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Freelance tech journalist Nicole Willing has spent the better part of 2026 covering AWS for TechChannel, but that’s just scratching the surface of her colorful career. Nicole is a “digital nomad” who got her start just before the dotcom bubble burst at the turn of the century. Now, among other topics, she’s chronicling the ongoing AI revolution, and she’s well positioned to do so. Nicole's wide-ranging career has given her the opportunity to cover electricity markets, data center networking and the nonferrous metals that go into semiconductors. She puts it all together in this epoch-spanning conversation with Andy Wig on IT Social Hour.

Dana Woods, technology integration specialist at Bemidji Public Schools in Minnesota, USA, sees first-hand how AI is shaping young minds, and he has some ideas for what that might mean for the AI natives who will one day comprise the IT workforce. Some highlights: 4:41 How AI is being used in classrooms today 7:05 Using AI as a real learning tool vs. an answer machine 16:02 Why computational thinking will remain the core skill 22:53 Fundamentals vs. AI fluency for future workers 26:35 Age-appropriateness and anthropomorphizing AI 35:49 Should kids still learn to code?

In this conversation about the new realities facing database architects, data technology expert Craig Mullins draws on his new book, "The Cost of Good Enough Data: Why Modern Architectures Fail at Scale" (https://tinyurl.com/wvuctaax). Topics we cover include: What Craig means by "good enough data" (3:18) It's no longer "garbage in, garbage out;" it's "garbage in, amplified garbage out" (8:07) Why organizations are racing to scale AI in the first place (12:42) Why so many organizations are unprepared to leverage their data for AI (16:41) Why scaling AI is a matter of policy and procedure (23:42) How database and enterprise architects can make sure their skills are still relevant in the AI age (32:58) Why the core fundamentals of data management still matter (37:24)

Rael Rodning, principal intelligent operations architect at Evolving Solutions, joins Andy Wig on IT Social Hour to share tips and tricks she's learned as an early adopter of the new AI-driven IDE, IBM Bob. Rodning explains how how users can maximize their Bobcoins (6:25), manage hallucinations (10:45) and shift their focus from low-level coding to high-level orchestration and spec writing (29:50) ... and much more!

Data and AI expert Dr. Fern Halper discusses how organizations should be addressing the risk of cognitive atrophy as machines take over human mental tasks. Dr. Halper, author of “Data Makes the World Go ‘Round: The Data, Tech, and Trust Behind AI Success,” has been thinking about AI since the 1990s, when she served as a lead analyst working on machine learning at Bell Labs. Currently, she advises leaders on AI strategy, governance and risk management. The organizations that succeed in the world of AI, Dr. Halper says, will be the ones that effectively combine AI capabilities with human judgment, trust, expertise and accountability.

In the final days of his COMMON Europe presidency, Juan Manuel Alcudia reflects on the challenges and triumphs of the last four years, the multicultural extravaganza that is COMMON Europe Congress 2026, and why European IBM Power shops are ahead when it comes to modernization. Then, he closes the conversation by explaining why communities like COMMON Europe might be all the more important as AI continues to progress as a technology.

Steve Bradshaw, a longtime member of the COMMON Europe Advisory Council (CEAC), joins Andy Wig on IT Social Hour to discuss the top priorities of the European Power community, how he helped bring the F8 key to IBM i, the challenges and joys of serving a diverse constituency, and how to make tech conferences pay for themselves.

The mainframe is already modern; it's the applications and mindsets that need to catch up—and organizations are increasingly recognizing this reality, says Mark Schettenhelm, a principal product manager at BMC working on DevEx products. The 45-year mainframe veteran joins Andy Wig on IT Social Hour to explain how mainframers' mindsets influence development outcomes, how those attitudes are changing and why we're currently in a "golden age" of opportunity on the mainframe.

Jaqui Lynch, a current IBM Power consultant and former mainframer, recounts how her sense of humor and work ethic helped her persevere in a male-dominated field.

John Rhodes, CTO at CM First Group, joins Andy Wig on IT Social Hour to look at the Q1 survey results of TechPulse, TechChannel's new micro-survey program. Rhodes provides insights on the rapid rise of AI as an essential technology, how technologies that lower barriers to entry help address the skills gap, and why some organizations put security on the back burner ... until they get burned.

Mike Schuett, marketing director at TL Ashford, joins Andy Wig to look at the first three months of TechChannel's new micro-survey program, TechPulse. As he inspects the results, Schuett provides his thoughts on the predominance of hybrid cloud, the challenges of posed by the skills gap, and the value of having a trusted centralized data source.

Niall Ashley, a technical consultant at Vertali, shares his unique perspective on the mainframe industry in this episode of IT Social Hour. Ashley describes his professional origins in the aerospace industry, the value of challenging the “because we’ve always done it this way” mentality, how mainframers are like bakers, and the mainframe’s past—and potentially future—role in the video game industry.

IBM i consultant Marius Le Roux joins Charlie Guarino on TechTalk SMB to discuss the friendly community surrounding IBM i, why authoring the IBM i 7.6 Redbook made him feel like a spy, why AI might one day be seen as an OS, and more.

Coming from an array of unique backgrounds, this collection of standout early-career technologists explain the keys to their success on IBM Power and IBM Z systems.

'IT Social Hour': Meet the 'Big Iron Bits' Team (Including Chaz and Reg!) by TechChannel