Today in Tech

AI agents are moving beyond simple chatbots and isolated tasks. The next step is agent-to-agent communication, where AI systems operated by different companies could negotiate, exchange information, make decisions and even conduct business with each other.

But what happens when those agents misunderstand each other, hallucinate, get hijacked or make a costly decision without a human catching it?

In this episode of Today in Tech, Keith Shaw talks with Swamy Kocherlakota, Chief AI Officer at Zscaler, about the promise and risks of agent-to-agent communication. They discuss how AI agents establish trust across company boundaries, why identity and access controls become critical, the danger of compounding hallucinations, where humans still need to stay in the loop, and why autonomous AI transactions will need the equivalent of “circuit breakers.”

The bigger question: Is autonomous agent-to-agent business really around the corner, or are AI vendors getting ahead of their skis?

AI was supposed to save us time. Instead, it may be creating a new problem: AI slop (polished-looking emails, reports, presentations, research and code that someone else has to review, fact-check and fix).

In this episode, Today in Tech host Keith Shaw talks with Chris Bevil of Commvault about the growing “review tax” of generative AI, why executives and employees may have very different views of AI productivity, and what happens when AI-generated information starts becoming accepted as corporate truth.

They also dig into productivity theater, AI checking other AI, why people may trust AI more than it has earned, and a disturbing deepfake scam involving fake executives. Is AI actually eliminating work, or just moving the work to someone else?

AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude and Copilot are spreading rapidly through the workplace, but simply giving employees access to AI isn't the same as teaching them how to use it effectively.

In this episode of Today in Tech, Keith Shaw talks with Anthony Salcito, general manager of Enterprise at Coursera, about why companies are struggling to turn AI investments into meaningful productivity gains and why the missing piece may be human skills rather than more technology.

They discuss why AI has created so much anxiety about job displacement, why companies can't treat AI deployment as employee training, and which skills workers actually need to succeed in an AI-driven workplace. They also explore the growing importance of critical thinking, decision-making, communication and lifelong learning, along with the role of certifications and microcredentials as jobs continue to change.

Plus, Anthony explains what schools and universities are getting wrong about preparing students for AI and why banning students from using generative AI may miss a much bigger opportunity.

Hackers are using AI, social engineering, and legitimate business tools to make cyberattacks look like normal work. Instead of breaking through security systems, they study how employees communicate, impersonate trusted vendors, manipulate email conversations, and exploit everyday business processes.

Piotrek Wojtyla of Abnormal Security joins Today in Tech to explain how attackers are improving phishing and business email compromise attacks with AI. He discusses fake invoices, vendor impersonation, compromised email accounts, shared inbox vulnerabilities, prompt injection, and the risks created when companies give AI agents access to sensitive workflows.

The episode also examines why traditional security awareness training may no longer be enough, how cognitive overload makes employees more vulnerable, and what organizations can do to protect workers without expecting them to identify every sophisticated attack.

Can companies continue trusting email, vendors, and automated systems when cyberattacks look almost identical to legitimate business requests?

Subscribe to Today in Tech for weekly conversations about cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, enterprise technology, and the trends changing how we work.

AI was supposed to make businesses faster, smarter, and more agile. Instead, many companies are discovering that AI projects are stalling, pilots are failing in production, and existing technology stacks are becoming even more complicated.

In this episode of Today in Tech, Keith Shaw speaks with Tempo CEO Vic Chynoweth about why fragmented SaaS environments, disconnected data, technical debt, and outdated workflows are preventing enterprises from getting real value from AI.

They discuss why companies cannot simply layer AI onto broken systems, the difference between becoming AI-relevant and AI-native, why impressive AI prototypes often fail in production, and how the “illusion of intelligence” can make inaccurate results look trustworthy.

They also explore whether companies should build or buy AI tools, when organizations need to rethink their technology architecture, and what separates companies successfully operationalizing AI from those being buried by it.

Subscribe to Today in Tech for weekly conversations about artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, enterprise technology, and the future of work.

Robots have been used in manufacturing for decades, but a new wave of physical AI is changing what they're capable of doing. Instead of following rigid, pre-programmed instructions, the latest robots can learn from demonstrations, adapt to changing environments, and make decisions in real time.

In this episode of Today in Tech, Keith Shaw speaks with Andrew Pether, Head of AI Partnerships at Teradyne Robotics, about what's driving this shift and why physical AI could transform manufacturing, logistics, warehouses, hazardous environments, and eventually even the home.

