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Sidecar Sync

Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias

94 episodes

4 days ago

Send us a text In this episode of Sidecar Sync, co-hosts Mallory Mejias sits down with Dr. Nicola Sahar to explore how a University of Toronto med student dove head-first into clinical AI research and went on to found Semantic Health, an AI-powered medical coding platform later acquired by the American Academy of Professional Coders in 2023. They unpack the art and science of medical coding, discuss why AI will augment rather than replace coders, dive into the critical role of data privacy an...

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Send us a text In this episode of Sidecar Sync, co-hosts Mallory Mejias sits down with Dr. Nicola Sahar to explore how a University of Toronto med student dove head-first into clinical AI research and went on to found Semantic Health, an AI-powered medical coding platform later acquired by the American Academy of Professional Coders in 2023. They unpack the art and science of medical coding, discuss why AI will augment rather than replace coders, dive into the critical role of data privacy an...

Show more...

Episodes (20/94)

Sidecar Sync

Semantic Health & the Future of Medical Coding with Dr. Nicola Sahar | 94

Send us a text In this episode of Sidecar Sync, co-hosts Mallory Mejias sits down with Dr. Nicola Sahar to explore how a University of Toronto med student dove head-first into clinical AI research and went on to found Semantic Health, an AI-powered medical coding platform later acquired by the American Academy of Professional Coders in 2023. They unpack the art and science of medical coding, discuss why AI will augment rather than replace coders, dive into the critical role of data privacy an...

4 days ago

43 minutes

Sidecar Sync

Mission-Driven Models, AGI on the Horizon, & the AI Infrastructure Crunch | 93

Send us a text In this episode of Sidecar Sync, Mallory Mejias and Amith Nagarajan cover a trio of urgent topics shaping the AI landscape. They kick off with Anthropic’s surprising rise to enterprise dominance—fueled not despite, but because of its safety-first approach. From there, the conversation heats up around accelerating predictions for artificial general intelligence (AGI), with some forecasting human-level AI by 2027. Finally, the hosts zoom out to tackle the hidden but massive infra...

1 week ago

50 minutes

Sidecar Sync

Physical AI: The Robot Takeover We Actually Want | 92

Send us a text Are we ready for a world where AI agents write our blogs and robots clean our homes? In this episode, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias dive deep into the rise of agentic AI and the future of robotics. They explore how digital workforces powered by open-source platforms like MemberJunction are already transforming productivity, especially in marketing. Then, they pivot to the physical world, breaking down NVIDIA’s fascinating vision of the “Physical Turing Test” and simulation...

2 weeks ago

50 minutes

Sidecar Sync

Next-Gen Knowledge: AI Education with Conor and Finn Grennan | 91

Send us a text In this heartwarming and enlightening episode, co-hosts Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias welcome the dynamic father-son duo, Conor and Finn Grennan, to discuss their journey teaching generative AI in Nepal. Connor, Chief AI Architect at NYU Stern, and his 16-year-old son Finn share stories of cultural resonance, the universal challenges of AI adoption in education, and how peer-to-peer learning can drive real change. From Kathmandu classrooms to critical thinking conundrums, ...

3 weeks ago

59 minutes

Sidecar Sync

Cloudflare vs. the Crawlers & The Nonprofit Tech Divide | 90

Send us a text In this dog-dedicated episode of Sidecar Sync (Happy 12th to Ninja!), Mallory Mejias and Amith Nagarajan tackle two extremes of the nonprofit tech landscape. First, they dig into Cloudflare’s bold new default to block AI content scrapers—what it means for associations, the rise of pay-per-crawl, and whether blocking AI is smart strategy or short-sighted fear. Then, they shift gears to dissect a revealing Chronicle of Philanthropy survey on nonprofit tech adoption, where some or...

