Episode 023: AI Primer

Episode Description AI Primer This professional primer serves as a foundational guide to artificial intelligence for individuals in business and leadership roles. The text clarifies essential terminology, ranging from the mechanics of Large Language Models and tokens to the practical art of prompt engineering. It distinguishes between generative AI, which creates content, and agentic AI, which autonomously executes multi-step workflows. Furthermore, the source introduces advanced concepts like Retrieval-Augmented Generation for data accuracy and the Model Context Protocol for standardized tool integration. By emphasizing the importance of human oversight and the pursuit of Artificial General Intelligence, the guide provides a framework for making informed strategic decisions. Ultimately, these excerpts equip readers to navigate a rapidly evolving technological landscape with technical literacy and ethical awareness. Curated Research Insights AI Research, Hardware, and Governance AMD and Meta Announce Gigawatt-Scale AI Infrastructure Partnership Source: AMD Press Release, Feb 24, 2026 Credibility: Tier 3 Link: https://www.amd.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2026-2-24-amd-and-meta-announce-expanded-strategic-partnersh.html Microsoft, AWS, and NVIDIA Unveil Next-Generation AI Accelerators Sources: Microsoft Blog, Jan 26, 2026; NVIDIA Blog (CES 2026); Industry Analysis Credibility: Tier 3/Tier 4 Links: https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2026/01/26/maia-200-the-ai-accelerator-built-for-inference/ | https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2026-ces-special-presentation/ | https://bigdatasupply.com/leading-ai-hardware-companies/ TSMC Begins Production on Advanced Process Nodes for AI Workloads Source: Industry Analysis, 2026 Credibility: Tier 4 Link: https://bigdatasupply.com/leading-ai-hardware-companies/ NIST Launches AI Agent Standards Initiative Source: NIST News, Feb 2026 Credibility: Tier 2 Link: https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2026/02/announcing-ai-agent-standards-initiative-interoperable-and-secure NIST Integrates AI Governance with Cybersecurity Framework Source: Goodwin Law Analysis, Dec 2025 Credibility: Tier 4 Link: https://www.goodwinlaw.com/en/insights/publications/2026/01/alerts-otherindustries-ai-risk-meets-cyber-governance Pacific Gas and Electric Deploys First Commercial Generative AI at US Nuclear Plant Source: Electric Perspectives, 2024 Credibility: Tier 4 Link: https://www.electricperspectives.com/pge-deploys-first-commercial-generative-ai-tool-for-nuclear-energy/ Researchers Achieve State-of-the-Art Multimodal Performance with Data-Efficient Training Source: arXiv Preprint, Jan 2026 Credibility: Tier 2 Link: https://arxiv.org/html/2601.19325v1 OpenAI Releases Specialized Coding Model with Fifteen Times Faster Generation Source: OpenAI Release Notes, Feb 5, 2026 Credibility: Tier 3 Link: https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9624314-model-release-notes Cloud and Infrastructure AWS Launches Major AI and Infrastructure Updates Source: AWS Weekly Roundup, Feb 23, 2026 Credibility: Tier 3 Link: https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/aws-weekly-roundup-claude-sonnet-4-6-in-amazon-bedrock-kiro-in-govcloud-regions-new-agent-plugins-and-more-february-23-2026/ AWS Quietly Raises GPU Prices 15% Source: The Register, Jan 4, 2026 Credibility: Tier 4 Link: https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/05/aws_price_increase/ Critical Remote Code Execution Flaw Found in Amazon SageMaker