The Shift: Your open questions about agents, honest discussions

As AI agents become more capable—and more autonomous—one question rises fast: How do we draw agentic borders? For many organizations, this is also a sovereignty question: what stays in-country, who can access it, and how do you enforce policy across systems and regions?In this episode of The Shift Podcast: Agentic Edition, leaders from Microsoft Azure explore the evolving boundaries between agents, humans, systems, and responsibility—and what it takes to keep trust and accountability as AI becomes more agentic.The conversation covers:What “agentic borders” mean in enterprise practiceHow to approach responsibility and oversight in agent systemsHow sovereignty requirements (data residency, jurisdiction, and access) shape agent design and deploymentWhy governance matters as agents move into real useWhat to consider when setting guardrails for agentsAn honest discussion on moving forward responsibly—while still building with speed and ambition.👉 Read Microsoft Sovereign Cloud in Europe: https://aka.ms/MSFTSovereignCloudWhitepaper👉 Join the Tech Community: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/Get to know the team:Evelyn Ozzie https://www.linkedin.com/in/evelyn-ozzie-18062721/Meena Gowdar https://www.linkedin.com/in/mjgowdar/Edouard de Cremiers https://www.linkedin.com/in/edouarddecremiers/Karim Batthish https://www.linkedin.com/in/karimondo/The Shift Podcast: Agentic Edition is a place for experts to share their insights and opinions. As students of the future of technology, Microsoft values inputs from a diverse set of voices. That said, the opinions and findings of our guests are their own and they may not necessarily reflect Microsoft's positions as a company.This episode of The Shift was recorded in February 2026. All information about products and offers is relevant to the time of recording.#TheShiftPodcast #ResponsibleAI #AgenticAI #DigitalGovernance #MicrosoftAzure #DigitalSovereignty

Postgres has long been a favorite of developers—but is it also the right foundation for the next generation of AI applications and agentic systems?In this episode of The Shift Podcast: Agentic Edition, members of the Microsoft Azure Database team unpack a question we’re hearing more frequently as organizations build AI-driven applications: Is Postgres the wave of the future?The conversation explores how PostgreSQL databases are evolving to support modern workloads, including AI agents, cloud-native applications, and open-source innovation at scale. Our guests discuss what’s changing in the data layer as applications move from traditional CRUD systems to agent‑driven, context aware architectures—and why database choice matters more than ever for performance, flexibility, and speed to value.You’ll hear practical insights on:· How Postgres fits into today’s AI-ready database strategies.· What developers need from databases when supporting agents and generative AI.· The role of open-source databases in enterprise-scale AI adoption.· How Azure Database for PostgreSQL helps teams balance innovation with operational reliability.As with every episode of The Shift, this is an unscripted, honest discussion designed to cut through buzzwords and focus on what actually matters for builders and technical decision makers navigating an agentic future.👉 Explore the Azure Database advantage: https://aka.ms/AppsAgentsPostgresSQL 👉 Join the conversation on Tech Community: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/Get to know the team:· Eric Hudson, Director Product Marketing https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-hudson-aa0a943/· Marko Hotti, Senior Product Marketing Manager https://www.linkedin.com/in/marko-hotti-7656574/· Claire Giordano, Principal Group PM Manager https://www.linkedin.com/in/claireg/· Abinav Rameesh, Principal PM Manager https://www.linkedin.com/in/abinavrameesh/The Shift Podcast: Agentic Edition is a place for experts to share their insights and opinions. As students of the future of technology, Microsoft values inputs from a diverse set of voices. That said, the opinions and findings of our guests are their own and they may not necessarily reflect Microsoft's positions as a company.This episode of The Shift was recorded in February 2026. All information about products and offers is relevant to the time of recording.

