Mike & Amit Talk Tech

IMD

Award-winning IMD professors Mike Wade and Amit Joshi, dissect the latest tech trends; from AI and Chat GPT, to the future of the web. read less
TechnologyTechnology

Episodes

How Silicon Valley firms are putting the "AI" in retail
18-07-2024
How Silicon Valley firms are putting the "AI" in retail
This year, Amazon celebrated 30 years in business.By creating a virtual space where (almost) everything was available at the click of a button, the Seattle-based tech firm changed the face of retail. Tempted away from brick-and-mortar stores by the convenience of online shopping, Amazon created a whole new kind of consumer.However, not all of its retail ideas have been successful. The company recently decided to close nearly all its cashless physical stores because of low sales. Customers just weren't buying into the concept of a till-less store.This demonstrates a simple, but important rule of retail: old habits die hard. Over the years, retail innovations such as the cash register have made life far more convenient for owners and customers alike, and letting go of them isn't that easy.In this episode, Mike and Amit discuss what makes retail tech successful – and what your shopping experience may look like in years to come.******Michael Wade is a Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 books and more than 100 case studies, as well as articles on topics such as digital business transformation, innovation, strategy, and digital leadership.   Amit Joshi is a Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience in AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma. Find out more about IMD at imd.org
Tech & sports: Could your next coach be a computer?
04-07-2024
Tech & sports: Could your next coach be a computer?
In an era of desk jobs, sedentary lifestyles are common. Combined with the rise of ultra-processed food, it's no wonder so many people find it hard to stay in shape, despite their best intentions.To help out, there's a plethora of tech to choose from. From apps that count calories to wearable health trackers, innumerable gadgets promise a slimmer, stronger you.But at what point does all this tech get in the way of a healthy life? When are there too many apps to keep an eye on? In this week's episode, Matt and Amit discuss why AI trainers might be the future. As AI is applied to ever more tech, the era of health apps may soon be replaced by something altogether more powerful.*********Michael Wade is a Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 books and more than 100 case studies, as well as articles on topics such as digital business transformation, innovation, strategy, and digital leadership.   Amit Joshi is a Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience in AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma. Find out more about IMD at imd.org
Tech in sports: How analytics has changed the pros
06-06-2024
Tech in sports: How analytics has changed the pros
There's no doubt that statistics and data play an important role in professional sports. Whether in soccer, cricket, or American football, superfans have always been interested in goals scored, passes caught, or wickets taken. But the point at which the value of that data became apparent was the advent of "Moneyball" in the early 2000s, which revolutionized Major League Baseball.Popularized by a 2011 film starring Brad Pitt, the clever use of discreet data by Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane was a watershed moment for coaches and owners and altered the DNA of pro leagues in other sports. Since then, however, things have moved on – so how does data inform and change sports today? In this episode, Mike and Amit cover analytics as they kick off a three-part mini-series about tech in sports.*********Michael Wade is a Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 books and more than 100 case studies, as well as articles on topics such as digital business transformation, innovation, strategy, and digital leadership.   Amit Joshi is a Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience in AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma. Find out more about IMD at imd.org
Why does artificial intelligence need regulating?
18-04-2024
Why does artificial intelligence need regulating?