Sources: SentinelOne; NVD, Jan 2026 Credibility: Tier 1/Tier 3 Links: https://www.sentinelone.com/vulnerability-database/cve-2026-1777/ | https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-1778 AWS Supply Chain Vulnerability Exposed Company’s Own Repositories Source: The Hacker News, Jan 2026 (fixed Sep 2025) Credibility: Tier 4 Link: https://thehackernews.com/2026/01/aws-codebuild-misconfiguration-exposed.html PG&E’s Data Center Pipeline Doubles to 10 Gigawatts Sources: PG&E IR; Utility Dive; Equinix SV12 Jan 2026 Credibility: Tier 3/Tier 4 Links: https://investor.pgecorp.com/news-events/press-releases/press-release-details/2025/PGE-Data-Center-Demand-Pipeline-Swells-to-10-Gigawatts-with-Potential-to-Unlock-Billions-in-Benefits-for-California/ | https://www.utilitydive.com/news/data-center-growth-has-helped-pge-cut-rates-11-since-2024-ceo-says/812230/ PG&E Leads Utility Digital Transformation Sources: Microsoft; SailPoint, 2024–2025 Credibility: Tier 3 Links: https://partner.microsoft.com/hu-hu/case-studies/cognizant2 | https://www.sailpoint.com/blog/legacy-to-modern-replacing-legacy-identity-at-pge EU AI Act Enforcement Brings 7% Revenue Penalties Sources: Wiz; ClearDATA; CyberArk, 2025–2026 Credibility: Tier 3 Links: https://www.wiz.io/academy/ai-security/ai-compliance | https://cspm.cleardata.com/2026-compliance-changes-guide | https://www.cyberark.com/resources/hybrid-and-multi-cloud-security/2026-playbook-identity-security-and-cloud-compliance Cloud Sustainability Becomes Mandatory Procurement Criterion Sources: TechUK; DataBank; ACM Interactions; supporting research Credibility: Tier 2/Tier 3/Tier 4 Links: https://www.techuk.org/resource/the-path-to-a-sustainable-future-for-cloud-computing.html | https://www.databank.com/resources/blogs/five-sustainability-trends-that-will-define-data-centers-in-2026/ | https://interactions.acm.org/archive/view/january-february-2026/people-want-more-sustainable-clouds.-will-cloud-providers-deliver GridTech and Energy Infrastructure EVgo Deploys Nearly 100 NACS Stalls Across 22 Cities Source: EVgo, Jan 2026 Credibility: Tier 3 Link: https://www.evgo.com/press-release/evgo-races-ahead-on-nacs-with-nearly-100-stalls-live-today-hundreds-more-coming-in-2026/ UK Mandates Vehicle-to-Grid for Commercial Chargers Source: Versinetic, Mar 2025 Credibility: Tier 3 Link: https://www.versinetic.com/news-blog/ev-charging-infrastructure-2026-trends/ California Shows 37% Charging Access Gap in Disadvantaged Communities Source: California Energy Commission, 2026 Credibility: Tier 2 Link: https://www.energy.ca.gov/publications/2026/access-public-near-home-charging-among-electric-vehicles-without-home-charging PG&E Deploys AI Weather Models for Storm Response Source: PG&E IR, Feb 2026 Credibility: Tier 3 Link: https://investor.pgecorp.com/news-events/press-releases/press-release-details/2026/Ahead-of-Winter-Storm-PGE-Mobilizes-Crews-Pre-positions-Resources-to-Support-Safe-Efficient-Response/default.aspx PG&E Plans 1,077 Miles of Powerline Undergrounding Source: PR Newswire, 2024 Credibility: Tier 4 Link: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/three-year-wildfire-mitigation-plan-builds-upon-proven-layers-of-protection-includes-nearly-1-100-miles-of-undergrounding-and-further-integration-of-new-technologies-302422274.html US Plans Record 24.3 GW Battery Storage for 2026 Source: Energy Storage News, Feb 26, 2026 Credibility: Tier 4 Link: https://www.ess-news.com/2026/02/26/new-us-battery-capacity-in-2026-24-3-gw-of-new-battery-storage-to-come-online/ Poland Power Grid Hit by Distributed Energy Cyberattack Source: