Brains Byte Back

Hosted by The Sociable

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197

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Jul 2026

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About the show

Brains Byte Back interviews startups, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders that tap into how our brains work. We explore how knowledge & technology intersect to build a better, more sustainable future for humanity. If you're interested in ideas that push the needle, and future-proofing yourself for the new information age, join us every Friday. Brains Byte Back guests include founders, CEOs, and other influential individuals making a big difference in society, with past guest speakers such as New York Times journalists, MIT Professors, and C-suite executives of Fortune 500 companies.

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60 recent

August 19, 202623 min

How H-1B Uncertainty Is Fueling Tech Hiring in Latin America

For the first time in a generation, the world's best engineers are losing interest in America. Job-seeker clicks on U.S. tech roles from abroad are down 29% from their peak, and H-1B visa applications just fell almost 39% in a single year. The $100K H-1B fee that got struck down in June only pushed more people to look elsewhere. Many didn't have to look far, finding ways to build careers from home for foreign companies. Pablo Miller saw this shift coming before working from home became the norm. On a trip to Colombia, his mother's home country, he met engineers his own age who'd studied abroad, spoke fluent English, and had every reason to stay right where they were. The talent was there. The opportunity wasn't. So he built Remoti to connect the two. On this episode of Brains Byte Back, Erick Espinosa talks with Pablo about what that shift means now: The airport moment that showed him the whole map had flipped Why AI is a jobs engine for Latin America, not a threat How Colombian culture shapes the talent international companies are looking for The hard truth for junior developers in 2026 Who really decides which candidates get seen It's about immigration, remote work, AI, and where the world's tech talent actually goes now, whether you're building a company or a career. Find out more about Pablor Miller here . Learn more about Remoti here . Reach out to today's host Erick Espinosa - erick@sociable.co Get the latest on tech news - https://sociable.co/ Leave an iTunes review - https://rb.gy/ampk26 Follow us on your favourite podcast platform - https://link.chtbl.com/rN3x4ecY

July 15, 202627 min

Agent Washing: How to Spot If You're Being Sold an AI Agent That Isn't

Every hype cycle has a sales guy. Crypto had them. AI agents have them now, and most of what's being sold as an "agent" is old automation with a new label. It's called agent washing, and Gartner projects 40%+ of agentic AI projects will be cancelled by 2027. So how do you tell the real thing from a fresh coat of paint? And even if it is real, do you actually need a complex agent for what you're looking to achieve? Host Erick Espinosa sits down with Mariano Jurich, Senior Product Leader at Making Sense, who helps mid-market and PE-backed companies separate real AI value from plausible noise, and who tells clients, more often than you'd expect, that the boring workflow automation is the better buy. Inside this episode: The four traits that define a real AI agent The "if-then-do" test that exposes a washed agent in one sentence Why "agentic" is overkill for most problems companies bring him Why agentic AI breaks when you treat it like a cloud migration What to put in writing before you sign Find out more about Mariano Jurich here . Learn more about Making Sense here . Reach out to today's host, Erick Espinosa - erick@sociable.co Get the latest on tech news - https://sociable.co/ Leave an iTunes review - https://rb.gy/ampk26 Follow us on your favourite podcast platform - https://link.chtbl.com/rN3x4ecY

May 15, 20266 min

Why Every Company Is About to Hire an AI Manager (No Coding Required)

88% of companies are deploying AI this year. Only 1 in 20 will get real value out of it. A new role is being created inside the companies actually getting it right — and it doesn't require a computer science degree. Most companies are buying AI tools before they've figured out what problem they're trying to solve. That's a big reason only 1 in 20 enterprise AI projects actually deliver measurable value — and why the other 95% end in millions of wasted spend, stalled rollouts, and in some cases, real damage. A new role is emerging to sit in front of all of that. Someone who walks into a company, figures out where AI actually belongs, where it doesn't, and what guardrails it needs once it's running. In this episode of Brains Byte Back, host Erick Espinosa sits down with two of the first people holding that title — Luis Escalante, AI Delivery Manager at Gorilla Logic , and Siddardha Vangala, Senior AI Applications Developer at MasTec Advanced Technologies. They explain what the job actually is, what it isn't, and why the people most qualified for it often don't realize they already have the skills. If you've been watching the AI boom from the outside, wondering where you fit, this episode is the answer. Reach out to today's host, Erick Espinosa - erick@sociable.co Get the latest on tech news - https://sociable.co/ Leave an iTunes review - https://rb.gy/ampk26 Follow us on your favourite podcast platform - https://link.chtbl.com/rN3x4ecY

April 29, 202624 min

You Made the Song. Now What? How Neural Frames Is Giving Independent Musicians a Visual Voice

