Peggy talks about how we can spark new curiosity and innovation, looking at how to equip the next generation to step up and find solutions to the problems that exist today. She says we need to encourage our children and our children’s children.

She also discusses:

• Workforce trends and what today’s worker really needs.
• A new report on the mental state of the world.
• Three things to consider as you move forward in the future of work.

peggysmedleyshow.com 

(3/18/25 - 913)

IoT, Internet of Things, Peggy Smedley, artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, digital transformation, cybersecurity, blockchain, 5G, cloud, sustainability, future of work, podcast

This episode is available on all major streaming platforms. If you enjoyed this segment, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts.

Peggy Smedley and Adam Bogobowicz, senior director, global industrial marketing, Microsoft, talk about what we can expect at Hannover Messe 2025 and key concerns for manufacturers today. He says it is one of the most important manufacturing trade shows and this year we will see gen AI (artificial intelligence)—along with other key considerations—play a big role.

They also discuss:

• What technologies will be critical in the next 12 months.
• The role partnerships are playing.
• Case studies to consider.
• How Microsoft is powering sustainable transformation.
• The new role of frontline workers with access to data.

5 Leading AI Use Cases in Manufacturing | Microsoft

(3/18/25 - 912)

IoT, Internet of Things, Peggy Smedley, artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, digital transformation, cybersecurity, blockchain, 5G, cloud, sustainability, future of work, podcast, Adam Bogobowicz, Microsoft, Hanover Messe 2025

This episode is available on all major streaming platforms. If you enjoyed this segment, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts.

Peggy Smedley and Kristen Garrett, manager of market research, Consumer Technology Assn., talk about what consumers are going to need to age in place. She says those aged 50 and older represents 46% of the U.S. adult population, and last year we saw 11,000 people turning 65 per day.

They also discuss:

• Trends about aging in place from a recent consumer study.
• What consumers will need to age in place and how the smart home fits into the discussion.
• Reasons for using the technologies and what will ultimately drive consumer adoption.

cta.tech 

(2/25/25 - 909)

IoT, Internet of Things, Peggy Smedley, artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, digital transformation, cybersecurity, blockchain, 5G, cloud, sustainability, future of work, podcast, Kristen Garrett, Consumer Technology Assn.

This episode is available on all major streaming platforms. If you enjoyed this segment, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts.

Peggy Smedley is joined by Julie Shainock, global managing director, travel, transportation, logistics, Microsoft, and Holger Mattig, SVP product management, airline and airport operations, Amadeus. Each share a little bit about the partnership between the companies and the impact it will have on airports and aviation in the future.

They also discuss:

• Resilience in the face of extreme weather events and other threats.
• The value of a virtual operations center for airports and aviation.
• What we can expect in operations and investments in the future.

Amadeus Disruption Management Report 

Virtual APOC Product Page

Logistics & Transportation Solutions | Microsoft Industry

(6/25/24 - 877)

IoT, Peggy Smedley, artificial intelligence, airlines,  safety, machine learning, big data, digital transformation, cybersecurity, 5G, cloud, sustainability, future of work, podcast, Julie Shainock, Microsoft, Holger Mattig, Amadeus

This episode is available on all major streaming platforms. If you enjoyed this segment, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts.

Peggy chats with Scott Moody, CEO, K4Connect, who says that we all want to live that independent, happy, and healthy life. He explains that his company helps people who are getting older to live the same way as when they were younger. He does this with three basic foundational ideas: simpler, healthier, and happier. A simpler life includes integrating home automation technologies such as home repair services. A healthier life involves wellness devices and care services such as a scale or blood pressure monitor. Finally, a happier life brings connectivity outside of the community such as video chat capabilities with family, being able to order meals, or to even call or message anyone else in the community through an app.

Peggy kicks off the episode, saying cyber-security is a big issue in healthcare and it seems to be getting worse. Today, cybercriminals continue to prove they are clever. She explains the most common problems are still user practice issues and outdated software. She continues that threats are preventable and we need to make sure end users are educated on how to protect themselves.

Show regular Robin Raskin, founder and president, Living In Digital Times, says products need a women’s touch in order to survive, and we are seeing that all over the place. She explains that some of the older generation are uncomfortable with technology and they need a lot of features built in for comfort, which includes robots. Alexa is one example that is doing well with an aging population because it does one thing at a time, she suggests.

