How Data Chaos is the Real Killer of AI w/ Ari Berman

In this special Supercomputing edition of Data Unchained, host Molly Presley is joined live from the St. Louis Convention Center by Ari Berman, Founder and former CEO of Fireteam and current member of the Starfish team. The conversation explores the evolving intersection of high performance computing, artificial intelligence, and large scale data management across science, life sciences, and enterprise environments.

Ari shares his background spanning molecular biology, neuroscience, computational research, and decades of experience designing and operating HPC systems. Together, Molly and Ari dive into why understanding what data you have is the foundation for effective AI, scientific discovery, and infrastructure modernization.

This episode covers unstructured data cataloging, data discoverability, lifecycle automation, global namespaces, chargeback and cost visibility, and why data stewardship must increasingly become a shared responsibility between system administrators and end users. The discussion also highlights how life sciences, government, media, and research institutions face unique challenges when managing massive data estates and how platforms like Starfish and Hammerspace complement one another to reduce silos and unlock data value.

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction and Supercomputing 25 live from St. Louis
00:33 Ari Berman background and transition to Starfish
01:26 Bridging science, technology, and HPC systems
02:09 What Starfish does and how unstructured data catalogs work
03:26 HPC, AI infrastructure, and the shift toward services
04:37 Data access challenges across AI and HPC workflows
05:02 Why knowing what data you have matters
06:11 Data discovery, analytics, and metadata extraction
06:28 Chargeback, showback, and storage cost accountability
07:34 Data citizenship and organizational responsibility
08:10 User driven vs administrator driven data decisions
09:05 Life sciences data challenges and cultural barriers
10:17 Automation, tiered storage, and global file systems
11:07 Collaboration, discovery, and de silofication of data
12:27 Starfish and Hammerspace platform synergies
13:49 Industries served beyond life sciences
15:04 Government, media, and enterprise scale data environments
16:01 Where to learn more and closing remarks

To learn more about Starfish, visit starfishstorage.com
To learn more about Data Unchained and Hammerspace, visit hammerspace.com

If you have a guest you would like to hear on the show, email Molly at molly@hammerspace.com

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