Nicolai Klemke has always lived at the intersection of science and art. A physicist by day, a rapper finding his place in Berlin's music scene by night. That unique combination of analytical thinking and creative drive is exactly what led him to build neural frames, one of the first AI platforms built specifically for independant musicians who want to bring their music to life visually. Not for marketers. Not for brands. Just for people who make music and want to share it visually. And here's why that matters right now; 84% of Gen Z discovers new music through short-form video. If you're an artist putting music out into the world without a visual component, you're essentially invisible to an entire generation of listeners. Neural frames exists to change that, and in this episode, Nico breaks down exactly how. Nico also touches on something bigger. The idea that AI tools are opening up an entirely new form of artistic expression for people who never considered themselves filmmakers or animators. You just need a song and something you want to say. For a growing number of people, creating AI music videos has become a creative outlet in its own right. A hobby that sits somewhere between music, visual art, and storytelling that flat out didn't exist five years ago. If you're a musician, a creative, or someone who's just been curious about where AI and human expression are actually headed together, then you'll enjoy this episode. Find out more about Nicolai Klemke here. Learn more about neural frames here . Reach out to today's host, Erick Espinosa - erick@sociable.co Get the latest on tech news - https://sociable.co/ Leave an iTunes review - https://rb.gy/ampk26 Follow us on your favourite podcast platform - https://link.chtbl.com/rN3x4ecY

March 17, 202626 min

What Sitting All Day Is Doing to Your Body (And Why You Don’t Notice It)

Millions of people across the globe spend an average of 8–10 hours a day sitting at a desk, and research increasingly shows that long periods of idling are linked to higher risks of diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic health problems. And going to the gym for one hour does little to cancel the effects of sitting for too long. We’re learning that our well-being is shaped just as much by what happens the rest of the day. In this episode of Brains Byte Back , host Erick Espinosa speaks with Dr. Milad Geravand , co-founder and CEO of Deep Care, about why the modern desk job has quietly become a health risk we need recognize and how new AI-powered tools could help change that. Dr. Geravand created Isa , an AI-powered desk device designed to monitor posture, movement, and workplace conditions in real time. Unlike traditional fitness trackers that focus on workouts, Isa focuses on the 8–10 hours people spend sitting during the workday . In this conversation, they explore: • Why sitting all day affects metabolism and long-term health • Why exercise alone may not undo sedentary habits • How AI can support healthier behavior without invading privacy • What companies can do to improve employee health and productivity Find out more about Dr. Milad Geravand, here. Learn more about Deep CareI, here . Reach out to today's host, Erick Espinosa - erick@sociable.co Get the latest on tech news - https://sociable.co/ Leave an iTunes review - https://rb.gy/ampk26 Follow us on your favourite podcast platform - https://link.chtbl.com/rN3x4ecY

February 18, 202622 min

The Push and Pull: How and Why the EU Forced Apple to Open iPhone App Distribution

72% of smartphones run Android. Just 28% run iOS. Yet Apple’s App Store generates billions—because for years, it controlled the only path to iPhone users. Until March 2024. The EU’s Digital Markets Act forced Apple to open iOS to alternative app marketplaces, legally shifting the iPhone from a closed console to something closer to an open computer. But the transition came with friction, including a controversial install Core Technology Fee that left many developers questioning what “open” really meant. In this episode, Erick Espinosa sits down with Artur Assanskiy, Chief Product Officer at Onside, to unpack what actually changed, why developers hesitated, and how alternative iOS distribution is evolving in Europe. Find out more about Artur Assanskiy here. Learn more about Onside here. Reach out to today's host, Erick Espinosa - erick@sociable.co Get the latest on tech news - https://sociable.co/ Leave an iTunes review - https://rb.gy/ampk26 Follow us on your favourite podcast platform - https://link.chtbl.com/rN3x4ecY

January 21, 202626 min

The Question Isn’t Whether AI Will Replace Creativity, It’s How It Will Expand It

