Techstrong Gang

On Techstrong Gang, Alan Shimel, Mitch Ashley, Jon Swartz, Chris Blask and Kate Scarcella dive into NVIDIA’s latest artificial intelligence initiatives, including a general-purpose AI agent alternative to OpenClaw, before unpacking what it now means to be an application developer in the age of AI. The gang also looks at a new industry alliance designed to combat criminals using AI to power the nex...

On Techstrong Gang, Alan Shimel, Mike Vizard, Stephen Foskett, Garima Bajpai and Blake Hendricks break down three major stories shaping tech right now: how prediction markets can start influencing the outcomes they are supposed to forecast, why Ukraine is offering battlefield data to drone partners to train AI models, and the latest cloud computing insights coming out of Tech Field Day.  

On Techstrong Gang, Mike Vizard, Jon Swartz, Tracy Ragan, Jack Poller and Guy Currier break down three major stories shaping tech right now: Musk’s Macrohard project as legal scrutiny grows, a new report showing lower-performing software engineering teams are seeing some of the biggest gains from AI, and why identity is now driving cloud security risk as AI agents raise the stakes.  

On Techstrong Gang, Alan Shimel, Mike Vizard, Jon Swartz, Gina Rosenthal and Fred Wilmot break down three major stories shaping AI and enterprise tech right now. The gang examines Yann LeCun’s $1 billion bet on world models as a path toward superintelligence, a troubling new study on how AI chatbots can act as accelerants for harm in planning violent attacks, and why IT teams still struggle with v...

Alan Shimel, Mike Vizard, Mitch Ashley, Jon Swartz and Teri Robinson dive into AI’s growing image problem as public trust weakens, just as OpenAI moves to acquire Promptfoo to strengthen security testing for AI agents. The gang also examines why cybersecurity still struggles to retain and elevate women despite years of industry attention.

In this episode of Techstrong Gang, Alan Shimel, Mike Vizard, Mitch Ashley, Chris Blask, Kate Scarcella and Sid Nag discuss new survey findings suggesting CIOs are shifting their focus from basic productivity gains toward truly transformative AI use cases. The panel also examines Microsoft's latest AI pricing moves, including new subscription models aimed at accelerating adoption of AI agents and...

In this episode of Techstrong Gang, Alan Shimel, Mike Vizard, JP Morgenthal and Garima Bajpai explore the challenges IT leaders face managing projects in the age of artificial intelligence. The panel then examines how AI is transforming DevOps workflows, as automation, AI-assisted coding and new tools begin to reshape how software teams develop and deliver applications. Finally, the discussion tur...

Mike Vizard, Jon Swartz, Tracy Ragan and Jack Poller dive into the state of open source software security in the age of artificial intelligence (AI) before delving into why OpenAI is looking to replace GitHub with its own repository. Then the gang takes a look at a Tech Corp initiative launched by the U.S. government that seeks to promote the adoption of U.S. technology around the world.

Alan Shimel, Mike Vizard, Jon Swartz, Fred Wilmot, Anne Ahola Ward and Gina Rosenthal dive into a pair of reports that, despite advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, suggest most IT and cybersecurity professionals remain highly stressed. Then the gang delves into a report finding that the pace of data center construction might be slowing before discussing the continuing reliance...

Alan Shimel, Mike Vizard, Jon Swartz, Mitch Ashley, Teri Robinson and Andi Mann dive into the latest episode of the artificial intelligence soap opera drama involving OpenAI and Anthropic before delving into how scammers are inserting phone numbers into AI overviews to dupe the unwary. Then the gang takes a look at the latest networking innovations unveiled this week at the Mobile World Congress (...

In TSG Ep. 1031, Alan Shimel, Mike Vizard, Chris Blask, Kate Scarcella and Sid Nag revisit OpenClaw and examine the cybersecurity implications of general-purpose AI agents operating locally despite documented flaws. The panel also discusses how AI tools were reportedly used to help facilitate a cyberattack against the Mexican government, raising broader questions about misuse, guardrails and AI as...

In TSG Ep. 1030, Alan Shimel, Garima Bajpai, Stephen Foskett, JP Morgenthal and Mike Vizard examine three major developments shaping the global technology landscape. First, the panel explores Iran’s evolving cyber posture and how asymmetric leverage increasingly centers on enterprise networks and critical infrastructure. Next, they break down OpenAI’s Pentagon deal and the broader implications of...

