In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet, I sit down with Alec Crawford, an AI and cybersecurity expert with decades of experience in financial institutions like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Deutsche Bank. Alec is now leading AI-driven cybersecurity solutions, focusing on AI Governance, Risk, Compliance, and Cybersecurity (AI GRCC).

We dive into:

🔹 How AI is reshaping cybersecurity—both defensively and offensively

🔹 The biggest vulnerabilities companies face in the AI era

🔹 Why traditional security approaches aren’t enough anymore

🔹 How businesses can balance AI adoption with compliance and governance

🔹 The rise of AI-powered cyber threats, including phishing, data breaches, and zero-day exploits

🔹 The role of AI agents in securing enterprises

🔹 Why regulators are behind and what businesses must do to stay compliant

This episode is packed with actionable insights for CISOs, CTOs, tech leaders, and entrepreneurs looking to navigate the fast-evolving cybersecurity landscape.

🎙️ About Alec Crawford

Alec Crawford founded and leads Artificial Intelligence Risk, Inc., which accelerates Gen AI adoption through a platform ensuring AI safety, security, and compliance. The company achieving the top rank for both Gen AI cybersecurity and regulatory compliance from Waters Technology in 2024. Alec, an AI, investing and risk management expert, shares insights through various media and has a rich history of leadership roles, including at Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC, where he managed global investment risks. His background spans prominent positions in financial services since 1988, including at Ziff Brothers Investments, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley. Alec holds a Computer Science degree from Harvard, where he specialized in artificial intelligence.

https://linkedin.com/in/aleccrawford

https://aicrisk.com/

🎯 Key Takeaways

✅ AI is both the biggest opportunity and the biggest threat in cybersecurity

✅ AI-driven cyberattacks—such as hyper-realistic phishing, deepfake fraud, and rapid zero-day exploits—are evolving faster than defenses

✅ Many companies are adopting AI without a clear security strategy, leading to data leaks and compliance risks

✅ Traditional cybersecurity models aren’t keeping up, and CISOs must embrace AI-driven defense mechanisms

✅ Organizations should focus on AI governance early to avoid massive compliance fines from GDPR, the EU AI Act, and emerging U.S. state regulations

✅ AI agents will automate threat detection and compliance monitoring, but adoption must be done securely

🎧 What You’ll Learn

🔹 How AI helps hackers launch more sophisticated cyberattacks

🔹 Why regulatory compliance for AI is still a gray area and what businesses need to do now

🔹 The future of AI in security—from AI-powered monitoring to real-time attack mitigation

🔹 What AI GRCC (Governance, Risk, Compliance, and Cybersecurity) means for organizations

🔹 Why cybersecurity needs to shift from reactive to proactive strategies

⏳ Episode Chapters (Timestamps for YouTube & Spotify)

00:00 - Intro & Welcome to Alec Crawford

02:00 - Alec’s Background: From Harvard Neural Networks to AI Security

05:30 - The Acceleration of AI & Cybersecurity Threats

08:45 - The Role of AI in Phishing & Data Breaches

12:15 - How Businesses Can Secure AI Adoption Without Breaking Compliance

15:30 - The Biggest Security Gaps in Enterprises Today

18:40 - AI in Governance & Regulatory Compliance

22:00 - Why Cybersecurity Teams Are Facing Alert Fatigue

26:15 - The Future of AI Agents in Cybersecurity

30:00 - AI-Powered Threat Detection & Ransomware Prevention

35:30 - The Next Evolution of AI in Security

40:00 - Final Thoughts & Where to Find Alec

In this episode, I sit down with John Cousins, a serial entrepreneur, investor, and educator, to discuss financial literacy, startup success, AI’s impact on learning, and the future of solopreneurship. With experience spanning MIT, IPOs, hedge funds, and AI-driven education, John shares powerful insights on navigating the world of business, investment, and entrepreneurship.

🔹 Key Takeaways from This Episode

✔️ The Power of Financial Literacy – Why schools fail to teach financial basics and how to take control of your money.

✔️ Startup Success – The traits that define successful entrepreneurs and why execution matters more than ideas.

✔️ Angel Investing & Hedge Funds – What John looks for in founders and how to evaluate great investments.

✔️ AI & Business Education – How AI is transforming the way we learn, create, and run businesses.

