Human In The Loop

In this episode, Alaina, Danu, and Hamish trade their usual guest format for a freewheeling conversation about what actually mattered in AI and tech over the past year, and what was just noise.

From infrastructure realities like RAM shortages and power grid constraints to the hype around solid-state batteries at CES, we try to separate genuine breakthroughs from marketing spin including:

· the evolution of robotics (Boston Dynamics, anyone?)

· the messy ethics of training data collection

· why cybersecurity in New Zealand still feels like we're living in 2015

The discussion veers through disaster preparedness, the surprising complexity of getting robots to walk, and why slowing down - whether it's your reading habits or your AI implementation - might be the smartest strategy for 2026.

Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcast

Find us on LinkedIn:

Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/
Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/
Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/

Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzL

Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcast

Find us on LinkedIn:

Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/

Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/

Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/

Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzL

Email [email protected] if you have feedback, comments, questions or compliments
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam Ramlu and Euge Eastlake are creative technology entrepreneurs and leaders, with more than two decades creating digital, AR, VR and immersive experiences. Starting with creative technology studio Method in 2003, their portfolio of businesses now includes AR/VR game studio M Theory and game development studios Might Eyes and Mad Carnival.
​Mighty Eyes’ award-winning, story-driven VR game 'Wanderer' is a time‑travel adventure game where the player gets to rewrite history to save a ruined world, and Mad Carnival releases point and click adventure 'How Was Your Day?' later this year.
​
We discuss:

· The push and pull of community in building, launching and maintaining a successful game

· Aotearoa's successful and growing gaming industry

· Where AI has a role to play in game development & design (and where it doesn't)

Sam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samramlu/

Euge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eugeneeastlake/

Mighty Eyes Games: https://www.mightyeyes.games/

M Theory: https://www.mtheoryvr.com/

Mad Carnival: https://www.madcarnivalgames.com/

Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcast

Find us on LinkedIn:

Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/
Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/
Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/

Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzL

Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcast

Find us on LinkedIn:

Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/

Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/

Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/

Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzL

Email [email protected] if you have feedback, comments, questions or compliments
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In May 2022 we hosted our first ever "live podcast" during Techweek before we officially had a podcast... And we were so lucky to have the incredible Lucy Blakiston from SYSCA as our guest, in conversation with Danu.

Back then events were being paused due to COVID (as we found out first hand), AI was a much smaller part of the conversation, and Luce was still in her anonymous phase!

Fast forward to 2026: it's been a long time since we had to cancel an event due to COVID, AI is almost all the conversation, and Lucy dropped the anonymity - which has given us the reason to finally release this conversation.

If you don't know who Lucy Blakiston is, she's the CEO and editorial director of SYSCA, a media brand that helps mainly young people make sense of global news and online culture in an accessible, informal way. She's also the co-author of “Make It Make Sense”, a bestselling collection of personal and cultural essays written with her friend and collaborator Bel Hawkins. She's also a semi-finalist for the 2026 Young New Zealander of the Year.

SYSCA website: https://www.shityoushouldcareabout.com/

SYSCA substack: https://shityoushouldcareabout.substack.com/

Lucy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucyblakiston/

Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcast

Find us on LinkedIn:

Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/
Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/
Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/

Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzL
Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcast

Find us on LinkedIn:

Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/

Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/

Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/

Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzL

Email [email protected] if you have feedback, comments, questions or compliments
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Holly Knill is a product development, commercial and customer value specialist with a recently completed Master's in AI for productivity improvement from academy EX.

She’s worked with corporates and start-ups seeking growth and sits at the intersection of finance, strategy, product, policy, sales and technology.

Specifically, she’s been Chief Consumer Officer at 2Degrees, Group Director of IP & Content Products at Foxtel, Director of Product, Audience & Tech at Seven West Media, and Product Development Director at Sky UK.

Holly also has a postgraduate degree in multimedia, animation and UX, is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Directors, is currently Facilitator for Springboard Trust and a local school Board member.

We discuss:

· The appalling statistics about productivity in New Zealand

· The barriers to AI adoption in New Zealand and opportunities for growth

· Strategies to lift performance and identifying solutions to reverse NZ’s declining productivity

Holly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollyknill/

Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcast

Find us on LinkedIn:

Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/
Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/
Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/

Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzL
Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcast

Find us on LinkedIn:

Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/

Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/

Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/

Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzL

Email [email protected] if you have feedback, comments, questions or compliments
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us as we Loop Back to clarify comments and claims from last week's episode, as well as chat about any new news from the world of tech and AI.

· Fäviken Sweden https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A4viken

· Deborah Ann Woll Teaches Jon Bernthal Dungeons and Dragons https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpVJZrabMQE

· About prion diseases https://www.cdc.gov/prions/about/index.html

· Mental Health apps in NZ https://healthify.nz/apps/m/mental-health-and-wellbeing-apps

Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcast

Find us on LinkedIn:

Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/
Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/
Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/

Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzL

Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcast

Find us on LinkedIn:

Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/

Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/

Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/

Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzL

Email [email protected] if you have feedback, comments, questions or compliments
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.