Peggy speaks with Dr. Jennifer Schneider, chief medical officer, Livongo, who says she is very blessed with an incredible family and she grew up with an older brother and younger brother and it never occurred to her that girls were any different from boys. She explains that technology is a way to propel is us forward, almost without knowing that it is working behind the scenes. Also, technology is only one of the tool sets for us that allows us to do more at a different pace and in a better fashion.

Peggy says there is a culture around the futuristic robotic movies and television, showing the impact of AI (artificial intelligence). She explains that AI could open the door for more accessible healthcare that relies on relevant accessible data. Going forward, technology can help reinvent the healthcare industry by helping humans automate repetitive tasks, which will also improve patient outcomes, she continues.

Show regular Josh Peschel, assistant professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, Iowa State University, talks with Peggy about inspiring the next generation of workers by informing them of the opportunities that might be available to them. He says we need to prepare people at a young age, and educate them well in college. After we educate somebody well, we also need to create opportunities and establish a network of success for long-term growth in the field that they chose.

Peggy is joined by Colleen Egan, director of people, culture, and endless possibilities for Clarity Partners, explains how she started as a nurse, and soon became involved in administration, but was discouraged by the lack of technology adoption in healthcare. She always knew that people were the most important part of companies. She discusses how women make up 57% of the workforce, but only 20% of the tech industry, and there has been a shift since she has started. There has always been a cultural definition of women’s work, but girls need supportive parents and educators, and need people to get past the gender bias and these roadblocks. She says the most important thing for women starting out in their careers is to believe in themselves.

Peggy says connected devices can collect data about a person’s health and monitor a person’s activities, connecting older adults to other people. She explains that smart-home systems can make it easier for adults to age in place and are making home care possible. She continues that devices can keep an eye on vitals, which are life changing and we will see a shift in the next 12 months of what the means.

Peggy talks with author of The Leader Habit and CEO of Pinsight, Martin Lanik, who says he chose the word habit because most of our daily behavior is influenced by habit. He asks: What if leadership was a habit and how can you develop positive habits as a leader? He explains that microbehaviors turn into habits, and leadership should become as natural of making your bed in the morning or brushing your teeth. We know effective leaders delegate in an effective way, he continues.

Peggy chats with Amy Tabb, research agriculture engineer, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Services Laboratory, about creating automation in the tree fruit industry. Tabb explains that fruit trees produce more flowers than they need to produce a full crop and to have larger fruit, you have to thin. Sometimes this is done with chemicals and other times it is done manually. She says the biggest thing for grower today is to solve labor availability and create systems to sense tree structure. She hopes the field will soon see automated harvest equipment commercialized.

Peggy Smedley unpacks a recent study about gen AI (artificial intelligence), looking at the hard numbers and identifying the value it provides. She also asks the hard questions: Are the deliverables still strong? Can quality stand the test of time?

She also discusses:

• The percentages gen AI improves product time to market, product manager productivity, and employee experience.
• Four big takeaways from the study.
• The true value to be had with gen AI—and what it will require to achieve it.

peggysmedleyshow.com 

(6/18/24 - 876)

IoT, Internet of Things, Peggy Smedley, artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, digital transformation, cybersecurity, blockchain, 5G, cloud, sustainability, future of work, podcast

This episode is available on all major streaming platforms. If you enjoyed this segment, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts.

Peggy says agriculture and healthcare have some things in common—including the fact they both have a direct impact on global health. Peggy says accuracy is important in both, as medical errors can cost human life. She also explains that technology is being used to improve accuracy and reduce errors, and data analytics are also important in both fields.

Peggy talks with John Pletz, senior reporter, Crain’s Chicago Business, who says agriculture in Illinois is going more high-tech—from the startups to the big players. He explains that it is undergoing quite a transformation and identifies some of the key players in agriculture, talking about sensors and the IoT (Internet of Things) on farming equipment. He adds that agriculture is a huge part of research at universities in the Midwest.

Peggy chats with James Schnable, assistant professor, Dept. of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, who says the way he would measure anything about plants in the past would be to send students to the field. Now, this can be done in an automated fashion, which is a lot better than sending grad students out there, he explains. Having historical data from drones is going to be very valuable in the future, he continues, and the cost is very affordable. More advanced technologies, like robots, are more expensive and may not make sense yet.

Peggy says blockchain is a continuously growing list of linked, secured records called blocks that contain transactional data, and it can benefit agriculture in several ways including traceability and supply-chain visibility. She talks about the first agricultural commodity trade using a blockchain platform, explaining it was used to execute a soybean shipment transaction and that the blockchain prototype digitized the process and demonstrated significant efficiency improvements. She says there is good reason for everyone to be talking about blockchain, especially in agriculture.

