Why Excel is Here to Stay, Exploring AI Security Risks, Hardware Limits, & Virtual Reality Trends with Brian Julius

Excel remains a vital tool in the modern tech stack, continuing to support critical workflows despite the rise of more advanced platforms. As AI advances, security risks become more complex, requiring careful oversight and robust safeguards. Hardware challenges also persist, influencing the speed and scalability of AI solutions. Meanwhile, virtual reality continues to develop, offering new potential across industries. These trends reflect the ongoing need to balance innovation with reliability and highlight how established tools like Excel still play a key role in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

The rise of vibe coding continues to shape how developers interact with AI tools, offering a practical way to build knowledge through hands-on experience. OpenAI is leading on the product front, consistently releasing tools that expand the potential for both innovation and new business models. Model Context Protocols (MCPs) are becoming essential in maximizing the relevance and accuracy of AI outputs by shaping how models understand and respond to prompts. For traditional developers, this shift presents significant opportunities—those with existing coding expertise can leverage OpenAI’s tools to accelerate development, streamline workflows, and explore new applications.

From Google’s Gemini 2.5 to OpenAI’s ChatGPT 4.0, we explore how the latest advancements in artificial intelligence are revolutionizing creativity, reshaping the future of work, and challenging our perceptions of trust. What does this mean for artists, professionals, and society at large? Tune in as this conversation will give you insight into the fast-evolving AI landscape.

In this video, we dive deep into how advancements in artificial intelligence are transforming the software development landscape. From Power BI integrations to the rise of AI coding assistants like OpenRouter and the adoption of Vibe Coding, discover how developers are rethinking traditional workflows.

This conversation explores the transformative power of AI-driven tools in development, data analytics, and automation, highlighting how new technologies are reshaping workflows and unlocking new opportunities. Sam and Brian discuss the rise of API-driven models, which are making analytics and software development more accessible than ever, allowing users to build applications, automate processes, and analyze data—all with natural language inputs. They challenge the fear-driven narrative that AI will replace jobs, instead arguing that AI is democratizing technology, making software development faster, easier, and more cost-effective while also creating more opportunities in tech, automation, and entrepreneurship.

There are so many new opportunities to evolve and adapt to this latest wave of AI tooling and a brand new ecosystem of technologies empowering it all. In this episode we discuss all of the changes that are happening and the opportunities that it is creating. The Fullstack AI Professional is a new framing, a new framework to think about when you are developing your skill set. Particularly if you were historically more data focused, you can move into application development and automations using AI APIs. You can do so much more than you realize and it's actually become almost 10 times easier than it was historically. 

There's been some big changes over the past couple of weeks around better and cheaper AI models and this isn't just hype, this is real. I wanted to cover off a lot of my thoughts around this, a lot of reasons why I believe it's a big deal and just highlight how this is great for businesses, how this is great for individuals.  I also cover why and how to make this real within your organization. It's all well and good having a better model, but how do you actually realize the benefits as a business? And that is a big part of what I want to cover here and a lot more as we create more content around the latest changes. 

After a nice break over the Christmas and New Year period, we're back at it and have had a lot of clarity around where things are all going. How this AI wave creates enormous opportunities for individuals and businesses that can approach it with a growth mindset. There's also some massive trends happening around the cost to run AI models and also the tools that are being built up around the latest AI models There's a lot changing but it's all super positive to those that buy in.

In this episode of The Analytic Mind Podcast, we explore the exciting world of AI and its profound impact on learning, productivity, and new opportunities in the data analytics sphere. Our host shares insights on how AI systems are enhancing individual capabilities, enabling professionals to acquire new skills rapidly and perform tasks more efficiently. We discuss: The current state of AI and why it's considered superior in certain aspects of general intelligence. How AI democratizes access to advanced tools and skills, allowing individuals to extend their capabilities in Power BI, Excel VBA, Python, and more. The evolution of Enterprise DNA and our mission to empower users to leverage AI for greater productivity and innovation. Practical strategies for enhancing your productivity using AI tools and plugins. Insights from Sequoia Capital on the generative AI wave and the concept of 'service as a software.' The immense opportunities AI presents for automating tasks, creating new services, and transforming traditional business models. Tune in to learn how you can harness AI to unlock new opportunities, stay ahead in your field, and contribute to the evolving landscape of data analytics.

In this episode, we explore why setting up a GitHub account is more important than ever. With AI opening up a wave of new niche software opportunities, GitHub serves as a gateway to these innovations. We discuss how GitHub’s powerful network effects and vibrant community of developers are fueling collaboration on groundbreaking projects. From open-source contributions to connecting with experts, we break down how you can leverage GitHub to stay ahead in this rapidly evolving tech landscape.