What happens when AI stops advising and starts acting? Agentic AI promises autonomy, speed, and a new level of intelligence in how systems operate. But as these systems begin to pursue goals and make decisions, the risks become harder to predict. In this episode of The AI Forecast, Paul Muller sits down with futurist Nell Watson, AI ethics expert and co-author of “Safer Agentic AI: Principles and Responsible Practices,” to explore what safe, responsible AI looks like in this new era. In this engaging conversation, Nell shares insights from her journey in AI, her work on ethics and safety, and why agentic systems represent a fundamental shift in how we think about risk. From data provenance to governance frameworks, she explains why organizations must move from reactive oversight to proactive design—and why cooperation will be critical to navigating what comes next. Together, Paul and Nell delve into: - Why “AI is the butler for the brain” - The importance of data provenance in building trustworthy systems - How AI ethics and safety must be embedded from the start - Why governance needs to anticipate risks, not just respond to them - The role of “AI supervising AI” in maintaining control - How science fiction can help us prepare for real-world AI challenges If you’re a business or technology leader deploying AI, this episode offers a clear, practical lens on balancing innovation with responsibility—and why safety is now a core requirement for scaling AI systems. To hear more about AI governance, listen to EP 67 | The “Wobbly” Nature of AI: Governing an Unpredictable Technology - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wie2j6A3ICI&list=PLe-h9HrA9qfAmGHgsmXUZgLL-T4Xjhlq8 *Stay in touch with Nell:* Nell Watson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nellwatson/ Nell’s website: https://www.nellwatson.com/ Nell Watson’s books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0CWS75KPG *Follow and subscribe to The AI Forecast for more conversations with the innovators shaping the future of enterprise AI.* *Links & Resources* 👉Full Series Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe-h9HrA9qfAmGHgsmXUZgLL-T4Xjhlq8 👉Learn more: https://www.cloudera.com/resources/podcast/the-ai-forecast.html?utm_medium=social-organic&utm_source=youtube&keyplay=cross&utm_campaign=Other---FY27-GLOBAL-Always-On-Cloudera-Podcast&cid=UNGATED&utm_content=youtube-cta *🎧 Listen on your platform of choice:* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4HdvyqlCYAMgaSl0OitzCU Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/agentic-ai-is-forcing-a-governance-reset/id1779293119?i=1000760219631 Chapters 0:00 Introducing Nell Watson Ethics Maestro and Author 2:45 Culture as the Most Impactful Technology of All Time 6:10 Can AI Govern Other AI? 11:45 Data Hacks Provenance Tagging and Cleaning Swiss Cheese Data 18:10 The 2012 Convolutional Neural Network Revolution 20:45 Mapping AI Ethics vs AI Safety Taming the Machine 34:50 The Case for Agentic AI Complex Missions and Reliable Actions 40:00 Safe Agentic Best Practices and Deterministic Guardrails 46:00 Why We Must Extend Consideration to AI Preferences 1:02:15 How to Connect with Nell Watson and Algorithmic Shenanigans *Connect with Cloudera* Subscribe to stay ahead of the curve with the latest in data strategy, open architectures, and enterprise AI innovations. https://www.cloudera.com LinkedIn ► https://www.linkedin.com/company/cloudera Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/cloudera/ X ► https://x.com/cloudera Spotify ► https://open.spotify.com/show/102S8zoZR6nmZV0HxZlxZu #AIGovernance #AgenticAI #AIEthics #AISafety #TheAIForecast #EnterpriseAI #FutureOfTech #DataProvenance #cloudera #techpodcast #cloudcomputing #datagovernance

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