Beyond Chat: Rethinking What “Intelligent” Really Means in AI

Artificial intelligence has entered the enterprise mainstream — but many organizations are still asking the same question: how do we move beyond simple chat interactions and start driving real business value with AI?

In our latest episode of Illuminating Information, we are joined by Dr. Kirk Borne. As one of the world’s leading data scientists and AI educators, Dr. Borne has seen it all — from NASA to Booz Allen Hamilton to advising enterprises on the front lines of AI transformation. In this conversation, he shares why the next wave of innovation isn’t about bigger models or flashier demos, but about how organizations connect information, context, and action.

As Dr. Borne puts it, the real value of AI isn’t in generating text — it’s in understanding context, connecting insights, and taking action. It’s about building systems that don’t just respond, but reason. Systems that can learn from experience, anticipate needs, and drive meaningful outcomes across the enterprise.

This episode pulls back the curtain on what’s next for AI in business — from agentic systems that act autonomously to the new frontier of context-aware intelligence. You’ll come away with a new lens for understanding what “intelligent” actually means in an organizational setting, and how leaders can evolve from experimenting with chatbots to engineering real transformation.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll hear:

• Why “chatting with information” is only scratching the surface of what large language models can do
• How context turns AI from a tool for answers into a driver of insight and action
• What makes learning from experience the real measure of intelligent systems
• Why agentic RAG represents the next leap — from retrieval to reasoning and action
• And how enterprises can finally turn information into tangible business value

If you’ve ever wondered why your AI project isn’t living up to the hype — or what it takes to move from information overload to insight in action — this conversation is for you.

Listen now to “Beyond Chat: From Facts to Context with Dr. Kirk Borne” on our website, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.