As retrieval augmented generation (RAG) matures, teams are asking a new question: Is context engineering becoming more important than RAG itself?In this episode of The Shift Podcast: Agentic Edition, members of the Microsoft Foundry team explore how context management, retrieval pipelines, and knowledge integration influence the quality of AI responses. The discussion doesn’t dismiss RAG—but examines how it’s evolving in more complex, enterprise scenarios.Topics include:· How context windows and retrieval strategies affect model behavior.· The role of vector databases, knowledge bases, and hybrid search.· Where reranking and filtering matter in practical systems.· Why context engineering is often iterative and application‑specific.Rather than promoting a replacement for RAG, the episode focuses on how teams are adapting retrieval approaches as applications and agents become more sophisticated.This is a grounded look at how context is handled today—without overstating what current systems can do.👉 Read the AI apps and agents e-book: https://aka.ms/AIAppsandAgents 👉 Join the Tech Community: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/Get to know the team:· Allison Sparrow, Director Product Marketing https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonsparrow/· Pamela Fox, Principal Cloud Advocate https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamela-s-fox/· Matt Gotteiner, Senior Program Manager https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattgotteiner/The Shift Podcast: Agentic Edition is a place for experts to share their insights and opinions. As students of the future of technology, Microsoft values inputs from a diverse set of voices. That said, the opinions and findings of our guests are their own and they may not necessarily reflect Microsoft's positions as a company.This episode of The Shift was recorded in February 2026. All information about products and offers is relevant to the time of recording.#TheShiftPodcast #ContextEngineering #RAG #EnterpriseAI #KnowledgeRetrieval

Single agents can be useful—but many real-world applications rely on multiple agents working together. So how does that actually work?In this episode of The Shift Podcast: Agentic Edition, members of the Microsoft Foundry team explore how multi‑agent systems are designed, coordinated, and evaluated. The discussion breaks down what “working together” means in practice—without assuming agents behave deterministically or perfectly.Topics discussed include:· What agent orchestration looks like in modern AI systems.· How tool calling and function calling enable agents to collaborate.· Why evaluation and iteration matter in multi‑agent workflows.· The role of platforms and frameworks in coordinating agent behavior.Rather than presenting a finished blueprint, the conversation reflects where the technology is today—highlighting tradeoffs, experimentation, and the realities of building with agents that interact dynamically.This episode is grounded in how teams are actually building and learning from agentic systems, not how they might look in theory.👉 Read the AI apps and agents e-book: https://aka.ms/AIAppsandAgents 👉 Join the Tech Community: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/Get to know the team:· Takuto Higuchi, Product Strategy https://www.linkedin.com/in/takuto-higuchi-626681135· Shawn Henry, Principal Group Product Manager https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-patrick-henry/· Amanda Foster, Product Manager, Microsoft Foundry Agent Service https://www.linkedin.com/in/foster-amanda/· Victor Dibia, Principal RDSE at Microsoft Core AI https://www.linkedin.com/in/dibiavictor/The Shift Podcast: Agentic Edition is a place for experts to share their insights and opinions. As students of the future of technology, Microsoft values inputs from a diverse set of voices. That said, the opinions and findings of our guests are their own and they may not necessarily reflect Microsoft's own research or positions.This episode of The Shift was recorded in January 2026. All information about products and offers is relevant to the time of recording.#TheShiftPodcast #MultiAgentSystems #AgentOrchestration #AIFrameworks #MicrosoftFoundry

For everyone looking to stay ahead of agentic change, this season of The Shift explores our rapidly evolving world from a full stack perspective, connecting technical professionals to the teams and tools that are here to help.Each week we create space for top questions from the community, bringing you unscripted conversations about critical cloud, data and AI concepts, so we can all level up together.

