.com/about/women-leaders-in-technology.html 
And to stay in touch with Avani, follow her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/avanimehtadesai/ 

Enabling the Future of AI with Donna Beasley

AI can’t transform businesses if organizations aren’t prepared to embrace it. 
Donna Beasley, Chief AI Enablement Officer, joins The AI Forecast to explore thoughtful AI deployment in an organization. She and host Paul Muller dive into the challenges and opportunities of AI adoption, from ensuring data quality to driving organizational change management. 
They discuss the importance of collaboration across departments, strategies for overcoming resistance, and the critical role of training and meeting individuals where they are in their openness with AI.  
Stay in touch with Donna:  
Donna on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donna-beasley04349/  
 
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Building AI-Driven Cities That Think—and Care—with Ayesha Khanna

A city can’t be smart if its systems don’t serve its citizens.
Ayesha Khanna, AI advisor, entrepreneur, and CEO of Addo, joins The AI Forecast to explore how AI is reshaping the cities we live in and the lives we lead within them. She and host Paul Muller dive into the intersection of AI and urban development, where infrastructure, governance, and personalization come together to elevate the quality of life.
They discuss the real-world challenges of deploying innovative city technologies, the critical role of data management, and how AI can expand access to services like education and healthcare. She also shares her journey as a technologist, her work empowering women in the industry, and why ethical, human-centered design must guide the future of AI-powered cities.
Stay in touch with Ayesha: 
Ayesha on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayeshakhanna/ 
 
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Rebuilding AI from the Ground Up with Val Cook

When AI needs to think faster, the architecture beneath it matters more than ever.
Val Cook, Chief Software Architect at Blaize, joins The AI Forecast to unpack how today’s AI systems demand more than raw compute, but more adaptable infrastructure. He and host Paul Muller explore the critical intersection of hardware and software, the growing importance of data flow machines, and the limits of traditional architectures in real-time environments.
They examine the emerging hybrid approach to AI, balancing centralized and Edge computing, and why dynamic use cases require systems that can react in the moment. Cook also emphasizes that innovation, not scale alone, will define the future of AI and that the teams that rethink the foundation will build what’s next.
Stay in touch with Val:
Val on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/val-cook-5a552520/
 
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Securing the Evolving Frontier of Digital Trust with Jim Brennan

When trust collapses, everything else goes with it. 
Jim Brennan, Chief Product and Technical Officer at GetReal Security, joins The AI Forecast to break down one of the biggest challenges in today’s world: securing digital trust. He and host Paul Muller explore why trust is the backbone of modern business and how advancements like deepfakes, impersonation attacks, and AI-powered deception are shaking that foundation
They discuss why digital trust is forged through signals like signatures and interactions, how its erosion can trigger real business fallout, and what it takes to fight back.
Stay in touch with Jim:
Jim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jibrennan/
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The AI Ownership Crisis with Sean Ren

As AI systems grow more powerful, so does a more profound structural concern: ownership. A handful of players now control the data, infrastructure, and models shaping global AI and, with them, the rules of access, participation, and innovation.
Sean Ren, co-founder of Sahara AI, joins The AI Forecast to explore the implications of competition in the AI industry, the necessity of decentralized technology, and the challenges of data ownership. Sean shares the potential for decentralized AI to disrupt existing economic models, the risks of centralized AI for businesses, and the future of knowledge workers in an AI-driven world.
Stay in touch with Sean: 
Sean on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xren7/ 
Sahara AI: https://saharaai.com/ 
 
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If You’re Not Managing Your Data, You’re Not Managing Your AI with Jim Liddle

Jim Liddle, Chief Innovation Officer of Data Intelligence and AI at Nasuni, joins The AI Forecast to spotlight a critical obstacle to enterprise AI: messy, ungoverned data. He and host Paul Muller trace the evolution of data management and unpack why so many organizations still struggle with the basics, starting with the challenge of taming unstructured information.
They explore how the absence of a unified data foundation blocks progress, how poor taxonomy erodes trust in AI, and why critical thinking, not just compute, is the missing piece in most AI strategies. Jim also looks ahead to the future of AI, tackling emerging concerns from algorithmic bias to the geopolitical implications of intelligent systems.
Because in the end, if your data’s not ready, your AI won’t be either.
 
Stay in touch with Jim:
Jim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimliddle/ 
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AI Means Nothing If You Don’t Know Why You’re Using It with Cassie Kozyrkov

In the race of not being left behind in adopting new technology—like AI—enterprises often overlook the most straightforward, strategic question: what decision are we trying to make? Cassie Kozyrkov, first and former Chief Decision Scientist at Google and founder of Kozyr, joins The AI Forecast to reframe the conversation. Her take? It’s not about the genie granting the wish—in this case, AI; it’s about the wisher. 
Cassie and host Paul Muller unpack why decision-making is the real competitive edge in enterprise AI. They explore what human tendencies shape our use of AI, the cognitive costs of over-automation, the fallacy of the “unicorn” hire, and why clarity of intent is the most underrated skill in the age of generative and agentic tools.
Tune in as they explore why decision intelligence is essential and how it can reshape enterprises’ perception of AI from a prediction engine to a strategic partner that only delivers value if you know what to ask.
 
Stay in touch with Cassie: 
Cassie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kozyrkov/ 
Cassie’s Website: https://www.kozyr.com/about 
 
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