Chris Piche Podcast Transcript
Chris Piche joins host Brian Thomas on The Digital Executive Podcast.
Welcome to Coruzant Technologies, home of the Digital Executive Podcast.
[00:00:12] Brian Thomas: Welcome to The Digital Executive. Today’s guest is Chris Piche. Chris Piche is a computer scientist and technology entrepreneur. Born and raised in Canada, he is an expert in distributed networking, scalable video, and computer vision technologies. Chris has developed technologies and products including AT&T TV, BlackBerry Video, Polycom Video, and Stun, Turn, or Ice, and has also been awarded the Best of Internet World, Canada’s Top Young Leader, and Top 40 Under 40.
Chris is now the Founder and CEO of Smarter AI, the leader in AI cameras and enablement software.
Well, good afternoon, Chris. Welcome to the show.
[00:00:49] Chris Piche: Thanks for having me, Brian. It’s a pleasure to be here.
[00:00:52] Brian Thomas: Absolutely. And thank you. I appreciate you making the time hailing out of the city of Dubai in United Arab Emirates, but thank you again for making the time. This is so fun.
Chris, we’re going to jump in here and ask you some questions here today to get a little bit of your story, but it looks like some questions here for what you’re doing. You built some of the biggest mobile video products from BlackBerry Video to AT& T TV. What made you decide to build an AI company?
[00:01:19] Chris Piche: Well, when I was at BlackBerry, I had a front row seat to the rapid transformation of mobile phones, and so I saw how quickly technology could fundamentally transform an entire industry. So, if you remember about 10 years ago, we were all walking around with our Nokias, our BlackBerries, and then it seemed like a few months later, the whole world changed, and we all had iPhones.
And so, after I left BlackBerry, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that cameras were on the cusp of a similar transformation. And in the same way that Android and iOS were crucial for smartphones, I thought that a similar software platform would be necessary to transform the camera industry.
And that’s when the idea for Smarter AI was born. It’s basically a vision of bringing the benefits of AI to cameras and changing the way we capture and analyze visual data.
[00:02:14] Brian Thomas: Thank you. I appreciate that story leading up to how you got into this. But you’re absolutely right. The last, gosh, decade has been just a whirlwind of technological advances and changes.
And as you can see if you’re not keeping up with. Some of that technology advancement you lose the game there. And we saw BlackBerry was dominating when it first came out there. And then it just fell by the wayside. So great to hear that story, how you got into that.
And Chris, I got a few other questions here. More of a complex question here. Do you foresee widespread adoption of AI cameras? And how will a I cameras benefit society and our audience? Any challenges with that?
[00:02:52] Chris Piche: Sure. So firstly, widespread adoption of AI cameras is already well underway. Sometimes they’re a little bit under the covers, so to speak.
But AI cameras are already making our lives safer and more efficient than ever before. In a number of ways. For example, from autonomous vehicles, to revolutionizing health care and even optimizing public safety. So, AI cameras are already here. And as with any transformative technology, of course, there are challenges to overcome.
The biggest challenge with AI cameras is probably striking the right balance between. addressing data privacy concerns and establishing regulatory frameworks to achieve the right balance between technology, innovation and personal privacy.
[00:03:39] Brian Thomas: There’s certainly a lot there to unpack as far as security these days, privacy and all that we could really dive into that. But no, I appreciate it. Where we’re at today as far as cameras it’s really has been, I would say in the last five, seven years kind of a proliferation of cameras and where they’re used today.
So, I appreciate you sharing where they’re at Chris, can you share any advice or insights, lessons learned with our audience technology entrepreneurs?
[00:04:06] Chris Piche: Well, I guess a few things. So first find an important problem to solve, find a way to help. Other companies or other people, so ultimately being successful is often dependent on, at the very beginning, pinpointing a significant pain or a significant problem that you can help others to solve. Number two, I would say, dream big, but start small.
Build an MVP test your ideas and scale your business or scale your product and business with iterative development or iterations of your MVP. And then probably one more thing and last, but certainly not least find something that you’re passionate about or do something that you’re passionate about.
Passion will not only sustain your motivation. But it will also enhance your understanding and your connection with your customers, the people who you’re trying to help.
[00:04:53] Brian Thomas: Thank you. And those three items, obviously passion is really the main theme of our podcast. It seems a lot of entrepreneurs and other senior leaders believe passion is really the key to that inspiration, creativity, and just longevity.
So, thank you for sharing. And Chris last question of the day. How does building AI cameras compare with broadcasting the Superbowl?
[00:05:18] Chris Piche: Let’s see, well, building AI cameras and broadcasting the Superbowl are both very challenging endeavors at the intersection of technology and society. So, where technology meets society.
But I would say that broadcasting the Superbowl is more like a high-pressure sprint. So, tons of preparation but then you need precise execution and coordination for a single event. And on the other hand, building AI cameras I would say is more akin to a marathon. Long term focus on continued improvement.
It demands a commitment to research, development and adaptation as technologies and market demands change. So, both of them require the application of technology. And a dedication to delivering a great customer experience, whether it’s for a short sprint, a single event or more of a longer marathon to improve the everyday lives of people.
[00:06:14] Brian Thomas: Thank you, Chris, for sharing that. And breaking out that analogy. I do appreciate that there are sometimes events that are just amazingly large. And then you’ve got things that you need to sprint for. But of course, the long-term goal is just to keep that continuous movement. So, Chris, I do appreciate you sharing that. And that makes a lot of sense. And we do appreciate the nuggets that you’ve shared with us today. Chris, it was a pleasure having you on today. And I look forward to speaking with you real soon.
[00:06:41] Chris Piche: Thanks. It was my pleasure to be here, Brian, and I look forward to coming back.
[00:06:45] Brian Thomas: Bye for now.
Chris Piche Podcast Transcript. Listen to the audio on the guest’s podcast page.