Scott Hanselman, VP of Developer Community at Microsoft, joins the pod to offer his unique perspective on the evolution of technology, share what he heard from developers at Microsoft Build 2025, and discuss the critical role of human agency in a world of AI agents. Scott and Susan explore some of the challenges and opportunities presented by AI-powered automation, emphasizing the importance of AI guided by human decision-making, creativity, and ethical judgement. They contemplate what happens when something breaks and reflect on why context and understanding the deep stack are key to being able to fix it. Watch this episode on YouTube for the full experience as Scott brings in artifacts for some “show and tell” moments.Watch this episode on YouTube >⁠Guest: ⁠Scott Hanselman⁠ | VP of Developer Community, MicrosoftRelated: ⁠Scott and Mark Learn To... Podcast⁠ | ⁠Hanselman.comRelated: Redefining the Developer Experience with AI and DevOpsGet more ⁠innovation insights⁠ from ⁠Microsoft Azure⁠.Discover and follow other ⁠Microsoft podcasts⁠.Host: ⁠Susan Etlinger⁠The Leading the Shift podcast is a place for experts to share their insights and opinions. As students of the future of technology, Microsoft values inputs from a diverse set of voices. That said, the opinions and findings of our guests are their own and they may not necessarily reflect Microsoft's own research or positions.

From cave painters to digital creators, artists continually discover new ways to express themselves and connect. That connection is so important, because some people find art intimidating. And, let’s face it, a lot of people feel the same way about AI. In this episode, Alain Brusch, Global Head of Digital Platforms at Art Basel, shares how this premier international art fair is using cloud and AI technologies to create personalized and user-friendly experiences—like a companion that acts as a personal art concierge guiding people through the fair, and a computer vision feature that delivers detailed information about specific artworks, artists, and galleries in real time. Susan and Alain discuss how technology is making the art fair more accessible and fostering deeper connections between visitors and art, and Alain offers advice for getting started that applies to any industry.Watch this episode on YouTube >⁠Guest: Alain Brusch | ⁠Art BaselRelated: ⁠Learn more about the Art Basel Companion⁠Get more ⁠innovation insights⁠ from ⁠Microsoft Azure⁠.Discover and follow other ⁠Microsoft podcasts⁠.Host: ⁠Susan Etlinger⁠The Leading the Shift podcast is a place for experts to share their insights and opinions. As students of the future of technology, Microsoft values inputs from a diverse set of voices. That said, the opinions and findings of our guests are their own and they may not necessarily reflect Microsoft's own research or positions.

Great minds think alike—or do they? In this episode, Susan speaks with Hiren Shukla, Global Neurodiversity and Inclusive Value Leader, Ernst & Young LLP, about how neurodiversity—the idea that there is no single “right” way for the brain to function—is a source of compressed innovation, especially as generative AI expands the ways we interact with technology. Hiren discusses the mission of the Neurodiversity Center of Excellence (NCoE) and how his work has intersected with his personal journey. He shares examples of recent projects, from designing more inclusive interview experiences to collaborating with neurodivergent developers on the user experience for Azure AI Foundry. Finally, Hiren shares advice for leaders: to learn about and embrace the innovation potential of neurodiversity: what he calls “the beautiful capacity of thinking differently.”Guest: Hiren Shukla | Ernst & Young LLP, Neurodiversity Center of Excellence (NCoE) Related: EY helps enhance the inclusivity of AI development with Azure AI Get more innovation insights from Microsoft Azure. Discover and follow other Microsoft podcasts. Host: Susan Etlinger The Leading the Shift podcast is a place for experts to share their insights and opinions. As students of the future of technology, Microsoft values inputs from a diverse set of voices. That said, the opinions and findings of our guests are their own and they may not necessarily reflect Microsoft's own research or positions.

