Beyond the AI Bubble: How Banks Create Real Growth

The Systems That Power Everyday Life

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. Join the conversation at The Age To Come, live in London. Find out more: www.intelligencesquared.com/the-age-to-come [http://www.intelligencesquared.com/the-age-to-come] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

The Age of Intelligence: Live

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 [https://www.intelligencesquared.com/the-age-to-come] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Beyond the AI Bubble: How Banks Create Real Growth

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 [www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1987134424556/?discount=PODCAST]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

The Age of Growth: Live

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 [www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1987134424556/?discount=PODCAST]. Find out more: https://www.intelligencesquared.com/ibm/ [https://www.intelligencesquared.com/ibm/] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Retail Banking in the Age of Intelligence

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 [https://www.intelligencesquared.com/events/the-age-of-growth/] for £10 tickets: www.intelligencesquared.com/events/the-age-of-growth/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]