The Data Storytellers Podcast · 2026-07-02 · 1h 14m
What happens when a technology starts to look, sound, and reason like us? Taylor Black, Director of the AI Ventures Ecosystem in the CTO’s Office at Microsoft, has spent his career at the intersection of data, venture building, and emerging technology. From bootstrapping a SaaS company to helping shape early stage AI innovation inside one of the world’s largest technology organizations, Taylor brings a rare long term perspective on what AI is, and what it is not. In this conversation, we explore how today’s AI moment compares to past technological revolutions, why most current AI applications are still low hanging fruit, and where the real economic and organizational disruption is likely to come from next. We discuss the limits of automation, the rise of agentic systems, the moral responsibility of those building AI, and why the hardest work ahead is not technical, but cultural. This is a wide ranging discussion on AI, human work, governance, and the difference between making hard things easier versus making impossible things merely difficult.
Semantic Leverage | Albert Mangahas (Roo)63 / 100
Why Your Model Gets it Wrong | Dejan Mitkovski (BetMGM)
What "Data-Driven" Actually Means | Anthony Jackel (Ferrara)
AI Optimism vs. Evidence in Late 2025 | Ylan Kazi (Blue Cross Blue Shield North Dakota)
The Hard Truths of Enterprise AI Adoption | Jodi Blomberg (Cox Automotive)