Applied AI: A conversation with Andy McAfee

Breathless pundits promise that a single prompt will solve everything. Sure, AI offers almost unprecedented power through an entirely new kind of computing. But getting predictable, repeatable results takes the right data, processes, and automations. Andrew McAfee co-founded MIT's Digital Economy Initiative at the university's Sloan School of Management, where he studies how digital technologies are changing society (here he is  twelve years ago at TED 2013 , predicting how technology will change jobs.) He's the author of numerous books on how tech is transforming the world, including the bestselling  The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies . He also  writes prolifically on Substack  (his recent post  The DOGE Next Door  should be required reading for all public servants.) In 2021, he co-founded  Workhelix  to help large organizations make the most of generative AI and measure its true impact.
In this interview with FWD50 co-chair Alistair Croll, Andy will separate AI noise from signal, describe how large organizations are applying AI, and underscore the importance of clear thinking and real measurement in deploying generative AI within government.