From prototype to production: Why building reliable Agentic AI is still so hard | Joana Mesquita

Send us an email! Building an AI agent has never been easier. But getting it to production? That's where most projects quietly die. In this episode of Human X Intelligent, host Madalena Costa sits down with Joana Mesquita, Machine Learning Engineer at Swiss Post and former ML practitioner at Adidas and Feedzai, to explore what fundamentally changes when you move from deterministic software to probabilistic, generative AI systems and why so many teams are unprepared for that shift. Joana has spent years building scalable AI systems, implementing MLOps practices and even developing tools to measure the carbon footprint of machine learning workflows. She's one of the clearest thinkers working at the intersection of AI engineering and responsible development. In this episode, we cover: Why building a working prototype is easy, but building a reliable agentic system is a completely different challenge What fundamentally breaks when you move from deterministic to probabilistic, generative systems Why traditional governance models fail for agentic AI and what needs to replace them How to embed governance into the product itself Input, output, data and tool guardrails with practical examples Why evaluation needs to start on day one (and the data behind why it matters) The risks and trade-offs of using LLMs as judges and how actually to align them What breaks in the prototype-to-production transition: data quality, cost, latency and governance How to move from 'trust me, it looks good' to trust backed by evidence and measurement How organizations can balance innovation speed with responsible AI development What sustainable AI scaling actually means, including environmental impact One idea that will stay with you: 'Stop thinking about AI products as only the model. Start thinking about them as a system that learns over time.' Whether you're an ML engineer, a product manager or a technical leader navigating the GenAI transition, this conversation will change how you think about what it actually takes to build AI that works in the real world. Connect with Joana Mesquita: → LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanamesquita96/ → Medium: https://medium.com/@joana.c.mesquita.f Human × Intelligent is a podcast at the intersection of design, AI and human agency. Hosted by Madalena Costa. → humanxintelligent.com → https://www.instagram.com/humanxintelligent/ → https://www.linkedin.com/company/human-x-intelligent/ → https://www.instagram.com/designwithmaddie/ → https://www.linkedin.com/in/madalenafigueirasdacosta/ 📩 Want to be a guest on Human X Intelligent? Reach out to Madalena at [email protected] Support the show 🎙️ Human × Intelligent - a podcast about what it means to be human in the age of AI. Hosted by Madalena Costa. Book a 30-minute discovery call: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ0gWe6GXjyLRo9EsZ3RnwmNbGqS1IkkxXtc3FNSy2HOEarPQlqMurL8Ts4pzWrEx4Zq2qXB2X11