In March 2024, the European Union approved the world’s first set of major regulatory rules to govern artificial intelligence. The EU AI Act categorizes technologies by risk – low, medium, high, and "unacceptable." Those deemed the most dangerous can, in Europe, be shut down entirely.It was a huge change in the tech world, but many may wonder why it was needed. Forms of AI have been used for decades, so aren't existing laws enough? And how does generative AI differ from traditional AI?  Mike Wade says it comes down to power. Generative AI is worlds apart from its predecessors. The technology could cause disaster in the wrong hands, and, like nuclear energy, it needs regulation. But enforcement of AI rules is tricky. Amit Joshi thinks the explainability of AI, or lack thereof, poses a challenge to regulators. In this latest episode of Mike & Amit Talk Tech, the two IMD professors discuss these problems in the context of the shifting landscape of AI law.*********Michael Wade is a Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 books and more than 100 case studies, as well as articles on topics such as digital business transformation, innovation, strategy, and digital leadership.   Amit Joshi is a Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience in AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma. Find out more about IMD at imd.org
Sora and Gemini: Innovations in AI
21-03-2024
Sora and Gemini: Innovations in AI
The 21st century has been dominated by video. At its start, camcorders allowed amateurs to make their own home movies, and by 2023, the likes of TikTok had become ubiquitous. Phones and social media platforms made shooting and editing child play.But 2024 is seeing another change, one that may shake the very foundation of video itself.Sora, from Open AI, is an Artificial Intelligence construct that can produce film with only a text prompt. Soon, being on the spot with a camera or a phone, may be totally unnecessary for those seeking to create photorealistic movies. Like ChatGPT before it, Sora may be about to change the world as we know it. In the latest episode of Mike & Amit Talk Tech, the IMD professors discuss the latest innovations presented by Open AI in 2024.*********Michael Wade is a Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 books and more than 100 case studies, as well as articles on topics such as digital business transformation, innovation, strategy, and digital leadership.   Amit Joshi is a Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience in AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma. Find out more about IMD at imd.or of vido
Generative AI: What comes next?
07-12-2023
Generative AI: What comes next?
The world has become familiar with artificial intelligence that can answer questions, often in a convincingly human manner. But so far, the technology has been limited by some key constraints. The first is that humans are still required to come up with the initial inputs, or 'prompts', to start conversations or processes. A second is that the relationship is bi-directional, interactions generally happen between a single human and an AI program.But that may soon change.In the not-too-distant future Amit and Mike expect seismic shifts in how generative AI will operate. Rather than working as a sounding board for our ideas, AI may well adapt to originate them, and perhaps even move into management itself. Could 2024 bring the advent of AI-powered digital coaches, a boss AI, or even a MomGPT?In the sixth and final episode of this IMD miniseries on Generative AI, Mike and Amit discuss the future of this fast-growing sector and the possible limits on technological progress.*****  Michael Wade is Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 books and more than 100 case studies, as well as articles on topics such as digital business transformation, innovation, strategy, and digital leadership. Amit Joshi is Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience in AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma.   Find out more about IMD at imd.org
AI ethics and the future of big data
23-11-2023
AI ethics and the future of big data
Since generative AI exploded into public consciousness, people and companies have been worrying about its ethics. But, says Amit Joshi, before considering rogue programs or the replacement of human thought, one must first consider the ABCs of AI ethics.   Accuracy is the first big issue. How can one trust or disseminate the work of generative AI when it is so prone to hallucinating?   Bias is a problem too. In a recent survey of image-generating AI models, when asked to produce a picture of a CEO, there was a 94% chance of a male image being produced. Requests for a “cashier” returned images of females 84% of the time.   The big C here is copyright. Generative AI may seem to produce original content but how is one to know where the ideas truly originate? Might that magical marketing slogan produced by Chat GPT simply be lifted from another company?   These problems are just the start. Mike Wade worries about the privacy of data, image recognition, and protection. Together, he and Amit discuss how big tech can mitigate these problems and whether a fair system can be achieved through regulation.   ***     Michael Wade is Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 books and more than 100 case studies, as well as articles on topics such as digital business transformation, innovation, strategy, and digital leadership.   Amit Joshi is Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience in AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma.   Find out more about IMD at imd.org
How will Generative AI impact jobs and productivity?
09-11-2023
How will Generative AI impact jobs and productivity?
It's hard to argue that generative AI won't improve productivity in the long run. You only need to ask Chat GPT a few questions to understand how fast it can pull together disparate facts, help you structure a workday, or simply find you a recipe. Early studies are backing that up too. A recent review by Harvard University and Boston Consulting Group showed that consultants using large language models were around 25% quicker at completing tasks. But what might that mean for the global workforce? Some have already welcomed AI into the office, giving machines administrative tasks and finding more time for creative and rewarding work. But many others worry that advanced AI will replace them.In this week's episode, Mike and Amit discuss how much of an impact generative AI will have on the global economy and how long it will take for change to come.********Michael Wade is a Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 books and more than 100 case studies, as well as articles on topics such as digital business transformation, innovation, strategy, and digital leadership.   Amit Joshi is a Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience in AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma. Find out more about IMD at imd.org
Generative AI: Who will win the race for industry domination?
