A shiny AI demo is easy. Getting it to survive contact with a real insurance business is much harder. In part one of this episode of The Reality Layer, Dave Tobias sits down with Lynn Thompson, Partner and Global Head of Strategy and Partnerships at QBE Ventures, to explore why so many pilots stall, what it takes to build a real pathway to production, and why the strongest results come from solving the right problem with the right team behind it.

When disaster strikes, the plan rarely survives exactly as written. The question is whether your team can still make the right call. In this episode of The Reality Layer, Dave Tobias sits down with former FEMA response leader Jeremy Greenberg to explore how emergency managers make high-stakes decisions when information is incomplete, conditions are changing, and resources are stretched. From preparing for increasingly unpredictable disasters to turning overwhelming amounts of data into actionable knowledge, Jeremy shares practical lessons insurers can use to improve catastrophe response, resource allocation, public-private coordination, and the policyholder experience.

Why do so many promising AI pilots fall apart when companies try to put them into production? In part one of this two-part episode of The Reality Layer, Dave Tobias sits down with AI Strategist, Technologist, and former AWS Executive in Residence, Jake Burns, to explore what separates AI experimentation from meaningful enterprise results. From overcoming legacy data challenges and controlling AI costs, to building internal expertise and earning employee buy-in, Jake shares what leaders need to get right, as AI moves from proof of concept to core business capability.

Welcome to The Reality Layer, a podcast exploring the data, signals, and real-world insights shaping the future of insurance and the built environment. Hosted by Dave Tobias, Chief Product Officer at Nearmap, each episode brings together executives and experts who are closest to the data and the decisions that matter. From underwriting and claims to catastrophe response and policyholder experience, discover what the data actually shows and how it can shape what’s possible. The Reality Layer is brought to you by Nearmap. Subscribe now and join us for The Reality Layer.