1 month ago

41 minutes

Sidecar Sync

Navigating AI Seas: Leadership, Lab, and Crowd | 89

Send us a text In this episode, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias dive into the world of AI agents, hackathons, and the secret cyborgs in your office. Fresh off a high-intensity AI agent-building retreat, Amith shares how association leaders—regardless of technical skill—can use open-source tools to build powerful, secure AI assistants. Then, the duo explores a framework by AI researcher Ethan Mollick to explain why organizations are lagging in AI gains despite skyrocketing individual produc...

1 month ago

52 minutes

Sidecar Sync

Adapt or Fade: Embracing the Adaptability Quotient with John Spence | 88

Send us a text In this energizing interview, Mallory Mejias is joined by leadership legend John Spence to unpack the three essential quotients of leadership—IQ, EQ, and AQ (Adaptability Quotient)—and why AQ might be the most critical of all in today’s AI-driven world. With decades of global experience, John shares how leaders can foster resilience, embrace change, and build cultures that thrive in uncertainty. From AI pilot projects to emotional pulse checks, this episode is packed with pract...

1 month ago

45 minutes

Sidecar Sync

Emotions, Accents, and Avatars Galore & Why Apple Says It’s All Just an Illusion | 87

Send us a text In this episode of Sidecar Sync, co-hosts Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias dive deep into the cutting edge of AI-generated audio and video. Mallory demos the stunning new ElevenLabs V3 voice engine and the lifelike hand gestures of HeyGen's Avatar 4, while Amith shares behind-the-scenes insights from a recent hackathon focused on building agentic software. The pair also unpack Apple’s eyebrow-raising research paper, “The Illusion of Thinking,” and debate whether AI models are...

1 month ago

50 minutes

Sidecar Sync

Online Learning Course Creation at 26x Speed | 86

Send us a text In this episode of Sidecar Sync, Mallory Mejias sits down with Jason Marchese, Learning Content Specialist at Sidecar, to explore the exciting frontier of AI-generated interactive web apps. From solving everyday meal planning problems to analyzing U.S. migration trends, they demonstrate how anyone—even non-technical folks—can build useful tools using Claude and ChatGPT. The conversation then shifts to a groundbreaking internal project: the Learning Content Agent (LCA), a dynami...

2 months ago

53 minutes

Sidecar Sync

Generative Video Meets Deep Think at Google I/O & Claude 4 Finds Its Voice | 85

Send us a text In this electric episode of Sidecar Sync, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias unpack the latest AI announcements from Google IO and the highly anticipated Claude 4 release from Anthropic. They explore what Google's Deep Think means for AI reasoning, debate the creative and ethical implications of video generation tools like Veo 3 and Flow, and rave about Claude's new voice mode. Plus, they reflect on the seismic shift AI is bringing to content, coding, and SEO—alongside some ACD...

2 months ago

58 minutes

Sidecar Sync

Breaking Math with Google’s AlphaEvolve | 84

Send us a text This week, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias dive deep into Google's groundbreaking AI breakthrough—AlphaEvolve. In their first-ever single-topic episode, the duo unpacks why this agent’s ability to autonomously invent and refine algorithms marks a pivotal moment in AI history. From shattering a 56-year-old math record to its potential to reshape how associations tackle "unsolvable" problems, Amith and Mallory explore what AlphaEvolve means for science, business, and the assoc...

2 months ago

49 minutes

Sidecar Sync

Snooze to Win: Why Digital Naptime Is AI’s Most Productive Hour | 83

Send us a text This week on Sidecar Sync, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias dive deep into two cutting-edge developments in the AI world. First up is the mind-bending concept of "sleep time compute"—how LLMs might learn and improve during their downtime, transforming into smarter, faster assistants overnight. Then, the duo breaks down OpenAI's $3 billion acquisition of Windsurf, the booming arena of AI coding tools, and what it means for developers and associations alike. From persistent mem...

2 months ago

54 minutes

Sidecar Sync

Getting Your Board on Board with AI | 82

Send us a text In this episode of Sidecar Sync, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias take on one of the most pivotal—and often overlooked—challenges in association innovation: getting your board on board with AI. Drawing from Amith's personal boardroom experience and Mallory’s deep dive into board psychology, they break down how to navigate internal politics, craft compelling AI use cases, and turn skeptical board members into innovation allies. From emotional storytelling to small pilot wins, ...

