Introducing the Powered by Data Show

Ben Jones: All right, welcome to the Powered by Data Show, everyone. I'm Ben Jones, and yes, this podcast has a brand new name and look.

Alli Torban: Yeah, yes, very exciting. You probably saw the new artwork there when you pulled up your podcast app. I'm Alli Torban, and moving forward, Ben is going to be the amazing new host of the show, and he's going to bring you interviews with top leaders in the data space.

Ben Jones: Yeah, and I have to thank you, Alli, for teaching me so many amazing things about podcasting. I still have a lot to learn from you. And that's really how I became aware of you in the data space in the first place, way back when through your Data Viz Today podcast. And you've done such a great job for us here at Data Literacy getting our podcast going.

Ben Jones: And so now we're going to do this shift. My goal with this show going forward is to help you all understand what's going on at the intersection of BI and AI. So my promise to you is that every time you tune into the show, you're going to learn something new about how we humans can make better use of data and AI to achieve our organizational goals.

Alli Torban: Yeah, yeah. And with this episode, we're going to give you a little sense of what to expect with this new show. So let's start with the big question, Ben. Why the shift from The Data Literacy Show to the Powered by Data Show?

Ben Jones: Yeah, great question. I mean, the short answer is that we've just seen the conversation continue to evolve over time. When we started in 2018, the most important question was: does your organization understand data? Of course, fairly soon after launch, the question evolved to: does your organization understand data and AI?

Ben Jones: So data literacy and AI literacy became a big part of what we do. And now what we're seeing with all of our clients is that they're trying to understand how they can use some new technologies in their organizations to actually drive decisions. So to me, Powered by Data reflects this shift from learning and training to actually acting and deciding in data- and AI-empowered workflows.

Alli Torban: Yeah, yeah. We talked a lot about humans and data and training and interacting there, but now it seems like we're really focusing in on this intersection of humans, data, and AI — this little triangle. So why do you frame it like that?

Ben Jones: Well, yeah, it's really the overlap where I think the spark happens. If you think about each of them in isolation, then you're not going to really get anywhere. Even if you only apply two out of the three, you still aren't going to go very far.

Ben Jones: Humans and data — that's traditional BI. Humans and AI without your data — well, you're going to get something, but it's probably not going to be anchored in your organization's context, right? And then data and AI all by themselves — I have no idea what that's going to do, but I probably don't want to know.

Ben Jones: Humans need to be overseeing it all and deciding what matters and what good looks like and all that. So you really need all three to come together to get that true realization of data- and AI-empowered decision-making for organizations.

Alli Torban: Yeah. I love that intersection that we're focusing in on in this podcast. And another thing you've said recently is that, generally, the promise of BI — its execution has been a little spotty over the last decade or so. Can you expand a little bit on that?

Ben Jones: Yeah. I mean, I think that we've made great strides. Self-service analytics got going in the late 2000s, maybe around 2010, and it's been in full swing. It's been a huge evolution, a huge shift. Organizations now have people embedded in the business looking at raw tables and building reports and dashboards.

Ben Jones: And it's just an amazing evolution. But it didn't come close to achieving its promise or its vision of having everyone in the organization with data at their fingertips. Certainly everyone can't learn Power BI or Tableau or any other visual analytics tool for that matter, nor can they learn to code.

Ben Jones: So you had, and continue to have, organizations where many people are dependent on a still fairly small number of people to give them the answers they need. Now along comes AI. Well, there's an opportunity to leverage that technology in a new way to, I think, finally realize this promise where anyone can have an answer at their fingertips.

Ben Jones: Sometimes it's visual. Sometimes it's a list. Sometimes it's just a fact or a stat. Sometimes it's a conversation, right, with a chatbot or with a human. So we need to put all those pieces together. And I think we live in a time now where we can start to think about how to do that, and to realize the promise that self-service analytics all by itself — and dashboards, as great as they are — really couldn't deliver on.

Alli Torban: Yeah, it seems like integrating AI is going to make it a little bit more natural and intuitive for more people to use. But AI is not just going to be this magic solution to everything, right?

Ben Jones: Yeah, no. I mean, by itself, it's not this magic silver bullet. Neither was self-service analytics, and neither is AI. So here we are again: oh, there's a new technology, it's going to make everything better, it's going to fix all of our problems. It's just not that simple. It never is, and it still isn't.

Ben Jones: I think we need to roll up our sleeves and figure out how to apply it in a way that opens up the door for so many people to interact with data in a fluid way. And what could that look like? Well, that gets down to this big question of what does good look like, and how do we implement these tools well? To solve what problems? To help people answer what questions?

Ben Jones: There are so many questions to all of that, and so many tools and technologies that are evolving so quickly, that I think the organizations we're working with right now are certainly feeling overwhelmed. They just kind of don't know where to begin.

Ben Jones: So no, I don't think AI solves this problem by itself. No way. I think that's where some of the hype comes in, and there should be a backlash to that. Instead, I think we need to say, well, if humans are the ones driving the show here — and we are — then how do we apply these tools in a way that's smart for us?

Alli Torban: Yeah, there's a lot of layers and interesting nuance to this question and this direction. How do you see the podcast playing a role in this conversation?

