Peggy Smedley Show

Peggy Smedley and Kiva Allgood, advisor, World Economic Forum, talk about how lessons can help guide the next era of manufacturing. She says the World Economic Forum works at the intersection of industry, academia, and policy—and also as a part of that it gets the opportunity to pause, as part of the Global Lighthouse Network.

They also discuss:

· The IoT (Internet of Things) and the importance of machine data—and how the hype cycl...

Peggy Smedley and Dan Miklovic, founder, Lean Manufacturing Research and leader, Third Eye Advisory, look back at the biggest trends from 2025. He says everyone has been bombarded with AI: Q1 was gen AI and we hadn't got halfway through the year before the conversation switched to agentic AI—and manufacturers don't move that fast.

They also discuss:

· The next evolution of a smart factory—and the role of AI.

· How to best use data ...

Peggy Smedley and cohost Dennis Draeger, foresight director, Shaping Tomorrow, unpack aiglatson. He says it is an emotional word, specifically about the future—or more specifically a sentimental longing for the future, which is the opposite of future shock.

They also discuss:

· The marriage metaphor and how it applies to aiglatson.

· The importance of counting the costs of whatever decisions you make right now.

· Where the vision f...

AI (artificial intelligence) or die? Is construction the next frontier for AI? Peggy Smedley and Timber Barker, CEO and founder, Boom Interactive, talk about why there needs to be a platform that turns floor plans into living records, unifying project data and unlocking spatial detail for AI innovation. He says this is a very exciting time for the construction industry—and it is a little protected.

They also discuss:

· If there wil...

Peggy unpacks the numbers that show the cost of downtime in the manufacturing industry, saying organizations need to treat reliability as a core business strategy. She says we need to start taking a proactive approach to downtime prevention and leverage AI (artificial intelligence) and the IoT (Internet of Things).
She also discusses:

• How many U.S. manufacturers were hit by unplanned downtime in the past year.
• How much money o...

Peggy Smedley and Tim Carpenter, president and CEO, Timpte, and Andy Bednar, general manager, Lincoln Manufacturing Center, talk about a new $28 million facility investment, what it produces, and key drivers for opening the facility. Carpenter explains why the business was created and how it serves its customers—and how things evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bednar talks about the pride of having the business in the community...

Peggy Smedley and James Bohnaker, senior economist, Cushman & Wakefield, discuss tariffs and where the construction industry is headed. He says there is still a lot of uncertainty and it is shifting a lot.

They also discuss:

· Recent U.S. trade policies impacting construction materials.

· Who bears the burden of the cost.

· The broader implication for tech and building infrastructure like data centers.

https://www.cushmanwakefield....

Peggy talks about a new benchmark that tests AI models on real freelance projects—and what percentage of AI systems complete tasks at professional human standards. She says we need to consider AI our partner in crime, but we need to determine how to augment, not replace.

She also discusses:

· The state of the market.

· Some of the biggest hurdles we still face today.

· How two key trends are colliding at the exact same time.

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Peggy Smedley and Eddie Hartman, partner & board member at Simon-Kucher Partners, and coauthor of Scaling Innovation: How Smart Companies Architect Profitable Growth, talk about why startups fail. He says if you created something people want to buy and pay for, then your startup wouldn't fail, and we must begin with the question: but do they?

They also discuss:

· Pricing, packaging, and go-to-market strategy.

· The Blockbuster phen...

Peggy Smedley and Reddy Mallidi, AI strategist, and author, Leading With AI Agents, talk about how AI agents are transforming industries. He says AI agents represent something fundamentally different than ChatGPT, and the distinction matters for manufacturing leaders.

They also discuss:

· How they represent a shift from reactive to proactive intelligent partners.

· Examples of how to scale with AI agents.

· What keeps manufacturing...

Peggy talks about how as the use of AI (artificial intelligence) grows, the role of the workforce will evolve. She says job roles will shift, organizations will be disrupted, and business models will need to evolve, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but is a reality that we all must face.

She also discusses:

· A recent report that aims to look at the future of work and the role of generative AI—highlighting how it will change jo...

Peggy Smedley and David Esposito, industry advisor for logistics, transportation, and supply chain, Microsoft Manufacturing and Mobility, talk about how we can leverage AI (artificial intelligence) agents to help in the supply chain. He says since the pandemic it has been nothing but disruption in this industry. There is overcapacity, oversupply, and tariff uncertainties, just to name a few.

They also discuss:

· How companies are r...

Peggy Smedley and Sam Barker, VP of global telecom market research, Juniper Research, talk about what is driving the surge in global smart building platforms. He says this is driven by many factors including the energy crisis and the ability to monitor and have greater visibility of the energy we are using.

They also discuss:

· If interoperability is still a barrier and if anything is changing here.

· Connectivity and how the marke...

Peggy kicks off a new show, Aiglatson, where the future isn't just imagined, it is felt. She is joined by cohost Dennis Draeger, foresight director, Shaping Tomorrow, who says aiglatson is more than a word, it is a mindset, and it is about preferring the dreams of the future to the experiences of the past.

They also discuss:

· The definition and meaning of the word aiglatson—and who and why the term was coined.

· Comparing and cont...

If embedded super intelligence at the core of factory operations enabling custom software to be built in 24 hours instead of 18 months bridged the chasm that exists between management, vision, and operational reality, would you do it? Peggy talks with Dan Miklovic, founder, Lean Manufacturing Research and leader, Third Eye Advisory, and Radu Spineanu, founder, Humble Operations, about how American manufacturing is drowning in a cos...

Peggy looks at the global trends impacting the transportation and logistics sector, sharing how technologies are evolving to meet growing demands. She says digital transformation, decarbonization, and other emerging technologies are going to need to fuel the new demands required.

She also discusses:

· How much will be required to fuel this infrastructure vertical through 2040.

· The top factors at play that must be considered in tr...

Peggy Smedley and Kory Daniels, chief security and trust officer, LevelBlue, talk about cyber resilience in manufacturing and findings from a new report. He says resilience is very simply a bend, but do not break mentality for the organization.

They also discuss:

· The biggest wakeup call from a recent report.

· What threat actors are embracing.

· If this needs to start top, down—and how to best ensure resilience.

https://levelblue...

Peggy Smedley interviews Tim Lindner, warehouse automation consultant, about how Amazon thinks it can replace 160,000 jobs with robots. He shares Amazon's history of robotics, saying this shouldn't come as a surprise to people based on their history with robotics.

They also discuss:

· How it plans to automate 75% of its operations.

· Circularity in the days since the Industrial Revolution—and where robots will end up.

· Robotics as...

Peggy zooms in on one of the seven critical infrastructure verticals: energy and power, which is projected to require a staggering $23 trillion in investment through 2040. She unpacks the global trends shaping the sector—from the rise of renewables to digital transformation—and explores how we must rethink infrastructure to meet rising expectations.

She also discusses:

· Why energy demand is rising and how renewable energy and low-...