Nik Kale
@nik-kale.bsky.social
Building AI systems that don’t break
Principal Engineer @ Cisco
Agentic automation · AI security · In-product AI systems
Patents · Industry awards · Judging
Principal Engineer @ Cisco
Agentic automation · AI security · In-product AI systems
Patents · Industry awards · Judging
My new article on why architecture matters more than model capability:
cognitiveworld.com/articles/20...
cognitiveworld.com/articles/20...
From Copilots to Embedded Agents: Operationalizing Agentic AI for Service Innovation — COGNITIVE WORLD
Over the past two years, enterprises have rapidly adopted AI copilots, chatbots, and assistants across support, IT, and customer-facing workflows. Early results have been promising. Teams report faster answers, reduced manual effort, and incremental productivity gains.
cognitiveworld.com
January 16, 2026 at 8:00 PM
My new article on why architecture matters more than model capability:
cognitiveworld.com/articles/20...
cognitiveworld.com/articles/20...
January 15, 2026 at 8:00 PM
IT leaders have spent decades managing deterministic systems. Input, predictable output, traceable failures.
AI agents are probabilistic actors. Same input, different output. Behavior drifts without code changes.
The shift: stop managing systems. Start managing behavior.
AI agents are probabilistic actors. Same input, different output. Behavior drifts without code changes.
The shift: stop managing systems. Start managing behavior.
January 15, 2026 at 8:00 PM
IT leaders have spent decades managing deterministic systems. Input, predictable output, traceable failures.
AI agents are probabilistic actors. Same input, different output. Behavior drifts without code changes.
The shift: stop managing systems. Start managing behavior.
AI agents are probabilistic actors. Same input, different output. Behavior drifts without code changes.
The shift: stop managing systems. Start managing behavior.
1. Can this action be undone cleanly?
2. Does it affect one system or chain across many?
3. Can we explain why the system did what it did?
Model confidence matters less than consequence containment.
www.cyberark.com/resources/b...
2. Does it affect one system or chain across many?
3. Can we explain why the system did what it did?
Model confidence matters less than consequence containment.
www.cyberark.com/resources/b...
Will AI agents ‘get real’ in 2026?
In my house, we consume a lot of AI research. We also watch a lot—probably too much—TV. Late in 2025, those worlds collided when the AI giant Anthropic was featured on “60 Minutes.” My husband...
www.cyberark.com
January 15, 2026 at 1:00 AM
1. Can this action be undone cleanly?
2. Does it affect one system or chain across many?
3. Can we explain why the system did what it did?
Model confidence matters less than consequence containment.
www.cyberark.com/resources/b...
2. Does it affect one system or chain across many?
3. Can we explain why the system did what it did?
Model confidence matters less than consequence containment.
www.cyberark.com/resources/b...
The assistant that wins isn't the one that talks best. It's the one that does things without asking permission twice.
January 13, 2026 at 8:00 PM
The assistant that wins isn't the one that talks best. It's the one that does things without asking permission twice.
- Submit an expense in Concur
- Reorder from your grocery app
That's where assistant stickiness lives. Not in "who has the best LLM."
Apple's advantage isn't Gemini. It's that they control the device, the App Store, and the APIs that connect everything.
- Reorder from your grocery app
That's where assistant stickiness lives. Not in "who has the best LLM."
Apple's advantage isn't Gemini. It's that they control the device, the App Store, and the APIs that connect everything.
January 13, 2026 at 8:00 PM
- Submit an expense in Concur
- Reorder from your grocery app
That's where assistant stickiness lives. Not in "who has the best LLM."
Apple's advantage isn't Gemini. It's that they control the device, the App Store, and the APIs that connect everything.
- Reorder from your grocery app
That's where assistant stickiness lives. Not in "who has the best LLM."
Apple's advantage isn't Gemini. It's that they control the device, the App Store, and the APIs that connect everything.
The real question isn't whether Gemini is good enough. It's whether Apple can execute the transition before the moat shrinks.
What matters more for assistant dominance: model capability or ecosystem lock-in? That is the big question.
What matters more for assistant dominance: model capability or ecosystem lock-in? That is the big question.
January 13, 2026 at 1:00 AM
The real question isn't whether Gemini is good enough. It's whether Apple can execute the transition before the moat shrinks.
What matters more for assistant dominance: model capability or ecosystem lock-in? That is the big question.
What matters more for assistant dominance: model capability or ecosystem lock-in? That is the big question.
The pattern: partner for capability, own the experience, build internally, then cut the cord.
Reports say Apple is already building a 1 trillion parameter model for 2026 or 2027.
Reports say Apple is already building a 1 trillion parameter model for 2026 or 2027.
January 13, 2026 at 1:00 AM
The pattern: partner for capability, own the experience, build internally, then cut the cord.
Reports say Apple is already building a 1 trillion parameter model for 2026 or 2027.
Reports say Apple is already building a 1 trillion parameter model for 2026 or 2027.
The pattern keeps repeating: agents get introduced without clear accountability. When the champion moves on, the enterprise inherits an orphaned agent with no one responsible for its behavior.
Enterprises know how to deploy AI agents. They don't yet know how to own them over time.
Enterprises know how to deploy AI agents. They don't yet know how to own them over time.
January 12, 2026 at 8:00 PM
The pattern keeps repeating: agents get introduced without clear accountability. When the champion moves on, the enterprise inherits an orphaned agent with no one responsible for its behavior.
Enterprises know how to deploy AI agents. They don't yet know how to own them over time.
Enterprises know how to deploy AI agents. They don't yet know how to own them over time.
The cumulative effect: a chain of actions propagating faster than anyone anticipated.
The risk isn't one bad decision. It's a good decision propagating too far, too fast.
The risk isn't one bad decision. It's a good decision propagating too far, too fast.
January 9, 2026 at 8:00 PM
The cumulative effect: a chain of actions propagating faster than anyone anticipated.
The risk isn't one bad decision. It's a good decision propagating too far, too fast.
The risk isn't one bad decision. It's a good decision propagating too far, too fast.
When you try to retrofit oversight after an autonomous system is already in production, you hit a wall. No policy hooks. No clean way to inject human review. Build it in from the start or rebuild from scratch.
January 9, 2026 at 1:00 AM
When you try to retrofit oversight after an autonomous system is already in production, you hit a wall. No policy hooks. No clean way to inject human review. Build it in from the start or rebuild from scratch.
I hope you've found this thread helpful.
Follow me @nik_kale for more.
Like/Repost the quote below if you can:
Follow me @nik_kale for more.
Like/Repost the quote below if you can:
January 8, 2026 at 8:00 PM
I hope you've found this thread helpful.
Follow me @nik_kale for more.
Like/Repost the quote below if you can:
Follow me @nik_kale for more.
Like/Repost the quote below if you can:
7/ The Lesson
Edge AI in enterprise isn't about being first to market with local inference.
It's about building systems that work reliably in environments you don't fully control, with constraints you didn't choose.
The unsexy engineering is where the value lives.
Edge AI in enterprise isn't about being first to market with local inference.
It's about building systems that work reliably in environments you don't fully control, with constraints you didn't choose.
The unsexy engineering is where the value lives.
January 8, 2026 at 8:00 PM
7/ The Lesson
Edge AI in enterprise isn't about being first to market with local inference.
It's about building systems that work reliably in environments you don't fully control, with constraints you didn't choose.
The unsexy engineering is where the value lives.
Edge AI in enterprise isn't about being first to market with local inference.
It's about building systems that work reliably in environments you don't fully control, with constraints you didn't choose.
The unsexy engineering is where the value lives.