296 - Guest: Maya Ackerman, Creative AI Pioneer, part 2

296 - Guest: Maya Ackerman, Creative AI Pioneer, part 2

Author: aiandyou February 16, 2026 Duration: 30:39
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. I continue talking about this very sensitive subject with 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 experiments in machine creativity, the distinction between creative processes and creative products and the role of the observer in the creative experience, how bias against AI shows up, and how AI that’s constructed around compassion and ethical stewardship could support deeper human flourishing in the next few years. 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
274 - Guest: Carl Benedikt Frey, Professor of AI and Work, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:59
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . "The book seems to be more timely than originally anticipated." I'm talking with Carl Benedikt Frey about his new book, How Progress Ends: Technology, Innovation, and the…
273 - Guest: Megan Peters, Computational Cognitive Scientist, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:37
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . I'm talking with Megan Peters, who researches thinking about thinking, or metacognition. She is an Associate Professor in the UC Irvine Department of Cognitive Sciences,…
272 - Guest: Megan Peters, Computational Cognitive Scientist, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:31
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . Have you ever thought about thinking? That’s called metacognition, and Megan Peters thinks about that, a lot. She is an Associate Professor in the UC Irvine Department of…
271 - Guest: Christof Koch, Cognitive Scientist, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:00
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . I am talking with neuroscientist Christof Koch, and as he says, "How is it that we, a piece of furniture of the universe like a rock or a star or a tree, can love or hate…
270 - Guest: Christof Koch, Cognitive Scientist, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:08
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . As my guest today says, "How is it that we, a piece of furniture of the universe like a rock or a star or a tree, can love or hate or see or hear?" What, in other words,…
269 - Guest: De Kai, Pioneer of Google Translate, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:01
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . "We are in the privileged - or unfortunate - situation of being the last generation of humans to be parenting AIs. All the future generations of AIs are going to be paren…
268 - Guest: De Kai, Pioneer of Google Translate, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:36
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . As AI becomes more and more powerful, what is our responsibility, collectively? I am joined by De Kai, a pioneering professor of AI who built the web’s first global onlin…
267 - Joint Episode with the London Futurists Podcast [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:50
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . Welcome to a joint episode with the London Futurists podcast, hosted by David Wood and Calum Chace, who have both been individual guests on this show in the past. David i…
266 - Guest: Kate Hayles, Literary and Technological Analyst, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:08
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . It’s more important than ever to define just what we mean by words like intelligence, consciousness, and thinking. Here to help us is Kate Hayles, Distinguished Research…
265 - Guest: Kate Hayles, Literary and Technological Analyst, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:04
This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . It’s more important than ever to define just what we mean by words like intelligence, consciousness, and thinking. Here to help us is Kate Hayles, Distinguished Research…