Utilizing AI: The Podcast about the Practical Applications of AI
Welcome to Utilizing AI, the podcast focused on practical applications of artificial intelligence and part of The Futurum Group Podcast Network. Every Wednesday we explore news and use cases of the ways in which AI is transforming enterprise IT and the industries it serves. Hosted by The Futurum Group's Stephen Foskett, President and Organizer of Tech Field Day, this podcast features conversations with industry leaders, researchers, and analysts from The Futurum Group as they take a deeper look at the technologies, trends, and strategies shaping AI to better understand how it is being adopted in our daily lives and across the enterprise. Utilizing AI is part of The Futurum Group Podcast Network.
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The $1.5 Trillion AI Leap of Faith: Are We Investing in the Wrong Future? | Utilizing AI Episode 47
Society is pouring over $1.5 trillion into artificial intelligence, but are we taking a massive leap of faith on a promise that may never deliver?
In this episode of Utilizing AI, host Stephen Foskett joins Futurum Group analysts Guy Currier and Olivier Blanchard to pull back the curtain on the...
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Are Tech Companies Forcing AI Features Nobody Asked For? | Utilizing AI
We are surrounded by new AI-powered devices, many of which seem to have been designed without much thought given to their impact on society.
This episode of Utilizing AI features Olivier Blanchard and Guy Currier of The Futurum Group discussing the way companies are bringing AI to market. Produ...
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Beyond Tokens per Second: Measuring Real-World Agentic AI Work with Signal 65’s Pinnacle Benchmark | Utilizing AI Episode 45
Standard AI benchmarks measure speed and raw token throughput, but how do you measure whether artificial intelligence is actually completing enterprise work correctly? In this episode of Utilizing AI, co-hosts Stephen Foskett and Brad Shimmin welcome Ryan Shrout, President and GM of Signal 65, to...
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Outpacing Hardware: GPU Memory Bottlenecks, Model Optimization, and the Reality of Enterprise AI | Utilizing AI Episode 44
The hardware needed for artificial intelligence applications today may not be a match for tomorrow's needs.
On this episode of Utilizing AI, host Stephen Foskett, Frederic Van Haren of HighFens and Brad Shimmin of Futurum discuss the reality of AI hardware as models grow and needs evolve. Hardwa...
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Open-Weights, Data Sovereignty, and LTS Models | Utilizing AI Episode 43
When cutting-edge AI capabilities shift overnight from exclusive enterprise clouds to permissive open-weights models accessible to anyone, IT leaders are left navigating a chaotic landscape of unprecedented power and heightened security risks.
In this episode of Utilizing AI, hosts Stephen Fosk...
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Demystifying AI: How Open-Weights and Local Hardware Are Democratizing Global Tech | Utilizing AI Episode 41
What if the key to stripping away apocalyptic hyperbole and demystifying artificial intelligence lies in putting open-weights models directly into the hands of everyday creators worldwide? In this episode of Utilizing AI, host Stephen Foskett and guest Guy Currier explore how the shift toward ope...
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Will AI Really Take Your Job? The Hype vs. Economic Reality | Utilizing AI Episode 40
Although we are bombarded by headlines suggesting that AI will decimate the global workforce, the likely scenario is far more nuanced.
This episode of Utilizing AI brings Nick Patience, AI Platforms Practice Lead, and Olivier Blanchard, Devices Research Director, of the Futurum Group to discuss t... -
Bigger Isn't Always Better: Why Enterprise AI is Turning to Smaller, Sovereign Models | Utilizing AI Episode 39
Not every task demands a multi-trillion parameter model with massive a context window, and we are seeing increasing success with small models designed with efficiency in mind.
This episode of Utilizing AI features Nick Patience and Brad Shimmin of The Futurum Group discussing the push and pull be... -
Trusting Autonomous AI Agents with Business Data Presented by Snowflake | Utilizing AI Episode 38
Autonomous AI agents are officially entering the workforce, but can your business actually trust them to make critical decisions?
In this episode of Utilizing AI, hosts Stephen Foskett and Nick Patience sit down with Christian Kleinerman, EVP of Product at Snowflake, to discuss the high-stakes wo... -
The AI Market is Turning Away from Frontier Models | Utilizing AI Episode 37
So-called frontier models have gotten better and better, but users are increasingly focused on AI-powered applications rather than treating the chatbot as the application. This episode of Utilizing AI features Brad Shimmin and Guy Currier of The Futurum Group discussing the impact of Tokenomics o...
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Building a Trusted Data Foundation for Scalable Enterprise AI Presented by OpenText | Utilizing AI Episode 36
Scaling enterprise AI beyond the demo stage requires bridging the gap between raw information and contextual trust. In this episode of Utilizing AI, presented by OpenText, host Stephen Foskett is joined by Keith Kirkpatrick, VP & Research Director at The Futurum Group, and Waqas Ahmed, VP of AI D...
