AI in Action: The 2025 Finale – See You in 2026?

Listen on Spotify

After eight episodes, more than 20 expert guests, and conversations at some of the biggest training and simulation events of the year, the debut season of AI in Action has come to a close. 

In this finale episode, host  Andy Fawkes  and show producer Patrick Johnston confront the uncomfortable truths, celebrate the genuine breakthroughs, and map out what's actually coming next for AI in defence, civil aviation, and safety-critical training.

One of the most repeated phrases across our eight episodes? "Data." It's a line that stuck because it's true. You can have the most sophisticated AI model in the world, but without clean, structured, and accessible data, you're going nowhere.

The problem? Most organisations are still drowning in spreadsheets, siloed systems, and legacy processes that were never designed for machine learning. As several guests pointed out the real bottleneck isn't AI capability, it's data quality and ownership.

Who controls the data? Who's responsible for cleaning it? And what happens when your training effectiveness depends on information scattered across five different platforms that don't talk to each other? These are the questions keeping training managers awake at night.

AI Isn't Optional Anymore

We heard real-world examples from WATS, APATS, EATS, ITEC, and ITSEC. Airlines using AI to personalise pilot training paths. Defence contractors deploying AI to accelerate scenario generation. Simulation companies using machine learning to predict training outcomes before they happen.

But we also heard the friction points. The ethics debates. The skills gaps. The reluctance to move away from "the way we've always done it."

What's Coming in 2026 - And Why It Matters

AI in Action returns in 2026 with a full 12-episode season. One episode per month. Twelve distinct themes. Each one focused on a different dimension of how AI is being used in training.

We're not interested in hype. We're interested in what's actually working. The case studies. The failures. The innovations that are quietly transforming how people train for high-stakes, safety-critical roles.

Expect deep dives into adaptive learning systems, AI-driven scenario design, the role of synthetic data, human-AI collaboration, and much more. And yes, we'll keep asking the tough questions about ethics, transparency, and whether AI is genuinely improving training outcomes - or just creating expensive distractions.

Season 2 launches in January 2026. Subscribe now, and if you've got an AI training innovation or a story we should cover, get in touch. We're always looking for the next conversation worth having.

Listen to the Season 1 finale above. See you in 2026.