The Age to Come

Banking is entering a new era of customer experience. Artificial intelligence is already transforming how financial institutions understand their customers, make decisions and deliver more personalised services, while quantum computing promises to push the boundaries of what's possible. But how can banks harness these emerging technologies while maintaining the resilience, security and trust their customers depend on? In this episode of The Age To Come, host Kamal Ahmed is joined by Kiran Mahil, Chief Information Officer at Nationwide Building Society, and Ami Encarnacion, Partner at IBM Consulting. Together, they explore the rise of agentic AI, how banks can turn technological innovation into meaningful customer value, and what financial services leaders should be preparing for as AI and quantum computing reshape the future of banking.

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Hospitals sit at the heart of modern healthcare: places where we are born, treated and cared for at the most vulnerable moments of our lives. But they were built for a different age: one of episodic illness, paper records and care delivered largely in one place. As people live longer, often with multiple conditions, and digital infrastructure become embedded in healthcare, we may need to rethink not only what a hospital is, but how people navigate the health system itself. In this episode of The Age To Come, host Kamal Ahmed is joined by Dr. Mark Davies, Chief Health Officer at IBM Consulting and former Executive Medical Director of NHS Digital. Drawing on decades of experience in clinical practice, health policy and system redesign, Dr Davies explores how we can build a smarter, more connected health system that guides people to the right care, at the right time.
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Modern enterprise has always run on trust. But as artificial intelligence becomes embedded across every major sector, that trust must increasingly operate at machine speed. The challenge is no longer simply whether organisations can use AI, but whether they can govern it well enough to earn confidence at scale. In this episode of The Age To Come, host Kamal Ahmed is joined by Rhodri Arrowsmith, an IBM leader with expertise spanning public services and cross-sector transformation. Drawing on his work with leaders across industry and the public sector, Rhodri explores how organisations can move beyond pilots to build AI systems that people can understand and trust, with a particular focus on the demands of public services.
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In this episode, Kamal talks to Jeremy Hunt, former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lawrence Tallon, Chief Executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and Dr. Angela Spatharou, Senior Partner and EMEA Leader for Healthcare & Life Sciences at IBM Consulting. They explore how AI and hyper-automation are transforming the world of work; how future technologies can reduce costs, improve efficiency and ease pressure on essential services such as healthcare, while considering how organisations can embrace rapid technological change without losing sight of the people at its heart, and why the future of work must strike the right balance between being human-centred and AI-enabled.

This episode was recorded live in London as part of Intelligence Squared and IBM's The Age to Come series. Next live event date: 18th Nov 2026. Find out more: https://www.intelligencesquared.com/ibm

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Cybersecurity is often invisible until the moment it fails: a blank screen, an error message, a system suddenly out of reach. But behind those moments sits one of the most important infrastructures of modern life, protecting not only data but the essential services society depends on every day. As artificial intelligence becomes embedded in those systems, cybersecurity is no longer just about stopping attacks or preventing failure, but about building resilience into the services that matter most. In this episode of The Age To Come, host Kamal Ahmed is joined by Gavin Kenny, Public Sector, Defence and Healthcare Lead in IBM’s Cyber Security Services Consulting practice. Drawing on more than three decades of experience across public and private sectors, Gavin explores how we can ensure that the technologies designed to connect and support us continue to work when lives are on the line.

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Utilities are easy to overlook until they stop working. They heat our homes, power our economies, keep businesses running, and bring clean water to our taps. But across energy and water, these essential systems are under growing pressure from shifting demand, climate change, and rising public expectations. In this episode of The Age To Come, host Kamal Ahmed is joined by Hamsa Seshan, who leads the Communications, Energy, and Utilities sectors for IBM’s UKI Consulting business. Together they explore how AI and data are helping to transform critical infrastructure, making essential services more resilient, efficient, and responsive, without interrupting the systems we already depend on.

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In this episode, journalist Kamal Ahmed was joined by Jon Sopel, Dimple Ahluwalia and Matt Rowe to explore how cyber security has moved from a technical concern to a central force shaping economic growth, national security and public trust in an age of boundless intelligence. They examine why cyber resilience must go beyond reactive defence, and how stronger security can protect essential industries such as finance, healthcare and critical infrastructure while enabling innovation and confidence in a rapidly changing world.

This episode was recorded live in London as part of Intelligence Squared and IBM's The Age to Come series. Next live event date: 24th Sept 2026.

Find out more: www.intelligencesquared.com/the-age-to-come

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Artificial intelligence has become one of the most talked-about forces in financial services, but the real question for banks is no longer whether they will use AI, but how they will use it to drive meaningful growth. Behind every trade, merger, and bond issuance sits a complex system of institutions allocating capital and managing risk. As markets become faster and more digital, AI is increasingly shaping how those decisions are made.

In this episode of The Age To Come, Kamal Ahmed speaks with Rachel Lum, Financial Services Consulting Partner at IBM. Drawing on her experience working with major global institutions, Rachel looks beyond the hype to explore what it actually takes to put AI to work inside large banks. Together they discuss how AI can help leaders make better decisions, manage risk more effectively, and navigate the growing complexity of modern financial markets, while keeping human judgment firmly at the centre.

Next live event date: 13th May 2026 - ⁠and you can secure £10 tickets using code PODCAST at checkout⁠.

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In this episode, journalist Kamal Ahmed explores how innovation is the driving force behind meaningful growth, not simply through capital investment, but by rethinking and reinventing the status quo with transformative technologies. He was joined by guests Laura Gilbert, Lee Ellis & Prashant Jojodia, who together examined what sustainable, resilient growth looks like for the UK, and how empowering both businesses and individuals can push the boundaries of what is possible while securing future prosperity.

This episode was recorded live in London as part of Intelligence Squared and IBM's The Age to Come series. Next live event date: 13th May 2026 - ⁠⁠and you can secure £10 tickets using code PODCAST at checkout⁠⁠.

Find out more: https://www.intelligencesquared.com/ibm/

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Retail banking is one of the quiet infrastructures of modern life. From checking a balance on a phone to applying for a mortgage or spotting a suspicious transaction, it’s a system most of us rely on daily without thinking much about what powers it behind the scenes. But that infrastructure is now undergoing a profound transformation as artificial intelligence begins to reshape how banks operate and how customers experience financial services.

In this episode of The Age To Come, host Kamal Ahmed is joined by Krishnan Padmanabhan, IBM’s Lead Client Partner for a major UK bank, to explore how AI is moving from experimental technology to the operating system of modern banking.

16th April 2026. Host Kamal Ahmed is joined by leading AI experts including Laura Gilbert, Senior Director of AI at the Tony Blair Institute. Use code PODCAST at checkout here⁠ for £10 tickets: www.intelligencesquared.com/events/the-age-of-growth/

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