Alan Shimel, Jon Swartz, Tracy Ragan, Jack Poller and Wickey Wang dive into the latest developments in the standoff between Anthropic and the Pentagon. Then the gang takes a look at how artificial intelligence (AI) agents are about to transform the way we work and the way software is developed, following updates from ServiceNow and Cursor.

On today’s Techstrong Gang, Mike Vizard, Jon Swartz, Fred Wilmot and Gina Rosenthal examine the controversy surrounding AI safety after Anthropic reportedly softened its guardrails under pressure tied to U.S. military interests. What does this signal about the intersection of national security and AI governance? The discussion then turns to a claim that AI service providers could be required to bu...

Are AI agents about to wipe out entire categories of software providers? On today’s Techstrong Gang, Alan Shimel, Mike Vizard, Jon Swartz, Teri Robinson and Jack Poller examine the growing wave of speculation predicting the collapse of traditional application providers in the age of agentic AI. If AI agents can autonomously execute workflows and generate software on demand, what happens to SaaS ve...

Alan Shimel, Mike Vizard, Mitch Ashley, Chris Blask, Kate Scarcella and Sid Nag dive into the politics of artificial intelligence (AI) following a pledge to promote innovation that 88 countries have signed, before delving into the identity management issues that will arise as more AI agents are deployed. Then the gang pays a visit to Gastown, a new approach to building software in Kubernetes envir...

Are technology providers responsible for reporting potential criminal activity on their platforms? On today’s Techstrong Gang, Alan Shimel, Mike Vizard, Stephen Foskett, and Garima Bajpai examine whether companies such as Apple and OpenAI are culpable for failing to alert authorities about potential crimes, including child exploitation material or violent intent. The conversation explores the lega...

On today’s Techstrong Gang, Mike Vizard, Jon Swartz, Tracy Ragan and Jack Poller examine what this challenge means for executive power, global trade policy and digital sovereignty. The conversation then shifts to artificial intelligence and a growing debate over governance. Does AI pose a meaningful threat to democracy, or is the real issue who controls its development and deployment? The gang als...

Alan Shimel, Jon Swartz, Fred Wilmot, Anne Ahola Ward and Gina Rosenthal dive into the impact artificial intelligence (AI) is having on how we work and the kinds of jobs that will be created and eliminated, before delving into the degree to which AI agents might be intelligent. Then the gang takes a look at an application the Supreme Court plans to deploy that surfaces potential conflicts of inter...

Artificial intelligence is colliding with media power, surveillance technology, and platform governance in ways that are reshaping the digital landscape. In this episode, Alan Shimel, Mike Vizard, Jon Swartz, Teri Robinson and Andi Mann break down three developments that signal broader structural change across the AI ecosystem. Hollywood Backlash ByteDance pledges safeguards after criticism of AI...

Alan, Mike, Chris Blask, Kate Scarcella, Dan O'Brien and Sid Nag return to the controversy surrounding the open source OpenClaw agent following the hiring of its creator by Open AI. Then the gang dives into the drone controversy that has emerged among various branches of government before wishing the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) a happy 10th birthday.

Artificial intelligence is reshaping software development, media production, and even competitive sports in ways that are testing operational models across industries. In this episode, Alan Shimel, Mike Vizard, JP Morgenthal and Stephen Foskett, president of the Tech Field Day arm of the Futurum Group, examine what some are calling an “Eternal September” moment for open source software. Project ma...

Mike Vizard, Tracy Ragan, Jack Poller, and Jon Swartz delve into the FBI recovering deleted Nest Cam footage and what that signals about cloud data retention, before turning to Anthropic’s $20 million pledge to a political group backing AI safety rules. Then the gang explores how AI-powered deepfakes and bots are accelerating romance scams, highlighting the growing industrialization of social engi...

Co-Founder & CEO of Safe Security, Don Murray, argues that the debate between AI agents and traditional applications is largely misplaced, as both models are rapidly converging. He warns that the rise of “vibe coding” could create long-term maintenance risks while predicting that thin SaaS layers will struggle to survive as enterprises shift toward AI-generated, visually governed workflows and...

In this episode, Alan Shimel, Mike Vizard, Jon Swartz, Andi Mann, and Teri Robinson break down three major developments shaping the next phase of enterprise technology. The conversation begins with NVIDIA’s DreamDojo initiative, a training approach that enables robots to learn by watching humans — accelerating robotics development and redefining how AI systems acquire real-world skills. The panel...