Peggy recaps today’s show and talk about how technology has come a long way and how it will allow the next-generation to make decisions, reduce labor, increase margins, and improve implementation of all vertical markets, helping the global economy.

Peggy chats with Karen Panetta, IEEE fellow and dean of graduate engineering education, Tufts University, who says IoT technology is instrumental in the agriculture field throughout the entire lifecycle. Technology such as machine learning and AI makes farmers smarter and gives them insight they have not had access to in the past. Karen also talks about women in the STEM program and her NerdGirls program, which trains women how to be successful in the tech industry, despite challenges.

Peggy says that as a society we need to find a way to produce more food. IoT (Internet of Things) technology is playing a huge role in farming and will help us meet the current challenge of food production. She talks about AI (artificial intelligence) growth in the agriculture space, how machine learning is being used to improve crop yield and quality, and how robots can perform tasks that farmers have had to do by hand for years.

Peggy shares the story of Felix Musau, who decided to combine the accessibility of mobile phones and the power of the cloud to develop Agin. Peggy explains it helps rural farmers collect data around their farms with mobile phones. She says Felix isn’t just creating a solution to help solve business problems—he is creating a solution that is going to help solve hunger and poverty. She encourages other young innovators to leverage technology to solve global issues.

Peggy says achieving an increase in food production is challenging for a number of reasons including receding water levels, climate change, and a shrinking amount of land. She explains that in general data-driven techniques can help boost agriculture productivity by increasing yields, reducing losses, and cutting down input costs. However, these techniques have seen low adoption because of the high costs of manual data collection and limited connectivity. She says Microsoft FarmBeats can help, as it enables data collection from various sensor types and it leverages recent work in unlicensed TV white spaces.

Peggy says Microsoft has a unique focus on precision agriculture and edge intelligence solutions—and it also has a commitment to sustainability. She explains that there is a current challenge of water scarcity, with ag using 70% of the world’s available fresh water. She points to the example of a farmer in New Zealand who uses an industrial IoT solution to monitor and manage his farm’s irrigation system. She explains the IoT can help solve a global issue—and we need to rethink how we manage water conservation and more.

Peggy Smedley and Jules White, senior advisor to the chancellor on generative AI & professor of computer science, Vanderbilt University, talk about what he has learned teaching an online generative AI (artificial intelligence) course. He shares how he got involved in generative AI, sharing his ChatGPT moment.

They also discuss:

• How to train faculty, staff, and students.
• The gen AI use cases.
• Why it is so important to teach the skills of gen AI.

vanderbilt.edu 

(6/18/24 - 876)

IoT, Internet of Things, Peggy Smedley, artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, digital transformation, cybersecurity, blockchain, 5G, cloud, sustainability, future of work, podcast, Jules White, Vanderbilt University,

This episode is available on all major streaming platforms. If you enjoyed this segment, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts.

Peggy chats with Joshua Peschel, assistant professor of agriculture and biosystems engineering, Iowa State University, who says digital agriculture is the injection of tools and technologies that will optimize and advance actual on-farm production and the decision making behind that. With that, cows and corn are no longer the only commodities that come off the farm—data also comes off the farm. He says the software and data being collected are some of the most important things today.

iastate.edu

Peggy welcomes Sam Eathington, chief science officer of Monsanto and The Climate Corp., to the show. He says today farming is all about data and how you take that data and turn it into an actionable insight. Having grown up on a farm, he says there is lots of different data, but it is hard to use that data. One of the challenges growing up on the farm is every field is different. He explains that quality information is essential and then you need to know how to put it all together.

https://climate.com/

Peggy says tech investment in agriculture isn’t new, but there are still adoption hurdles that need to be ironed out. During the last few years in particular, discussions about climate change have really put pressure on the agriculture space to find ways to better monitor their use of resources. She talks about sensors, remote monitoring, and irrigation systems and points to an example of how sensing systems are being used to control water quality on fish farms.

Peggy chats with Phil Renaud, executive director, The Risk Institute, Ohio State University, who says 90% of drivers in the 19-24-year-old bracket agree they have sped, run a red light, or texted while driving. He adds that how roads are designed can have a significant dent here. For instance, towns in Ohio are putting more roundabouts that move traffic around and slows traffic down to make people pay attention to the task of driving. He also explains landscaping can force people to slow down and pay attention.

