Episode Player
AI and Automation with David Kilzer
Definitely, Maybe Agile
Chapters
0:00
Meet David Kilser And His Journey
2:00
Tech Convergences That Changed The World
5:30
AI + Humanoid Robotics As A New Inflection
8:30
Advice For Students And Early Careers
11:00
Automation Versus AI: Strengths And Limits
15:30
When Not To Use AI
18:30
Flexibility, Digital Twins, And Open APIs
22:00
Safety In Human–Robot Collaboration
26:00
Three Takeaways And Closing
Definitely, Maybe Agile
AI and Automation with David Kilzer
Feb 26, 2026
Season 3
Episode 209
Peter Maddison and Dave Sharrock
A few times in tech, two streams collide, and everything changes. David Kilzer has spent 50 years putting automation to work in manufacturing and distribution around the world, and he thinks we're at one of those moments right now. The convergence of AI and humanoid robotics, in his view, is the biggest shift humankind has faced since fire.
In this episode, David joins Peter and Dave to unpack where automation ends, and AI begins, why confusing the two creates brittle systems, and what organizations should actually be thinking about when making investment decisions right now. The short version: don't slap AI on everything.
This week's takeaways:
- Stay optimistic, stay connected, and participate in the change. Don't be overrun by it.
- Automation works brilliantly within its designed boundaries. But unprecedented events expose its fragility in ways we don't always anticipate.
- The shift toward flexible, adaptable robots means the environment no longer has to be built around the machine. The machine adjusts to the environment instead.