They discuss:

• What "physical AI" actually means

• How robots are learning from people instead of code

• Why AI-powered robots can adapt to real-world unpredictability

• The role of simulation, synthetic data, and real-world training

• How safety works when AI controls physical machines

• Why manufacturing is likely to see the biggest impact first

• Whether humanoid robots are closer than most people think

• Why today's physical AI is both overhyped and genuinely revolutionary

Can AI finally bridge the gap between software intelligence and the physical world? Watch the discussion to find out.

Slack messages, shared documents, AI copilots, Microsoft Teams, email, and constant notifications were supposed to make work faster. Instead, they may be creating the perfect environment for cybercriminals.

In this episode of Today in Tech, Keith Shaw speaks with Rob Juncker, chief product and technology officer at Mimecast, about how attackers are exploiting workplace complexity, employee burnout, notification fatigue, and trust.

They discuss how cyberattacks now move across email, collaboration platforms, phone calls, and AI tools, making malicious requests look like a normal part of the workday. The conversation also explores prompt-injection attacks, AI voice cloning, deepfakes, business email compromise, shared-document manipulation, shadow AI, and highly personalized scams.

Are employees really the weakest link in cybersecurity, or have companies created work environments that move faster than humans can safely process?

Topics include:

• How attackers exploit workplace overload

• Why phishing messages now look like normal work

• AI-powered impersonation and voice cloning

• Cyberattacks across Slack, Teams, email, and phone calls

• Prompt injection hidden inside emails

• The security risks of shadow AI

• Why employee shaming may make security worse

• How companies can reduce human risk without slowing work

Subscribe to Today in Tech for more conversations about AI, cybersecurity, emerging technology, and the changing workplace.

Companies are spending heavily on AI agents, but many deployments still fail to deliver measurable business value. The problem may not be the technology. It may be that organizations are asking AI agents to perform jobs that were never clearly defined.

In this episode of Today in Tech, host Keith Shaw speaks with Satyen Sangani, CEO and co-founder of Alation, about why companies should treat AI agents more like employees and give them clear responsibilities, boundaries, success metrics and escalation rules.

They discuss:

• Why successful AI pilots often fail in production

• How unclear goals lead to unreliable AI agents

• Why AI agents need job descriptions

• The role of data, context, guardrails and evaluations

• Why 95% accuracy may still be unacceptable

• How governance can enable AI instead of slowing it down

• Why companies should start with high-value business problems

• Whether AI agents are being held to a higher standard than humans

The companies that succeed with AI agents will not be the ones deploying the most technology. They will be the ones that clearly define the problem, measure performance and continuously improve the system.

Subscribe to Today in Tech for weekly conversations about artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, enterprise technology and the future of work.

Follow TECH(talk) for the latest tech news and discussion!

#todayintech #agenticai #artificialintelligence #podcast

Companies are investing heavily in artificial intelligence, but many are still struggling to prove ROI, scale successful projects, or turn experimentation into real business value.

In this episode of Today in Tech, Keith Shaw speaks with Skylar Roebuck, chief technology officer at Solvd, about why enterprise AI initiatives stall, why quick wins can become a trap, and what separates companies that successfully transform with AI from those that remain stuck in endless pilot programs.

They discuss:

• Why boards are questioning AI spending

• The problem with chasing short-term AI wins

• How companies should measure AI ROI

• Why governance can help organizations move faster

• The tension between innovation, security, and compliance

• What it takes to scale AI across an enterprise

• Why organizational change matters more than simply buying AI tools

Can companies move beyond experimentation and make AI a true competitive advantage, or are many still investing because they fear being left behind?

Subscribe to Today in Tech for weekly conversations about artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, enterprise technology, digital transformation, and the future of work.

#todayintech #artificialintelligence #AIspending

Follow TECH(talk) for the latest tech news and discussion!

AI can help people pass exams, answer technical interview questions, and earn professional certifications, but can employers and educators still trust the results?

In this episode, host Keith Shaw speaks with Sarah Toton, vice president of data forensics at Caveon Test Security, about how AI-assisted cheating is disrupting academic testing, hiring, and professional certification. They discuss why AI detection tools may create false positives, how candidates can secretly use real-time AI assistance, and why returning to in-person testing may not solve the problem.

The conversation also explores a bigger question: Should schools and employers stop testing memorization and start evaluating critical thinking, problem-solving, judgment, and the ability to use AI responsibly?