SQLBits 2026, One Nerd’s Thoughts

Just got back from SQLBits 2026 at the ICC Wales and my brain is full.
Four days and more conversations about AI than I've had in the rest of the year combined.

Which got me thinking.

A few years ago, SQLBits was SQL Server and a bit of Azure. This year it felt like AI was the thread running through almost everything - Fabric, vector search, Copilot in SSMS. The data platform world has shifted fast.

My honest take after four days of conversations with some really sharp people:
AI isn't replacing the SQL Server consultant. It's raising the floor for everyone. The basics (writing a query, generating a stored proc) are getting easier for everyone. Which means the value shifts up a level.

Understanding why a query plan looks the way it does, knowing when AI-generated SQL is subtly wrong, designing a data architecture that won't fall apart in two years, that stuff still needs humans. Experienced ones.
The DBAs who'll struggle are the ones who ignore the tools. The ones who'll thrive are the ones who pick them up and stay curious.

I'd be curious if you were there and whether you agree with me (or think I'm completely off the mark, your opinion is as valid as mine!).

See you at the next one.