What’s the fastest way to learn AI? Stop waiting and build something, according to J.P. Morgan’s Zack Anderson, Chief Data & Analytics Officer for Payments and Global Banking, and Alejandra Villagra, Head of Digital & Design. In a recent episode of the Pay It Forward Podcast by J.P. Morgan Payments, the pair discuss how experimentation has shaped their approach to AI, both personally and professionally.

Zack brings a cross-industry perspective shaped by years of experience. He shares how he leveraged AI to build a fully functional educational game for his four-year-old son in a single Saturday afternoon, without writing a single line of code. His message to colleagues: the tools have changed dramatically in just the past few months, and anything you tried before that didn’t quite work is worth revisiting today.

Alejandra reflects on her own journey with AI, from simple prompts and chats to building an app that now selects her outfit every morning based on the weather and her schedule. She emphasizes that you don’t need a technical background to get started, only curiosity and a willingness to iterate. The conversation closes with a look at how these personal learnings are being applied inside the business to deliver cleaner, more coherent AI-powered experiences to clients.

To hear the full conversation, listen to the “From Side Projects to Client Solutions: How AI Experimentation Is Shaping J.P. Morgan Payments” episode here.

Pay It Forward is a podcast by J.P. Morgan Payments, for J.P. Morgan Payments, exploring the connection between the work we do and its impact on both the business and the world around us.

To listen to the latest episodes, please visit this page.

Learn more about how J.P. Morgan Payments is leading in AI and innovation:

• Proof of Movement: AI, Autonomy, and the New Architecture of Corporate Cash
• From browsing to buying: making agentic commerce real for merchants
• Precision at scale: How J.P. Morgan Payments is using AI and robotics to digitize check and remittance processing

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