Shape of Tomorrow

Hosted by Michael Ianni-Palarchio

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Episodes

190

Latest episode

Jun 2026

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About the show

A personal podcast that focuses on innovation, education and the impact on the future of all of things. Technology is one of the driving forces that are creating a time of exponential change and opportunities, and these podcasts are my reflecting and sharing to raise awareness and spark conversation amongst a broad base of listeners. Thanks for joining in on these important and exciting conversations. All thoughts in this podcast are my own and are not directly affiliated with where I work.

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60 recent

June 12, 2026Episode 18934 min

Episode 189 - Two Very Different AI Stories. One Very Important Future.

This week on *Shape of Tomorrow*, I'm exploring two very different AI breakthroughs that I believe are pointing toward the same future. First, I unpack Anthropic's new **Fable 5** model and explain why it may represent a major step toward AI systems capable of autonomous, long-horizon work. Then, I turn to **Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD)** technology and what it reveals about AI's growing ability to perceive, reason, and act in the physical world. Together, these developments offer an important glimpse into how AI is evolving from a tool that assists us to a system that increasingly performs work alongside us.

June 5, 2026Episode 18837 min

Episode 188 - Smarter AI, Smarter Growth

This week on Shape of Tomorrow, I take a closer look at two topics that have been occupying my thinking.First, I unpack the latest advances from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. While much of the conversation around AI focuses on benchmarks and model comparisons, I believe the more important story is the emergence of systems that can plan, coordinate, monitor, and execute increasingly complex work. We are moving beyond AI as a tool that simply responds to prompts and toward AI that can actively participate in getting work done. I explore what these developments mean and why I think many leaders still underestimate the significance of what is unfolding.In the second segment, I respond to a thoughtful question from a reader about revenue diversification. How do you create new revenue streams without diluting your core offering or confusing the market about who you are? I share some of the principles I use when evaluating growth opportunities and explain why the most successful diversification strategies tend to build on existing strengths rather than moving away from them.Two very different topics, but both are highly relevant for leaders trying to navigate uncertainty, make better decisions, and position their organizations for the future.

May 29, 2026Episode 18732 min

Episode 187 - Your Questions, My Answers

This week on Shape of Tomorrow, I'm taking a different approach and answering questions submitted by listeners and readers. We explore how organizations can build trust in their data, separate AI reality from marketing hype, prioritize the right initiatives, and connect technology investments to meaningful business outcomes. If you're navigating the challenges of strategy, innovation, data, or AI, this episode offers practical perspectives and frameworks to help you make better decisions with greater confidence.

May 22, 2026Episode 18619 min

Episode 186 - The Great Repatriation

This week on Shape of Tomorrow, I explore what I’m calling The Great Repatriation, the quiet but potentially massive shift of AI away from the cloud and back toward organizations themselves.Most people see this as another hardware announcement. I think it points to something far more important.In this shorter episode, I unpack why AI sovereignty, local intelligence, and owning your own “AI factory” may become one of the most important strategic decisions organizations make over the next few years.

May 15, 2026Episode 18528 min

Episode 185 - Building an AI Roadmap When Budgets Are Tight

In Episode 185 of Shape of Tomorrow, I explore the growing disconnect between the AI conversations happening at conferences and the realities organizations are facing inside boardrooms and budget meetings. I break down how I think leaders should approach AI roadmaps when budgets are constrained, pressure is high, and credibility matters more than hype.I walk through a practical framework focused on small, measurable experiments that can prove value within 90 days, rather than massive multi-year transformation initiatives. Along the way, I discuss KPI-driven thinking, sponsorship, data readiness, pilot design, and how organizations can build long-term AI capability through disciplined experimentation and strategic focus.

May 8, 2026Episode 18431 min

Episode 184 - Why Successful Organizations Still Miss the Future

In this episode of Shape of Tomorrow, I explore why so many successful organizations still struggle to adapt when disruption begins at the edges. Drawing from ideas in my upcoming book Strategic Surface Area, I walk through three practical actions leaders can take to avoid falling into the innovator’s dilemma and build organizations that are better at detecting signals, protecting experimentation, and responding to change before it is too late.I also dive into a fascinating new development from Anthropic around AI memory and “dreaming,” and why I believe the future of artificial intelligence may depend less on raw intelligence and more on how systems manage continuity, context, and memory over time. I unpack what happens when AI agents evolve across thousands of interactions and why memory architecture could become one of the most important battlegrounds in AI.

May 1, 2026Episode 18337 min

Episode 183 - Designing What’s Next, Rewiring Work, and Apple’s Innovation Crossroads

In this episode, I explore three timely and thought-provoking topics shaping how we think about the future of work, education, and innovation.I begin with entrepreneurship in schools, unpacking why there is strong agreement on its importance, yet so many programs struggle to take hold. The real challenge is not belief. It is design.Next, I examine Amazon’s recent hiring and layoffs, and what it reveals about how organizations are redefining talent in an AI-driven world. This is not contraction. It is a shift toward a different kind of workforce.Finally, I take a closer look at Apple through the lens of the innovator’s dilemma, exploring what happens when a company known for disruption must confront the risk of disrupting itself.Three distinct conversations, each offering insight into how change is unfolding across institutions and industries.

April 24, 2026Episode 18230 min

Episode 182 - The Death of Traditional Expertise

In this episode of Shape of Tomorrow, I explore a major shift in how expertise is defined in a world where knowledge is no longer scarce. As AI makes answers instantly accessible, the advantage is moving toward those who can think critically, frame problems, and apply judgment in complex situations.I also examine what this looks like in practice, particularly in education, where professionals are using AI not to transform their work, but to manage growing demands and system pressures.This episode connects these ideas to help you understand where real value is emerging and how to position yourself and your organization moving forward.

April 17, 2026Episode 18138 min

Episode 181 - Why Claude 4.7 Forces a Rethink of How We Measure Learning

This week’s episode of Shape of Tomorrow explores a development that signals a meaningful inflection point. The new Claude Opus 4.7 model has dropped, and it represents a step beyond traditional AI capabilities. This is no longer about generating content faster. These systems are beginning to reason, validate their own outputs, and operate with varying levels of depth depending on how they are engaged. The result is a fundamentally different kind of tool, one that behaves less like a utility and more like a cognitive partner.The real focus of the episode, however, is what this shift exposes, particularly in education. As AI becomes embedded in how students work, longstanding approaches to assessment are being challenged in ways that cannot be ignored. The conversation moves beyond whether AI should be used and instead confronts a more critical question: what are we actually measuring? If the tools now available can support execution at a high level, then the value shifts to thinking, reasoning, and engagement. This episode is an important listen for anyone grappling with how to adapt systems that were not designed for the world we are now entering.

April 10, 2026Episode 18030 min

Episode 180 - The End of ‘Should We Use AI?’

This week didn’t introduce a new AI breakthrough. It changed something more important.The constraint has shifted.In this episode, I walk through a series of signals that, taken together, point to a new reality. Building AI is no longer the challenge. Deploying it and deciding what it should actually do is.We are moving from systems that answer questions to systems that take action. And most organizations are not yet thinking clearly about what that means.I share what I saw at a recent Snowflake event, unpack major announcements from Microsoft, Anthropic, and Meta, and offer a practical lens for leaders trying to make sense of this shift.The question is no longer “Should we use AI?”It’s “What are we willing to let it do?”If you are responsible for strategy, operations, or the future direction of your organization, this is a conversation you need to be part of.