If you had asked me even a year ago whether we would experience the rampant strides in AI that has made humans significantly more productive, more trusting of the technology and more willing to innovate as we march towards a more sophisticated AI, I would have my doubts.

In the last year, we have witnessed LLMs evolve and have seen the rise of Generative AI capabilities. Adoption rates with the improved technology are impressive. Here are some statistics from Hostinger:

• As of 2025, 78% of companies have adopted AI technologies, a significant increase from previous years.
• Out of 359 million companies worldwide, 280 million use AI in at least one business function.
• On average, companies are now using AI in three different functions, reflecting a noticeable increase since early 2024.

It’s safe to say that Global adoption of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) has exploded into mainstream, transforming how individuals work, create, and interact with technology.

But how useful is this adoption? While the technology is saving people and companies considerable time and money, what are the opportunity costs of this transformation and will it inflict sustainable negative downstream impacts?

For those that have tinkered with Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT, there are numerous signs that technology still needs time to remedy many of its hallucinations in order to be truly trustworthy. But more than this, the impact on human beings is now front and center.

What impact does this have on human cognition if humans were to become truly addicted to these technologies and acquiescence to machine outputs? Will the value of work collaboration disintegrate if what was once “brainstorming” defaults to “ask GenAI to provide me 10 of the best topics.”

The question of trusting the code that powers our applications and our systems also becomes paramount? Will the developers’ job change to ensure better governance? If so, how? And to what extent will we enable our digital infrastructures to be created by AI?

We are excited to welcome Jing Hu to Tech Uncensored. Jing bridges the gap between AI promises and reality. A former biochemist spent years in research, then another decade as a tech product leader before becoming a trusted AI journalist. Her Substack is 2nd order thinkers. What is trustworthy and useful AI? Are we jumping the gun in embracing these technologies? We’ll also discuss the cognitive impact from increased use of Generative AI and now more sophisticated chatbots and that impending cost to human connection.

In this episode of Tech Uncensored, we speak with someone who has worked on both sides of the aisle from supporting entrepreneurs to more recently, deciding to take the leap fully into developing her own startup.

Usha Srinivasan is an Ecosystem Builder. She has worked in Economic Development for 15 years supporting startup entrepreneurs in program development through MaRS, Elevate and most recently, Brampton Venture Zone.

Usha’s always been a builder and has leveraged her network to chart a path for many founders and developed critical programs to bring founders to the next level. Along the way, in her words, she ran side-hustles–passion projects from her own consulting business, to managing a small reggae record label to running a bakery business in the Beaches area in Toronto.

Now Usha has decided to become a full-time startup founder for a talent platform called B-Ready to support the underutilization of immigrant and BIPoC talent in Ontario specifically connecting them to SME’s and startups.

This is a conversation about Usha Srinivasan's path from Economic Development to Entrepreneurship, and the lessons she's taking with her.

You’re ready to raise capital.

As a founder, the timing feels right. You’ve built momentum, gained sales traction, and investors are showing genuine interest in your technology.

The investor conversations are encouraging — they’re asking the right questions and showing serious intent. You're starting to explore what a deal might look like: how much they’ll invest, and how much of your company they’ll own in return.

Sounds promising. But how do you know what’s fair? What’s the industry benchmark for equity ownership at this early stage?

The truth is, there’s no handbook for negotiating with investors in a way that both protects your startup and sets you up for growth.

Many early-stage founders begin building relationships with strategic advisors — individuals who offer guidance without writing a cheque right away. Over time, trust builds, and these early supporters may become champions, who invest and open doors to partners, clients, and future investors.

But landing that first lead investor is rarely easy. It’s a daunting process.

What does a strong investor relationship actually look like? What red flags should you watch for? And how do you know you’ve negotiated terms that are right for your company?

Bringing on an investor is the beginning of a long-term relationship — like a business marriage. It takes consistent communication, transparency, and a willingness to have difficult conversations.

The relationship you build will shape how you achieve those results — and how much influence investors will have in that journey.

We are excited to welcome Ben Su, Co-founder of Capita.io — the first AI-powered lawyer.

Ben joined us previously to discuss automation and the future of legal services. As a lawyer and founder who’s raised capital himself, he brings a unique perspective in navigating investor dynamics.

Ben understands how critical it is for founders to recognize the signals — and decode the motivations — behind investor behaviour.

In this episode, we’ll explore the investor mindset:

• What are they really looking for?

• What does success look like to them?

• How do you negotiate value and choose the right investment vehicle at each stage?

• What’s in a term sheet — and what should you be watching for in legal agreements?

• Most importantly, what does a healthy founder-investor relationship look like?