AI Needs Context: Semantic Layers, Metadata & Trust in 2026

More from Data-Driven Podcast All episodes →

1. 

   E42 · 30 Jul 2026 · 34 min

   Semantics Without Silos: AI Finally Solves BI’s Oldest Problem

   Business intelligence has always been good at telling you what happened. It's never been great at telling you what to do about it. In this episode, AtScale's CEO and co-founder Dave Mariani sits down with Donald Farmer, Principal of Treehive Strategy, to talk about why AI is finally closing that gap. You'll get Donald's take on: How AI will start to take over the exploratory, discovery side of analyticsWhy "revenue" means something different to marketing, sales, and finance , and why se...

2. 

   E41 · 14 May 2026 · 33 min

   30 Hours to 90 Seconds: Blue Yonder’s Semantic Layer for Trusted Enterprise AI

   What happens when enterprise AI meets inconsistent metrics, fragmented dashboards, and conflicting business logic? In this episode of the Data-Driven Podcast, AtScale CTO and co-founder Dave Mariani sits down with Brad Lindsey and Jeremy Arendt from Blue Yonder to discuss how Blue Yonder transformed its analytics strategy from disconnected dashboards into a governed semantic layer foundation for AI and enterprise analytics. The conversation explores why semantic layers have become critical in...

3. 

   E40 · 25 Mar 2026 · 32 min

   Semantic Layers, OSI & AI: Why Context Beats Data Access

   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 s...

4. 

   E38 · 16 Dec 2025 · 34 min

   How MCP + Semantic Layers Turn LLMs Into Trusted BI Analysts

   Large Language Models (LLMs) are transforming analytics, but only when paired with the right foundation. In this episode, AtScale’s CTO and co-founder Dave Mariani, co-founder Dianne Wood, and product director Petar Staykov show how Model Context Protocol (MCP) and the semantic layer unlock trusted, governed, enterprise-ready AI. You’ll get a full end-to-end walkthrough of Claude using AtScale’s MCP server to: Discover available semantic models via list-models tools Understand metrics, a...

5. 

   S1 · E37 · 10 Dec 2025 · 38 min

   The AI Frontier: Semantic Layers for Autonomous Agents with Jens Kröhnert

   Dave Mariani and Jens Kröhnert explore the "AI Frontier:” how semantic layers enable AI agents to operate autonomously without hallucinations or governance drift. Both veterans of scaling Microsoft BI stacks on Hadoop, they discuss why machines need semantic context even more than humans do. Topics include the AI Frontier operational model from Microsoft Research, automating semantic model development with Oraylis's Datamate tool, and Model Context Protocol (MCP) as universal infrastructure f...

6. 

   S1 · E36 · 10 Nov 2025 · 32 min

   Composable Analytics & the Future of the Semantic Layer: Building for the Age of AI Agents

   In this episode of AtScale’s Data-Driven Podcast, host Dave Mariani, Co-Founder & CTO at AtScale, is joined by Petar Staykov, Product Director, and Daniel Gray, VP of Solutions Engineering, for a deep dive into composable analytics—the architectural shift that’s transforming how enterprises model, govern, and scale data in the era of AI agents. Key Takeaway Composable analytics isn’t just a design pattern—it’s the foundation for governed, scalable, and AI-ready data ecosystems. Learn how ...

7. 

   S1 · E35 · 12 Aug 2025 · 35 min

   How Agentic AI and Semantic Layers Are Transforming Enterprise Analytics

   In this episode of the Data-Driven Podcast, AtScale CTO and Co-founder Dave Mariani is joined by Rich Williams, SVP of Partnerships and Strategy at Hexaware, and Prashant Dahalkar, VP of the Cloud Data Practice. They dive into the future of analytics through the lens of agentic AI, semantic layers, and enterprise AI governance. Fresh from attending Snowflake and Databricks Summits, the trio unpacks the momentum behind AI agents, the rise of semantic standards, and how organizations can accele...

8. 

   S1 · E34 · 8 Nov 2024 · 31 min

   Open Source Semantics: Setting the Standard for Interoperability with Databricks and AtScale

   In this episode of the Data Driven Podcast, Dave Mariani, CTO and Co-Founder of AtScale, sits down with Dale Williamson, EMEA CTO at Databricks, to explore the transformative role of open source standards and semantic layers in modern analytics. They discuss the importance of interoperability in data infrastructure, the impact of generative AI on democratizing analytics, and how the right semantic layer can bridge complex data to natural language for everyone. Together, AtScale and Databricks...