This is a continuation of our conversation with Dipti Borkar from episode 81. We discuss Microsoft Fabric IQ as a tool for managing meaning in data, the problem of data interop, and the rapidly evolving role of data engineers.Episode 81:https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/K7ACFfYNq4b

This is a continuation of our discussion in episode 82. Kevin explains that AI agents are now a "fox in charge of the hen house," but this actually portends great things in the longstanding quest for data quality.Harnessing Unstructured Data for AI Innovation (BARC Study):https://barc.com/research/harnessing-unstructured-data-for-ai-innovation/Episode 82, where we introduce the BARC study:https://open.spotify.com/episode/5TexEQAYm2S5cOWUvXGgY1?si=88d763ba0ae045a9​

Kevin Petrie and Merv Adrian (BARC) join us to discuss a recent study:"Harnessing Unstructured Data for AI Innovation: Problems, Practices, and Principles for Success"This episode is part of a two part series. In the first part, we discuss the findings of the study.The study is available here:https://barc.com/research/harnessing-unstructured-data-for-ai-innovation/

Dipti Borkar joins us to discuss how Microsoft is addressing the growing importance of open data through Fabric. We also talk about solving for agentic analytics support, and the evolution of data roles and responsibilities.

In episode 80, Andy Pernsteiner (field CTO VAST Data) joins us to discuss how VAST has evolved from a storage layer to application backend services, data management and AI infrastructure.The VAST Cosmos Community:https://community.vastdata.com/

Tony reports from Databricks Data + AI Summit 2026. Lakehouse/RT, LTAP, Genie One, Omnigent, Unity AI Gateway, and more.

Lisa Cao (Databricks) joins us to discuss major new features in Apache Spark 4.1, and the continuing evolution of the platform to meet new challenges and serve an expanding user base.

We interview Florian Douetteau, CEO and cofounder of Dataiku, about why data is the fuel for AI and how automation can solve the problem of "Shadow Data Products."

Nikita Shamgunov (Databricks) argues that all stateful systems in the future will need to support forking and version control to allow agents to make mistakes. Also on the agenda: wrangling spaghetti data, managing schema drift, and how the Lakebase architecture can outperform dedicated hardware. #artificialintelligence #aiagents #database

Juan Sequeda joins Tony to go over the latest announcements and their broader implications for the industry. CoCo, CoWork, Horizon Context, data sharing, context wars, and more.#artificialintelligence #aiagents