Data Expo, Big Data Harvest By Ai Agents

Index

Data Expo

The first time I visited Data Expo must have been around 2017 or 2018, when I was developing the Big Data e-course. I attended the event with the co-developer of the Laudius Big Data course. During that visit, I also ran into my former mixed doubles tennis partner from PVC Tennis, with whom I reached the finals of the mixed doubles tournament before leaving for the Pacific. His company had a stand at the exhibition, and at the time he was still playing competition matches with the same team. When I left for the Pacific in November 2013, I had been replaced by the daughter of one of my doubles’ partners, who had already been stepping in whenever one of us ladies were unavailable for the Friday evening competition matches. The big news back then was that he had just become a father, and he was still working for the same company. Interestingly, that company's stand was not present at Data Expo in 2026.

Data Expo 2026

One year, several participants from the Big Data e-course were enthusiastic enough to visit Data Expo together and meet me in person. One participant even found a job through a contact made there at the Data Expo. This year (2026), however, I attended Data Expo on my own. I took a walk around the exhibition floor and had the impression that there were fewer stands than in previous years. The lecture rooms, on the other hand, seemed busier than ever. I attended the following sessions:

• You are the X-Factor in datamanagement

• The police and the protection of data trust

• Not the tool, but the work: Why Ai transformation is an hr challenge

• From Ai policy on paper to policy that works

• Why the same data can lead to different conclusions

• Ai at Riksja Travel: What you can achieve when given carte blanche.

A common theme connected all these presentations: data governance and Ai agents. The speakers explored how Ai is transforming the way we work and how legislation, policy, and regulations are struggling to keep pace with the rapid developments in Ai and Ai agents. The message was clear: there is still a great deal of work to be done in Data Governance. One of the most interesting perspectives came from the police presentation. The speaker described the challenge as a constant search for balance between safety and privacy with an example of police work done recently in The Netherlands.

Women @ Data Expo 2026

I was impressed by the large and steady crowd at Women @ Data Expo 2026. There was also a small corner with a few seats and headphones where people could listen to twenty-minute lectures. Most seats were taken during the lectures, while others stood nearby listening to the lecture through headphones, and some waited eagerly for a headset to become available as soon as someone left. It was a great showcase of the many ways women are contributing to the fields of technology, data, and Ai today. Women @ Data Expo is a collaboration between ten organizations, including Women in AIndhoven, Zwarte Vrouwen voor Technologie, Data + Women Amsterdam, Dutch Women in Tech, Women in AI Benelux, Rotterdam Women in Tech, WE Make Trouble, Women in Tech® Netherlands, and Women's Coding Club. It is encouraging to see these groups working together to promote careers in technology, data, and research for women. The only organization I missed was VHTO, the Dutch expertise center dedicated to increasing the participation of girls and women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). For many years, VHTO has sent ambassadors to schools to encourage girls to choose science and technology subjects in secondary education. Given its long-standing commitment to improving gender diversity in technical fields, its presence would have been a valuable addition to the initiative.

Ai Agents: The New Hype Or My Future Co-worker?

At Data Expo 2026, AI agents were presented as the next big development that organizations should embrace to increase the value of their work. According to many speakers, Ai agents have the potential to bring creativity back into the workplace and may become essential for remaining competitive in the future. Some organizations are already defining which tasks should be assigned to Ai agent "colleagues." Others are going even further by adapting their organizational charts to include Ai agents as full-fledged members of the workforce. At the same time, these organizations are discovering that Ai agents need to be carefully managed and supervised. Many are just beginning to register and monitor all the Ai agents operating within their organizations, making Ai governance an increasingly important topic. I left the event with several key takeaways. First, I realized that I need to better understand what an Ai agent actually is and how it differs from other forms of artificial intelligence (Ai). Second, it became clear that the way we work is likely to change significantly as Ai agents become more capable and widespread. Perhaps the strongest message of the day, however, was the urgent need for legislation, policy, and regulations. While technological developments continue to advance rapidly, the legal and regulatory frameworks designed to govern them are evolving much more slowly. The consensus among many speakers was clear: effective Ai legislation and governance are not simply desirable; they are needed now!