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Data-Driven PodcastAuthor: AtScale
The Data-Driven AtScale Podcast is designed to explore the impact of making smarter data-driven decisions at scale with foremost Data / AI / BI thought leaders and top technologists.Here you will find a collection of practical advice and candid conversations with industry innovators, covering technology trends, lessons learned, organizational transformation experiences, best use cases, career advice, and much more. You can find and watch all of our episodes from this page. Be sure to subscribe. Language: en-us Genres: Technology Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Semantic Layers, OSI & AI: Why Context Beats Data Access
Episode 40
Wednesday, 25 March, 2026
What does enterprise AI actually need to succeed: more data access or better context?In this episode of the Data-Driven Podcast, AtScale CTO Dave Mariani sits down with Coginiti CTO Matthew Mullins to unpack one of the most important debates in modern data architecture: access vs. understanding. The conversation explores the rise of the semantic layer, the role of open semantics, and why initiatives like the Open Semantic Interchange (OSI) matter for the future of AI and analytics.Matthew shares his journey from cognitive science and formal semantics into enterprise data, and how those foundations are becoming critical again in the age of AI. Together, Dave and Matthew break down:Why inconsistent metrics (like “29 definitions of customer”) still plague enterprisesThe real purpose of OSI and whether it should be an interchange format or a modeling standardWhy semantic layers are becoming core infrastructure for agentic AI and LLMsHow the Model Context Protocol (MCP) fits into the stack, and what it doesn’t solveWhy AI cannot replace human-defined business semanticsThe shift from dashboards to AI-driven, ad hoc business intelligenceThe key takeaway: LLMs don’t understand your data; they understand language about your data. Without a semantic layer to provide governed definitions, relationships, and context, AI systems will produce inconsistent or unreliable results.If you're building AI-powered analytics, designing data platforms, or evaluating open standards like OSI, this conversation outlines where the industry is heading.Learn more about AtScale’s universal semantic layer: https://www.atscale.com
