ServiceNow Podcasts 2026 Trends in the data world with Tony Baer and Matt Housley
Jan 15, 2026
Join industry analyst Tony Baer, an expert in data management and AI trends, and Matt Housley, a data practitioner and educator, as they explore the future of data in 2026. They tackle the challenges of AI magical thinking, stressing the importance of human oversight. Tony highlights the rising demand for semantics and ontologies in AI, creating new job opportunities. Matt predicts that graphs will become essential tools for analysts, helping to normalize data. The conversation dives into the balancing act between automation and human intelligence, making for a thought-provoking discussion.
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Magic Thinking Vs. Shared Context
- People are engaging in AI magical thinking and expecting LLMs to be a silver bullet.
- Ontologies and semantics remain essential to provide shared context that LLMs lack.
Keep Humans In Ontology Loops
- Do involve humans in both descriptive and prescriptive ontology work instead of fully delegating it to models.
- Use LLMs as assistants, not decision owners, to maintain organizational shared understanding.
Scale ≠ Human Intelligence
- Scale does not equal intelligence; generative models scale human capabilities rather than replace them.
- Generative AI can enable breakthroughs in domains like molecular modeling when coupled with human expertise.
