In this episode of Data Driven, Frank and Andy dive into the future of market intelligence with Dr. Jill Axline, co-founder and CEO of Mavera—a company building synthetic populations that simulate real human behaviour, cognition, and emotion. Forget Personas. We're talking real-time, AI-driven behavioural modeling that's more predictive than your horoscope and considerably more data-backed.

Dr. Axline shares how Mavera’s swarm of AI models situates these synthetic humans within real-world business contexts to forecast decisions, measure emotional resonance, and even test marketing messages before they go live. From governance and model drift to the surprising uses in financial services, political campaigns, and speechwriting—this is one of the most forward-looking conversations we’ve had yet.

If you've ever wanted a deeper understanding of how AI can augment decision-making—or just want to hear Frank admit asset managers love ice cream—this one’s for you.

1. Learn more about Mavera:https://mavera.io
2. Connect with Jill Axline on LinkedIn:https://linkedin.com/in/jillaxline
3. Morningstar:https://www.morningstar.com

00:00 - Introduction & AI Swarms Explained

03:30 - Forget Personas: Contextual AI Models

07:00 - Evidence vs Inference & AI Governance

10:20 - Simulation Scenarios & Model Drift

14:30 - Synthetic Audiences in Action

18:00 - Evidence Feedback Loops & Small Data Challenges

22:00 - Industry Applications & Use Cases

27:00 - Analyzing Speeches & Emotional Resonance

30:45 - Sentiment, Social Listening, and Real-Time News Reactions

34:00 - Adversarial Models & Strategic Pushback

38:00 - The Cartoon Bank Portal That Failed Spectacularly

41:00 - From Skeptic to CEO: Jill’s Journey

45:00 - Data Privacy, Compliance & Synthetic Ethics

48:00 - Reflections on Empathy, Engineers, and Selling Without Selling

If you enjoy Data Driven, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or your favourite pod platform. It helps more people find the show—and fuels Frank’s Monster Energy habit.

In today’s show, BAILeY, your semi-sentient hostess with the mostest metadata, teams up with Frank La Vigne to welcome the ever-insightful Andrew Brust for a deep dive into the evolving Microsoft data ecosystem. From nostalgic tales of Windows history and scoring elusive Clippy swag at Ignite, to unraveling what makes Microsoft Fabric a game-changer for data integration, AI, and governance, this episode covers it all.

You’ll hear firsthand how Microsoft’s innovation goes far beyond the tech itself—focusing on seamless integration, unified billing, and organizational synergy. Andrew Brust sheds light on the journey from fragmented Azure services to the unified vision of Fabric, the rise of generative AI and “agentic” intelligence, and the increasingly important role of data sovereignty and governance in today’s regulatory landscape.

Whether you’re a data enthusiast, an AI tinkerer, or just in it for the nostalgia, grab your headphones and get ready for insights, laughs, and more acronyms than you can shake a dataset at. Stay curious and caffeinated—this episode has something for everyone!

00:00 Microsoft Expertise and Industry Analysis

03:18 "Big Data and Analytics Insights"

08:31 Power BI's Rise in Azure

12:26 "Unified Fabric-Based Data Platform"

14:01 "Fabric IQ Powers AI Integration"

17:24 "Achieving Synergy Against Odds"

23:32 "Unified Compute for Seamless Integration"

24:41 "Overwhelmed by AWS Complexity"

28:21 "Microsoft Research Powers Azure Fabric"

34:20 "Azure Foundry and Tools"

37:33 "Flexibility Beyond Major Cloud Providers"

41:33 Global Data Privacy Trends

45:13 "Governance for Agentic AI"

47:29 "Azure Stack and Local Clouds"

50:13 "Kubernetes: The Cloud Caveat"

53:40 "Let's Reconnect and Reminisce"

Welcome to a milestone episode of Data Driven! In episode 400, hosts BAILeY, Frank La Vigne, and Andy Leonard gather to reflect on nearly a decade at the forefront of podcasting about data, AI, and the world of software engineering. This special edition takes you behind the scenes with stories of tech evolution, personal growth, and the wild journey from their earliest recordings to today’s AI-powered workflows.

The team digs into how generative AI has transformed their creative process—making it possible for small teams to produce vast amounts of content, drive innovation, and manage multiple podcasts at a high level. You'll hear about Frank’s latest tool, Podsy—a platform built to help creators manage the ever-growing tsunami of podcast assets using cutting-edge AI—and how tools like Claude, Grok, and Opus are unleashing new possibilities for automation and storytelling.

With their signature tangents, candid stories (including car accidents, water heater mishaps, and parenting milestones), and a bit of nostalgia about the early days of podcasting, this episode captures what makes Data Driven both insightful and relatable. If you’re a developer, data professional, or a fellow podcaster looking to stay ahead of the curve, episode 400 is packed with practical lessons, inspiration, and a few good laughs. Dive in as the team celebrates what’s possible in the age of AI—and look ahead to an exciting new chapter for the show!

00:00 "DGX Spark: Personal AI Supercomputer"

03:28 "Tech Innovations and Hardware Updates"

07:51 "Daily 5:40am Notification Routine"

11:10 "Podzi: Managing Podcast Assets"

15:35 "Boosting Value with AI Efficiency"

17:05 Claude Enhanced Legacy System

23:32 AI Impact on Creative Roles

25:58 "Consulting Break: Investing Time"

29:33 "Automation Evolution and Tools Demo"

31:35 "Podsy Studio: A Journey"

35:06 "AI-Powered Content Creation Demo"

38:26 "Podcast Organization and Insights"

42:10 "Streamlining Metadata for Insights"

45:47 "Unveiling AI's Hidden Potential"

50:41 "Celebrating 400 Podcast Episodes"

54:41 "Off Track Ambitions"

57:44 "Reality Strikes Back: Tech Trust"

59:36 "Podsy Progress and Workflow"