Ben Jones: Yeah, wow, I think there are so many ways we can help out. One is just to help people explore that question itself. What does it mean? What are the aspects of it? How do we wrap our heads around what hasn't been going well, and what can we do to move forward?

Ben Jones: A big part of that is by bringing people into contact, through the podcast, with really smart people in this space who are developing tools and frameworks, and who are working at brand new companies or evolving existing companies to do things differently.

Ben Jones: So, some case studies, what's working well for certain organizations, or an example of a tool or a technology they may not have heard of. Luckily for me, I've gotten to know a lot of these people — many of them I worked with back at Tableau when I was there — and they're at these other companies now.

Ben Jones: So we can talk to them, and we can introduce them to our listeners and say, OK, here's this tool or technology, here's what it's all about, here's how to use it, here's how not to use it, and what can it do for you? I think that's a big part of what this podcast can bring.

Ben Jones: It's just an awareness of what's happening in this space. We're having to keep our finger on the pulse of what's going on every day and try to share some of what we learn and find out with the listeners of the show.

Alli Torban: And how do you think it's going to be different than other data podcasts out there?

Ben Jones: Well, for me it isn't just about the tools. For me, it's about humans. And of course, because we have this data literacy background and AI literacy background, we're going to keep pushing our guests to help us understand how people can actually put this stuff to use.

Ben Jones: What do they need to learn? What do they need to know? What knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors do they need to acquire in order to drop a solution in place and actually have it work? So we're going to hold our guests honest on that and really try to keep that human lens on everything we do, and bring our training and assessment awareness to the conversation in a way that I hope helps out.

Alli Torban: Yeah, yeah. It's a really unique perspective. And as a podcast listener, I always like to know: what is the promise of this podcast to me as the listener? Why would I want to keep tuning in? So what do you think that answer is for this Powered by Data show?

Ben Jones: Yeah, well, the promise is they get to hear more and more and more of me.

Alli Torban: Ha!

Ben Jones: No, I'm just kidding. I'm going to ask a lot of questions. I'm going to ask more questions than I answer. What I want to do is ask the right people the right questions, and make sure that the audience feels that they also are keeping pace with a space that's changing very fast, because it's so easy to feel behind.

Ben Jones: So my promise is that every episode you're going to come in, you're going to listen, and you're going to say, OK, I think I have a better idea of what's going on now at this intersection of these three elements: humans, data, and AI. And not only that — it isn't just that I'm smarter, or more aware — I actually have somewhat of an idea of how I can apply it in my own work.

Alli Torban: Yeah, yeah. I love that. OK, so last question. In the podcast cover art, we have these lightning bolts, we have this electric lemon color. It's all for this Powered by Data feel, right? But what does Powered by Data actually mean to you?

Ben Jones: Yeah. So there's always this big debate: data-driven versus data-informed, and we get hung up on the words and the terms. So we're leaving that behind and just saying, well, how can data empower us? How can data be a tool that we use to actually achieve more and to drive?

Ben Jones: I still think humans are driving, even with AI. I think we've got a new engine in the vehicle now in AI, right? But data is the fuel. Data is really what keeps us connected to the world in a way that is quantifiable. And as you know, I love combining that with our own intuition, which I highly, highly value.

Ben Jones: So you put all those pieces of the puzzle together and you've got something that looks great. But yeah, to me, Powered by Data is all about taking action. It's all about processes and decisions, actual products we build, and the outputs of all of that. So all of those actions in the real world are ultimately informed and improved by data. So we are then powered by data. That's the goal, and I think with the right combination, that's how we can finally get there.

Alli Torban: Yeah, that sounds great. I'm so excited to hear all the amazing guests you have on, so I can stay on top of the evolution of AI and BI. All the insights coming out of the show are going to be so helpful to me and to everyone else this year. And I think it's going to be a great show.

Ben Jones: Yeah, I'm going to make sure it is. I'm really loving it. And Alli, you've taught me so much. So again, thank you for all that you've done to bring podcasting to Data Literacy.

Alli Torban: Fly, my baby bird.

Ben Jones: That's right, that's right. Well, here goes. I'll leave the nest now and become my own podcaster — with, of course, inspiration from you.

Alli Torban: That's right.

Ben Jones: So thanks again, Alli, for getting The Data Literacy Show going. We had, what, like 14 straight episodes?

Alli Torban: Two seasons.

Ben Jones: Yeah, we kept it going. Great run, super useful. So if you're interested in data and AI literacy, definitely go back and listen to the past episodes. It's going to be the same feed that the Powered by Data Show is on, so you don't need to subscribe if you're already subscribed, because Powered by Data is going to be dropping into your queue already.

Alli Torban: Yep, same channel, same bat time, same bat channel.

Ben Jones: We might be accelerating the pace. Instead of one monthly, we might be trying two or three monthly for a little while, depending on some of the guests and lining them up. But with that, we'll wrap it up.

Ben Jones: I do want to say thanks to you all for tuning into what now is the Powered by Data Show. I'd love it if you could share this episode with a friend who you think might be interested in what's happening at the intersection of BI and AI. And definitely follow the show so you don't miss an episode.

Ben Jones: And anytime we have links or products or people for you to get to know, we're going to drop those into show notes, as we will for this episode as well. So we'll see you next time.

Alli Torban: Bye.

Ben Jones: Bye now.

Alli Torban: Bye, everyone.