BOB, Agentic AI & What’s Next for IBM i | Live with Steve Will at POWERUp

The Incredible i Show

The Incredible i Show
BOB, Agentic AI & What’s Next for IBM i | Live with Steve Will at POWERUp
May 25, 2026 Season 9 Episode 4
Stepan

Recorded live at POWERUp, Peg sits down with Steve Will from IBM to talk about one of the hottest topics in tech right now: Agentic AI.

But before jumping into agents, the conversation starts with a major update on BOB — IBM’s AI-powered software development assistant — and what early customers are already doing with it.

Together, Peg and Steve unpack what this next generation of AI could mean for IBM i teams.

You’ll hear:
 ✨ What BOB does today and what’s coming next
 ✨ How AI can help teams understand and modernize older RPG applications
 ✨ Why documentation and application discovery may become dramatically easier
 ✨ What Agentic AI actually is (without the buzzwords)
 ✨ MCP and how AI begins connecting questions to real systems
 ✨ Why AI should augment experts—not replace them
 ✨ Practical ideas for getting started today
 ✨ Why the future IBM i workforce may look different than we imagined


One of my favorite moments from this conversation:

Maybe we don’t have a skills gap — maybe we’ve simply changed how people learn and enter the platform.


And of course, we wrap with One Incredible Thing:
 

Steve shares how creating his own “sanctum” space at home helped him disconnect from work… and Peg reveals the unbelievable mileage milestone behind her brand-new Toyota 4Runner.

🎧 Thanks for listening to The Incredible i Show!

Episode Artwork BOB, Agentic AI & What’s Next for IBM i | Live with Steve Will at POWERUp 28:10 Episode Artwork AI That Actually Delivers: Real Business Impact with Jesse Gorzinski (IBM) 48:39 Episode Artwork COMMON Board Nominee Todd Stewart: Building the Next Generation of IBM i Talent 23:12 Episode Artwork AI Hype vs Reality: What CIOs Are Actually Seeing Today | with Michael Gallagher, CIO at Lightedge 33:45 Episode Artwork IBM’s BOB AI Tool Explained with Tim Rowe 50:16 Episode Artwork 09 Jesse Gorzinski Unleashed: AI, Open Source, and IBM i’s Bright Future 57:16 Episode Artwork 08 Steve Will Unplugged: IBM i, Code Assist & What’s Coming Next 48:54 Episode Artwork 07 Announcement Day with Scott Forstie: Like Christmas, But With More Acronyms 50:16 Episode Artwork 06 Automate This! Adventures in Ansible with Steve Wolk & Nima Bank 54:34 Episode Artwork 05 From Green Screen to Greatness: Ted Macksam’s IBM i Modernization Journey 49:50 Episode Artwork 04 Power Moves: The Future of IBM i with Steve Sibley at IBM 50:54 Episode Artwork 03 Unlocking IBM i’s Full Potential – A Masterclass with Tim Rowe 46:38 Episode Artwork 02 IBM i Unplugged: Marina Schwenk on Innovation & Community Growth 46:25 Episode Artwork 01 The Future of IBM i: 2025 Predictions with Alex Woodie from IT Jungle 46:40 Episode Artwork 011 Power Moves: Advanced SQL & Dev Techniques with Mike Zaringhalam 59:12 Episode Artwork 10 AI & RPG: The Future of Coding with Steve Will 53:12 Episode Artwork 09 Next-Gen AI for IBM i: A Deep Dive with Brian May 1:11:36 Episode Artwork 08 iGenius: Transforming IBM i into a Tech Powerhouse with Dan Magid 52:47 Episode Artwork 07 Sipping Coffee with Marina Schwenk: A Tech Tale 57:36 Episode Artwork 06 The Big 100: Toasting to a Century of Shows on The Incredible i Show! 54:31 Episode Artwork 05 Cloud Chronicles Unleashed: Mastering the Art of Hybrid Cloud 54:29 Episode Artwork 04 RCL's Inaugural Triumph: Cameron Stewart of Oakley Transport Secures the First Fellowship 37:06 Episode Artwork 03 Innovation in Action: Scott Klement and Yvonne Enselmen on Addressing the IBM i Skills Gap 52:16 Episode Artwork 02 Survey Says: Tom Huntington Diving Deep into the IBM i Marketplace Survey 43:43 Episode Artwork 01 Unlocking the Secrets of Cybersecurity: Protect What Matters Most with Jeff Crume 53:06