Few months ago, during a discussion with one of my colleagues, I learnt that there are a lot of people who prefer listening to podcasts while driving back home, during their morning run or if they’re heading back home on the train / bus. One of the friends also suggested Podchaser to look for all kind of podcasts I may want to listen / subscribe. So I made a note of my favorite ones..
My deep interest in Microsoft developer stack ranging from Azure to .NET to Power Platform bound me with multiple podcasts and honestly, whatever I picked up from the list was wonderful! Be it The Up Podcast, The Azure Podcast or MS DEV Show; all of them (and even others) were wonderful.
However, there was something significantly missing and that something is really significant, the AI Podcast around Microsoft stack. I was not able to find any dedicated podcast just based upon the Microsoft or Azure AI. Hence, I decided to create one.
This led me to contact some of the folks in Australia to validate my idea whether I am just thinking within my own bubble or it’s genuinely going help people. I contacted Simon Waight from Microsoft Australia and he advised me to go for it but not alone.. it’s better to have someone with me for many reasons and I totally got that.
Later on, after discussing with Simon, I contacted Henk Boelman, a passionate Microsoft Cloud Advocate mainly focused around AI to learn what he had to say on this idea. This is where things got more interesting as we discussed the possibilities of going LIVE video leveraging the Global AI Community platform before even publishing the audio for better reach and interactivity.
This podcast will not be only focused on developer stuff so even if you’re just passionate about AI, this is for you!
In the meantime, while we were forming up a team of hosts here 👇 in Australia, I also got connected with Willem from Global AI Community. Finally! We joined the blocks together 🤼
Global AI – The Podcast
In 2020, I’ve witnessed hundreds of fantastic virtual events across the globe where 90% of them involved sessions, panel discussions and workshops. There were very few events which involved no presentation, just good discussions. So I along with my wonderful hosts decided to go with the similar format in a podcast way!
As I’ve stated earlier, as we do not have many dedicated podcasts focused on the Microsoft AI therefore our focus will be around creating fantastic solutions using Microsoft AI and how can you as a beginner or expert learn from the experiences of others.
The format will be super simple. No formal sessions, just talking. It will be relayed LIVE which will be available for you as an audio podcast.
Episode 1 – AI For Good
Just to give you a glimpse, the topic of our first episode will be around ‘AI for Good‘ by one of our great industry experts, Stefano Tempesta from Melbourne, Australia.
Hosts
I’d leave the part of how we got together with the unanimous agreement on this podcast for some later TED talks!
I’m joined with these wonderful hosts who are already making a big difference by contributing their bits to the community. But for those who do not know them, let me introduce them one by one..
Akanksha Malik
Data Scientist, Telstra Purple and Microsoft AI MVP
Akanksha is a Data Scientist at Telstra Purple, a Microsoft AI MVP and an international speaker. After studying Financial Maths and Actuarial Science at UCC, Ireland, she realised she wanted to work with people as well as numbers. At Purple, she is working with clients to help them solve problems by making more informed decisions with data.
She is a firm believer of diversity and inclusivity. She loves machine learning, and that it is becoming more accessible to everyone. She is an avid advocate for women in STEM and is currently the network director of Women Who Code Melbourne.
Jernej Kavka
Microsoft AI MVP, SSW Senior Software Architect
Jernej Kavka (JK) is an SSW Solution Architect, Microsoft AI MVP and organizer of the Brisbane AI user group. JK is a full-stack .NET developer, but his passion lies in Azure Cognitive Services, AI and machine learning. He is the main architect behind SSW’s virtual receptionist – SophieAI: https://sswsophie.com
He is also very active in the developer community and enjoys speaking at conferences like NDC, DDD, as well as User Groups and Hack Days.
Somy Ayazi
Lead Consultant, Telstra Purple
Somy is a Lead Consultant at Telstra Purple. People Leader and an occasional speaker who is on a constant learning journey and keen to share what she learns along the way.
And for me? You’re reading this on my blog so you can always explore what I’ve been doing lately! Again, I’d like to thank Henk and Willem for their time and support.
See you on 17th Dec!