AI is moving from tool to autonomous actor, and most organizations are still treating it like software.

In this episode, Kathryn Wang, Principal Public Sector at SandboxAQ, breaks down what actually changes when AI systems move into production, why security models are falling behind, and how the real battleground is shifting toward the data layer.

The conversation explores how agentic AI introduces entirely new threat vectors, why identity and authorization are becoming the primary attack surface, and how quantum computing will reshape encryption, national security, and enterprise risk.

For leaders, the takeaway is simple but uncomfortable: this is no longer about adopting AI faster. It’s about understanding what you’re exposing before it’s too late.

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👤 About the Guest

Kathryn Wang is Principal, Public Sector at SandboxAQ, working at the intersection of AI, cybersecurity, and quantum technologies.

She previously spent over two decades at Google, where she worked across product, strategy, and innovation, including early-stage AI initiatives.

Her work today focuses on helping governments and enterprises navigate emerging risks in AI systems, data security, and post-quantum cryptography.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathryn-wang/

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🔑 Key Takeaways

• AI is no longer just generating content, it is executing actions within systems

• Authorization is becoming the biggest security risk in the age of agentic AI

• Most organizations still treat AI as a tool, not as an autonomous actor

• Data is the ultimate target, whether customer data, IP, or AI training data

• Quantum computing will redefine encryption and expose weak cryptographic systems

• Sovereign AI is emerging, shaped by national values, policies, and data control

• Human oversight alone is no longer enough to manage AI-driven systems

• Security needs to shift from layered defense to protecting the data layer itself

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🎯 What You’ll Learn

• What fundamentally changes when AI moves from research to production

• Why agentic AI creates new attack surfaces that traditional security cannot handle

• The biggest AI risks organizations are underestimating today

• How AI can be weaponized through authorized systems and workflows

• Why securing the data layer is more important than adding more security tools

• How quantum computing impacts cybersecurity, banking, and national security

• What sovereign AI means and how it will shape global technology competition

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⏱️ Episode Highlights

00:00 Introduction and Kathryn’s journey from Google to SandboxAQ

03:00 What changes when AI moves into production environments

07:30 The most underestimated AI risks in organizations today

12:00 Agentic AI, authorization, and new threat models

16:00 Why the data layer is the real battleground

22:00 Is cybersecurity still reactive in the AI era

27:00 Sovereign AI and global competition dynamics

32:00 Governance, liability, and who is responsible for AI decisions

37:00 Quantum computing and the future of encryption

43:00 Why IP is data and must be secured at all costs

45:00 Final thoughts and practical ways to learn AI

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📚 Resources Mentioned

• SandboxAQ: https://www.sandboxaq.com/

• LinkedIn for AI and cybersecurity learning

• NotebookLM for simplifying complex topics

AI is rapidly shifting digital marketing from traditional search engines to answer-driven experiences. In this episode, Aaron Burnett joins Mehmet to break down how AI is reshaping distribution, trust, and customer acquisition.

They explore why trust in AI is rising faster than verification, how privacy risks are evolving, and what this means for marketers operating in regulated industries like healthcare. The conversation also dives into the changing role of SEO, the emergence of AI as a primary interface, and why startups may actually have an advantage in this new paradigm.

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👤 About the Guest

Aaron Burnett is the Founder and CEO of Wheelhouse Digital Marketing Group, a performance marketing agency focused on privacy-first industries such as healthcare and medical devices. With a background in leading marketing and sales at large enterprises, Aaron brings deep expertise in data-driven marketing, compliance, and high-stakes digital strategy.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronburnett/

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🔑 Key Takeaways

• AI is shifting behavior from search engines to answer engines, reducing clicks but not necessarily demand

• Trust in AI is rising rapidly, often without user verification, creating new risks

• Privacy and compliance are becoming core GTM differentiators, not just legal requirements

• Traditional SEO is evolving into authority + intent-driven visibility across AI systems

• Startups may have an edge by moving faster and owning niche narratives

• Human oversight remains critical, especially in regulated and high-risk environments