19-10-2023
Generative AI: Who will win the race for industry domination?
Open AI, the company behind ChatGPT, is probably the most famous of the emerging artificial intelligence powerhouses. The firm is backed by Microsoft, a tech giant that hopes to dominate the world of generative AI. But several Silicon Valley titans like Google and Meta have other ideas.From Llama to Bard, AI-enabled chatbots and programs have been released at breakneck speed. The competition is heating up, and a range of new startups are joining the race.In this week's episode of Mike and Amit Talk Tech, our hosts discuss how the speed of change is increasing, the costs of AI research, and who might come out on top.********Michael Wade is a Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 books and more than 100 case studies, as well as articles on topics such as digital business transformation, innovation, strategy, and digital leadership.   Amit Joshi is a Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience in AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma. Find out more about IMD at imd.org
What makes AI today so much more advanced than its predecessors?
29-09-2023
What makes AI today so much more advanced than its predecessors?
In the first episode of Mike & Amit’s mini-series on artificial intelligence, our hosts discussed the birth of AlphaGo and the technological underpinnings of generative AI.But what makes ChatGPT different? Is there anything that fundamentally sets this latest generation of AIs apart from their predecessors?At heart, says Amit Joshi, generative AI is still based on probability. Based on a given input a machine will try to figure out what should come next, and programs based on neural networks and backpropagation were brilliant at solving problems where context was not important.But now AI has moved on. It can complex ideas without the framework of a board game or a closed system. That, says Mike Wade, is a game-changer.********Michael Wade is a Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 books and more than 100 case studies, as well as articles on topics such as digital business transformation, innovation, strategy, and digital leadership.   Amit Joshi is a Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience in AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma. Find out more about IMD at imd.org
The rise of Generative AI: From AlphaGo to ChatGPT
14-09-2023
The rise of Generative AI: From AlphaGo to ChatGPT
Artificial intelligence has been talked about for decades, but over the last year, there has been a shift in the conversation.The rise of ChatGPT and other forms of generative AI has led to a fierce debate. While some have heralded a new utopian world in which artificial intelligence fixes our problems, others have sounded the alarm, warning of a dystopian future ruled by machines. Global leaders, public intellectuals, and the heads of billion-dollar tech companies have staked a claim to both sides.But is this moment really different from what's come before? Is generative AI truly disruptive? Or is this yet another tech fad?Over several special episodes of Mike & Amit Talk Tech, our hosts will explore these questions and more. In today's episode, they cover the history of artificial intelligence, debate what it is and what it could be, and how today's particular brand of generative AI emerged.********Michael Wade is a Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 books and more than 100 case studies, as well as articles on topics such as digital business transformation, innovation, strategy, and digital leadership. Amit Joshi is a Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience in AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma.
