Redefining AI: Leadership, Ethics and the Future of Artificial Intelligence

Lauren Hawker Zafer

Details

Redefining AI is a practical AI podcast for leaders navigating artificial intelligence, from AI leadership and ethics to where the technology is headed next. Each episode breaks down the future of AI leadership through real conversations with practitioners, not hype. If you're searching for the best AI podcast that treats leadership and ethics as seriously as the technology itself, this is it. Redefining AI is a Three-Time Award-Winning Tech Podcast and has been recognized for innovation featuring guests from MIT, Stanford, NASA, Service Now as well as, tech founders, authors and journalists.

Recent Episodes

SEP 24, 2026
Spotlight Four: We Banned "Transformation." ServiceNow's Innovation Chief Executives Had to Explain AI Anyway
Six words, banned for thirty minutes: transformation, journey, reimagine, unlock, leverage, AI-native. Dave Wright (Chief Innovation Officer, ServiceNow) and Brian Solis (Head of Global Innovation, ServiceNow, and 10x best-selling author) agreed to the rules before the conversation started. What followed was a plain-language case for why enterprise AI keeps failing. Their argument, from their new book Infinite, is that the problem was never the technology. It's the company. In the upcoming episode you will find out more about: AI-native, AI-first, AI-forward: what the labels actually mean, and why Dave thinks no company could be AI-native before generative AI IKEA's €13.4M service-desk automation, and the €1B+ interior design business built from the capacity it freed, with no job losses The "iteration trap": using the most innovative technology in history just to do yesterday's work faster Why most companies are tracking the wrong AI metrics, and what "token maxing" hides The AI tax: people using AI to write documents so long that colleagues need AI to summarise them Whether innovation is still possible when intelligence becomes a commodity Most companies automate what they already do, count the hours saved, and call it a result. Very few reach the second number. One question to sit with before you press play: the workflows running your organisation were designed around a shortage of people. If that shortage disappeared tomorrow, would anyone notice? Follow us to keep uptodate and to stay in time for the full episode. #RedefiningAI #Leadership #ArtificialIntelligence #AIStrategy #FutureOfWork
1 MIN
SEP 3, 2026
Amplify, Don’t Hollow Out: Leading Through the AI Shift with Louisa Loran
Most of the voices we hear on AI sit in one chair. Louisa Loran sits in several at once: operator, author, board director, and trusted advisor to Fortune 500 boards navigating once-in-a-generation change. In episode three of Redefining AI, season five host Lauren Hawker Zafer talks with Louisa about the difference between using AI to hollow out a company and using it to amplify its strengths. Lauren and Louisa dig into how to protect your core proposition, how to spot a real moat, the generational and gender dynamics shaping adoption, and the four leadership behaviors, envision, expand, steer, embody at the heart of her Amazon-bestselling book, Leadership Anatomy in Motion. In the episode: • Why the real AI divide isn’t fast vs. slow • The three-ring framework for what to protect, match, and rent • What tacit knowledge and a “data-access culture” mean for your moat • The one leadership behavior you can’t outsource • Why the AI gender gap could be an opportunity for women to lead Louisa Loran is the author of Leadership Anatomy in Motion (Fast Company Press). Louisa has advised Fortune 500 boards, sits on the board of one of Europe’s largest business schools, and helped pivot one of the world’s biggest shipping companies into integrated logistics. Hear how she’d put AI to work, without hollowing your company out. Follow Redefining AI for more conversations at the intersection of leadership and technology. #RedefiningAI #Leadership #ArtificialIntelligence #AIStrategy #FutureOfWork
22 MIN
JUL 2, 2026
Spotlight Three: Amplify, Don’t Hollow Out: Louisa Loran on Leading Through the AI Shift
Most of the voices we hear on AI sit in one chair. Louisa Loran sits in several at once: operator, author, board director, and trusted advisor to Fortune 500 boards navigating once-in-a-generation change. In episode three of Redefining AI, host Lauren talks with Louisa about the difference between using AI to hollow out a company and using it to amplify its strengths. They dig into how to protect your core proposition, how to spot a real moat, the generational and gender dynamics shaping adoption, and the four leadership behaviors, envision, expand, steer, embody at the heart of her Amazon-bestselling book, Leadership Anatomy in Motion. In the upcoming episode: • Why the real AI divide isn’t fast vs. slow • The three-ring framework for what to protect, match, and rent • What tacit knowledge and a “data-access culture” mean for your moat • The one leadership behavior you can’t outsource • Why the AI gender gap could be an opportunity for women to leadLouisa Loran is the author of Leadership Anatomy in Motion (Fast Company Press). Follow Redefining AI for more conversations at the intersection of leadership and technology. She has advised Fortune 500 boards, sits on the board of one of Europe’s largest business schools, and helped pivot one of the world’s biggest shipping companies into integrated logistics. Hear how she’d put AI to work, without hollowing your company out. #RedefiningAI #Leadership #ArtificialIntelligence #AIStrategy #FutureOfWork
1 MIN
MAY 27, 2026
