NA012 - The Oblong Table

Mon, 19 Oct 2026 09:42:54 +0000

Network Auto Magic Podcast

The Oblong Table: AI, Automation Adoption and Community

Episode Overview

After a hiatus spent trying to keep up with the AI-fuelled madness, Steinn and Urs pull up chairs at the oblong table — not a round table, because nobody here is unbiased. John Howard, Brian Jeggesen and Bart Dorlandt join for an unstructured conversation that starts with Brian’s first CPH^Automate in Copenhagen and the question nobody can quite answer: after fifteen years, why is network automation still the niche of the niche? From there it goes everywhere. John pushes back on the idea that network engineers can’t think in systems, the panel works through the Trail of Bits model of AI assisted, augmented and native organizations, and Urs makes the case that you could replace the word “AI” with “automation” and lose nothing. Along the way: vendors packing a hundred CVEs into a single advisory, port knocking with MFA, tiered AI policies for one-person shops, why conference talks should show the how and not just the result, and John’s verdict on the “moving goalposts” argument — the goalposts haven’t moved, the ball has.

Community on Network Automagic

NA012 - The Oblong Table

Network Auto Magic Podcast

Episode Overview