Most of us think of generative AI in the context of text or image generation, but it’s also a powerful tool for scientific discovery. In this episode, Susan Etlinger speaks with Ade Famoti, a senior leader on the Microsoft Research Accelerator team, about what he calls “AI’s physics moment,” and why he believes generative AI feels fundamentally different from past platform shifts. Ade shares examples of the work Microsoft Research is doing to uncover the opportunities of generative AI for materials discovery—to improve energy efficiency and carbon capture, and for drug discovery, to fight disease. Ade also highlights the role of culture in building trust, informing priorities and driving adoption of emerging technologies.Guest: ⁠Ade Famoti⁠ | ⁠Microsoft Research⁠Learn more about ⁠AI and Materials Discovery⁠.Learn more about ⁠AI for Science⁠.Learn more about ⁠inorganic materials design⁠.Host: ⁠⁠Susan Etlinger⁠⁠Get more ⁠innovation insights⁠ from ⁠Microsoft Azure⁠. Discover and follow other ⁠Microsoft podcasts⁠.The Leading the Shift podcast is a place for experts to share their insights and opinions. As students of the future of technology, Microsoft values inputs from a diverse set of voices. That said, the opinions and findings of our guests are their own and they may not necessarily reflect Microsoft's own research or positions.

“In many ways, the future of AI is how it’s going to empower people to be even more creative and even more expressive,” says Robby Ingebretsen, Founder and Creative Director of Pixel Lab. In this episode, Susan and Robby discuss the evolution of technology in the music industry—from Robby’s father’s early work in digital sound to the invention of the synthesizer—and how it parallels the AI platform shift. Robby shares a recent project they worked on with Coldplay, where they created an AI-powered fan remix experience that builds on the release of Coldplay’s new album, "MOON MUSiC," and its film compendium, "A Film For The Future." They discuss the process Pixel Lab used to map video content to user inputs, techniques to minimize energy consumption, and what Robby has learned by using generative AI to further his practice as a developer. This episode offers insights for any industry seeking to deepen engagement with its audiences.Guest: ⁠Robby Ingebretsen⁠ | ⁠Pixel Lab⁠Blog: ⁠Coldplay evolves the fan experience with Microsoft AI⁠Related: Building AI Solutions That Drive ValueGet more ⁠innovation insights⁠ from ⁠Microsoft Azure⁠.Discover and follow other ⁠Microsoft podcasts⁠.Host: ⁠Susan Etlinger⁠The Leading the Shift podcast is a place for experts to share their insights and opinions. As students of the future of technology, Microsoft values inputs from a diverse set of voices. That said, the opinions and findings of our guests are their own and they may not necessarily reflect Microsoft's own research or positions.

“I like to think about proprietary data as an organization’s collective intelligence,” says Teresa Tung, Global Lead of Data Capability at Accenture. Teresa is a prolific inventor, holding over 225 patents and applications, and she leads the vision and strategy that ensures that Accenture is prepared for ever-changing data advancements. In this episode, Susan and Teresa discuss the changing nature of data and its value to an AI strategy. Teresa shares six insights to help organizations derive value from their proprietary data, including: the importance of unstructured data, the potential of synthetic data; why context is key for AI; data governance and security; and how generative AI can jumpstart data readiness. It’s a master class in data strategy, and a must-listen for anyone who is curious about how to get the most from their data, AI and cloud investments.Guest: Teresa Tung | AccentureBlog: 6 insights to make your data AI-ready, with Accenture's Teresa TungGet more innovation insights from Microsoft Azure.Discover and follow other Microsoft podcasts.Host: Susan EtlingerThe Leading the Shift podcast is a place for experts to share their insights and opinions. As students of the future of technology, Microsoft values inputs from a diverse set of voices. That said, the opinions and findings of our guests are their own and they may not necessarily reflect Microsoft's own research or positions.

The AI platform shift brings immense opportunity, but the road to success isn’t always clear. On "Leading the Shift," a new podcast from Microsoft Azure, we'll talk to people doing just that—leading the platform shift in organizations of all kinds to learn with them along the way. Guests share personal experiences and pragmatic advice for navigating first-of-their-kind challenges and delivering meaningful, trustworthy innovation to their teams, customers, and communities. Whether you’re a decision-maker, a developer, or just curious about this new era of tech, join us to hear how real people tackle real innovation, in real life. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts starting January 28, 2025.