2 months ago

54 minutes

Sidecar Sync

Fargo vs. Klarna & The Rise of Reasoning Models | 81

Send us a text This week on Sidecar Sync, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias explore Wells Fargo’s virtual assistant “Fargo” and how it stacks up against Klarna’s AI tool from a year ago. With 250 million fully automated interactions and measurable impact on customer engagement and bias reduction, Fargo offers a powerful case study in applied AI. Amith reflects on what’s now possible for associations, why a narrow pilot project is a smart first move, and how “human in the loop” isn’t just a s...

3 months ago

47 minutes

Sidecar Sync

Getting Hands-On with MCP & Anthropic’s AI Economic Index | 80

Send us a text In this episode of Sidecar Sync, hosts Mallory Mahias and Amith Nagarajan take a deep dive into Model Context Protocol (MCP), a revolutionary standard making it dramatically easier for AI to interact with data, tools, and systems—no code required. Mallory shares her personal setup experience with Claude for desktop, walking through a live example of using MCP to automate file organization. Amith expands on why MCP is a game-changer for association leaders, how it enables busine...

3 months ago

53 minutes

Sidecar Sync

Ian Andrews Talks Groq’s Fast, Smart AI Inference Tech | 79

Send us a text In this special episode of Sidecar Sync, we dive into the future of AI infrastructure with Ian Andrews, Chief Revenue Officer at Groq (that’s Groq with a Q!). Ian shares the story behind Groq’s rise, how their LPU chip challenges Nvidia’s dominance, and why fast, low-cost, high-quality inference is about to unlock entirely new categories of AI-powered applications. We talk about the human side of prompting, the evolving skillset needed to work with large language models, and wh...

3 months ago

57 minutes

Sidecar Sync

Cartoon Avatars, Talking Robots, and AI That Draws | 78

Send us a text In this vibrant and forward-thinking episode of Sidecar Sync, Mallory and Amith dive into the fun side of AI—exploring OpenAI’s new GPT-4o image generation capabilities, Hedra’s cartoon animation tech, and the jaw-dropping robotics work between Nvidia, Google DeepMind, and Disney. You’ll hear about Mallory’s creation of cartoon avatars of herself and Amith, animated with lifelike voices using Hedra and ElevenLabs, plus a lively discussion on how associations can use these tools...

3 months ago

45 minutes

Sidecar Sync

Intel Bets Big on Chips Again as Meta Drops Llama 4 | 77

Send us a text In this thought-provoking episode of Sidecar Sync, Mallory and Amith dig into the fascinating world of semiconductors and how a historic joint venture between Intel and TSMC is reshaping the global tech landscape. They explore the underlying tensions between vertically integrated business models and specialization — a conversation that holds key lessons for association leaders navigating change in the age of AI. From reflections on the Innovation Hub Chicago event to an insight...

4 months ago

52 minutes

Sidecar Sync

AI Innovations from Gemini and DeepSeek to Break Your Brain | 76

Send us a text In this episode of Sidecar Sync, Amith and Mallory dive deep into two major AI model releases—Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro and DeepSeek’s V3—and explore how they’re reshaping the landscape of artificial intelligence. They discuss the technical breakthroughs, from million-token context windows to open-source innovations, and what it all means for association leaders. The conversation covers practical use cases, like AI-generated comic strips and strategic content applications, and zo...

4 months ago

47 minutes

Sidecar Sync

AI-Enhanced Member Services: Turning Strategy Into Action | 75

Send us a text In this milestone 75th episode of Sidecar Sync, Amith and Mallory return for part two of their deep dive into AI-enhanced member services. This second installment of AI-Enhanced Member Services shifts from ideas to action. Amith and Mallory focus on the infrastructure, mindset, and change management strategies needed to implement AI solutions within your association. You’ll hear clear advice on system integration, data platforms, and the human side of transformation—including h...

4 months ago

40 minutes