The Missing Protocol: Connecting AI Agents to Real-Time Data Streams
Sean Falconer, ConfluentViktor Gamov, Confluent
Wed, Nov 4, 2:00–2:45 PMRoom 2008
Most AI applications work with a fixed dataset. They analyze yesterday's reports, last week's exports, or a database copy from when it was made. But when used in real life, data keeps changing, and the demo effect fades. Your agents can miss changes in data structure and never see the events your business depends on.
The Model Context Protocol (MCP) changes how we solve this problem. MCP gives AI a common way to connect to tools and data, including systems such as Kafka.
In this session, we'll create agents that listen to live events, understand changing data structures, and make decisions that affect the whole system. We'll explain how MCP's request/response style works with streaming's continuous updates, how to share changing information without confusing the AI, and the common problems that are rarely shown.
You'll leave seeing AI as part of your streaming system, connected to the events!
Speakers
-
Sean Falconer
Head of AI, Confluent
Dr. Sean Falconer is Confluent’s Head of AI, driving AI product direction, strategy and thought leadership. Sean has built and launched products that have impacted millions. As the founder of Proven.com, he led engineering, product development, and go-to-market strategies, successfully guiding the company to acquisition. At Google, Sean worked on enhancing developer experience and advancing conversational AI technologies.
He holds a Postdoc in Bioinformatics at Stanford University, where he collaborated with the World Health Organization to modernize the International Classification of Diseases.
An engaging speaker and podcast host, Sean regularly connects with global audiences on engineering and AI trends. He has published extensively on topics ranging from AI to quantum computing, reflecting his diverse expertise and contributions to the field.
-
Viktor Gamov
Principal Developer Advocate, Confluent
Viktor Gamov is a Principal Developer Advocate at Confluent, founded by the original creators of Apache Kafka®. With a rich background in implementing and advocating for distributed systems and cloud-native architectures, Viktor excels in open-source technologies. He is passionate about assisting architects, developers, and operators in crafting systems that are not only low-latency and scalable but also highly available.
As a Java Champion and esteemed speaker, Viktor is known for his insightful presentations at top industry events such as JavaOne, Devoxx, Kafka Summit, and QCon. His expertise spans distributed systems, real-time data streaming, JVM, and DevOps. Viktor has co-authored “Enterprise Web Development” and “Apache Kafka® in Action”. Follow Viktor on X @gamussa to stay updated with Viktor’s latest thoughts on technology, his gym and food adventures, and insights into open-source and developer advocacy.