So What About AI Agents

In this episode, Nick Sathe, CTO of Black Hawk Network, shares insights on the evolving landscape of agentic commerce, standards development, and the future of AI-driven e-commerce and payments. Discover how standards like AP2 are shaping secure, interoperable transactions and the implications for brands, consumers, and regulators.keywordsagentic commerce, AI standards, e-commerce, payments, gift cards, loyalty, chatbots, API standards, regulation, future of AIkey topicsThe evolution of agentic commerce and standards like AP2The role of loyalty, rewards, and gift cards in AI recommendationsChallenges and opportunities in standardizing discoverability and transactionsThe impact of regulation and market power on agentic payment systemsThe speed of technological change and the importance of guardrailsChapters00:00Introduction to Agentic Commerce03:38Evolving Consumer Behavior and Chatbots07:20The Role of Loyalty and Rewards in E-commerce11:52Standards and Discoverability in E-commerce16:30The Future of E-commerce Standards and Regulation19:09Implementing AP2 and Agentic Transactions21:50The Role of Agents in E-commerce25:06Consumer Trust and the Future of Recommendations29:40Consumer Influence in AI Interactions31:14Trust and Emotional Connection with Bots35:03Deterministic Systems vs. AI Variability40:42The Role of Agents in Business Processes46:25The Future of AI and Consumer Experience52:39Final Thoughts on Innovation and Responsibility

In this episode, Philippe Trounev sits down with Joe Locandro, EVP and CIO at Rimini Street, to discuss what actually happens when organizations begin deploying AI and autonomous agents at scale.The conversation explores the real-world challenges enterprise leaders face around governance, compliance, security, agent orchestration, and operational control — including why many AI initiatives struggle to move from proof of concept into production environments.Topics covered include:• AI governance and enterprise policy frameworks• Managing autonomous agents securely• Compliance and separation-of-duties challenges• The growing attack surface of agentic AI• Why vulnerabilities now evolve in minutes• Scaling AI across enterprise organizations• Low-code and no-code development trends• The future of software engineering and AI operationsJoe also shares practical recommendations for CIOs navigating enterprise AI adoption today.Guest: Joe LocandroEVP & CIO, Rimini StreetTimestamps:00:00 Introduction to AI in Enterprise IT02:02 Governance and Policy in AI Implementation06:07 The Evolution of AI Usage in Organizations09:51 Access Control and Agent Development14:15 Compliance Challenges with Automation17:49 Tiered Access and Governance Structures21:06 Exploring Autonomous Agents in the Workplace24:33 The Evolution of Control Planes26:45 AI in Support and Sales30:08 Understanding the Real Costs of AI Adoption31:21 Security Challenges with Agentic AI33:09 The Speed of Vulnerabilities45:39 Strategic Recommendations for CIOs#AI #EnterpriseAI #AIGovernance #Cybersecurity #AutonomousAgents #CIO #GenerativeAI #AgenticAI

We let an autonomous AI penetration testing agent run against our production application — and the results were unexpected.In this episode, we sit down with Grant McCracken from Dark Horse Security, who built Vulcan, an AI-powered pentesting agent capable of autonomously discovering vulnerabilities in real-world systems.Instead of traditional scanners or manual pentests, Vulcan ran continuously, explored the app like a human tester, and uncovered issues we hadn’t considered — including unexpected behavior in our AI workflows.We cover:How AI penetration testing actually worksWhy traditional scanners miss critical vulnerabilitiesWhat Vulcan found in our systemHow we fixed the issues it uncoveredThe future of continuous, autonomous security testingIf you're building with AI, deploying SaaS products, or working on secure infrastructure — this is a glimpse into what security will look like going forward.

In this conversation, Philippe Trounev and Jill Heinze (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jill-stover-heinze/) discuss the critical aspects of responsible AI governance, emphasizing the importance of stakeholder impact, human-centered design, and the balance between innovation and regulation. Jill shares her insights on the decision points organizations must consider when implementing AI, the role of governance in expediting development processes, and the necessity of understanding risk tolerance. They also explore the evolving regulatory landscape and the future of AI governance frameworks, highlighting the need for organizations to proactively address ethical considerations and user safety.takeawaysResponsible AI governance is essential for stakeholder impact.Organizations in regulated industries are more likely to invest in AI governance.Human-centered design is crucial for deploying AI responsibly.Understanding the risk profile of AI systems is necessary.Governance can expedite the development process when designed effectively.Organizations must assess their risk tolerance regarding AI use.Regulatory frameworks are evolving to address AI risks.AI governance should facilitate innovation rather than hinder it.Proactive governance can prevent potential litigation and rework.Engaging cross-functional teams is vital for effective AI governance.titlesNavigating the Future of AI GovernanceThe Role of Human-Centered Design in AISound Bites"AI governance is a design problem.""Every organization needs to ask these questions.""We need to surface the ground truth information."Chapters00:00Introduction to Responsible AI Governance02:56The Importance of Stakeholder Impact05:32Understanding AI Governance Decision Points08:13The Role of Human-Centered Design in AI10:57Balancing Innovation and Governance13:52Navigating Regulatory Frameworks16:47The Future of AI Regulation19:26Building Effective AI Governance Frameworks22:13Overcoming Objections to AI Governance24:56Conclusion and Resources for AI Governancehttps://www.docsie.io

In this episode, Erkang discusses the future of autonomous AI agents in the workplace, focusing on how they can enhance collaboration, offload tedious tasks, and serve as personalized assistants. He shares insights on building trust, managing context, and the technical challenges involved in creating truly autonomous AI partners.keywordsAI agents, autonomous AI, workplace productivity, collaboration, context management, AI privacy, AI tools, organizational AI, AI in business, AI innovationkey topicsAutonomous AI agents in the workplaceContext and memory management in AITrust, privacy, and security in AI systemsAI's role in collaboration and organizational knowledgeTechnical challenges in building autonomous AIguest nameErkangtitlesBuilding Autonomous AI Agents for the Future of WorkHow AI is Transforming Collaboration and ProductivitySound Bites"The next wave is AI helping us in collaboration""Ari caught a scam I totally missed""Ensuring reliability and trust in AI systems"Chapters00:00Introduction to Erkang and his AI journey01:05The evolution of autonomous AI agents02:20AI in collaboration and organizational overhead02:49Identifying bottlenecks in manual work04:19The concept of a continuous, context-aware AI agent05:31Meeting notes and actionable insights from AI07:55Autonomous actions and proactive AI assistance08:25Managing context and role-specific AI knowledge09:54Self-improvement and personalized coaching from AI11:16AI-generated work reports and reflections12:51Technical challenges in building autonomous agents14:09Trust, privacy, and security considerations15:46AI as a true employee and autonomous partner17:54AI detecting scams and protecting users autonomously19:49Technical architecture and decision-making in AI20:37Building full autonomy and subconscious memories21:16AI adapting to user habits and optimizing workflows22:30Tasks fully offloaded to AI and efficiency gains24:30Overcoming technical challenges and inconsistencies25:51Ensuring reliability, consistency, and deterministic actions27:19Future features: voice interaction and expansion28:41Getting started with Ari and AI adoption in organizationshttps://www.docsie.io