The IT Nerd

AI Appreciation Day, celebrated every July 16, is kind of like a love letter to the invisible magic shaping our daily lives. From the playlists that somehow know our moods to the voice assistants helping us juggle busy mornings, AI is everywhere, often quietly working behind the scenes to make things a little smoother, a little smarter. But this day isn’t just about the tech; it’s about the people behind it, the dreamers, coders, scientists, and ethicists who pour their energy into building systems that (hopefully) make the world better. Whether you’re marveling at a new breakthrough or just grateful your email spam filter didn’t let chaos in, AI Appreciation Day is our chance to step back and say: wow, look how far we’ve come, and let’s keep going… thoughtfully.

Executives from Deepgram, DH2i, Foxit, Leaseweb USA, and Leaseweb Canada have offered commentary on AI Appreication Day:

Natalie Rutgers, VP of Product, Deepgram: 

“Artificial Intelligence Appreciation Day is an easy day to celebrate given the pace of innovation we’re witnessing across the AI landscape — from generative art to predictive analytics to robotics. Nonetheless, among all the buzzy advancements, voice AI continues to emerge as the most exciting and impactful, particularly for enterprises.

We are now witnessing voice AI quickly reframe how entire sectors operate. This is especially true across industries like quick-service restaurants (QSRs), hospitals, banks, and really any business that depends on natural conversation, a help desk, or contact center to help ensure a positive customer experience (CX). Of course not only customers benefit. Voice AI is making conversations faster, more natural, and less frustrating for everyone involved – including employees. Voice is how we connect as humans, and now, it’s becoming one of the most critical factors in how businesses connect, too. 

So, on AI Appreciation Day and all year long, if you’re trying to figure out which AI trends are worth watching, voice should be at the top of your list.”

Don Boxley, CEO and Co-Founder, DH2i: 

“I feel like lately, every day is Artificial Intelligence Appreciation Day. You can find new headlines daily that talk about the transformative impact of AI. The appreciation shouldn’t stop with the frontend applications and their capabilities though. The industry needs to maintain a realistic understanding of what it takes for an AI application to succeed with longevity. The truth is, unless your AI tech is built on a rock-solid foundation focused on uptime, resiliency, and security, all that AI potential goes out the window. Think about it like trying to win a race with a Ferrari… except the car has bald tires and no brakes.

The companies that are going to win the AI race aren’t the ones that are only throwing money at the flashiest models. They are equally focused on investing in uptime, resilience, and robust security for the underlying platforms and infrastructure powering their AI applications. Yep – the unsexy stuff, but it’s what really makes the difference between AI that impresses in a demo, and AI that actually delivers in the real world.” 

DeeDee Kato, VP of Corporate Marketing, Foxit:

“AI Appreciation Day is more than a nod to clever algorithms – it’s a recognition that we’ve crossed a line. AI isn’t just something happening ‘out there’ anymore. It’s in our everyday workflows, our inboxes, our documents – and the businesses leaning into it are starting to pull ahead. You can feel the shift: the companies still managing documents manually are beginning to look like they’re moving in slow motion.

AI is giving knowledge workers a real advantage. It’s summarizing, redacting, translating, and understanding in seconds, instead of spending countless hours painfully combing through contracts, reports, or research papers. But, it’s about working smarter, with fewer mistakes and more confidence, not just working faster. In our space, the companies that are quietly embedding AI into the way people handle documents aren’t just future-proofing, they’re setting the new standard.”

Richard Copeland, CEO, Leaseweb USA: 

“Artificial Intelligence Appreciation Day is a reminder of just how quickly innovation can change the landscape of entire industries. However, despite the breakthroughs in large language models, computer vision, and real-time analytics, one foundational truth remains: none of it works without robust infrastructure. Too often, organizations get stuck investing time and capital into building physical environments when their real competitive edge lies in algorithm development and application design. For the most forward-thinking teams, I’m seeing a shift in mindset. They recognize that offloading the burden of physical infrastructure is critical in order to stay focused on what truly moves the needle: the models, the insights, and the end-user experience.

This approach does more than save time, it unlocks speed, agility, and experimentation. When AI teams can access scalable compute and storage exactly when needed without being hindered by procurement delays or legacy systems, they’re able to iterate faster and deploy smarter. A much shorter path from proof of concept to production is the result. Of course, in a competitive AI landscape, that agility is often the difference between a promising idea and a market-defining product. We’re entering an era where infrastructure is no longer a blocker. It’s a launchpad.”

Roger Brulotte, CEO, Leaseweb Canada:

“Artificial Intelligence Appreciation Day gives us a moment to pause and recognize not just the dazzling pace of AI innovation, but the quiet, powerful infrastructure that makes it all possible. As AI moves from curiosity to a critical business tool, we’ve watched the demands behind the scenes skyrocket. What once powered research labs now drives customer service, diagnostics, logistics, and more. Of course, progress at this pace presents significant challenges. Take the constant push to scale, meet regulatory demands, manage budgets, and deliver results. Add to that, an environment that never slows down. This is forcing organizations to take a moment to step back and ask a more thoughtful question: How do we grow in a way that’s not just fast, but smart, sustainable, and aligned with what we actually need?

This is where the real shift is happening… Forward-thinking teams are stepping back to focus on what really matters. In other words, they aren’t trying to wedge their workloads into inflexible systems. They’re seeking infrastructure that meets them where they are and grows with them. For some, that might look like adding more compute power right now. Still for others, it’s about tightening security or being ready to scale globally when the time comes. Bottom line, business and technology leaders are done chasing technical specs for their own sake. It’s time now to build environments that leave room to adapt, grow, and evolve with purpose. In an AI-powered world, that kind of flexibility is everything.”