Peggy interviews Kathy Lane, senior director of PR, National Safety Council, who says Distracted Driving Awareness Month started almost 10 years ago, as car crashes are one of the leading causes of accidents and distracted driving was increasingly becoming an area of focus. She says it works closely with employers because that is where a lot of fatalities happen. Another area of focus is parents because teens are still practicing bad behaviors, she explains. Since we are always connected, 45% of drivers feel pressure from employers to check their emails when driving, for example. She says there is unknowing pressure to immediately respond so one of the messages NSC is sharing is to talk to friends and families and employees that it can wait.

Peggy is joined by Joel Feldman, president, Casey Feldman Foundation, and founder of EndDD.org, who shares his story and distracted driving initiatives. He asks: What is driving? Is it a task to take us from one place to another or an opportunity to do business? He says there has got to be a way to keep each and every one of us from having to suffer a tragedy before we change our behavior. He suggests that if we are going to change this, we have to start with the kids.

Peggy interviews Paul Lucier, vice president of business development, ISARA, who says there are two sides: the potential/positive disruption and the dark side of quantum computing, as it is able to break encryption. He explains there is a great concern about the amount of investment being made by the Chinese and quantum is a race that we can’t afford to lose. He says there are a couple of approaches to solve some of the challenges including: post quantum cryptography and quantum key distribution. He talks about the raging debate about what size quantum computing is needed.

Can quantum computing help solve the Moore’s Law Problem? Peggy is joined by Helmut Katzgraber, professor, Texas A&M University, who says his main focus of research lies at the interface of physics, quantum computing, and high-performance computing. He says we aren’t going to solve the issue with Moore’s Law anytime soon, but there will be some instances where quantum computing will offer a huge boost. He says at the moment the quality of qubits is very rudimentary, and we still have a ways to go, but there is no doubt that quantum computing will be a disruptive technology.

Peggy chats with Technology and Business Consultant Craig Brown, who says quantum computing looks at data and slices it into pieces and comes up with options, and when talking about autonomous cars, decisions need to be made simultaneously. He explains that quantum computing is currently being used in machine learning and to improve the quality of cyber-security, but the applications that are involved aren’t on the same level when we start talking about autonomous vehicles.

Peggy interviews Siraj Shaikh, professor of systems security, Coventry University, who says what is promising about autonomous vehicles is there are some great visions by industry leaders. He thinks of autonomous cars as smart companions that we work with and at different times of a journey they take over so we can be more productive. He explains in terms of safety and security we need to take that very seriously, saying we need to pay attention to this because there are people who will abuse this. To put things in perspective, the market for autonomous driving applications is much higher and the winner in this scenario would be industry and companies that prioritize safety and security.

Peggy Smedley and David De Cremer, dean of D’Amore-McKim School of Business, Northeastern University, talk about his new book, The AI-Savvy Leader, which outlines nine ways to take back control and make AI work. He says an AI savvy leader refers to two big things.

They also discuss:

• The definition of an AI savvy leader.
• Advice for business leaders.
• How fast AI leaders will adapt.

daviddecremer.com 

(6/18/24 - 876)

IoT, Internet of Things, Peggy Smedley, artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, digital transformation, cybersecurity, blockchain, 5G, cloud, sustainability, future of work, podcast, David De Cremer, Northeastern University

This episode is available on all major streaming platforms. If you enjoyed this segment, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts.

Peggy says cyber-criminals are getting more and more creative. She explains the era of quantum computing could disrupt this. Quantum computers are expected to improve the way we solve certain types of problems, she says, with the key difference being the way information is stored. She continues that quantum computing could play a role in security, as messages can be encrypted in a way that can’t be read by anyone except the intended recipient

Peggy chats with Robin Raskin, founder and president, Living In Digital Times, who says 81% of car crashes are the result of human error, whether you are a sleepy, sneezing, or coughing, and hopefully computers can help. She explains by 2020 we will see some scenarios of small tests of self-driving cars. She says hopefully when computers are driving, we will have less deaths, but now we are putting the potential for errors on computers.

Peggy interviews Florian Neukart, principal scientist, Volkswagen, who says quantum computing is an approach that leverages quantum bits. He says in five to 10 years, we will see systems that can solve problems that we can’t solve now. We hope that quantum computers can help us, he explains. When you consider self-driving vehicles, technology can help optimize the traffic flow, but it is also a very complex problem, he says, and with a classical computer, it is not possible.

