In this episode of The Private AI Lab, Johan van Amersfoort talks with Maxime Colomès about the Model Context Protocol (MCP)—one of the most important emerging standards in AI today.

MCP is often described as the USB-C of AI: a universal way for AI models to connect to tools, data sources, and real-world systems. Maxime explains what MCP is, how it works, and why its recent donation to the Linux Foundation is such a major milestone for the AI ecosystem.

They explore real-world enterprise use cases, MCP security considerations, private AI architectures, and how MCP integrates with platforms like OpenShift AI. The conversation also touches on developer productivity, AI agents that can take action, and the future of personal, privacy-preserving AI assistants.

Key topics

• What the Model Context Protocol (MCP) is and why it matters

• MCP vs traditional APIs and plugin systems

• Enterprise MCP architectures and gateways

• MCP and private AI / data sovereignty

• OpenShift AI and MLOps workflows

• Security risks and best practices with MCP

• Community MCP servers and registries

• Future MCP use cases and predictions