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Software-Defined Vehicles: Do You Really Own Your AI Car? | Utilizing AI Episode 35
Are software-defined vehicles turning our cars into glorified smartphones on wheels, or are we witnessing the absolute death of traditional car ownership? In this episode of Utilizing AI, host Stephen Foskett sits down with Futurum Group analysts Olivier Blanchard and Brad Shimmin to unpack the r...
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AI Reality Check: Why Apple & Tech Prices Are Skyrocketing | Utilizing AI Episode 34
The impact of AI is coming home, impacting businesses, manufacturers, and consumers in the form of higher prices for everything.
This episode of Utilizing AI focuses on the impact of the hardware build-out, featuring Frederic Van Haren of HighFens, Jon Swartz of Techstrong, and Stephen Foskett....
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Are AI Wearables Just Trojan Horses for Corporate Surveillance? | Utilizing AI Episode 33
Your new AI smart glasses might look like a sci-fi dream, but they are rapidly turning into a corporate panopticon designed to mine your daily life.
In this episode of Utilizing AI, host Stephen Foskett sits down with Futurum Group analysts Olivier Blanchard and Brad Shimmin to dissect the sudd...
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AI Model Routing Explained: Save Costs and Prevent Outages | Utilizing AI Podcast Episode 32
Ever wonder what happens when the AI model your favorite app relies on suddenly vanishes or goes offline? In this episode of Utilizing AI, host Stephen Foskett sits down with tech experts Jay Cuthrell and Dave Graham to discuss the rising importance of AI model routers. Building artificial intell...
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AI’s Next Frontier: Why Inferencing at the Edge Could Reshape the Industry | Utilizing AI Episode 31
A consensus emerged over the last few years that AI compute would be centralized in massive datacenters, but this is being challenged as the industry evolves in 2026. This episode of Utilizing AI focuses on the transition from training to inferencing and datacenters to the edge, featuring Futurum...
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How We ACTUALLY Use AI Daily: From Figma to Fighting AI Slop | Utilizing AI Episode 30
Is AI truly transforming our workflows, or are we just drowning in a sea of automated noise? In this episode of Utilizing AI, host Stephen Foskett sits down with Tech Field Day delegates Jim Jones (Product Architect at 1111 Systems) and Jeff Ello (AI Lead at Purdue University) to explore how indu...
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Magnifica Humanitas: Why the Pope Is Calling for Responsible AI | Utilizing AI Episode 29
Pope Leo XIV released the first encyclical of his papacy, Magnifica Humanitas, focused on the impact of artificial intelligence on humanity. In this episode of Utilizing AI, Tech Field Day delegates Gina Rosenthal, Frederic Van Haren, and Steve Puluka discuss the meaning and relevancy of this doc...
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"Full Frontal Chaos" of AI: Unpacking the Current Wild West of AI Tools | Utilizing AI Episode 28
The artificial intelligence market is currently experiencing a period of total chaos, leaving businesses and developers scrambling to keep up with an overwhelming flood of new models, frameworks, and technologies.
Recorded live on-site at AI Field Day 8, host Stephen Foskett sits down with indu...
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Stop Wasting Your GPUs: The Secret to OpenAI-Level AI Hardware Utilization | Utilizing AI Episode 27
You might own the latest AI hardware, but are you actually using it? In this episode of Utilizing AI, host Stephen Foskett joins Tech Field Day delegates Gina Rosenthal and Frederic Van Haren to tackle the "utilization gap" plaguing modern enterprises. While hyperscalers like OpenAI achieve near-...
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Democratizing Data is the Answer for the Future of AI Strategy Presented by Starburst | Utilizing AI Episode 26
As enterprises seek to utilize artificial intelligence technology, they would be wise to bring their data and analytics professionals to the table. This episode of Utilizing AI, brought to you by Starburst, features Senior Vice President Jitender Aswani discussing the opportunities presented by A...
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AI Just Rebuilt Your PC Ecosystem: The Rise of Affordable and AI PCs | Utilizing AI Episode 25
The PC market is seeing a major reset, driven by the impact of smartphone technologies and the emergence of AI. This episode of Utilizing AI features Futurum Research Director & Practice Lead for Intelligent Devices Olivier Blanchard, Solutional CEO Scott Robohn, and Stephen Foskett discussing th...
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The Gap Between AI Promises & AI Reality | Utilizing AI Episode 24
AI is everywhere right now, but real-world value is still uneven. In this episode of Utilizing AI featuring Stephen Foskett, Olivier Blanchard, and guest Scott Robohn, the discussion cuts through the hype cycle and focuses on what actually matters: where AI is working today, where it is failing t...
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Why Trust, Data Quality, and Governance Matter | Utilizing AI Episode 23
AI is only as powerful as the data and trust behind it. In this episode of Utilizing AI, recorded live at Qlik Connect, host Stephen Foskett and Frederic Van Haren are joined by Sidney Drill to explore how AI is reshaping data analytics and business intelligence, with a strong focus on data quali...