Peggy says a too many people are losing their loved ones to motorists that are driving distracted. She quotes more distracted driving numbers and talks about this deadly epidemic. She discusses an impaired driving, and a drugged-driving suit from Ford, saying it has vision-impairment glasses that produce blurred vision, flashing lights, and cause tunnel vision. She wants to see what technology can do to take the educational movement even further.

Peggy welcomes back show regular Joshua Peschel, assistant professor, Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University, to discuss the alleged misuse of Facebook data to influence public opinion. He explains that Facebook got outfoxed and outsmarted because it didn’t believe someone could come in and do what they did—it was just a loophole that got exploited. He says with professions like civil engineering or construction engineering, there are standards for ethics, but when you get into data sciences, there isn’t the same code of ethics, but assures there are a lot of people talking about ethics for data sciences now.

Peggy is joined by Dan Mathers, president and CEO, eleven-x, to talk about autonomous driving and smart parking, as he explains there are a lot of different ways to do smart parking. He says with the advent of autonomous driving, it is going to be a while before things are converted over, and in a mixed mode environment, not all cars are going to have the sensors to figure out where the parking is. He says smart parking is only one of the smart city applications, but the reason why it captures everyone’s imagination is because we have all been there. He points to a pilot at the University of British Columbia that is monitoring handicapped spots, and other cities are looking to that example to help solve parking issues. He talks about the LoRaWAN network and how eleven-x built a coast-to-coast network to do smart city water monitoring implementation.

Peggy says more than 1.25 million people lives are cut short every single year because of a road traffic accident. She explains there are many reasons people end up in accidents, but one of the most preventable reasons is distracted driving. She asks: What exactly can we do about this problem? The same technology that creates value for us in business isn’t doing us any favors when used during a task like driving that requires our full attention, she explains. She dives into the conversation of autonomous driving and if it will help solve the problem.

In advance of Distracted Driving Awareness Month, Peggy interviews Phil Renaud, executive director for The Risk Institute at Ohio State University, who says distracted driving is a behavioral challenge. Research shows that people believe they are good drivers, and therefore believe it is OK to look down at their phones. He says recent research shows the worst group of drivers is between 19 and 24, addressing the reasons why these drivers tend to justify the behavior.

Peggy is joined by Weisong Shi, professor of Computer Science, Director of the Mobile and Internet Systems Laboratory, Cyber Physical Systems Program at Wayne State University. He says cloud computing was introduced around 2005 and is widely recognized today. However, in the last few years, because of the Internet of Things, there is a huge amount of data being generated at the edge of the network, and some people are looking at how to process this huge amount of data. He adds that the cloud providers are trying to move services as close as possible to the end users.

Peggy introduces the topic of quantum computers, as it relates to the cloud. She says quantum computers can perform complex molecular modeling that we can’t perform today due to computational limitations. A quantum computer can process all possible solutions at once to come to an answer. She ties it into the cloud, saying cloud-based quantum computing is being pioneered by many large companies and also startups. The cloud can provide access to quantum processing.

Peggy looks at recent sustainability predictions from the analysts, giving her thoughts on what will happen next and providing strategies for how companies will prepare. She says if countries, cities, and companies want to go net zero, it will require a significant shift—starting with design and ending with data.

She also discusses:

• Two bold predictions related to manufacturers and water and air quality.
• How many organizations will manage hybrid cloud energy consumption with sustainability monitoring.
• New regulations around the world.

peggysmedleyshow.com 

(6/11/24 - 875)

IoT, Internet of Things, Peggy Smedley, artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, digital transformation, cybersecurity, blockchain, 5G cloud, sustainability, future of work, podcast

This episode is available on all major streaming platforms. If you enjoyed this segment, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts.

Show regular and technology and business consultant Craig Brown returns to the show. He and Peggy talk about harnessing the power of computing to make sure all the devices and people can talk seamlessly in realtime. He points to the example of the connected car, and that there can’t be any lag in latency—that all needs to be eliminated.

Peggy is joined by Glenn Lurie, CEO and member of the Board of Directors, Synchronoss Technologies, who talks about his new role. He explains his search for a company with a sound reputation and a product set was met with Synchronoss Technologies since it has been involved in digital and IoT for many years. He talks about the foundation of the company as a digital company, which includes everything from activation, messaging, and monetization. The company is also very heavy in the personal cloud experience. He says without question the industry is shifting, and that we are already in the middle of the fourth industrial revolution.