✔️ The Future of Solopreneurship – Why AI-powered one-person businesses are the future.

✔️ Building a Learning Habit – The secret behind writing 63 books and educating 30,000+ students.

✔️ Actionable Advice – How to take control of your finances, career, and entrepreneurial journey.

🔹 About John Cousins

John Cousins is an investor, tech founder, and bestselling author of Corporate Finance A$AP and over 60 other books.

John is the founder of MBA ASAP, which provides training to individuals, over 30,000 students in 165 countries, and corporations including Adidas, Apple, General Mills, Kaiser Permanente, Lyft, PayPal, Pinterest, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen.

John has taught MBA students at universities worldwide.

Currently General Partner at Tetraktys Global, a quantitative hedge fund, he is an early investor in many successful tech companies and crypto protocols.

https://www.mba-asap.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncousinsiii/

🔹 Episode Highlights & Timestamps

⏳ [00:01] – John’s Background: From MIT and electronic music to entrepreneurship

⏳ [00:06] – Taking Companies Public: John’s experience with IPOs and running a hedge fund

⏳ [00:12] – The Financial Literacy Gap: Why schools don’t teach finance & how to learn it yourself

⏳ [00:17] – 30,000+ Students Across 167 Countries: How MBA ASAP is making business knowledge accessible

⏳ [00:22] – AI in Learning & Business: John’s AI-driven negotiation course and multi-language digital learning

⏳ [00:28] – Investment Strategies & Startup Traits: What investors look for in founders & businesses

⏳ [00:36] – Solopreneurship & AI Tools: How AI is enabling individuals to run entire companies

⏳ [00:42] – The Future of Work: AI agents, automation, and the rise of one-person empires

⏳ [00:48] – John’s Writing Process: How he has published 63 books and distilled complex ideas

AI is transforming healthcare at an unprecedented pace, from medical imaging advancements to the potential of robotic-assisted surgeries and predictive medicine. In this episode, Dr. Robert Toth, Founder of Thetat Tech AI, joins us to discuss how AI is revolutionizing radiology, diagnostics, and patient care, the ethical and regulatory challenges ahead, and what the future holds for AI-driven healthcare solutions.

🔑 Key Takeaways

✅ How AI is revolutionizing medical imaging – from X-rays and MRIs to 3D imaging and segmentation

✅ The role of AI in surgery – why fully autonomous robotic surgeons are still far away

✅ The impact of AI on healthcare workflows – improving documentation, diagnostics, and patient care

✅ Regulatory challenges – how FDA approvals and data privacy laws shape AI adoption

✅ Predictive medicine – how AI can forecast disease risks based on genetic and lifestyle data

✅ The future of patient data ownership – shifting from hospital control to consumer-driven models

🎯 What You’ll Learn

• Why AI in medical imaging is one of the most exciting areas of innovation

• How robot-assisted surgeries are evolving

• The challenges of AI adoption in healthcare, from regulatory hurdles to physician resistance

• How AI-driven predictive analytics could revolutionize preventative medicine

• What the future holds for wearables, medical IoT (M-IoT), and patient data control

🎙️ About Our Guest – Dr. Robert Toth

Dr. Robert Toth holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering with a focus on medical imaging AI. As the Founder of Thetatech AI, he has spent the last 11 years developing custom AI healthcare solutions, working with universities and medical device companies to push the boundaries of AI applications in healthcare.

https://thetatech.ai

https://www.linkedin.com/in/robtoth/

🎥 Episode Highlights (Timestamps)

⏳ [00:02:00] – Why Dr. Robert Toth chose biomedical engineering and AI

⏳ [00:05:00] – AI’s biggest impact today: automating paperwork, transcriptions, and medical summaries

⏳ [00:09:00] – Why fully autonomous robot surgeons are still far off

⏳ [00:12:00] – Breakthroughs in medical imaging AI and 3D models for diagnostics

⏳ [00:17:00] – How AI helps in medical research and drug discovery

⏳ [00:22:00] – The regulatory hurdles slowing AI adoption in healthcare

⏳ [00:27:00] – Future trends: VR in surgery, medical IoT, and predictive health analytics

⏳ [00:32:00] – How startups and entrepreneurs can break into the health AI space

⏳ [00:37:00] – What the future of AI-powered hospitals will look like