Peggy Smedley Show

Peggy looks at the history of distracted driving in the United States—and shares her thoughts on the most dangerous form of distracted driving and what needs to happen next. She says distracted driving is dangerous and far too many lives have been lost. She also: Explores research that was done in the 1960s. Discusses some hard numbers related to distracted driving. Identifies what we can all do t...

Peggy Smedley and Reddy Mallidi, AI strategist, COO, chief AI officer, and author of AI Unleashed, talk about three use cases for AI (artificial intelligence): manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and city financials. He says he hears a lot of big companies are still only nibbling on the edges of AI. They also discuss: The value, benefits, and major takeaways from these examples. The importance of star...

Peggy Smedley and Aimee Cox, research scientist, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, talk about how big of a problem distracted driving is on U.S. roads. She says distracted driving could be any secondary task that takes our mind or focus off of safe driving. They also discuss: The challenges of distracted driving. The most effective ways to reduce distracted driving. How technology can help f...

Peggy shares the 2025 Infrastructure Report Card, including three things we need to do to continue to raise the grade up. She says innovation is needed now more than ever before and she gives her thoughts on how we can achieve this. She also discusses: The history of the report card. Where we are today, including how many categories are still in the D range. What needs to happen next to ensure suc...

Peggy Smedley and Laura O'Neill Kaumo, president and CEO, American Concrete Pavement Assn., talk about the state of paving and infrastructure investment today, including some of the challenges state highway agencies will be facing in the near future. She says infrastructure investment from the federal government used to be this automatic bipartisan space that was reliable, and it was viewed as bei...

Peggy Smedley and Matthew Weinzierl, professor, Harvard Business School, and Brendan Rosseau, strategy manager, Blue Origin, talk about how the space industry is changing. Rosseau says the biggest change is the model for how we did space activities has fundamentally changed. Weinzierl says it is natural to worry as we shift from NASA to startups and other companies. They also discuss: Opportunitie...

Peggy talks about how we can spark new curiosity and innovation, looking at how to equip the next generation to step up and find solutions to the problems that exist today. She says we need to encourage our children and our children's children. She also discusses: Workforce trends and what today's worker really needs. A new report on the mental state of the world. Three things to consider as you m...

Peggy Smedley and Adam Bogobowicz, senior director, global industrial marketing, Microsoft, talk about what we can expect at Hannover Messe 2025 and key concerns for manufacturers today. He says it is one of the most important manufacturing trade shows and this year we will see gen AI (artificial intelligence)—along with other key considerations—play a big role. They also discuss: What technologie...

Peggy talks about the biggest trends shaping how we build infrastructure in 2025 and beyond. She says we need to bring curiosity to construction to spark new innovation to help build more resilient and secure infrastructure. She also discusses: A U.S. infrastructure history lesson. Four areas shaping infrastructure today. How to spark innovation in 2025. peggysmedleyshow.com   (3/11/25 - 911) IoT,...

Peggy Smedley and Brian Baker, president and CEO, Sentry Equipment, talk about some of the greatest lessons learned running a 100-year-old company. He says he is proud of being a leader of an organization that has stood the test of time. They also discuss: Employee ownership and how it helps serve customers, communities, and workers. The five pillars it builds its culture on. How the business has...

Peggy Smedley and Ty Witmer, president and founder, ProjectTeam, talk about the CMMC  (cybersecurity maturity model certification) and why it is critical. He says since 2017 there have been rules in place for contractors working with the federal government to protect sensitive government data—and often it hasn't been enforced, but that enforcement starts now. They also discuss: What percentage are...

Peggy kicks off Women's History Month by unpacking the history of women in the workplace and looking at where we are today, in anticipation of Intl. Women's Day on March 8. She says we are making progress, but not fast enough, especially considering many industries have a dire worker shortage. She also: Discusses three new university research reports that suggest some big trends at work. Determine...

Peggy Smedley and Ani Aprahamian, Frank M. Freimann professor of physics, University of Notre Dame, talk about her research, energy conversion, and how nuclear energy fits into the equation. She says energy is essential to our lives and we have seen increased use of energy in the last 200 years. They also discuss: How we can reach carbon goals. The process of changing energy from one form to anoth...

