Episode #1 | AI in Practice: From Pilot to Production

Recent figures suggest that up to 88% of AI proofs of concept fail to reach live deployment - more than double the failure rate of traditional IT projects. In this episode of Technically Speaking, host Richard Brown is joined by Amy De-Balsi, an independent programme manager working in a highly regulated public sector environment, and Adam Brookes, Head of Consulting at Audacia, to explore why AI initiatives so often stall between proof of concept and production, and what it actually takes to close that gap.Grounded in real projects and first-hand experience, the conversation covers the full lifecycle of an AI initiative: from early ideation and feasibility, through pilots and governance, and into live deployment.---SpeakersRichard Brown: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-brown-2513b37a/Amy De-Balsi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-de-balsi/Adam Brookes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abrookes/---Sources mentionedAI Playbook for UK Government: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-playbook-for-the-uk-government---Topics covered(0:00) Introduction(0:38) Meet the guests(1:38) What makes AI projects different?(4:57) What does productionisation actually mean?(8:11) From innovation freedom to live service(10:42) Building the business case for AI(14:36) Freeing people up, not replacing them(16:10) Guardrails as an accelerator, not a blocker(18:25) Accountability and human in the loop(19:48) Agentic AI and managing risk(24:08) The role of leadership(28:52) When a POC should fail(31:31) Avoiding the sunk cost trap(36:18) Defining "done" for non-deterministic systems(39:14) Cynics to champions(44:40) What's next for AI?(46:53) Key takeaways--- About AudaciaAudacia is an award winning technology consultancy, specialising in engineering, data, AI and cloud.Audacia has established a reputation as a critical technology partner with long-standing relationships; helping customers automate their processes by delivering intuitive and reliable technology solutions. From commodities trading platforms for one of the largest agricultural companies in the world, to systems to manage people across some of the biggest offshore windfarms in the world.https://audacia.co.uk/