Nuclear power: How we learned to stop loving the atom
31-08-2023
Nuclear power: How we learned to stop loving the atom
Nuclear power was once associated with a brighter future. The technology to extract energy from uranium was scalable, efficient, and billed as a source of cheap, clean power for generations to come.So why has the promise of an atomic age failed to materialize?Today there are around 440 nuclear power generation stations around the world, accounting for only 10% of the total power that we consume. In many parts of the world coal remains king, and countries like Germany are even phasing out plants, despite facing an expensive and lengthy road to net zero.On Talk Tech this week, Mike & Amit discuss the ups and downs of radioactive fuel, and why the promise of nuclear fusion powering each and every home has not come to pass.********Michael Wade is a Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 books and more than 100 case studies, as well as articles on topics such as digital business transformation, innovation, strategy, and digital leadership.   Amit Joshi is a Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience in AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma. Find out more about IMD at imd.org
3D printing dreams: Why the consumer technology of the future has flopped
17-08-2023
3D printing dreams: Why the consumer technology of the future has flopped
Ten years ago, 3D printing was heralded as the answer to so many of life's problems.  By now we were supposed to be using a 3D printer to print our food, our clothes, and even to build the house of our dreams. Some predicted that 3D printers would be as common as washing machines and that most middle-class households would be making their day-to-day essentials out of liquid silicone. The technology was even touted as a shortcut to making completely customizable artificial limbs at scale, and yet today, not only are these promises unfulfilled, but the global market for 3D printing sits at only around $15bn a year.  Where did it go wrong? Was this technology simply over-hyped, beyond its realistic potential? Or is it too early to call time on 3D printing?  In episode 8 of Talk Tech, Professors Amit Joshi and Mike Wade discuss these questions and more.********Michael Wade is a Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 books and more than 100 case studies, as well as articles on topics such as digital business transformation, innovation, strategy, and digital leadership.   Amit Joshi is a Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience of AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma. Find out more about IMD at imd.org
Quantum computing: The tech revolution that wasn't
22-06-2023
Quantum computing: The tech revolution that wasn't
From ChatGPT to Apple Vision Pro, the latest tech products garner a lot of hype. But while AI chatbots have the potential to change our relationship with the internet, and spatial computing could do the same to the world around us, these tech developments might also fizzle out. Hype does not always result in success in the long run.To understand why that is, we need to look at concepts that just never lived up to expectations, and quantum computing is a giant among them. In 2019 this was heralded as a possible game changer; a technology that would make super-computers obsolete and bring us the answers to the knottiest questions of the universe in an instant.Four years on that future hasn't materialized, and Amit Joshi thinks it will be another 10 to 15 years until it does. In conversation with Mike Wade, he discusses why quantum computing now faces an engineering problem, and what the future holds for lightspeed processing power. ******Michael Wade is a Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 books and more than 100 case studies, as well as articles on topics such as digital business transformation, innovation, strategy, and digital leadership.   Amit Joshi is a Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience of AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma. Find out more about IMD at imd.org
Can a growing tech sector ever be sustainable?
08-06-2023
Can a growing tech sector ever be sustainable?
We're used to tech companies making big promises. A future filled with driverless cars, virtual realities to live in, and ever-more impressive gadgets. But what will these achievements amount to in a world ravaged by climate disasters?In the last decade, the global conversation has been dominated by two mega-trends: digitization and sustainability. Mike Wade says that there have been surprisingly few intersections between these worlds because of the ephemeral nature of tech, and the physical nature of sustainability issues. But that's changing.Increasingly, digital giants are being questioned about their energy consumption. But while the data centers of Cupertino and Menlo Park consume colossal amounts of power, Amit Joshi argues that's just one side of the story. Tech is helping people all over the world cut their consumption by giving them access to knowledge and resources at the touch of a button.But can killer apps really help us to make enough climate-friendly decisions? And will cutting-edge hardware enable us to meet our carbon targets? Or is "sustainable tech" a contradiction in terms?******Michael Wade is a Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 books and more than 100 case studies, as well as articles on topics such as digital business transformation, innovation, strategy, and digital leadership.   Amit Joshi is a Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience of AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma.
Autonomous Vehicles: The bumpy road to self-driving cars
18-05-2023
Autonomous Vehicles: The bumpy road to self-driving cars
Companies like Waymo and Tesla are throwing the kitchen sink at autonomous vehicles. Every year from 2015 to 2021, Elon Musk predicted that we would have fully self-driving cars within 12 months. He's been proven wrong over and over again.   With hundreds of billions of dollars being sunk into the technology, it's a wonder to some that we are still using steering wheels and gear shifts to get us from A to B. Off our highways, however, the story is a little different. On farms and in mines, on railways and in the skies, many vehicles are now almost completely autonomous. So why can't we make the leap onto the open road?   In Episode 5 of Mike & Amit Talk Tech, Professor Mike Wade explains why we're in an "autonomous driving winter", while AI authority Amit Joshi, tells us why the last stage of self-driving development will require a lot more investment.   *********   Michael Wade is Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 books and more than 100 case studies, as well as articles on topics such as digital business transformation, innovation, strategy, and digital leadership.   Amit Joshi is Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience of AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma.