Alan Shimel, Mike Vizard, JP Morgenthal, Hope Lynch and Stephen Foskett, president of the Tech Field Day arm of the Futurum Group, dive into a report about Apple's plan to create a wearable pin that makes artificial intelligence (AI) more personal before discussing a new AI constitution defined by Anthropic.Then the gang delves into a plan being explored by the owner of the New York Stock Exchange to make it possible to trade stocks 24/7.

Alan Shimel, Mike Vizard, Mitch Ashley, Camberley Bates and Futurum Group analyst Guy Currier delve into the proliferation of bad content being created using artificial intelligence (AI) tools, also known as AI slop, before discussing the impact AI is likely to have on blue collar jobs following some comments from NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang. Then the gang takes a look at why it's harder for IT teams to adopt platforms than most anyone fully appreciates.

Alan, Mike, Jon, Fred Wilmot and Gina Rosenthal delve into why CEO confidence in investments in artificial intelligence (AI) has dropped, before diving into the impact a global shortage of memory chips is likely to have on IT projects.

Then the gang takes a look at Microsoft’s effort to build a data center that doesn't require water to run compute intensive AI applications that consume a lot of power.

Alan, Mike, Jon and Teri Robinson dive into the rise of sovereign clouds as global tensions escalate at the annual Davos conference, before taking a look at how both sides of the immigration conflict are now using surveillance technology. Then the gang delves into a bill to ban artificial intelligence (AI) in toys that is being advanced in California.

In this special edition of Techstrong Gang, Alan Shimel, Mike Vizard, Mitch Ashley, Chris Blask, and Kate Scarcella examine the state of the DevOps community following the release of the 2026 DevOps Dozen awards.

Alan, Mike, Stephen Fossket, and Hope Lynch explore the ethical implications of technology — especially AI — and the societal responsibilities that come with it. They discuss how rapid technological advancement can deepen inequality if left unchecked, and why accountability in tech companies matters more than ever. The conversation also examines privacy rights, the evolution of communication, and the search for meaningful leadership in an increasingly fragmented media landscape.

Alan, Mike, Jack Poller, Barbara Roos and Andi Mann dive into a $10 billion OpenAI deal with Cerebras that hinges on using alternative processors to run artificial intelligence (AI) inference engines before taking a look at the degree to which AI agents are being adopted without understanding the real cybersecurity implications.

Then the gang delves into the political ramifications of former CISA chair Jen Easterly being named the new CEO of the RSA Conference (RSAC).

Alan Shimel, Mike Vizard, Jon Swartz, Fred Wilmot, Gina Rosenthal, and Futurum Group analyst Guy Currier examine the merits of this year’s Techstrong Person of the Year award and what the selection says about leadership in the technology industry.

The discussion then turns to Apple’s decision to tap Google for AI support as it looks to improve Siri, a move that raises questions about platform strategy and competitive positioning. The episode closes with a look at the potential implications of a reported source code theft involving Target, highlighting ongoing cybersecurity and software risk concerns.