The Shift: Your open questions about agents, honest discussions

In this episode of The Shift, members of the Microsoft Azure Database team, Eric, Marko, Claire and Abinav explore a question from you, our community:Is Postgres the wave of the future?The Shift, Agentic Edition connects the people building AI tools with those creating agents, so we can all level up together.Get the eBook:https://aka.ms/AppsAgentsPostgresSQLJoin our 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 Managerhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/marko-hotti-7656574/Claire Giordano, Principal Group PM Managerhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/claireg/Abinav Rameesh, Principal PM Managerhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/abinavrameesh/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 positions as a company. This episode of The Shift was recorded in February 2026. All information about products and offers are relevant to the time of recording.

In this episode of The Shift, members of the Microsoft Foundry team, Ronak, Vinod and Linda explore a question from you, our community: What senses do agents need to act?The Shift, Agentic Edition connects the people building AI tools with those creating agents, so we can all level up together.Get the eBook: AI Apps and Agents | Microsoft Azurehttps://aka.ms/AIAppsAgentsJoin our community: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/Get to know the team: Ronak Chokshi, Director Product Marketinghttps://www.linkedin.com/in/ronakchokshi/Vinod Valloppillil, Partner Product Directorhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/vinodvalloppillil/Linda Li, Product Manager IIhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/zhuoqun-linda-li/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 positions as a company. This episode of The Shift was recorded in February 2026. All information about products and offers are relevant to the time of recording.

In this episode of The Shift, members of the Microsoft Foundry team, Allison, Pamela and Matt explore a question from you, our community:Is context engineering the new RAG?The Shift, Agentic Edition connects the people building AI tools with those creating agents, so we can all level up together.Get the eBook: AI Apps and Agents | Microsoft Azurehttps://aka.ms/AIAppsAgentsJoin our 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 Managerhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/mattgotteiner/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 positions as a company. This episode of The Shift was recorded in February 2026. All information about products and offers are relevant to the time of recording.

In this episode of The Shift, members of the Microsoft Azure Database team, Nikisha, James, Debbi and Jared explore a question from you, our community:Wait, my agent needs a database?The Shift, Agentic Edition connects the people building AI tools with those creating agents, so we can all level up together.Get the eBook:Building a strategic database ecosystem: From Choice to Orchestration | Microsoft Azurehttps://aka.ms/databaseecosystemJoin our community: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/Meet the Team:Nikisha Reyes-Grange, Senior Director Product Marketinghttps://www.linkedin.com/in/nikisha/James Codella, Principal Product Managerhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jamescodella/Jared Meade, Senior Program Managerhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jared-meade/Debbi Lyons, Director Product Marketinghttps://www.linkedin.com/in/debbilyons/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.This episode of The Shift was recorded in January 2026. All information about products and offers are relevant to the time of recording.

In this episode of The Shift, members of the Microsoft Foundry team, Takuto, Shawn, Amanda and Victor explore a question from you, our community:How do agents work together?The Shift, Agentic Edition connects the people building AI tools with those creating agents, so we can all level up together.Get the eBook: AI Apps and Agents | Microsoft Azurehttps://aka.ms/AIAppsandAgentsJoin our community: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/Get to know the team:Takuto Higuchi, Product Strategyhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/takuto-higuchi-626681135/Shawn Henry, Principal Group Product Managerhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-patrick-henry/Amanda Foster, Product Manager, Microsoft Foundry Agent Servicehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/foster-amanda/Victor Dibia, Principal RDSE at Microsoft Core AIhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/dibiavictor/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 positions as a company.This episode of The Shift was recorded in January 2026. All information about products and offers are relevant to the time of recording.

In this episode of The Shift, members of the Microsoft Fabric team, Ron, Dipti, Cillian and Josh explore a question from you, our community: Are my agents hunting for data? The Shift, Agentic Edition connects the people building AI tools with those creating agents, so we can all level up together. Get the guide: Unify Data l Microsoft Fabrichttps://aka.ms/UnifyDataMicrosoftFabricJoin our community: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/Get to know the team:Ronald Chang, Director Product Marketinghttps://www.linkedin.com/in/ronald-chang-15812828/Dipti Borkar, VP & GM Microsoft OneLake & Fabric ISVshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/diptiborkar/Cillian Mitchell, Sr. Product Marketing Managerhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/cillian-mitchell/Josh Caplan, Partner Director of Product for Microsoft OneLakehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-caplan-data/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 positions as a company.This episode of The Shift was recorded in January 2026. All information about products and offers are relevant to the time of recording.

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.

Stefaan Verhulst, Co-founder and Chief Research & Development Officer at GovLab, dives into the intricate world of data governance in the AI era. He discusses responsible data use for societal improvement, highlighting the opportunities and risks of data reuse. Verhulst contrasts public versus private sector data responsibilities and introduces the concept of social license for ethical data collaboration. He explains how generative AI democratizes access to information and tackles challenges of unstructured data, advocating for a shift from ownership to stewardship in data management.

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.

Water is fundamental to our existence, but only a tiny fraction of fresh water on Earth is available to sustain life. How can we become better stewards of this precious resource? In this episode, Susan speaks with Jairo Trad, CEO & Co-Founder of Kilimo, a climate tech company based in Argentina, about how he and his team are using data, AI, and cloud technology to help farmers optimize water use to promote a sustainable future. They discuss what it looks like to earn the trust of and design for farmers working in harsh conditions and remote locations, the role of empathy in product and software development, and how a combination of data, AI and what Jairo calls “common people magic” is helping Kilimo and customers move the needle on one of the world’s most significant challenges.⁠Watch this episode on YouTube >⁠⁠Guest: ⁠Jairo Trad⁠ | ⁠⁠Kilimo⁠Related: ⁠⁠See more with Kilimo in Cloud Cultures⁠: Chile⁠Related: ⁠Learn how Kilimo uses Azure AI to help farmers lower water usage⁠Get 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.