Dragos, Dec 29, 2025 Credibility: Tier 3 Link: https://www.dragos.com/blog/poland-power-grid-attack-electrum-targets-distributed-energy-2025 Battery Storage Costs Drop 61% as Growth Hits 31% Annually Source: ING Research, 2024 Credibility: Tier 4 Link: https://think.ing.com/articles/renewables-outlook-2026-growth-driven-by-shifting-priorities/ SCADA/ICS Security Nation-State Groups Intensify Custom ICS Attack Tools Source: Claroty, 2026 Credibility: Tier 3 Link: https://claroty.com/blog/cybersecurity-dictionary-industrial-control-systems-ics-security Industrial Control System Market Reaches $20.55 Billion Source: Research and Markets, Dec 2025 Credibility: Tier 4 Link: https://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/5239599/industrial-control-systems-security-market Dual IT-OT Attacks Average $4.56M in Damages Source: Industrial Cyber, Dec 2025 Credibility: Tier 4 Link: https://industrialcyber.co/features/industrial-cisos-redefine-influence-in-2026-as-production-risk-budget-control-and-boardroom-trust-collide/ 670 OT Vulnerabilities Disclosed in H1 2025 Source: Industrial Cyber, Dec 2025 Credibility: Tier 4 Link: https://industrialcyber.co/features/industrial-cisos-redefine-influence-in-2026-as-production-risk-budget-control-and-boardroom-trust-collide/ Risk-Based Segmentation Replaces Device-Type Grouping Source: Elisity, 2026 Credibility: Tier 3 Link: https://www.elisity.com/blog/ai-agents-ot-security-s4x26-insights Secure Remote Access Becomes Control Plane for ICS Networks Source: Xona Systems, 2026 Credibility: Tier 3 Link: https://www.xonasystems.com/press/2026-predictions-secure-remote-access-becomes-the-control-plane-for-industrial-cybersecurity/ Poland Thwarts Russian Attack on Distributed Energy Resources Source: Xage Security, Jan 2026 Credibility: Tier 3 Link: https://xage.com/blog/cyber-attack-news-risk-roundup-top-stories-for-january-2026/ Unusually Quiet Start for ICS Vulnerability Disclosures Source: Industrial Cyber, Mar 1, 2026 Credibility: Tier 4 Link: https://industrialcyber.co/cisa/cisa-flags-ics-vulnerabilities-in-products-from-siemens-schneider-electric-rockwell-and-others/ Cross-Reference Groupings Energy–Compute Coupling: AMD–Meta gigawatt-scale buildout; PG&E 10 GW pipeline; US 24.3 GW storage additions in 2026. Governance and Compliance: NIST AI Agent Standards; NIST Cyber AI Profile to CSF 2.0; EU AI Act penalties; HIPAA updates. Security in AI/OT Stacks: SageMaker CVEs; Claroty ICS tools; Dragos/Xage on DER attacks; session-mediated access (Xona); risk-based segmentation (Elisity). Silicon and Systems: Microsoft Maia 200; AWS Trainium 3; NVIDIA Rubin; TSMC N2P/A16 production timelines. Sustainability and Infrastructure: Cloud sustainability procurement; NACS rollout; V2G mandate; equity in EV charging; undergrounding and wildfire mitigation. Domain Coverage Summary AI/Hardware/Governance: 8 stories spanning hyperscaler partnerships, accelerator launches, advanced nodes, and AI governance. Cloud/Infra: 8 stories covering AWS service updates, pricing shifts, ML security, utility–hyperscaler grid compacts, compliance, and sustainability. GridTech: 8 stories on EV infrastructure, DER policy, equity gaps, AI-enabled storm response, wildfire mitigation, storage growth, and DER-targeted cyberthreats. SCADA/ICS Security: 8 stories on nation-state capabilities, market dynamics, IT–OT breach impacts, vulnerability cadence, segmentation strategies, remote access control planes, and DER defense. All sections compiled for publication on March 01, 2026. Have research on AI, Cloud, or Grid technology? Share your findings.