Alter Everything

In this episode of Alter Everything, we sit down with Fern Halper to discuss how most companies are now hitting a stage where productivity gains plateau because foundational elements like data, governance, and measurement are overlooked. Fern, a seasoned data and AI expert, reveals how organizations often chase quick wins with off-the-shelf tools, only to hit a wall when results stop improving or are unmeasurable.
Panelists:
Fern Halper, VP of Research @ TDWI -  LinkedIn
Joshua Burkhow, Chief Evangelist @ Alteryx -  @JoshuaB , LinkedIn
Resources and Links
Data Makes the World Go Round
EU AI Act

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Start your 30 day free trial of Alteryx desktop or the Analytics cloud platform at https://www.alteryx.com/AlterEverything

Subscribe to the Alter Everything podcast on your favorite podcast app:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/alter-everything/id1356137854
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/17KLxb23QlvgcbvLiaPck1?si=FWmOQEITRFCQ42smFjOpfA
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/alteryx/alter-everything

0:00 Opening Question
2:01 Why 2026 Is a Building Year
7:59 The Value Ceiling
14:40 Measuring Real AI Progress
17:56 Why AI Governance Is Different
20:06 Governing Agentic Systems
27:34 Original Thought as Competitive Edge
32:09 Designing for Augmentation
35:36 Predictive Analytics and Agentic AI
38:54 Lightning Round
42:08 Moving Beyond Productivity Theater
44:17 Key Takeaways

Welcome back to Alter Everything! Explore the evolving landscape of AI and its increasing integration with human decision-making, collaboration, and societal impact. This episode features insights from Tiankai Feng, a thought leader in human-centered AI governance, discussing how organizations can responsibly deploy AI while maintaining accountability, authenticity, and social trust.

Panelists:
Tiankai Feng, Data & AI Strategy Director @ Thoughtworks - LinkedIn
Joshua Burkhow, Chief Evangelist @ Alteryx - @JoshuaB, LinkedIn

Resources and Links
Humanizing Data Strategy - by Tiankai Feng
Humanizing AI Strategy - by Tiankai Feng
ThoughtWorks - Official website
Books on AI ethics and governance
YouTube - Data & AI Music Parodies

Start your 30 day free trial of Alteryx desktop or the Analytics cloud platform at https://www.alteryx.com/AlterEverything

Subscribe to the Alter Everything podcast on your favorite podcast app:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/alter-everything/id1356137854
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/17KLxb23QlvgcbvLiaPck1?si=FWmOQEITRFCQ42smFjOpfA
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/alteryx/alter-everything

Episode Chapters
0:00 Opening teaser
2:09 Meet Tiankai Feng
3:41 Why AI failures are really human failures
8:55 Should humans adapt to AI or constrain it?
13:19 Defining your relationship with AI
16:02 Decision-making, prompting fatigue, and trust
19:27 AI, teams, and collaboration
27:37 The "they" layer and unseen stakeholders
32:18 Deepfakes, disinformation, and critical thinking
36:02 The environmental cost of AI
39:48 Why AI governance must evolve
42:14 A dual-track AI strategy for leaders
45:54 Lightning round
48:28 Where to find Tiankai Feng

In this episode of Alter Everything, we are joined by Dr. Ami Bhatt for a discussion around her multifaceted role in healthcare, emphasizing the integration of AI in clinical practice. She highlights the potential of AI to improve access to care, enhance clinical decision-making, and support drug development. Dr. Bhatt also addresses the challenges of implementing AI in healthcare and the importance of human expertise in leveraging technology effectively.

Start your 30 day free trial of Alteryx desktop or the Analytics cloud platform at https://www.alteryx.com/AlterEverything

Subscribe to the Alter Everything podcast on your favorite podcast app:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/alter-everything/id1356137854
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/17KLxb23QlvgcbvLiaPck1?si=FWmOQEITRFCQ42smFjOpfA
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/alteryx/alter-everything

00:04 Opening: Why healthcare AI is different
01:39 Dr. Ami Bhatt's role across care, innovation, and policy
06:14 Three major areas where AI is shaping healthcare
12:41 Why AI on EKGs is especially promising
14:46 Collaborative intelligence vs. replacing humans
21:16 Ambient documentation and the doctor-patient connection
24:47 What "good enough" means when access is limited
31:41 Prevention, digital health, and patient agency
34:55 Self-diagnosis with AI and advice for clinicians
41:42 Lightning round

We’re back! In this episode of Alter Everything, Josh Burkhow sits down with Ari Kaplan, Head of Evangelism at Databricks and a pioneer of AI in sports. From building operating systems as a kid and studying at Caltech to transforming baseball analytics and now shaping enterprise AI strategy, Ari shares how physics-inspired thinking, relentless curiosity, and better data have driven his career. They explore the evolution from databases to generative AI, common mistakes organizations make with GenAI, why data engineering matters more than prompt engineering, and how true evangelism is about planting seeds and not pushing hype.

Panelists
Ari Kaplan, Head of Evangelism @ Databricks – LinkedIn
Joshua Burkhow, Chief Evangelist @ Alteryx – @JoshuaB, LinkedIn

Topics
Databricks
Major League Baseball analytics & the Moneyball era
AI in sports, healthcare, and enterprise
Generative AI & data engineering foundations
Data + AI governance
Raoul Wallenberg humanitarian investigation
Alter Everything podcast

We’re back! Explore the future of artificial intelligence in the year 2026 with Patrick McGarry, Federal Chief Data Officer at ServiceNow, and Dr. Jupiter Bakakeu, Lead Generative AI Technologist at Alteryx. This milestone 200th episode examines the critical shift from AI as an answer machine to AI as an autonomous work agent capable of executing tasks independently. Learn about the four characteristics of AI agents (perceive, reflect, act, learn), discover which tasks organizations should and shouldn't delegate to AI, and understand why modernization, trust, and governance matter more than model selection. 
Panelists:
Patrick McGarry, Federal Chief Data Officer @ ServiceNow - LinkedIn
Jupiter Bakakeu, Lead Generative AI Technologist @ Alteryx - LinkedIn
Joshua Burkhow, Chief Evangelist @ Alteryx - @JoshuaB, LinkedIn
Show notes: 
ServiceNow
Alteryx
Data.world
"Beyond the Algorithm" by Patrick McGarry (upcoming publication)

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This episode was produced by Cecilia Murray, Mike Cusic, and Matt Rotundo. Special thanks to Andy Uttley for the theme music.