As AI adoption accelerates, a new question is emerging at the heart of global technology strategy: who controls the intelligence?

In this episode of Futurise, Rob Price is joined by Mark Boost, CEO of Civo, to explore the rise of sovereign AI — and why governments and organisations are rethinking where their data lives, how it’s processed, and who ultimately has access to it.

With a focus on UK-operated data centres, and perspectives spanning the US, Germany, and India, they unpack what sovereignty really means in an AI-driven world. Is this about regulation, resilience, or competitive advantage? And can organisations balance global innovation with local control?

They also dig into the practical realities:

• What does “sovereign AI” actually look like in practice?
• How are data centre strategies evolving to support it?
• Where do cloud providers fit — or clash — with sovereignty ambitions?
• What are the trade-offs between control, cost, and capability?
• And how should leaders think about risk, compliance, and long-term AI strategy?

This isn’t just a policy discussion — it’s a strategic inflection point for AI adoption.

For founders, investors, and enterprise leaders, the question is no longer whether to adopt AI — but how to do it on your own terms.

In this episode, Rob Price speaks with Claudine Adeyemi-Adams, founder and CEO of Earlybird AI, about how voice AI and machine learning are transforming the way organisations handle cases, support clients, and gather real insight from conversations.

Claudine’s journey from award-winning lawyer to AI startup founder highlights how new technology is reshaping traditional industries. Earlybird AI is building voice-driven tools that help employment support organisations, charities, and service providers understand the people they serve, automate case handling workflows, and improve outcomes using real-time insights.

Rob and Claudine explore the rise of voice AI, the challenges of building responsible AI systems that interact directly with people, and what founders learn when turning a mission-driven idea into a scalable AI business.

The conversation also touches on the realities of the life as an innovative SME, product-market fit in AI startups, and how voice-based intelligence could change the way organisations listen to and support their communities.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Voice AI and the future of case management
• Building an AI startup from a legal background
• AI for employment support and social impact organisations
• Responsible AI and human-centred design
• Selling and scaling an AI business
• Why voice data could become one of the most valuable sources of insight

Links

Earlybird website: https://www.getearlybird.ai
Futuria website: https://futuria.ai

In this episode of Futurise, Rob Price is joined by Steve Bustin, Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Hardy Plant Society, for a conversation that begins in the garden — and ends in the boardroom.

“Over the garden fence” is how knowledge used to be shared: informally, experientially, and across generations. Gardening expertise — like much business expertise — is rarely written as technical documentation. It is contextual, tacit, and learned through experience.

As organisations adopt AI and agentic systems, a similar challenge emerges: how do we translate deep domain knowledge into language that AI systems can understand — without losing meaning in the process?

This episode explores:

• How expert knowledge is traditionally passed down between generations

• Why tacit expertise is difficult to encode into AI systems

• The language gap between business specialists and AI technologists

• What agentic AI might mean for capturing and applying domain expertise

• Why successful AI adoption depends as much on terminology as technology

By deliberately using language that would resonate with gardeners rather than AI engineers, this conversation highlights a wider leadership lesson: AI systems only become valuable when they can engage meaningfully with real-world expertise.

If you’re a founder, investor, or executive navigating AI adoption, this episode offers a fresh perspective on knowledge transfer, AI leadership, and the future of artificial intelligence in practice.

Comments are open — where do you see gaps between business expertise and AI terminology in your organisation?

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This episode is dedicated to Jeune Price (1941-2023), passionate gardener and long time member of the Hardy Plant Society.