Peggy Smedley and Brian Comiskey, futurist and senior director, Innovation & Trends, Consumer Technology Assn., talk about some of the big CES trends that will shape what happens next in 2025. He says even though we are looking back, the beauty of the show is it is about being a window to tomorrow, setting up for what the year ahead and beyond will look like. They also discuss: How AI (artificial...

Peggy talks about the uptick in data centers and the top priorities, top challenges, and top opportunities for data centers. She says data centers will be one of the big topics of conversation for 2025—much like gen AI (artificial intelligence) was a huge topic of conversation for 2024. She also discusses: The top priority among 41% of executives. 10 hurdles that stand in the way. Some cost cuttin...

Tom Bradicich, chief product officer and CTO, Arete, returns to continue the discussion with Peggy Smedley around AI (artificial intelligence) and how AI integration is impacting vertical markets. He shares use cases in healthcare, automotive, and utilities. They also discuss: The importance of attacking both the business process and the technology. AI limitations, 3 risk categories, and what we n...

Peggy Smedley and Kristen Garrett, manager of market research, Consumer Technology Assn., talk about what consumers are going to need to age in place. She says those aged 50 and older represents 46% of the U.S. adult population, and last year we saw 11,000 people turning 65 per day. They also discuss: Trends about aging in place from a recent consumer study. What consumers will need to age in plac...

Peggy talks about the hard numbers—and the risks with third-party access to tech systems. She says we need to know this is an ongoing uphill battle that we need to continually face, sharing her four-step approach. She also discusses: An example from more than a decade ago—and what we can learn about it. A new report that highlights some recent numbers. What steps we can take next to prepare for a...

Peggy Smedley and Tom Bradicich, chief product officer and CTO, Arete, talk about AI (artificial intelligence), outlining some of the notable breakthroughs. He gives a little history, saying AI has achieved celebrity status today. They also discuss: What happened in 1947 and 1948 to spur along AI and the earliest applications of AI. What Y2K, Orwell, and Oppenheimer have in common. Some of the int...

Peggy Smedley and Karen Panetta, fellow, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, talk about how to stay ahead of AI (artificial intelligence) and the smart home. She says we saw the same trend when websites first came up, with phishing schemes—and we will go through the same learning cycle with AI and deep fakes. They also discuss: A safety checklist for how to tell when you are looking...

Peggy Smedley talks about one of the recent data breach reports. She says there were six mega-breaches in 2024, accounting for 85% of victim notices—and four of the largest breaches were preventable. She also discusses: Where we have been with cybersecurity in the past year—and what are the top five industries targeted. What we can surmise from today's nefarious characters—and what is needed to fi...

Peggy and Calum Mair, commercial director, North America, EPD, talk about sourcing materials for construction and the impact tariffs could have on the industry. He says tariffs from Canada and Mexico have the potential to really shake up the construction space. They also discuss: The pros and cons of tariffs. The hidden opportunities for the construction industry. What we can expect in the next 12...

Peggy Smedley and Karen Panetta, fellow, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, talk about trends with AI (artificial intelligence) and smart homes and how it can help with energy efficiency. She says the most visible things people see are energy efficiency, health, and monitoring the smart home—but it is also in our appliances. They also discuss: An example of what makes an energy effi...

Peggy talks about opportunities, drivers, and trends for industrial robots. She shares what manufacturers need to do to prepare for a robotic future, saying robots are coming—and in some instances, they are already here. She also discusses: How much the market is anticipated to grow. An example of a robot in space and what's happening in warehouses. Five trends to watch in the year ahead. peggysme...

Peggy Smedley and Zoltan Nagy, director, Intelligent Environments Lab, talk about what is happening to our data and who is actually looking at it. He says with the democratization of collecting data, the challenge is no longer can we get the data or how do we store all this data, but rather it is what do we do with all this data. They also discuss: If we are moving too fast without understanding w...