In this episode, Yvette Schmitter unpacks the uncomfortable truth about modern AI: how convenience turns citizens into data points.
We go deep on AI privacy, data ethics, and the industry incentives that drive data brokers, invasive biometrics, and “consent theater” in Terms of Service.
Yvette blends engineering chops with no-nonsense clarity to show what needs to change—and what you can do today.
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Tune in to get my thoughts and all episodes, don't forget to subscribe to our Newsletter!
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Key highlights:
AI privacy explained in real-world terms—what you trade away when you click Accept
Data brokers 101: how your info is collected, bundled, and resold
The “action figure” experiment: a vivid story about bias and representation in AI imagery
Biometrics and identity: faces, voice prints, and why “frictionless” can be risky
Regulatory theater vs. meaningful guardrails—and where pro-innovation actually fits
Banks, voice recognition, and moving money: the security-privacy tradeoff
Quotes from the Episode
“Pro-innovation. I love innovation. I’m anti-bullshit.”
“Since we don’t buy votes, why would we buy people’s data?”
Chapters
00:00 Introductions and Setup
03:27 The Consent Illusion & Data Brokers: Turning People into Data Points
04:40 The “Action Figure” AI Fail & Biometrics and Identity
12:59 Terms of Service – Read Before You Play
19:59 Regulatory Theater and Real-World Harms
24:03 Pro-Innovation vs Guardrails – Finding the Line
45:59 Banks, Voice Recognition, and Moving Money
56:49 Final Thoughts – Sensible Guardrails for AI Startups
Where to find Yvette Schmitter
You can contact her via LinkedIn, or the Fusion Collective website 🚀
post on being “Huang’d” by ChatGPT when she asked it to turn her into a “Cloud Jedi." Also a recent Substack article that takes it a step further.
- EU AI Code of Conduct:26 companies signed, META did not
- Layoff data, the numbers:
Microsoft laid off 19,175 people
IBM was refreshingly honest about replacing 200 HR employees with chatbots
Intel cut 33,900 jobs, 20% of their workforce, while pivoting to AI services.
- The Register: Attributed by Hood to 'go-to-market execution challenges'
- Channelweb: "Microsoft CFO Amy Hood said that non-AI Azure sales saw 'go-to-market execution challenges' in the vendor's 'scale motion"
- SiliconANGLE: "causing the Microsoft stock price to fall more than 4% in extended trading"
- Yahoo Finance: "Microsoft shares tumbled as much as 5% in extended trading Wednesday"
- Check out this graphic depicting tech companies with the largest layoffs in 2025
- Microsoft: Amy Hood's "Go-to-Market Execution Challenges" Quote:$22.6 Billion Capital ExpenditureGeekWire: "For the quarter, Microsoft reported capital expenditures of $22.6 billion, a new record high"Stock Drop & Market Reaction."
---Tune in to get my thoughts, and don’t forget to subscribe to our Newsletter!
Music credit: "Modern Situations" by Unicorn Heads
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