Human In The Loop

This week we welcome back Derrick Edward who is a technical founder with deep software engineering & Al experience. He co-founded Harnex AI, an Al-native agency helping businesses adopt Al across ANZ, and now he’s building a global B2B Al platform called AuraScope so brands stay visible in the Al search era.

We discuss:

· Why AEO is the new frontier of digital visibility and why the brands that ignore it now will be playing catch-up fast

· What it actually takes to get your business in front of AI-generated answers the practical steps leaders can take today

· What possessed Derrick to come back again, what's changed since his first episode, and what impressions we're getting better at

Derrick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derrick-edward/

AuraScope website: https://aurascope.co/

Harnex AI website: https://www.harnex.ai/

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.

· SpaceX secures option to buy Cursor: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/21/spacex-cursor-ai-startup

· Vibe Code Cleaner blog: https://www.goudeketting.nl/posts/2026/03/10/vibe-code-cleanup-specialist

· Allbirds goes AI: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmarkman/2026/04/20/how-39-million-shoe-company-allbirds-turned-in-to-an-ai-company/

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.

James Bergin is EGM Technology Research & Advocacy at Xero, leading the company’s exploration of emerging technologies and their impact on small business. He has a background in technology strategy, enterprise architecture, and digital innovation leadership. James is an active member of Aotearoa’s technology community, and is a regular voice on how AI and other disruptive technologies can be adopted responsibly to create better outcomes for small businesses.

We discuss:

· The “green shoots” that make us hopeful we can use AI for good at work and in society

· Where he's currently seeing AI move the needle most for small businesses

· Frameworks he's using right now to think about AI and value creation

James on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/jamesbergin

James' website: https://jamesbergin.com/

For more on Xero's approach to AI and building for the future of finance: https://blog.xero.com/us/news-events/accountable-intelligence-ai-jax/

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.

· Dissect Podcast season on Daft Punk: https://open.spotify.com/show/2b025hq3gJ17tQdxS3aV43

· Google Stitch: https://stitch.withgoogle.com/

· Are dogs bad for the environment? https://connectsci.au/pc/article/31/3/PC24071/200023/Bad-dog-The-environmental-effects-of-owned-dogs

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.

Geoff Christopher is a financial advisor and co-founder of Afterburner, a rapidly growing AI platform that automates the admin-heavy parts of mortgage and lending advice so advisers can focus on real client conversations and outcomes.
He brings a wealth of cross-industry experience spanning banking, regulatory consulting, luxury retail, and financial advisory which has cultivated a drive to innovate within the financial services landscape.

We discuss:

· Built by advisors for advisors: becoming a tech entrepreneur alongside being a financial advisor

· Data / security / regulation / compliance: the complexity of working in the fintech space in NZ

· For both advisors and their clients, what should be handled by humans versus offloaded to AI?

Geoff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoff-c-55ba6522/

Afterburner: https://www.afterburner.co.nz/

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.