AI Proving Ground Podcast: Exploring Artificial Intelligence & Enterprise AI with World Wide Technology

When AI Stops Assisting And Starts Acting

What changes when AI stops answering questions and starts taking actions? In this episode of the AI Proving Ground Podcast, WWT security leaders Istvan Burko and Jillian Anderson-Nix break down why agentic AI is forcing enterprises to rethink security from the ground up. These systems are no longer just generating content. They're touching sensitive data, triggering workflows, modifying code and operating with a level of speed and autonomy existing security models were never designed to handle. The conversation explores the idea of blast radius, why AI agents can behave like highly privileged employees vulnerable to manipulation, and what happens when AI deployments move faster than governance and operational controls can keep up. We also unpack ARMOR, WWT’s AI Readiness Model for Operational Resilience, along with the practical guardrails leaders should be thinking about now, including observability, least privilege, secure operations and disciplined human oversight for coding agents. If your organization is building or deploying agentic AI, this episode offers a practical look at where the next generation of security risk is starting to emerge. Support for this episode provided by: Akamai [https://www.wwt.com/partner/akamai/overview] More about this week's guests: Jillian Anderson-Nix [https://www.wwt.com/profile/jillian-anderson-nix/bio] is a Technical Solutions Architect at World Wide Technology [https://www.wwt.com?utm_source=chatgpt.com] focused on enterprise AI security and operational resilience. Her background spans biomedical research, aerospace and applied AI, bringing a cross-industry perspective to securing emerging technologies. Jillian is passionate about building safe, practical and collaborative AI ecosystems grounded in real-world enterprise use cases. Jillian's top pick: How to Use ARMOR: A Guide to AI Security Transformation [https://www.wwt.com/article/how-to-use-armor-a-guide-to-ai-security-transformation] Istvan Burko [https://www.wwt.com/profile/istvan-berko/bio] is a security and governance leader with more than 25 years of experience across cybersecurity, risk and cloud strategy. He has held senior leadership roles at NTT/Dimension Data and Amazon Web Services, where he contributed to the AWS Cloud Adoption Framework whitepapers. Istvan remains active in the cybersecurity community through industry leadership, events and enterprise security initiatives focused on modern operational resilience. Istvan's top pick: Breaking Data Silos: How Private Inference Unlocks GPU ROI on Sensitive Data [https://www.wwt.com/blog/breaking-data-silos-how-private-inference-unlocks-gpu-roi-on-sensitive-data] The AI Proving Ground Podcast leverages the deep AI technical and business expertise from within World Wide Technology's one-of-a-kind AI Proving Ground, which provides unrivaled access to the world's leading AI technologies. This unique lab environment accelerates your ability to learn about, test, train and implement AI solutions.  Learn more about WWT's AI Proving Ground [https://www.wwt.com/atc/ai-proving-ground/overview]. The AI Proving Ground is a composable lab environment that features the latest high-performance infrastructure and reference architectures from the world's leading AI companies, such as NVIDIA, Cisco, Dell, F5, AMD, Intel and others. Developed within our Advanced Technology Center (ATC) [https://www.wwt.com/service/atc/overview], this one-of-a-kind lab environment empowers IT teams to evaluate and test AI infrastructure, software and solutions for efficacy, scalability and flexibility — all under one roof. The AI Proving Ground provides visibility into data flows across the entire development pipeline, enabling more informed decision-making while safeguarding production environments.

