“Guardian agents will be indispensable. … There are not enough humans to oversee everything that AI is doing.” — Daryl Plummer, Distinguished VP Analyst and Gartner Fellow

By 2026, a staggering five billion machines will be making autonomous decisions that shape our world. But as we stand on the brink of this technological era, a critical question emerges: who — or what — will ensure these machines align with our human values and interests?

Join us on this edition of CIO Mind as Distinguished VP Analyst and Gartner Fellow, Daryl Plummer, introduces us to the concept of “guardian agents” — AI systems that oversee other AI and ensure that human oversight and values are preserved and enhanced.

Episode highlights:

• What is a guardian agent? (1:05)
• Who oversees the guardian agents? (3:50)
• How will guardians become essential in the future? ( 5:26)
• How much will guardian agents cost? (7:31)
• When should a CIO consider buying a guardian agent? (8:31)
• Why will behavioral scientists be important for deploying guardian agents? (10:07)
• Will humans or guardian agents be accountable for AI decision making? (12:18)
• What other options can perform the same actions? (16:32)
• As an emerging market, when will the guardian agent market reach maturity? (21:00)

About the Guest

Daryl Plummer is a distinguished VP analyst and Gartner fellow. His research focuses on the strategic issues of cloud computing, digital disruption and the unfolding of the future through predictions, trends and evolving digital business cycles. He is a chief of research in the technology and service providers organization, where he helps oversee research across the four roles of general manager, product managers, product marketers and tech CEOs. In this role, he is responsible for the advancement of research and the promotion of the same to solve the critical problems of, and answer the key questions for, tech providers from engineers all the way up to and including the CEO and board of directors. Daryl is also chief of research for cloud computing and a primary analyst covering multiple strategic cloud topics. He focuses his research on the broad cloud service market, including market trends, forecasts, the cloud vendor landscape and cloud sourcing scenarios. He tracks different cloud usage cases, including public cloud, private cloud and hybrid cloud scenarios and is the originator of the topic of distributed cloud computing. Covering cloud strategy and evolution requires one to see how end user scenarios are evolving in the context of technology and service provider strategies that are producing cloud innovations at an ever-increasing speed. Daryl Plummer provides a perspective on the key phenomena which will drive the largest segments of change.

According to our research, executive turnover is high across the C-Suite, which means that your role as CIO will transition one way or another. Whether you’re transitioning or you’re working with a leader in transition, you’ll need to be prepared to adapt to change quickly.

In this episode of the CIO Mind Podcast, we interview Gartner Senior Executive Partner Tom Fuller to discuss how executives can successfully balance making quick impact while still learning the landscape.

For non Gartner clients, see more with 4 Secrets to Success for Executives Starting a New Role.

For Gartner clients, see our Executive FastStart Experience.

About the Guest

Tom Fuller is a senior executive partner at Gartner and specializes in CIO executive transitions, IT operating models, IT strategy and organizational effectiveness. He has worked in multiple sectors both in the U.K. and internationally, including retail, financial services, manufacturing and government. Prior to joining Gartner, he held senior leadership roles within the John Lewis Partnership’s IT organization and prior to that was a senior member of Deloitte’s IT Effectiveness team.

“The common feedback I get was always, ‘I didn't realize that there was so much I could do before I started.’ That surprised me.” — Tom Fuller, Senior Executive Partner, Gartner

Gartner research shows that nearly one out of four executives is in transition at any given time. However, 39% are underperforming in their transitions. Join host and Gartner VP Analyst, Alicia Mullery, and guest Tom Fuller, Gartner Senior Executive Partner, as they explore best practices — and common missteps — from CIOs who have successfully transitioned to new companies, industries or first-time roles.

Episode highlights:

• What does it mean when a CIO is “in transition”? (3:01)
• Who should CIOs speak with to determine the role's specific priorities? (9:37)
• Why is the CIO interview process often "more seduction than selection"? (11:46)
• How do you decide if a particular job is not a good fit for you? (14:06)
• What preparations should CIOs make before their first day? (14:41)
• What is the most productive mindset before starting a new job? (16:06)

For non-Gartner clients, see more with 4 Secrets to Success for Executives Starting a New Role. For Gartner clients, see our CIO Orientation Guide.

About the Guest

Tom Fuller is a Senior Executive Partner at Gartner and specializes in CIO executive transitions, IT operating models, IT strategy and organizational effectiveness. Tom has worked in multiple sectors both in the U.K. and internationally, including retail, financial services, manufacturing and government. Before Gartner, he held senior leadership roles within the John Lewis Partnership’s IT organization and prior to that was a senior member of Deloitte’s IT Effectiveness team.