In this episode, hosts Frank La Vigne and Andy Leonard sit down with Lawrence Snapp, CEO and board member of TrustScale, an innovative AI trust and verification platform. Together, they explore the crucial topic of trust in artificial intelligence—how hallucinations from AI models can spiral out of control and why it’s essential to catch them early.

Lawrence Snapp pulls back the curtain on TrustScale’s journey from early AI and translation work in the 1980s and call center solutions, to its modern-day mission: empowering humans to verify and trust AI outputs with products like Argus.

You’ll hear about real-world impacts in fields like healthcare, legal, and research, learn how TrustScale’s deterministic engine outpaces humans in hallucination detection, and dive into debates around truth, trustworthiness, and the future of configuring AI values. Whether you’re an industry veteran or just curious about how we build trustworthy AI, this episode is packed with insights on technology, responsibility, and the power of rigorous engineering.

• Watch on YouTube -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjM7lxn3Qk8
• Lawrence on LinkedIn -https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrence-snapp-408339/

00:00 Funny AI-generated story

03:37 Company's Evolution from Translation to AI

07:32 Developing the TrustScale engine

11:35 Using AI for collaboration

13:39 Building a trust scoring system

18:12 Working at BASF and AI testing

19:32 New developments in voice assistants

23:41 Trust scale and company confidence

26:13 AI mishap in medical drama

32:48 Overcoming AI recency and cost challenges

36:54 AI's impact on career growth

38:50 Interviewing and developing talent

43:31 Starting with Polaroids and AI goals

46:54 Discussing TrustScale and AI interactions

50:42 Empowering AI customization for users

51:45 AI ethics discussion in Los Altos

Welcome back to another episode of Data Driven!

This time, hosts Andy Leonard and Frank La Vigne sit down with Jim Spignardo, Director of Cloud Strategy and AI Enablement at ProArch, to explore the transformative role of AI and data engineering in critical industries. From the challenges of bringing modern AI solutions into traditional sectors like power generation and manufacturing, to the real-world impact of tools like Copilot, this episode dives deep into automation, return on investment, and the importance of outcome-driven technology adoption.

Along the way, Jim Spignardo shares hands-on stories and key lessons learned, such as how modernization happens gradually in high-stakes environments, and why ROI modeling and project management are crucial to successful innovation. Whether you’re curious about Azure AI Foundry or the future of workplace automation, this is an episode packed with practical insights and tales from the cutting edge of AI implementation.

• Jim on LinkedIn -https://www.linkedin.com/in/spignardo/
• Watch on YouTube -https://youtu.be/XBDpsi4f0YY

00:00 ROI Journey with Copilot

04:57 Building with Azure AI Foundry

08:23 Implementing AI for Power Plants

12:22 Discussing 19.2K networks in power plants

14:00 Ensuring data security in devices

17:59 Cloud integration for IT operations

23:30 Discussing RPO, RTO, and ROI modeling

24:48 Switching from hobbyist to manufacturing

30:15 Introducing our AI platform Vector

34:34 AI Spend and ROI Dashboard

36:47 Improving meeting notes integration

40:48 AI in Manufacturing for Troubleshooting

45:41 Managing AI Tool Adoption

47:51 Tracking ROI and user intensity

52:03 Consulting firms spotting product chances

55:17 Increasing delivery speed with AI

56:55 Automating the house routine

In this episode, host Andy Leonard sits down with Ilan Man, founder and CEO of Paradox Machines, a full-stack data and AI company based in Brooklyn. Ilan shares his fascinating journey from an actuarial career to the dynamic field of data science, exploring the rise of big data, the art of translating complex mathematics into code, and the importance of numeracy in society.

Together, they discuss the paradoxes at the heart of data and AI, the challenges of decision-making under uncertainty, and why intuition, risk management, and storytelling remain critical in a world driven by data. Whether you're a data enthusiast, decision-maker, or just curious about how numbers shape our lives, this conversation delivers valuable insights and a healthy dose of skepticism about the limits, and possibilities, of analytics.

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilanman/

00:00 Starting a career in data science

03:34 Discovering a career in actuarial science

08:17 Learning coding and joining Squarespace

11:40 Understanding Probability in Code

15:36 Questioning Confidence in Decision-Making

20:06 Discussing COVID vaccine effectiveness

21:09 Understanding vaccine effectiveness

24:41 Consumers interacting with unpredictable AI

29:35 Discussing disease perception and interpretation

33:01 Casino audiobook and extra details

35:41 Balancing data-driven decisions

40:07 Career journey to founding Paradox

40:49 Building a data platform with AI

46:41 Data's Role in Decision Making

47:30 Value and limits of data-driven decisions