Practical AI

AI is reshaping global power, from chip manufacturing and computing power to AI governance and US-China relations.  In this episode, Ben Buchanan, Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins SAIS and former White House Special Advisor for AI, explores how AI policy, geopolitics, and international cooperation intersect with AI  innovation and AI safety. We discuss the strategic importance of computing power, the future of AI governance, and what it will take for democracies to lead responsibly in the age of AI.
Featuring:
Ben Buchanan – LinkedIn 
Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, X
Links:
The AI Grand Bargain
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As AI accelerates innovation and adoption, leaders are facing rising cognitive load, shifting systems, and new emotional realities inside their organizations. In this episode, Deloitte’s Chief Innovation Officer Deborah Golden joins us to explore how AI is reshaping leadership, why vulnerability and empathy are critical in this moment, and how anti-fragility, not just resilience, will define the future of work.
Featuring:
Deborah Golden – LinkedIn 
Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, X
Daniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, X
Links:
Deloitte
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 Framer - The website builder that turns your dot com from a formality into a tool for growth. Check it out at framer.com/PRACTICALAI
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AI is moving fast from research to real-world deployment, and when things go wrong, the consequences are no longer hypothetical. In this episode, Sean McGregor, co-founder of the AI Verification & Evaluation Research Institute and also the founder of the AI Incident Database, joins Chris and Dan to discuss AI safety, verification, evaluation, and auditing. They explore why benchmarks often fall short, what red-teaming at DEF CON reveals about machine learning risks, and how organizations can better assess and manage AI systems in practice.
Featuring:
Sean McGregor– LinkedIn
Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, X
Daniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, X
Links:
AI Verification & Evaluation Research Institute
AI Incident Database
38th convening of IAAI
BenchRisk
State of Global AI Incident Reporting
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AI agents are moving from demos to real workplaces, but what actually happens when they run a company? In this episode, journalist Evan Ratliff, host of Shell Game, joins Chris to discuss his immersive journalism experiment building a real startup staffed almost entirely by AI agents. They explore how AI agents behave as coworkers, how humans react when interacting with them, and where ethical and workplace boundaries begin to break down.
Featuring:
Evan Ratliff  – LinkedIn, X
Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, X
Links:
Shell Game
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As AI increasingly shapes geopolitics, elections, and civic life, its impact on democracy is becoming impossible to ignore. In this episode, Daniel and Chris are joined by security expert Bruce Schneier to explore how AI and technology are transforming democracy, governance, and citizenship. Drawing from his book Rewiring Democracy, they explore real examples of AI in elections, legislation, courts, and public AI models, the risks of concentrated power, and how these tools can both strengthen and strain democratic systems worldwide.
Featuring:
Bruce Schneier – X
Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, X
Daniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, X
Links: 
Schneier on Security
Sponsors:
Framer - The website builder that turns your dot com from a formality into a tool for growth. Check it out at framer.com/PRACTICALAI
Zapier - The AI orchestration platform that puts AI to work across your company. Check it out at zapier.com/practical
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