This week on The Data Stack Show, it’s a RudderStack round table as Eric and John are joined by Matthew Kelliher-Gibson. Together they delve into the current state and future potential of large language models (LLMs) and artificial intelligence (AI). The group discusses the hype versus reality of LLMs, their practical applications, and the challenges of implementing them in production environments. Drawing parallels to the early days of the iPhone, they explore the transformative potential of LLMs while acknowledging their limitations. The episode provides insights into AI’s evolving landscape, emphasizing the importance of understanding token limits, practical use cases, the integration of LLMs with customer data, and more. 

This week on The Data Stack Show, it’s the next rendition of the Cynical Data Guy. Eric and John are joined by Matthew Kelliher-Gibson, the Cynical Data Guy, for their monthly discussion. They engage in a lightning round, analyzing various LinkedIn posts related to data and data science. Topics include data teams’ transparency with stakeholders, simplifying complex data, generative AI’s role in cultural adoption, and the impact of the “sexiest job of the 21st century” article on data science careers. The group also discusses the influence of “Moneyball” on data science perceptions, the importance of understanding data models, and more.

This week on The Data Stack Show, Eric and John chat with Cameron Jagoe, Co-Founder and CEO of ProcureVue. Cameron discusses his journey from running a bakery, where he used data analytics to tackle profitability issues, to co-founding ProcureVue. He shares insights on optimizing business operations through strategic sourcing and data-driven decision-making. Cameron also highlights his work at Newell Rubbermaid, where he improved profitability through cost-cutting and value engineering. The conversation delves into the technical aspects of ProcureVue, emphasizing its role in driving cost savings and improving procurement processes for businesses, and so much more. 

This week on The Data Stack Show, Eric and John chat with Jesse Clark, the Co-Founder & CTO of Marqo.ai. During the episode, Jesse discusses the evolution of AI and machine learning in enhancing search capabilities, particularly in e-commerce. The group explores the concept of vector search and its advantages over traditional keyword-based methods. The conversation also touches on the challenges of searching for specific items, like car parts for Land Cruisers in Australia, due to the complexity of part numbers and interchangeability. They delve into the difficulties of dealing with unstructured data, such as information locked in PDFs and manuals, and how Marqo is developing AI to search and incorporate this data into relevant results. The episode covers the technical aspects of customizing embedding and language models for better search outcomes and the potential of language models to connect different data modalities for advanced search experiences, the future of interfaces, the role of new technology in search experiences, and more.

This week on The Data Stack Show, Eric and John chat with Barry McCardel from Hex. They delve into the technical, business, and human challenges of data work, emphasizing AI and data collaboration. The discussion also covers Hex’s product updates, the complexities of building AI features, and AI’s impact on data teams. The group explores the unpredictability of AI, the need for extensive evaluation, and the iterative process of refining AI models. The conversation wraps up by touching on industry consolidation, vendor competition, the dynamics of cloud platforms and open source technology, and more. 

This week on The Data Stack Show, Eric and John chat with David Wynn of Edge Delta. During the conversation, Dave shared his background, including his econometrics work at UPS during the 2008 recession and his tenure at Google Cloud, where he focused on BigQuery and customer-facing architecture in the gaming industry. The discussion covers the landscape of data warehouse products like Snowflake and Databricks, the complexities of cloud platforms, and the challenges of observability. They also delve into the cautious integration of AI in observability, emphasizing the need for better mental models and practical approaches, and so much more. 

This week on The Data Stack Show, Eric and John chat with Jeff Skoldberg, Principal Consultant, Data Architecture and Analytics at Green Mountain Data Solutions. Jeff has been a data consultant specializing in supply chain analytics and cost optimization and shares his journey from starting as a business analyst at Keurig in 2008 to becoming an independent consultant. They discuss the evolution of the data landscape, including shifts from Microsoft SQL Server to SAP HANA and later to Snowflake. Jeff emphasizes the importance of cost optimization, detailing strategies for managing data costs effectively. The group also discusses two frameworks for using data to control business processes and create actionable dashboards, and more.

This week on The Data Stack Show, Eric and John chat with Clint Dunn, Co-Founder at Wilde. During this conversation, Clint shares his journey from an economics major to a data professional, detailing his experiences at Afterpay and in building data teams for e-commerce companies. The discussion covers Wilde’s focus on predicting customer lifetime value (LTV) and churn for retail brands, emphasizing the importance of accurate data for business decisions. The group also explores the challenges of integrating data predictions into marketing workflows, technical aspects of managing and analyzing large datasets, and more.

This week on The Data Stack Show, Eric and John chat with Matthew Kelliher-Gibson, the deemed “cynical data guy,” in a candid discussion about the realities of data work in large organizations. They explore the skepticism surrounding metadata’s value, the myth of a data-driven culture, and the challenges of shifting executive mindsets to trust data over intuition. Additionally, the group delves into the practicality of no-code and low-code solutions for data operations, emphasizing the importance of discipline and understanding the limitations of these tools. The conversation also covers the misuse of tools like Jupyter notebooks in production and the need for clear guidelines to prevent inefficiencies and manage tool usage at an enterprise scale. Don’t miss the battle of the cynical and the agreeable on this week’s episode! 

This week on The Data Stack Show, Eric and John chat with Binny Gill, Founder and CEO of Kognitos. During the episode, Binny shares his journey from programming on a Casio calculator to founding Kognitos. He reflects on the evolution of learning to code, from his own self-taught beginnings to his son’s coding project during the pandemic. Binny discusses the inception of Kognitos, aiming to democratize programming by making it more accessible and intuitive. The conversation touches on the need for a new operating system that simplifies business logic, the role of AI as a problem-solving tool, the importance of human control over AI systems, and more.