A CEO’s take on AI and the future of content creation You’ve probably scrolled past it without realizing it. A song on your feed that sounds human—but isn’t. An influencer landing brand deals—who doesn’t exist. And suddenly, the creative world feels split on how this is set to impact the creator industry. In this episode of Brains Byte Back , Erick Espinosa sits down with Shahrzad Rafati, Founder and CEO of RHEI, to discuss how AI is influencing the creator economy. Will the evolutionary technology scale creativity, or stifle it? Instead of focusing on fear-driven headlines about fake artists and synthetic stars, this conversation zooms out, looking at AI as an assistive tool, similar to other industries. It looks at what creators are actually struggling with today, including burnout, overload, and the endless work that gets in the way of making meaningful things. Shahrzad discuss why time is the real constraint for creators, how AI tools, like RHEI, can act more like a behind-the-scenes teammate, and why we need to retire the cynical misconception that AI replaces creativity. Instead, emphasizing the importance of focusing on human signals. Because while AI can flood the world with saturated content and shape what people see, culture is still defined by human intent, authorship, and genuine human connection. Find out more about Shahrzad Rafati here. Learn more about RHEI here . Reach out to today's host, Erick Espinosa - erick@sociable.co Get the latest on tech news - https://sociable.co/ Leave an iTunes review - https://rb.gy/ampk26 Follow us on your favourite podcast platform - https://link.chtbl.com/rN3x4ecY

December 11, 202532 min

AI Business Scams Are Surging: Here Are the Top 3 Threats Your Team Is Likely to Face in 2026

In this episode of Brains Byte Back , we take a closer look at the top three AI-powered scams threatening small, mid-sized, and large businesses leading into 2026 . With cyber fraud on the rise, attacks are becoming that much more sophisticated, making it harder to spot. AI tools are giving scammers new and creative ways of obtaining the info they need to do damage, using AI to impersonate employees, clone voices, and exploit rapid AI adoption. According to recent research, 90% of U.S. companies were hit by cyber fraud in 2024 , and AI-enabled attacks — including deepfakes and voice cloning — surged 118% year-over-year . While businesses are learning how to leverage AI, attackers are becoming even quicker at weaponizing it. But we have you covered. Erick speaks with cybersecurity expert Sanny Liao (co-founder & CPO of Fable Security) to unpack: How synthetic identities and “fake employees” infiltrate organizations — appearing on résumés, IDs, even video calls; Why AI-driven social engineering and voice-phishing are now far more effective than legacy scams; How insecure AI adoption is opening new vulnerabilities inside companies fast-adopting automation and code-generation tools. Tune in to hear real-world stories and walk away with concrete steps to protect your business. It’s a 2026 wake-up call every founder, manager, and IT leader needs before “trust but verify” becomes “verify or regret.” Find out more about Sanny Liao here. Learn more about Fable Security here . Reach out to today's host, Erick Espinosa - erick@sociable.co Get the latest on tech news - https://sociable.co/ Leave an iTunes review - https://rb.gy/ampk26 Follow us on your favourite podcast platform - https://link.chtbl.com/rN3x4ecY

October 2, 202533 min

From Building Startups Before High School to Scaling Sales with AI: How a Young Founder is Modernizing Outreach

In this episode of Brains Byte Back, we’re joined by Ibrahim Hasanov, a founder whose story is anything but ordinary. He started building hardware at six, coding at eleven, and by thirteen, he’d already launched his first startup. Impressive when most founders don’t launch their own startups until the age of 30. Since then, his projects have ranged from an online operating system to an image compression algorithm that caught the attention of Cisco engineers. Now, Ibrahim is the founder of Myuser, an AI-powered platform that transforms how businesses connect with new customers. Instead of drowning in generic outreach, Myuser helps companies scale with ultra-personalized communication at every step by using what he refers to as a smarter AI combined with a proven sales technique. In this conversation, we trace Ibrahim’s journey from having a winner mindset even as a child to winning with my Myuser, and ending with some valuable advice for those young people looking to launch their own tech business, which involves looking behind the curtain. Find out more about Ibrahim H Learn more about Myuser , Reach out to today's host, Erick Espinosa - erick@sociable.co Get the latest on tech news - https://sociable.co/ Leave an iTunes review - https://rb.gy/ampk26 Follow us on your favourite podcast platform - https://link.chtbl.com/rN3x4ecY

September 16, 202525 min

AI and 3D in Construction: Building Smarter, Faster, On Track

Construction is a $10 trillion industry, yet delays and budget overruns are still the norm. In this episode, Erick Espinosa speaks with NK, co-founder and CEO of Track 3D, about how simple cameras combined with AI can give builders a live, accurate picture of what s happening on site. NK explains why progress reports are often unreliable, how 3D replicas change the game, and why contractors are finally ready to embrace tech that saves time and money. He also shares his journey from working on smart cities to launching a startup in the US, and what it really takes to bring advanced tools into a traditional field. It's a look at where construction is heading, what AI can do right now, and why founders like NK believe the industry is on the edge of major change. Find out more about NK here . Learn more about Track3D here . Reach out to today's host, Erick Espinosa - erick@sociable.co Get the latest on tech news - https://sociable.co/ Leave an iTunes review - https://rb.gy/ampk26 Follow us on your favourite podcast platform - https://link.chtbl.com/rN3x4ecY