Governed Autonomy: Why Edge AI Needs Guardrails

Discover how local policy enforcement is reshaping industrial AI safety. What happens when your smart machines lose their connection?

In this episode, I sit down with Steven Yates, CTO and co-founder of Federant, to dive deep into the urgent need for runtime governance in edge AI. Drawing on decades of experience in embedded systems and PLC design, Steven reveals why the shift to the edge demands more than just powerful inference—it requires robust, local authority to keep operations safe when connectivity falters. We unpack real-world incidents where lack of governance led to costly mishaps, and explore how new open-source solutions are bridging the gap between cloud convenience and industrial reliability. If you think cloud SLAs are enough for industrial AI, this conversation will make you rethink the fundamentals. Join me as we explore the future of safe, autonomous operations—and why the old rules of industrial control are more relevant than ever.

Federant

https://federant.com/

EU AI Act

https://artificialintelligenceact.eu/

GE Fanuc

https://www.geautomation.com/

Intel

https://www.intel.com/

Modicon 084

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programmablelogiccontroller#History

Starlink

https://www.starlink.com/

Deloitte 'Physical AI: The Moment of Acceleration'

https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/insights/industry/technology/physical-ai.html

Edge AI Foundation

https://www.edgeaicouncil.org/

Wevolver

https://www.wevolver.com/

ADI Engineering

https://www.linkedin.com/company/adi-engineering/

IEEE

https://www.ieee.org/