Mythos And The Disappearing Patch Window

What happens when vulnerabilities can be discovered in minutes and exploits can be generated faster than organizations can patch them? In this episode of the AI Proving Ground Podcast, former NSA Cybersecurity Director Rob Joyce and WWT cyber architecture and innovation leader Kent Noyes break down how AI is compressing the timelines cybersecurity teams have relied on for decades. We explore why Anthropic’s Mythos became a wake-up call for the security industry, how agentic AI is accelerating vulnerability discovery, and why traditional patching and vulnerability management strategies are struggling to keep pace. The conversation also examines which defenses still hold up under machine-speed pressure, from zero trust and segmentation to deception techniques, resilience planning and recovery. If your security strategy still assumes defenders have time on their side, this episode explains why that assumption is starting to break. Support for this episode provided by: ExtraHop [https://www.wwt.com/partner/extrahop/overview] More about this week's guests: Rob Joyce [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-joyce-b43445116] served more than 34 years at the NSA, spending his final years as Director of Cybersecurity. Throughout his career, he held leadership roles in signals intelligence and cybersecurity, including leading Tailored Access Operations (TAO), the NSA’s elite hacking unit focused on foreign intelligence operations. He also served on the White House National Security Council as Special Assistant to the President and Cybersecurity Coordinator, and as Acting Homeland Security Advisor. Joyce is now founder of Joyce Cyber LLC and serves in advisory roles for organizations including OpenAI, Microsoft, PwC and others. Rob's top pick: Cyber Resilience: Why Security Fails When It Matters Most [https://www.wwt.com/video/cyber-resilience-why-security-fails-when-it-matters-most] Kent Noyes [https://www.wwt.com/profile/kent-noyes/bio] is a cybersecurity and infrastructure leader with more than two decades at World Wide Technology [https://www.wwt.com?utm_source=chatgpt.com], where he has held senior roles across technical pre-sales and service delivery. A Cisco CCIE and WWT’s first Distinguished Solutions Architect, Kent now leads Cyber Architecture & Innovation within WWT’s Global Cyber organization, helping enterprise customers address evolving security challenges, emerging technologies and modern cyber risk. Kent's top pick: Defending at the Speed of AI [https://www.wwt.com/wwt-research/defending-at-the-speed-of-ai] The AI Proving Ground Podcast leverages the deep AI technical and business expertise from within World Wide Technology's one-of-a-kind AI Proving Ground, which provides unrivaled access to the world's leading AI technologies. This unique lab environment accelerates your ability to learn about, test, train and implement AI solutions.  Learn more about WWT's AI Proving Ground [https://www.wwt.com/atc/ai-proving-ground/overview]. The AI Proving Ground is a composable lab environment that features the latest high-performance infrastructure and reference architectures from the world's leading AI companies, such as NVIDIA, Cisco, Dell, F5, AMD, Intel and others. Developed within our Advanced Technology Center (ATC) [https://www.wwt.com/service/atc/overview], this one-of-a-kind lab environment empowers IT teams to evaluate and test AI infrastructure, software and solutions for efficacy, scalability and flexibility — all under one roof. The AI Proving Ground provides visibility into data flows across the entire development pipeline, enabling more informed decision-making while safeguarding production environments.

AI Can Move Trillions. You Won’t Let It Send an Email.

AI moves trillions of dollars in milliseconds. So why won’t companies let it send a customer email? In this episode of the AI Proving Ground Podcast, Erik Anderson, CEO of Singularity University and former Topgolf leader, breaks down the real constraint on enterprise AI adoption: trust. We talk about the shift to agentic AI, how it's reshaping thought work, and the tension leaders face between productivity gains and the social contract with employees. If AI gives your team 20% of their time back, Erik argues that's not just cost savings. It's an opportunity to invest in growth, quality, and long term value. We also cover: *  Why trust becomes the bottleneck before the technology  *  How AI agents reshape brand and customer experience  *  What leaders should actually do next  Most companies won’t hit a technical limit with AI. They’ll hit a trust limit first. More about this week's guest: Erik Anderson [https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson9] is Founder and CEO of WestRiver Group, a global investment platform focused on the innovation economy. He previously served as Executive Chairman of Topgolf, leading its rise into a global brand, and is now Executive Chairman of Singularity Group. An experienced operator and investor, Erik holds leadership and board roles across technology, energy, and consumer sectors, focused on scaling companies that shape the future. The AI Proving Ground Podcast leverages the deep AI technical and business expertise from within World Wide Technology's one-of-a-kind AI Proving Ground, which provides unrivaled access to the world's leading AI technologies. This unique lab environment accelerates your ability to learn about, test, train and implement AI solutions.  Learn more about WWT's AI Proving Ground [https://www.wwt.com/atc/ai-proving-ground/overview]. The AI Proving Ground is a composable lab environment that features the latest high-performance infrastructure and reference architectures from the world's leading AI companies, such as NVIDIA, Cisco, Dell, F5, AMD, Intel and others. Developed within our Advanced Technology Center (ATC) [https://www.wwt.com/service/atc/overview], this one-of-a-kind lab environment empowers IT teams to evaluate and test AI infrastructure, software and solutions for efficacy, scalability and flexibility — all under one roof. The AI Proving Ground provides visibility into data flows across the entire development pipeline, enabling more informed decision-making while safeguarding production environments.

