Agents of Change: Human in the Loop

Conversations with people acting as agents of change, and those tracking its ripple effects in real time.Across media, technology, and AI, we unpack what’s real, what’s overhyped, and where human judgment still matters most.

Agents of Change: Human in the Loop is a business podcast hosted by Alo, with 11 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Alo hosts Agents of Change: Human in the Loop, a business show with 11 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Agents of Change: Human in the Loop

  2026 Hot Takes on the Croisette: Why Programmatic Is Running on Windows 95 | Brian O’Kelley

  Aug 10, 20269 min

  Programmatic advertising is running on an operating system built 20 years ago. Brian O’Kelley thinks it is time for a rebuild. The Scope3 co-founder and CEO joins Aubriana Alvarez Lopez on the Cannes Croisette to discuss AI agents, the hidden incentives preserving programmatic waste, where humans still matter and why advertising’s future belongs to dreamers. Part of our 2026 Hot Takes on the Croisette series, in partnership with the Agentic Advertising Organization and sponsored by Agnitio.

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  Agents of Change: Human in the Loop

  2026 Hot Takes on the Croisette: Inside Yahoo’s Agentic Advertising Strategy | Gabriel DeWitt

  Jul 27, 20266 min

  Yahoo isn’t just experimenting with agentic advertising. It has already run production campaigns using buyer and seller agents—including one executed with zero humans in the loop. In this episode of Agents of Change: Human in the Loop, Gabriel DeWitt, Head of Monetization at Yahoo, explains how agentic direct is transforming the publisher-to-buyer workflow through the Advertising Context Protocol (AdCP). We discuss: What happened when Yahoo ran a 100% model-driven campaign Where humans still review pricing, creative and campaign pacing Why proprietary business data—not the underlying model—is the real competitive moat How agents transact without exposing sensitive audience data How rate cards, pricing floors and governance protect premium inventory Why dashboard-building may disappear by 2036 The emergence of a new job class: agent orchestrators Agentic advertising is no longer theoretical. The infrastructure, transactions and governance systems are already being built—and tested in production. Subscribe to Agents of Change: Human in the Loop for candid conversations with the leaders building the future of advertising.

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  Agents of Change: Human in the Loop

  2026 Hot Takes on the Croisette: Ben Masse on Why Agentic AI Will End "Forms as a Service"

  Jul 19, 20268 min

  At Cannes Lions 2026, Aubriana sits down with Ben Masse, Chief Product Officer at Triton Digital (an iHeart company) and inaugural President of the Agentic Advertising Organization, for a rapid-fire conversation about where agentic AI is already creating value—and where humans must remain firmly in the loop. Ben shares why his teams already rely on AI agents for software development, why advertising needs to evolve beyond today's "day trading" mindset, and how agentic workflows could transform media buying into long-term portfolio management. He also explains why identity alone is no longer enough to value media, how richer context and metadata change the economics of advertising, and why media mix modeling may become even more important—not less—in an agent-driven future. The conversation closes with one of the most memorable lines from Cannes: "Ad tech isn't Software as a Service. It's Forms as a Service." Ben argues that AI should eliminate repetitive operational work so humans can focus on what they're uniquely good at: judgment, creativity, curiosity, and strategy. In this episode: How Triton Digital is using AI agents today Why "embedded human judgment" is critical for trust and governance Agentic transactions vs. OpenRTB Why advertising should behave more like portfolio management than day trading The future of media mix modeling in an AI-first world Which advertising jobs disappear—and which become even more valuable Recorded live on the Croisette during Cannes Lions 2026 as part of the Hot Takes on the Croisette series from Agents of Change: Human in the Loop.

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  Episode #7

  Agents of Change Episode 7 with Matt Fanelli

  May 5, 202632 minS0

  <p>What does "performance" really mean when every brand claims it? Aubriana sits down with Matthew Fanelli, CRO of Digital Remedy, to unpack 25 years of ad tech evolution — from AOL dial-up to AI-powered media. They get into fragmentation, the courage it takes to have honest conversations about what's actually working, where AI helps (and where it falls flat), and why the best marketers are willing to be a little uncomfortable — even a little cringey — to stay relevant.</p><p><br></p>

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  Agents of Change: Human in the Loop

  Agents of Change Episode 6 with Patrick Shea

  Apr 20, 202627 minS0

  <p>What does it actually take to stay relevant through 15+ years of nonstop change in adtech?</p><p><br></p><p>In this episode of Agents of Change: Human in the Loop, Aubriana sits down with Patrick Shea, Co-Founder of AdDaptive Intelligence, to unpack what most companies get wrong about AI, experimentation, and long-term bets.</p><p><br></p><p>Patrick has built through every major wave—from early programmatic to machine learning to today’s AI boom—and he doesn’t buy into the hype cycle the way most of the industry does. Instead, he breaks down a more discipli...

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