The Lucent Perspective
In The Lucent Perspective, host Rebecca Hastings interviews executives and leaders from the tech sector to learn about their successes, most valuable lessons learned, challenges, solutions and insights. Rebecca is an executive headhunter who has built leadership teams and helped technology companies rapidly scale. If you're looking to learn about startup and scale-up technology companies and hear from some of the most entrepreneurial and innovative leaders, join Rebecca Hastings and guests on The Lucent Perspective.
The Lucent Perspective
How Businesses Can Make Smarter AI Investments with Oliver King Smith
In this episode of The Lucent Perspective, Rebecca Hastings speaks with Oliver King Smith, founder of SmartR.AI. His company specializes in transforming raw data into behavioral intelligence, with expertise spanning AI-powered decision-making, machine learning, and embedded systems.
Oliver shares insights on how businesses can navigate AI investments, avoid common pitfalls, and measure ROI effectively. He also discusses how AI models are evolving in 2025 and what leaders should focus on when implementing AI solutions.
Key Topics Covered
- How businesses should approach AI investments.
- The most common mistakes companies make when implementing AI.
- Why AI should be seen as assistive intelligence, not artificial intelligence.
- The risks of AI model poisoning and how to mitigate them.
- Why private AI models are becoming more attractive to enterprises.
- How organizations can measure AI success beyond ROI.
- The growing divide in AI adoption between the US and Europe.
Episode Highlights
[00:57] Oliver King Smith’s background and expertise in AI.
[02:25] Why businesses struggle to measure AI ROI.
[06:13] The biggest mistakes companies make when investing in AI.
[08:44] Why AI projects often fail and how to set them up for success.
[14:30] The role of private AI models in protecting sensitive data.
[20:32] How AI hallucinations impact decision-making and how to control them.
[24:26] The risks of AI model poisoning and how companies can safeguard against it.
[29:19] How organizations can measure AI success beyond immediate ROI.
[35:54] The evolving role of HR in AI adoption.
[38:15] The impact of AI on hiring, talent retention, and job roles.
[41:51] The future of AI hardware and how businesses can prepare.
[47:26] How to balance human expertise with AI-driven decision-making.
About Oliver King Smith
Oliver King Smith is the founder of SmartR.AI, a company dedicated to optimizing AI-powered decision-making. With a background in machine learning, AI automation, and data-efficient reinforcement learning, Oliver has helped businesses navigate AI investments and strategy.
📌 Connect with Oliver:
🔗 LinkedIn
🔗 SmartR.AI
Rebecca Hastings, Founder and Director at The Lucent Group
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hastingsrebecca/
Would you like to be a guest? Book a time to speak with Rebecca: https://calendly.com/rebeccahastings/discovery-call
The Lucent Group Ltd website - https://www.thelucentgroup.co.uk/
The Lucent Perspective website - https://thelucentperspective.com/
Rebecca has extensive talent and executive search experience supporting digital and technology businesses through complex changes and fast-paced scale-up periods. She works with businesses advising on C-level, technical, sales and commercial appointments, workforce planning, strategic talent management, recruitment processes and associated technology and employer brand development.