Your Customer Data Has No Owner

Most personalization efforts fail long before AI becomes the problem. It fails in quieter ways. A missing identity. A disconnected signal. A decision no one owns. In this conversation, Ralph Jovine and Chris Douglas unpack why most personalization efforts stall long before AI becomes the problem. The issue is structural. Data ownership is unclear. Governance is inconsistent. Signals don’t connect across the journey. They get into what actually needs to be in place for personalization to work at scale, and why the companies that get this right are the ones that treat it as an operating discipline, not a feature. Support for this week's episode provided by: Netskope [https://www.wwt.com/partner/netskope/overview] More about this week's guests: Ralph Jovine [https://www.wwt.com/profile/ralph-jovine/bio] brings over 20 years of experience in digital marketing and e-commerce. As a former executive at global agencies like Accenture, Merkle, and CEO of Nervewire, he spearheaded large-scale marketing and digital initiatives for renowned brands such as Nike, Cole Haan, Ralph Lauren, L'Oréal, Toyota, Bridgestone, and Hilton Hotels. Ralph's expertise spans various domains, including Business Strategy and Transformation, CX Product Strategy and Technology, Omni-Channel Marketing, Commerce, CRM, Loyalty, Martech/Adtech, and AI/ML Strategy and Application. Ralph's top pick: The C-suite's Blueprint to Personalization in Retail and Beyond [https://www.wwt.com/wwt-research/the-c-suites-blueprint-to-personalization-in-retail-and-beyond] Chris Douglas [https://www.wwt.com/profile/christopher-douglas/bio] is Senior Director of Product for Unified Commerce at World Wide Technology. He leads the strategy and growth of WWT’s Unified Commerce practice, helping organizations modernize how they connect customer data, experiences, and operations. His work spans commerce strategy, retail transformation, loyalty and personalization, and marketing technology, with a focus on turning fragmented systems into coordinated, measurable outcomes that drive growth. Chris's top pick: Customer Experience Priorities for 2026 [https://www.wwt.com/wwt-research/customer-experience-priorities-for-2026] The AI Proving Ground Podcast leverages the deep AI technical and business expertise from within World Wide Technology's one-of-a-kind AI Proving Ground, which provides unrivaled access to the world's leading AI technologies. This unique lab environment accelerates your ability to learn about, test, train and implement AI solutions.  Learn more about WWT's AI Proving Ground [https://www.wwt.com/atc/ai-proving-ground/overview]. The AI Proving Ground is a composable lab environment that features the latest high-performance infrastructure and reference architectures from the world's leading AI companies, such as NVIDIA, Cisco, Dell, F5, AMD, Intel and others. Developed within our Advanced Technology Center (ATC) [https://www.wwt.com/service/atc/overview], this one-of-a-kind lab environment empowers IT teams to evaluate and test AI infrastructure, software and solutions for efficacy, scalability and flexibility — all under one roof. The AI Proving Ground provides visibility into data flows across the entire development pipeline, enabling more informed decision-making while safeguarding production environments.

Your AI Looks Smart. Your Data Disagrees.

AI can generate answers instantly. But that doesn’t mean they’re right. Most enterprise AI doesn’t fail because of the model. It fails because the data underneath it doesn’t agree. Different teams, different definitions, different outcomes. It’s subtle, and it breaks trust fast. In this episode, Paul Bruffett, VP of Data and Analytics at Jack in the Box, joins WWT’s Dan Moristro to talk about what it actually took to fix that. A multi-year modernization across core systems set the stage, but the real shift came from treating data as a product and building consistency into how the business defines and uses it. They get into what Dan calls semantic debt, why generative AI makes it harder to ignore, and how modular data products, a modern data stack, and a real MLOps foundation helped turn AI from something interesting into something reliable. If your AI works in demos but not in the business, this is probably why. Learn more about this week's guests: Paul Bruffett [https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulbruffett/] is a data and analytics leader with deep experience across cloud platforms, data engineering, and data science. He has designed and implemented enterprise data lakes, big data platforms, and scalable architectures on AWS, Azure, and GCP. Known for a hands-on approach, he focuses on building systems that support continuous deployment of data and AI workloads at scale. Paul's top pick: Jack in the Box CTO Reveals AI Playbook [https://www.wwt.com/video/jack-in-the-box-cto-reveals-ai-playbook] Dan Morrisroe [https://www.wwt.com/profile/daniel-morrisroe/bio] is Managing Director of AI, Data, Analytics, and Management Consulting at World Wide Technology. He works with organizations to turn data and AI strategy into real operating capability, helping align technology, teams, and processes to drive measurable business outcomes at scale. Dan's top pick: From Static Scorecards to Real-Time Retail Intelligence [https://www.wwt.com/video/from-static-scorecards-to-real-time-retail-intelligence] The AI Proving Ground Podcast leverages the deep AI technical and business expertise from within World Wide Technology's one-of-a-kind AI Proving Ground, which provides unrivaled access to the world's leading AI technologies. This unique lab environment accelerates your ability to learn about, test, train and implement AI solutions.  Learn more about WWT's AI Proving Ground [https://www.wwt.com/atc/ai-proving-ground/overview]. The AI Proving Ground is a composable lab environment that features the latest high-performance infrastructure and reference architectures from the world's leading AI companies, such as NVIDIA, Cisco, Dell, F5, AMD, Intel and others. Developed within our Advanced Technology Center (ATC) [https://www.wwt.com/service/atc/overview], this one-of-a-kind lab environment empowers IT teams to evaluate and test AI infrastructure, software and solutions for efficacy, scalability and flexibility — all under one roof. The AI Proving Ground provides visibility into data flows across the entire development pipeline, enabling more informed decision-making while safeguarding production environments.