Techsplainers

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Techsplainers by IBM offers quick, clear insights on generative AI, agentic AI, cybersecurity, and more, every weekday. Stay ahead in tech with bite‑sized episodes perfect for your commute or coffee break.
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AI agent types

What happens when AI agents don’t just react, but think, plan, and even weigh trade‑offs? This week on Techsplainers, we break down the full spectrum of AI agent types, from simple reflex rules to hierarchical decision‑making systems, and explain how they sense, decide, and act in the real world.

AI agent types:

  • Episode 066: What is a simple reflex agent?
  • Episode 067: What is a model-based reflex agent?
  • Episode 068: What is a goal-based agent?
  • Episode 069: What is a utility-based agent?
  • Episode 070: What are hierarchical AI agents?

AI agent types

The 2026 Guide to Agents
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Episode 066 |

What is a simple reflex agent?

Voice: Matt Finio | Authors: Cole Stryker

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What is a simple reflex agent?
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What is a model-based reflex agent?
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What is a goal-based agent?
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What is a utility-based agent?
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What are hierarchical AI agents?
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Watch previous episodes

Hybrid cloud:

  • Episode 061: What is hybrid cloud?
  • Episode 062: What is cloud infrastructure?
  • Episode 063: What is virtualization?
  • Episode 064: What is multicloud?
  • Episode 065: What is cloud storage?

 
What is cloud storage?

Voice: Daniela Baez | Authors: Stephanie Susnjara, Ian Smalley
What is multicloud?

Voice: Daniela Baez
What is virtualization?

Voice: Daniela Baez | Authors: Stephanie Susnjara, Ian Smalley
What is cloud infrastructure?

Voice: Daniela Baez | Authors: Stephanie Susnjara, Ian Smalley
What is hybrid cloud?

Voice: Daniela Baez | Authors: Stephanie Susnjara, Ian Smalley
What is AI agent communication and AI agent learning?

Voice: Selma Pacheco | Authors: Cole Stryker, Ivan Belcic
What is tool calling?

Voice: Selma Pacheco | Authors: Cole Stryker
What is AI agent memory and agentic reasoning?

Voice: Selma Pacheco | Authors: Cole Stryker, Rina Diane Caballar
What is AI agent perception and AI agent planning?

Voice: Selma Pacheco | Authors: Cole Stryker
What are the components of AI agents?

Voice: Selma Pacheco | Authors: Cole Stryker

Find all the episodes

Agentic AI

Techsplainers thumbnail - what is agentic AI?
Voice: Alice Gomstyn | Authors: Cole Stryker
Techsplainers thumbnail - what are AI agents?
Voice: Alice Gomstyn | Authors: Anna Gutowska
Techsplainers thumbnail - AI agents vs. AI assistants
Voice: Alice Gomstyn | Authors: Charlotte Hu, Amanda Downie, Matthew Finio,
Techsplainers thumbnail - types of AI agents
Voice: Alice Gomstyn | Authors: Cole Stryker
Techsplainers thumbnail - what is agentic architecture?
Voice: Alice Gomstyn
IBM Think Podcast thumbnail for Ep 7.031 - What is a multi-agent system?
Voice: Alice Gomstyn | Authors: Anna Gutowska
IBM Think Podcast thumbnail for Episode 7.032 - "What is multi-agent collaboration?"
Voice: Alice Gomstyn | Authors: Shalini Harkar
3D render of multiple flat squares lined up on grid background
The 2026 Guide to AI Agents

AI agent components

What are the components of AI agents?
Voice: Selma Pacheco | Authors: Cole Stryker
What is AI agent perception and AI agent planning?
Voice: Selma Pacheco | Authors: Cole Stryker
What is AI agent memory and agentic reasoning?
Voice: Selma Pacheco | Authors: Cole Stryker, Rina Diane Caballar
What is tool calling?
Voice: Selma Pacheco | Authors: Cole Stryker
What is AI agent communication and AI agent learning?
Voice: Selma Pacheco | Authors: Cole Stryker, Ivan Belcic

Data for AI

Techsplainers thumbnail - what is a data architecture?
Voice: Matt Finio | Authors: Tom Krantz, Alexandra Jonker
Techsplainers thumbnail - What is a data lake?
Voice: Matt Finio | Authors: Matthew Kosinski
Techsplainers thumbnail - What is a data lakehouse?
Voice: Matt Finio | Authors: Alexandra Jonker, Alice Gomstyn
Techsplainers thumbnail - What is data fabric?
Voice: Matt Finio | Authors: Alexandra Jonker, Tom Krantz
Techsplainers thumbnail - What is data quality management?
Voice: Matt Finio
Techsplainers thumbnail - What is data integrity?
Voice: Matt Finio | Authors: Tim Mucci, Cole Stryker
Techsplainers thumbnail - What is data accuracy?
Voice: Matt Finio

Observability

Techsplainers thumbnail - what is observability?
Voice: PJ Hagerty
Techsplainers thumbnail - Three pillars of observability
Voice: PJ Hagerty | Authors: Chrystal R. China
Techsplainers thumbnail - observability vs monitoring
Voice: PJ Hagerty | Authors: Chrystal R. China
Techsplainers thumbnail - What is network observability?
Voice: PJ Hagerty | Authors: Chrystal R. China, Sanchita Chakraborti
Techsplainers thumbnail - What is network observability?
Voice: PJ Hagerty | Authors: Chrystal R. China, Sanchita Chakraborti
Techsplainers thumbnail - What is SRE observability?
Voice: PJ Hagerty | Authors: Chrystal R. China
Techsplainers thumbnail - What is full-stack observability?
Voice: PJ Hagerty | Authors: Jim Holdsworth, Annie Badman