Episode Two: Data Makes the World Go Round with Dr. Fern Halper
Why Most Enterprise AI Projects Hit a "Value Ceiling" — And How to Break Through | Dr. Fern Halper What separates the companies actually winning with AI from the ones burning budget on chatbots that go nowhere? In this upcoming episode of Redefining AI, host Lauren Hawker Zafer sits down with Dr. Fern Halper — VP of Research at TDWI, Founder of the AI Foundations Group, former Bell Labs lead analyst, and one of the most respected voices in enterprise AI strategy — to unpack the ideas behind her highly anticipated new book, Data Makes the World Go 'Round: The Data, Tech, and Trust Behind AI Success. With over 30 years bridging deep technical execution and C-suite strategy, Dr. Halper explains why so many organisations are stuck chasing hype instead of value, and what it actually takes to move AI from lab experiments into production systems that drive real ROI. Inside this episode, you'll learn: Why generative AI hits a "value ceiling" without trusted, governed data foundations The execution traps that sank AI initiatives at Zillow, Amazon, and others How data lakehouses and data fabric architectures unify siloed data for AI Why MLOps is so hard — and why every model eventually degrades The critical difference between data governance and AI governance How agentic AI changes the risk equation when systems start taking autonomous actions The shift from controlling what AI produces to overseeing what AI does How to tie AI use cases to measurable KPIs instead of vanity metrics Embedding fairness, explainability, and EU AI Act compliance without killing innovation Defending against shadow AI while democratising analytics across the business Whether you're a CDO, CIO, VP of Data, AI product leader, or a business executive under pressure from your board to "do something with AI," this is the strategic playbook you've been waiting for. 🎧 Subscribe to Redefining AI for weekly conversations with the people shaping the future of enterprise AI, data strategy, and responsible innovation. 📘 Get the book: Data Makes the World Go 'Round: The Data, Tech, and Trust Behind AI Success by Dr. Fern Halper #RedefiningAI #ArtificialIntelligence #EnterpriseAI #GenerativeAI #AgenticAI #AIStrategy #DataStrategy #AIGovernance #DataGovernance #MLOps #DataLakehouse #DataFabric #ResponsibleAI #AIEthics #EUAIAct #AIRegulation #DataLeadership #CDO #ChiefDataOfficer #BusinessIntelligence #AIAdoption #DigitalTransformation #FernHalper #TDWI #AIFoundations #AIBook #TechPodcast #AIPodcast #BusinessPodcast #LeadershipPodcast #DataScience #MachineLearning #LLM #AIReadiness #ShadowAI #AlgorithmicBias #ExplainableAI #FairnessByDesign #AIInfrastructure #DataDriven #TrustedAI #AIRisk #AICompliance #DataMining #PredictiveAnalytics #FutureOfWork #AIInBusiness
26 MIN
MAY 27, 2026
Spotlight Two: Data Makes the World Go Round with Dr. Fern Halper
Why Most Enterprise AI Projects Hit a "Value Ceiling" — And How to Break Through | Dr. Fern Halper What separates the companies actually winning with AI from the ones burning budget on chatbots that go nowhere? In this upcoming episode of Redefining AI, host Lauren Hawker Zafer sits down with Dr. Fern Halper — VP of Research at TDWI, Founder of the AI Foundations Group, former Bell Labs lead analyst, and one of the most respected voices in enterprise AI strategy — to unpack the ideas behind her highly anticipated new book, Data Makes the World Go 'Round: The Data, Tech, and Trust Behind AI Success. With over 30 years bridging deep technical execution and C-suite strategy, Dr. Halper explains why so many organisations are stuck chasing hype instead of value, and what it actually takes to move AI from lab experiments into production systems that drive real ROI. Inside this upcoming episode, you'll learn: Why generative AI hits a "value ceiling" without trusted, governed data foundations The execution traps that sank AI initiatives at Zillow, Amazon, and others How data lakehouses and data fabric architectures unify siloed data for AI Why MLOps is so hard — and why every model eventually degrades The critical difference between data governance and AI governance How agentic AI changes the risk equation when systems start taking autonomous actions The shift from controlling what AI produces to overseeing what AI does How to tie AI use cases to measurable KPIs instead of vanity metrics Embedding fairness, explainability, and EU AI Act compliance without killing innovation Defending against shadow AI while democratising analytics across the business Whether you're a CDO, CIO, VP of Data, AI product leader, or a business executive under pressure from your board to "do something with AI," this is the strategic playbook you've been waiting for. 🎧 Subscribe to Redefining AI for weekly conversations with the people shaping the future of enterprise AI, data strategy, and responsible innovation. 📘 Get the book: Data Makes the World Go 'Round: The Data, Tech, and Trust Behind AI Success by Dr. Fern Halper #RedefiningAI #ArtificialIntelligence #EnterpriseAI #GenerativeAI #AgenticAI #AIStrategy #DataStrategy #AIGovernance #DataGovernance #MLOps #DataLakehouse #DataFabric #ResponsibleAI #AIEthics #EUAIAct #AIRegulation #DataLeadership #CDO #ChiefDataOfficer #BusinessIntelligence #AIAdoption #DigitalTransformation #FernHalper #TDWI #AIFoundations #AIBook #TechPodcast #AIPodcast #BusinessPodcast #LeadershipPodcast #DataScience #MachineLearning #LLM #AIReadiness #ShadowAI #AlgorithmicBias #ExplainableAI #FairnessByDesign #AIInfrastructure #DataDriven #TrustedAI #AIRisk #AICompliance #DataMining #PredictiveAnalytics #FutureOfWork #AIInBusiness
1 MIN