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Built with insights from behavioral scientists worldwide. Practical learning for leaders responsible for communication and trust
In one of the most consequential conversations in The Piar Podcast series, host Tan Sukhera sits down with Dr. Frank Buckler—author, researcher, and CEO of SUPRA—to confront an uncomfortable truth: correlation is not causation, and the measurement frameworks PR has relied on for decades have been building false confidence on spurious relationships. Frank, who began researching AI in 1994 and developed causal AI methodology through his PhD work, explains why you cannot measure causality—you can only infer it—and shares devastating examples of companies optimizing for the wrong things because they accepted "the lazy why." The conversation reveals how a lottery company discovered their entire targeting strategy was backwards: older people play more lottery not because age drives behavior, but because time accumulates habituation and winning experiences that correlate with age. Frank explains how causal AI builds an "inner mechanics machine" that enables counterfactual reasoning—simulating scenarios that never happened, war-gaming future outcomes, testing campaign components before launch. For PR leaders, this changes everything: as execution gets relegated to AI, the human advantage becomes decision-making, critical thinking, and the ability to interpret causal findings, communicate them to leadership, and inspire action based on truth rather than assumption.
Frank Buckler's work is built on a simple idea. Growth comes from understanding what truly drives success and not from copying generic best practices. With a background spanning marketing, engineering, management consulting, and corporate leadership, he sees patterns others often overlook. He began researching AI back in 1994, driven by the question of causality. do people buy? and his PhD work developed a causal AI methodology that remains Supra's foundation today. Evidence first, informed by knowledge and not assumption.
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Tan Sukhera is a media & technology savvy serial entrepreneur, who's founded multiple Agencies, Consultancies & Event Series in the Middle East, South Africa & North America. A Canadian with a Marketing Communications background, who's previously served as a TV News Anchor. Tan's specialization is in Measurement & Evaluation of Communication, and is a former executive from global data partners Cision & Meltwater. Currently, he serves as CEO & Co-Founder of Piar, as well as Founder of Social Podium. Tan has worked with some of the largest, iconic & deeply beloved global brands across Food, Automotive, Telecommunications, Financial Services, and more. He's interviewed, advised, and collaborated with countless C-suite executives, business leaders, social media, marketing, public relations & communications professionals around the globe.