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🎯 What You’ll Learn

• How AI is changing digital marketing economics and customer behavior

• Why “answer engines” are replacing traditional search journeys

• The real risks of using AI in sensitive industries

• How to think about SEO, AIO, and visibility in LLM-driven ecosystems

• Practical strategies to stay competitive in an AI-first world

• Why trust, data ownership, and compliance are becoming strategic assets

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⏱️ Episode Highlights

00:00 Introduction and Aaron’s background

02:00 AI vs traditional search and the shift to answer engines

04:00 Rising trust in AI and the verification problem

06:00 Impact on website traffic, clicks, and conversions

08:00 Who controls data in the AI era

11:00 Privacy risks and using AI in regulated industries

14:00 Compliance, trust, and customer expectations

17:00 Human-in-the-loop vs fully automated AI workflows

20:00 The evolution of SEO into AI-driven optimization

24:00 How to influence LLM visibility and brand presence

27:00 AI-first GTM and implications for startups

31:00 New distribution strategies and channel focus

34:00 Final thoughts on the future of digital marketing

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🧰 Resources Mentioned

• Wheelhouse Digital Marketing Group: https://www.wheelhousedmg.com/

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet, Mehmet sits down with Rylan Folts, Co-Founder of WealthFeed, to explore how AI is reshaping prospecting in wealth management and beyond.

The conversation goes beyond fintech. It dives into a deeper shift from relationship-driven growth to data-driven timing. Rylan shares how “money in motion” signals and life-event data are becoming the new foundation for customer acquisition, replacing traditional cold outreach and guesswork.

They also unpack how AI is not replacing advisors, but amplifying them by removing operational friction and enabling highly personalized, multi-channel engagement at scale.

This is a conversation about timing, trust, and how data is quietly becoming the most valuable layer in modern go-to-market strategies.

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👤 About the Guest

Rylan Folts is the Co-Founder of WealthFeed, an AI-powered prospecting and business development platform for financial advisors.

With a background in wealth management, including experience at JP Morgan Private Bank, Rylan has worked closely with ultra-high-net-worth clients and understands the challenges advisors face in driving organic growth.

Through WealthFeed, he is building a data-driven engine that helps advisors identify high-intent prospects based on real-world life events, enabling more precise, timely, and effective outreach.

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🚀 Key Takeaways

• Prospecting is shifting from targeting personas to identifying real-time intent signals

• “Money in motion” events like property sales, inheritance, or relocation create natural entry points for engagement

• AI is not replacing advisors, it is removing operational bottlenecks and scaling capacity

• Traditional institutions are slow to adopt AI, creating an opportunity for independent advisors to outperform

• Data aggregation and identity resolution are becoming defensible moats in modern SaaS

• Multi-channel outreach is essential, but relevance and timing drive conversion

• The future of growth is not referrals alone, it is systematic, data-driven outbound

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🧠 What You’ll Learn

• How AI is transforming prospecting in wealth management

• Why timing matters more than job titles or demographics

• How to leverage life-event data to increase conversion rates

• The role of trust in high-value financial relationships

• How founders can validate product-market fit early with simple experiments

• Why data, not software, is becoming the real competitive advantage

• How AI enables small teams to operate like scaled organizations

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⏱️ Episode Highlights

00:00 – Introduction and Rylan’s background in wealth management

02:00 – Why organic growth is broken in traditional advisory models

04:00 – AI’s role in augmenting, not replacing, financial advisors

06:30 – Why large financial institutions are slow to adopt innovation

09:00 – What makes WealthFeed different from traditional prospecting tools

11:00 – The concept of “money in motion” and life-event-driven outreach

14:00 – How AI improves efficiency and conversion in prospecting

16:00 – Why data pipelines are the real moat

18:30 – Building trust in a highly regulated industry

22:00 – Finding product-market fit with simple validation

26:00 – The evolution toward multi-channel AI-driven outreach

29:00 – Personalization vs automation in the AI era

30:00 – Educating customers and building GTM playbooks

33:00 – Vision: expanding beyond wealth into broader markets

36:00 – Final advice for founders: just keep going

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🔗 Resources Mentioned

• WealthFeed website: https://wealthfeed.com

• Connect with Rylan Folts on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rylanfolts/