Earley AI Podcast – Ep. 86: Open Source, Observability, and AI-Driven Engineering with Tom Wilkie

Earley AI Podcast – Ep. 86: Open Source, Observability, and AI-Driven Engineering with Tom Wilkie

Author: Seth Earley April 17, 2026 Duration: 48:33
How Grafana Labs Built a Competitive Edge Through Openness, Agentic AI, and Engineering Culture Guest: Tom Wilkie, VP of Product at Grafana Labs Host: Seth Earley, CEO at Earley Information Science Published on: April 17, 2026 In this episode, Seth Earley speaks with Tom Wilkie, VP of Product at Grafana Labs, a leading observability platform serving 25 million users across 50 global regions. They explore how Grafana's open source "big tent" philosophy creates unexpected competitive advantag...

Seth Earley sits down with a diverse mix of experts, from visionary thinkers to hands-on practitioners, for conversations that cut through the hype surrounding artificial intelligence. The Earley AI Podcast focuses on the tangible intersection of emerging technology and real-world business needs. Each discussion moves beyond abstract possibilities to examine the practical steps for implementing AI and machine learning within organizations. You’ll hear specific insights into data science, enterprise applications, and the evolving technological landscape. These episodes are grounded in the reality that AI is becoming deeply woven into both our professional tasks and personal routines. The dialogue consistently asks how we bridge the gap between ambitious potential and deployed, functional systems. For anyone curious about how these tools are actually built, integrated, and managed, this podcast offers a necessary and nuanced perspective. Seth guides these explorations with a focus on actionable knowledge, making complex topics accessible without oversimplifying the significant challenges and opportunities ahead. It’s a resource for understanding not just what AI can do in theory, but how it is changing our world in practice.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 87

Earley AI Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Andy Fitzgerald on IA & Structured Content Design - Episode #23 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:58
In this episode, our guest is Andy Fitzgerald and Information Architecture & Content Strategy Consultant. Highlights: 1:40 - Getting from Ph.D. in English and Literature in information architecture and knowledge graphs 9…
Peter Voss on the Third Wave of AI - Episode #22 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:23
In this episode, Seth and Chris talk with Peter Voss, Founder, CEO, and Chief Scientist at AGI Innovations & Aigo.ai. Highlights: 2:58 "Software is quite dumb" 3:51 "What is reality?" 5:00 Coining the phrase "Artificial…
Dan Turchin on AI and the Future of Work - Episode #21 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:42
In this episode, Seth and Chris talk with Dan Turchin, CEO & Founder of PeopleReign. Highlights: 4:30 What drives Dan's mission to impact a billion lives at work? 11:15 Disruption and the future of work 17:50 What will h…
Dr. Mark Maybury on innovation and AI - Episode #20 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:19
In this episode, Seth and Chris talk with Dr. Mark Maybury, former CTO with Stanley, Black & Decker. Highlights: 3:30 Mark's early influences 9:10 What he does with his "spare" time - it is planned 16:30 His experience a…
Steve Stesney on optimizing enterprise knowledge & data - Episode #19 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:15
In this episode, Seth and Chris talk with Steve Stesney, Senior Product and Data Practice Lead at Predictive UX. Highlights: 3:30 What is predictive user experience and how did Steve get there? 5:30 Grasping disambiguati…
Scott Taylor, the Data Whisperer - Episode #18 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:30
In this episode, Seth and Chris talk with Scott Taylor, the "Data Whisperer" about telling stories about data management. Highlights: 2:00 Data Whisperer origin story 9:30 Translating complex dry material into a story th…