Cybersecurity

Techsplainers thumbnail - what is a data breach?
Voice: Bryan Clark | Authors: Matthew Kosinski
Techsplainers thumbnail - What is social engineering?
Voice: Bryan Clark
Techsplainers thumbnail - what is phishing?
Voice: Bryan Clark | Authors: Matthew Kosinski
Techsplainers thumbnail - Part 1: What is ransomware?
Voice: Bryan Clark | Authors: Matthew Kosinski
Techsplainers thumbnail - Part 2: What is ransomware?
Voice: Bryan Clark | Authors: Matthew Kosinski
Techsplainers thumbnail - What is authentication?
Voice: Bryan Clark | Authors: Matthew Kosinski
Techsplainers thumbnail - What is access management?
Voice: Bryan Clark | Authors: Matthew Kosinski, Jim Holdsworth
Close-up of person's hand holding padlock inside shield icon interconnected with neural lines
The 2026 Guide to Cybersecurity

Machine Learning

Imagery branded for 'Techsplainers', an audio daily podcast, produced by IBM. Topic of the week: machine learning
Voice: Anna Gutowska | Authors: Dave Bergmann
Imagery branded for 'Techsplainers', an audio daily podcast, produced by IBM. Topic of the week: machine learning
Voice: Anna Gutowska | Authors: Ivan Belcic, Cole Stryker
Imagery branded for 'Techsplainers', an audio daily podcast, produced by IBM. Topic of the week: machine learning
Voice: Anna Gutowska
Imagery branded for 'Techsplainers', an audio daily podcast, produced by IBM. Topic of the week: machine learning
Voice: Anna Gutowska | Authors: Dave Bergmann
Imagery branded for 'Techsplainers', an audio daily podcast, produced by IBM. Topic of the week: machine learning
Voice: Anna Gutowska | Authors: Jacob Murel, Eda Kavlakoglu
Close-up of colorful circuits on a motherboard
The 2026 Guide to Machine Learning

AI MLOps

Techsplainers thumbnail - Part 1: What is MLOps?
Voice: Ian Smalley | Authors: Tim Mucci, Cole Stryker
Techsplainers thumbnail - Part 2: What is MLOps?
Voice: Ian Smalley | Authors: Tim Mucci, Cole Stryker
Techsplainers thumbnail - What is a machine learning pipeline?
Voice: Ian Smalley | Authors: Ivan Belcic, Cole Stryker
Techsplainers thumbnail - What is AI lifecycle management?
Voice: Ian Smalley | Authors: Kazuaki Ishizaki
Techsplainers thumbnail - What is model deployment?
Voice: Ian Smalley | Authors: Rina Diane Caballar, Cole Stryker
Techsplainers thumbnail - What is data labeling?
Voice: Ian Smalley
Techsplainers thumbnail - What is AutoML?
Voice: Ian Smalley | Authors: Ivan Belcic, Cole Stryker
Close-up of colorful circuits on a motherboard
The 2026 Guide to Machine Learning

Generative AI

Techsplainers thumbnail - What is generative AI?
Voice: Amanda Downie | Authors: Cole Stryker, Mark Scapicchio
Techsplainers thumbnail - What are large language models (LLMs)?
Voice: Amanda Downie | Authors: Cole Stryker
Techsplainers thumbnail - What are vision language models (VLMs)?
Voice: Amanda Downie
Techsplainers thumbnail - What is retrieval augmented generation (RAG)?
Voice: Amanda Downie | Authors: Ivan Belcic
Techsplainers thumbnail - What is vibe coding?
Voice: Amanda Downie
3D render of multiple flat squares lined up on grid background
The 2026 Guide to AI Agents

Quantum Computing

Imagery branded for 'Techsplainers', an audio daily podcast, produced by IBM. Topic of the week: Quantum.
Voice: Ian Smalley | Authors: Josh Schneider, Ian Smalley
Imagery branded for Techsplainers, an audio daily podcast, produced by IBM. Topic of the week: Generative AI
Voice: Ian Smalley | Authors: Josh Schneider, Ian Smalley
Imagery branded for Techsplainers, an audio daily podcast, produced by IBM. Topic of the week: Generative AI
Voice: Ian Smalley | Authors: Josh Schneider, Ian Smalley
Imagery branded for Techsplainers, an audio daily podcast, produced by IBM. Topic of the week: Generative AI
Voice: Ian Smalley | Authors: Josh Schneider, Ian Smalley
Imagery branded for Techsplainers, an audio daily podcast, produced by IBM. Topic of the week: Generative AI
Voice: Ian Smalley | Authors: Josh Schneider, Ian Smalley

DevOps

Imagery branded for 'Techsplainers', an audio daily podcast, produced by IBM. Topic of the week: DevOps
Voice: Dan Segal | Authors: Gregg Lindemulder, Matthew Kosinski
IBM Think Podcast thumbnail for Techsplainers
Voice: Dan Segal | Authors: Gregg Lindemulder, Matthew Kosinski
IBM Think Podcast thumbnail for Techsplainers
Voice: Dan Segal | Authors: Chrystal R. China, Michael Goodwin
Techsplainers thumbnail - DevOps
Voice: Dan Segal
Techsplainers thumbnail - DevOps
Voice: Dan Segal
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The 2026 Guide to DevOps
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