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It's probably the most
exciting time to be in AI.

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I'd like to think that we're at 3.0 of AI.

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Rob, you are a practitioner.

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You're involved with AI with clients.

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You've actually written a
couple of books about AI.

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I know that's been all the talk of 2025.

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What do you expect to see in 2026?

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It's probably the most
exciting time to be in AI.

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I'd like to think that we're at 3.0 of AI.

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It started with data, which
was really machine learning.

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Then it became about LLMs and models.

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I think AI 3.0 is about agents,

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and we're going to see agents
play a completely different

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role in companies
starting here in 2026.

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I've been hearing a lot
also about AI in sales

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and in commercial functions.

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What are some of the examples of things

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that you're seeing there
that are interesting?

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I think the most important
thing for sales is you want

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to make every seller

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the foremost expert in any topic,

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because that's what clients
value the most is tell me

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something I can't look up on my own.

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So I think of AI as a capability

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that can turn the average
sales person in to somebody

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that might be the foremost expert,

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and we'll iterate on that

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and it won't be perfect right away.

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But I think that opportunity
is very much there.

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Rob, one of the things
that's been exciting

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seeing IBM do all of the partnerships

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that you have announced recently,

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tell me how you think about partnerships

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and how they play a role
in this whole AI domain.

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This kind of goes back to
when we set the IBM strategy

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around hybrid cloud and AI.

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By definition, that required
us to be open in terms of

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how we deliver technology
and how we partner.

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And so over the last five years,

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we've built a variety of new partnerships,

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whether it's with hyperscalers
like AWS, Microsoft and GCP

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and also consulting firms like BCG

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where we built a go to
market partnership as well.

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So it's really about a diversity
of different relationships

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that can drive an impact for clients

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and partners around the world.

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That's fantastic.

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Rob, thank you so much

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for being a terrific partner of BCG's

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and congratulations on all the progress

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that IBM's been able to make to date.

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Vikas, great to be with you.

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- Likewise.