25. Nick Cawthon: Founder of Gauge.io

27. Elisa: Co-Founder of Memoket (AI wearables)

Elisa is the co-founder of Memoket.ai, building AI wearables to make it frictionless to capture important moments. I was joined by Ali, founding engineer at Focal.ai (AI for financial advisors), and it was fascinating to hear their different perspectives. Chapters 00:00 The Journey of Founders in AI 00:52 Childhood Aspirations and Career Paths 04:13 The Role of AI in Daily Life 06:59 Building AI Products: Challenges and Insights 09:59 User Experience and Customization in AI Tools 13:07 Hypothesis-Driven Development in AI 15:53 Market Feedback and Product Iteration 19:07 Specialization vs. Generalization in AI Solutions 22:01 Balancing Customization and Simplicity 25:10 Future Directions and User Experience Challenges 35:45 Understanding User Needs and Problem Solving 38:52 Simplifying Features Through User Feedback 41:13 The Role of AI in Enhancing Human Connection 43:39 Product Development and User Experience 50:25 The Journey of Building a Hardware Product

26. Greg Nudelman: Author of UX for AI

I spoke with Greg about why so many AI projects fail and what good UX has to do with it. We talked about the real role of research, why empathy beats aesthetics, and how designers can work better with data scientists. Whether you’re building with AI or just trying to make sense of it, this one’s full of hard-earned wisdom. Over the years, Greg Nudelman has contributed to the world through: * 24 design patents * 6 Featured Mobile apps * 6 design books in 3 languages including UX for AI: A Framework for Designing AI-Driven Products (April 2025) * Hundreds of millions in design ROI Greg loves leading UX teams that create the "When can I buy this?" experience for their customers, then nurturing innovative AI/ML-based products to market through creative four-in-a-box collaboration between PM, Data Science, Dev, and UX. As an "Ombudsman of Innovation", Greg's work revolves around twin obsessions: UX for AI and Practical DesignOps to bring customer-empowering ideas to market. Greg is a thought leader on UX for AI, Lean Product Design, Rapid Prototyping, and fast shipping of industry-defining digital products that exceed business goals and blow away customer expectations. Sought-after executive-level keynote speaker, with 100+ keynotes and workshops in 18 countries. Greg's specialty is leading UX teams designing products for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, IoT, Analytics, Mobile, Biotech, Finance, and creating Design Systems for Enterprise Software. ___ If you, or someone you know, would like to be a guest on the podcast send an email to podcast@userexperience.org.

25. Nick Cawthon: Founder of Gauge.io

Nick helps design teams stay ahead of the curve with their AI transformation. He has been curating self-assessments for UX & Design Teams at retrain.gauge.io [http://retrain.gauge.io], helping analyze industry trends and any barriers to adoption. Nick founded Gauge in 2001 in the San Francisco Bay Area to help organizations with evidence-based strategy and product decisions. Clients have grown to include Electronic Arts, Genentech, Airbnb, Adobe and many others. Nick is a professor in Data Literacy and Visualization in the Design Strategy MBA program at his alma mater, California College of the Arts. _______ I sat down with Nick Cawthon and Casandra Cain to talk about how AI is reshaping UX design, and what that means for mentorship, emotional intelligence, and the future of our field. We explored trust, tooling, education, and why staying adaptable is more important than ever. Parts 00:00 Introduction to UX and AI 07:32 The Evolution of User Experience 14:53 Trust in AI and User Experience 18:26 Projects and Practical Applications of UX 29:20 The Future of Design and Technology 30:15 AI and UX Patterns: Current Trends and Future Directions 35:47 Mentorship in the Age of AI: Guiding New Designers 41:18 Personal Philosophy: Balancing Anxiety and Optimism 45:34 The Importance of UX: Advocating for User-Centric Design 49:30 Gage.io: Services and Target Audience Insights ____ If you, or someone you know, would like to be a guest on the podcast send an email to podcast@userexperience.org.

24. Dhyey Mavani: Applied computational mathematician and engineer

Dhyey Mavani is a Software Engineer at LinkedIn, where he works on inference optimization for generative AI models within the AI Platforms org. With a rare triple major in Computer Science, Mathematics, and Statistics from Amherst College, Dhyey graduated with two summa cum laude honors theses: one in Mathematics, where he formalized chip-firing games and the Graphical Riemann-Roch theorem using Lean4, and another in Statistics, where he developed a Python package for discrete copula modeling to analyze complex ordinal response data. At LinkedIn, he built and productionized the company’s first PyTorch-Rust model serving engine, reducing GPU costs by ~$1M and powering key recommendation systems. His work stands at the intersection of applied computational mathematics, scalable infrastructure, and human-centered AI—balancing latency, reliability, and ethics. Dhyey is also passionate about EdTech innovation, open-source collaboration, and building systems that are as interpretable as they are efficient—always guided by a belief that great user experiences start with rigorous design and deep empathy. You can find more about Dhyey at linkedin.com/in/dhyey-mavani [http://linkedin.com/in/dhyey-mavani] ______ If you, or someone you know, would like to be a guest on the podcast send an email to podcast@userexperience.org.

23. Ryan Junejo: Founder of Crashlabs.ai

Ryan Junejo is co-founder and CEO of Crashlabs.ai. [https://crashlabs.ai] We talked about how his team stress-tests AI agents before they go rogue in the real world, the origin story behind Crash Labs, and why AI safety isn’t just a buzzword, it’s the seatbelt we all need. Ryan shared the surprisingly tricky challenges of testing AI, what it means for user experience, and why his lab might just be the insurance policy the future needs. Parts 00:00 Introduction to Ryan Junejo and Crash Labs AI 03:09 The Origin Story of Crash Labs AI 05:56 Testing AI Agents: The Crash Test Lab Concept 09:10 Jailbreaking AI: Patterns and Techniques 12:05 AI Safety and Alignment Challenges 15:03 Integrating Crash Labs AI into Your Projects 17:50 Future of AI Testing and User Experience Keywords AI testing, Crash Labs AI, Ryan Junejo, AI safety, AI agents, user experience, machine learning, startup, technology, innovation