295 - Guest: Maya Ackerman, Creative AI Pioneer, part 1

295 - Guest: Maya Ackerman, Creative AI Pioneer, part 1

Author: aiandyou February 9, 2026 Duration: 27:27
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . One of the great wounds people are experiencing around AI is in creativity. Look at the writers’ and actors’ strikes, for example. Here to talk about this very sensitive subject is Maya Ackerman, author of the new book Creative Machines: AI, Art, and US, which tackles it head on, full of emotion, vulnerability, and poetry.  Maya is the CEO and co-founder of Wave AI, and professor of Computer Science at Santa Clara University. She completed postdoctoral fellowships at Caltech and UC San Diego, and has authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications. She was named a Woman of Influence by the Silicon Valley Business Journal and her work has been featured in Forbes, NPR, Fortune, and NBC News. She is also a singer, pianist, and songwriter. We talk about how Maya’s interdisciplinary backgrounds of machine learning and computational creativity converged in her book, what Maya calls “humble creative machines”: AI collaborators and how they can uplift us, her concept of a co-creative spectrum where humans are served by AI assisting us in being more creative, and – opera singing. All this plus our usual look at today's AI headlines! Transcript and URLs referenced at HumanCusp Blog.        

The conversation around artificial intelligence is often filled with either breathless hype or dire warnings, leaving little room for grounded, practical understanding. Artificial Intelligence and You cuts through that noise. This isn't a lecture series from a distant ivory tower; it's a guided exploration meant for anyone curious about how these tools are reshaping the everyday. Each episode takes a focused look at a single facet of AI, from the algorithms curating your social media feed to the software that might change how you work. We break down complex concepts into clear, relatable terms, asking the questions that actually matter for your decisions and your future. You'll hear straightforward explanations of how different AI systems function, alongside thoughtful discussions about their real-world implications-the ethical dilemmas, the economic shifts, and the personal impacts that rarely make the headlines. The goal of this podcast is to replace confusion with clarity and anxiety with informed perspective. Whether you're a professional navigating new tools, a student planning a career, or simply a person living in an increasingly digital world, these conversations provide the context you need to form your own opinions. Join us as we move beyond the abstract to examine what AI genuinely means for your life, your community, and the kind of world we're all building together, one line of code at a time.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Artificial Intelligence and You
Podcast Episodes
244 - Guest: Beth Singler, Anthropologist of Religion in AI, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:44
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . On the recent wrap-up/predictions panel we had so much fascinating discussion about AI in religion with panelist Beth Singler that I said we should have her back on the s…
243 - Guest: Beth Singler, Anthropologist of Religion in AI, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:12
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . On the recent wrap-up/predictions panel we had so much fascinating discussion about AI in religion with panelist Beth Singler that I said we should have her back on the s…
242 - Guest: Nick Potkalitsky, AI Integration Expert [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:13
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . Continuing our exploration of AI in education, I am joined by Nick Potkalitsky, founder of Pragmatic AI Solutions and co-author of AI in Education: A Roadmap For Teacher-…
241 - Guest: Mutlu Cukurova, AI in Education Expert, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:37
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . Virtually every issue around AI – pro, con, in-between – is reflected in education right now. And teachers are on the front lines of this disruption. So it’s especially i…
240 - Guest: Mutlu Cukurova, AI in Education Expert, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:09
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . Virtually every issue around AI – pro, con, in-between – is reflected in education right now. And teachers are on the front lines of this disruption. So it’s especially i…
239 - Guest: Neil Brown, Ethics in Journalism Expert, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:28
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . Few institutions are under as much pressure today as journalism and news publishing, and AI features squarely in the middle of those pressures. Disinformation, social med…
238 - Guest: Neil Brown, Ethics in Journalism Expert, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:47
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . Few institutions are under as much pressure today as journalism and news publishing, and AI features squarely in the middle of those pressures. Disinformation, social med…
237 - Special Panel: AI 2024 Cultural Retrospective/2025 Predictions [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:57
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . In our last episode of 2024, we have our traditional end of year retrospective/prediction episode. We’ll be taking a look back over the year just ending and forward to 20…
236 - Guest: Alexandra Belias, Head of Public Policy, DeepMind [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:30
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . Here to give us insights into some of the really cool stuff Google DeepMind is doing is Alexandra Belias, Head of product policy & partnerships. She serves as a bridge be…
235 - Guest: Dwayne Wood, Professor of Education, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:57
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . It's tough enough being a teacher in the AI age, so can you imagine what it's like training the teachers themselves? That's what Dwayne Wood, Associate Professor at Natio…