
200: What Does AI Look Like in 2026
From Alter Everything by Alteryx
January 21, 2026 · 1h 9m · Episode 200
About this episode
This episode explores the future of AI in 2026 with insights from industry experts on the evolution of AI as an autonomous work agent.
We’re back! Explore the future of artificial intelligence in the year 2026 with Patrick McGarry, Federal Chief Data Officer at ServiceNow, and Dr. Jupiter Bakakeu, Lead Generative AI Technologist at Alteryx. This milestone 200th episode examines the critical shift from AI as an answer machine to AI as an autonomous work agent capable of executing tasks independently. Learn about the four characteristics of AI agents (perceive, reflect, act, learn), discover which tasks organizations should and shouldn't delegate to AI, and understand why modernization, trust, and governance matter more than model selection. Panelists: Patrick McGarry, Federal Chief Data Officer @ ServiceNow - LinkedIn Jupiter Bakakeu, Lead Generative AI Technologist @ Alteryx - LinkedIn Joshua Burkhow, Chief Evangelist @ Alteryx - @JoshuaB , LinkedIn Show notes: ServiceNow Alteryx Data.world "Beyond the Algorithm" by Patrick McGarry (upcoming publication) Interested in sharing your feedback with the Alter Everything team? Take our feedback survey here! This episode was produced by Cecilia Murray, Mike Cusic, and Matt Rotundo. Special thanks to Andy Uttley for the theme music.
People in this episode
Guests: Patrick McGarry, Dr. Jupiter Bakakeu
Topics covered
- artificial intelligence
- future technology
- autonomous work agents
- AI governance
- task delegation
Keywords
- AI
- 2026
- autonomous agents
- task execution
- AI governance
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: ServiceNow, Alteryx
Books & works: Beyond the Algorithm
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