AI isn’t just for large corporations.

Small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) can—and should—leverage the power of AI, too.

Not sure how to start? Ben Schreiner, head of the Business Innovation team at AWS, is here to help.

Ben joins guest host Justin Bolles to dive into AI’s effects on SMBs and lay out practical steps for getting started with it. He explains what SMB leaders need to know about security and data privacy, shares examples of real-world applications of AI, and demystifies concepts like AI models and hallucinations.

Interested in learning more from AWS? You can find more information in this blog post.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to maximize AI’s impact on your business
• Why data infrastructure is crucial to successfully using AI
• How to leverage existing AI models for cost-effective solutions

Things to listen for:

• [00:00] An introduction to the episode
• [02:45] How to start leveraging AI
• [07:00] How to train AI models on your data
• [12:45] How to choose a cost-effective model
• [19:10] How to mitigate the risks of AI
• [22:35] The future impact of AI
• [26:35] Setting a foundation with data

What keeps formerly incarcerated individuals in their communities and out of prison?

The Michigan Department of Corrections set out to answer that question.

The key, they discovered, is education.

Kyle Kaminski, offender success administrator at Michigan Department of Corrections, and Ben Wories, director of public sector services at Resultant, join this episode to share their story. They explain how introducing technology and education in Michigan’s prisons not only transformed attitudes but also reduced recidivism rates. Their story demonstrates the effectiveness of bold leadership, the importance of public-private partnerships, and the significance of data in measuring success.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How data has driven MDOC’s reduction in recidivism
• How public-private partnerships enable innovation
• How bold leadership leads to positive change

If you're a parent, you know how critical it is to connect with teachers. And research backs this intuition up. From Harvard to the Journal of Education Research, numerous studies show that family engagement in education boosts student learning outcomes.

So, how do we engage families in learning? It all starts with clean data and interoperability.

Here to explain the relationship between tech and family engagement in learning is Strategy and Marketing Officer Dr. Chad Stevens. Chad shares what he’s learned from his career in the education industry, including his work at ParentSquare, and the innovative ways the right technology seamlessly brings families and educators together.

Chad explains the importance of clean data, interoperability, and connecting applications like ParentSquare to other forms of data to give educators and parents the information they need at the right time. He also shares his insights on making data-driven decisions as an EdTech leader and emphasizes the need to stay focused on learners.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How interoperability enables family engagement in learning
• Why empathy and active listening pave the way for tech that supports education
• How to leverage both intuition and data in decision-making

Things to listen for:

[00:00] An introduction to the episode

[06:45] The importance of data interoperability

[11:45] Bridging the gap between technology and instruction

[16:30] How interoperability impacts family involvement in education

[20:45] Balancing intuition with data

[28:30] Staying focused on learners as technology evolves