Practical AI

Practical AI LLC

Making artificial intelligence practical, productive & accessible to everyone. Practical AI is a show in which technology professionals, business people, students, enthusiasts, and expert guests engage in lively discussions about Artificial Intelligence and related topics (Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Neural Networks, GANs, MLOps, AIOps, LLMs & more). The focus is on productive implementations and real-world scenarios that are accessible to everyone. If you want to keep up with the latest advances in AI, while keeping one foot in the real world, then this is the show for you!

  1. Reimagining actuarial science with AI

    1D AGO

    Reimagining actuarial science with AI

    In this episode, Chris sits down with Igor Nikitin, CEO and co-founder of Nice Technologies, to explore how AI and modern engineering practices are transforming the actuarial field and setting the stage for the future of actuarial modeling. We discuss the introduction of programming into insurance pricing workflows, and how their Python-based calc engine, AI copilots, and DevOps-inspired workflows are enabling actuaries to collaborate more effectively across teams while accelerating innovation.  Featuring: Igor Nikitin – LinkedInChris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, XLinks: Nice TechnologiesSponsors: Shopify – The commerce platform trusted by millions. From idea to checkout, Shopify gives you everything you need to launch and scale your business—no matter your level of experience. Build beautiful storefronts, market with built-in AI tools, and tap into the platform powering 10% of all U.S. eCommerce. Start your one-dollar trial at shopify.com/practicalai

    41 min
  2. Agentic AI for Drone & Robotic Swarming

    JUL 15

    Agentic AI for Drone & Robotic Swarming

    In this episode of Practical AI, Chris and Daniel explore the fascinating world of agentic AI for drone and robotic swarms, which is Chris's passion and professional focus. They unpack how autonomous vehicles (UxV), drones (UaV), and other autonomous multi-agent systems can collaborate without centralized control while exhibiting complex emergent behavior with agency and self-governance to accomplish a mission or shared goals. Chris and Dan delve into the role of AI real-time inference and edge computing to enable complex agentic multi-model autonomy, especially in challenging environments like disaster zones and remote industrial operations. Featuring: Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, XDaniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, XLinks: ROS - Robotic Operating SystemGazeboHugging Face Agents CourseSwarm Robotics | WikipediaChris's definition of Swarming:Swarming occurs when numerous independent fully-autonomous multi-agentic platforms exhibit highly-coordinated locomotive and emergent behaviors with agency and self-governance in any domain (air, ground, sea, undersea, space), functioning as a single independent logical distributed decentralized decisioning entity for purposes of C3 (command, control, communications) with human operators on-the-loop, to implement actions that achieve strategic, tactical, or operational effects in the furtherance of a mission.© 2025 Chris Benson Sponsors: Outshift by Cisco: AGNTCY is an open source collective building the Internet of Agents. It's a collaboration layer where AI agents can communicate, discover each other, and work across frameworks. For developers, this means standardized agent discovery tools, seamless protocols for inter-agent communication, and modular components to compose and scale multi-agent workflows.

    46 min
  3. AI in the shadows: From hallucinations to blackmail

    JUL 7

    AI in the shadows: From hallucinations to blackmail

    In the first episode of an "AI in the shadows" theme, Chris and Daniel explore the increasing concerning world of agentic misalignment. Starting out with a reminder about hallucinations and reasoning models, they break down how today’s models only mimic reasoning, which can lead to serious ethical considerations. They unpack a fascinating (and slightly terrifying) new study from Anthropic, where agentic AI models were caught simulating blackmail, deception, and even sabotage — all in the name of goal completion and self-preservation.  Featuring: Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, XDaniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, XLinks: Agentic Misalignment: How LLMs could be insider threatsHugging Face Agents CourseRegister for upcoming webinars here!

    45 min
  4. Finding Nemotron

    JUL 2

    Finding Nemotron

    In this episode, we sit down with Joey Conway to explore NVIDIA's open source AI, from the reasoning-focused Nemotron models built on top of Llama, to the blazing-fast Parakeet speech model. We chat about what makes open foundation models so valuable, how enterprises can think about deploying multi-model strategies, and why reasoning is becoming the key differentiator in real-world AI applications. Featuring: Joey Conway – LinkedInChris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, XLinks: Llama Nemotron UltraNVIDIA Llama Nemotron Ultra Open Model Delivers Groundbreaking Reasoning AccuracyIndependent analysis of AIParakeet ModelParakeet LeaderboardTry the Llama-3.1-Nemotron-Ultra-253B-v1 model here and here

    46 min
  5. AI hot takes and debates: Autonomy

    JUN 27

    AI hot takes and debates: Autonomy

    Can AI-driven autonomy reduce harm, or does it risk dehumanizing decision-making? In this “AI Hot Takes & Debates” series episode, Daniel and Chris dive deep into the ethical crossroads of AI, autonomy, and military applications. They trade perspectives on ethics, precision, responsibility, and whether machines should ever be trusted with life-or-death decisions. It’s a spirited back-and-forth that tackles the big questions behind real-world AI. Featuring: Chris Benson – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, XDaniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, XLinks: The Concept of "The Human" in the Critique of Autonomous WeaponsOn the Pitfalls of Technophilic Reason: A Commentary on Kevin Jon Heller’s “The Concept of ‘the Human’ in the Critique of Autonomous Weapons”Sponsors: Outshift by Cisco: AGNTCY is an open source collective building the Internet of Agents. It's a collaboration layer where AI agents can communicate, discover each other, and work across frameworks. For developers, this means standardized agent discovery tools, seamless protocols for inter-agent communication, and modular components to compose and scale multi-agent workflows.

    46 min
  6. Behind-the-Scenes: VC Funding for AI Startups

    JUN 18

    Behind-the-Scenes: VC Funding for AI Startups

    It seems like we are bombarded by news about millions of dollars pouring into AI startups, which have crazy valuations. In this episode, Chris and Dan dive deep into the highs, lows, and hard choices behind funding an AI startup. They explore early bootstrapping, the transition to venture capital, and what it’s like to trade in code commits for investor decks.  Featuring: Chris Benson – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, XDaniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, XLinks: Builder.ai Collapses: $1.5bn 'AI' Startup Exposed as 'Actually Indians' Pretending to Be BotsSponsors: Miro: Feeling overwhelmed by AI? Miro brings clarity by combining human creativity with intelligent tools to help teams get great work done. Learn more at miro.com.

    42 min
  7. AI-Automated Film Making

    JUN 12

    AI-Automated Film Making

    An recent article in Variety was titled: "Sylvester Stallone-Backed Largo.ai Teams With Brilliant Pictures for ‘World’s First Fully AI-Automated Film Company’". Obviously this caught our attention! We sit down with Sami Arpa, CEO of Largo.ai, to unpack how films are developed, funded, and brought to life using AI. We discover how tools like script analysis, financial forecasting, and digital twins are helping creators and studios make smarter decisions.  Featuring: Sami Arpa – LinkedInDaniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, XLinks: Largo AISylvester Stallone-Backed Largo.ai Teams With Brilliant Pictures for ‘World’s First Fully AI-Automated Film Company’ Sponsors: Outshift by Cisco: AGNTCY is an open source collective building the Internet of Agents. It's a collaboration layer where AI agents can communicate, discover each other, and work across frameworks. For developers, this means standardized agent discovery tools, seamless protocols for inter-agent communication, and modular components to compose and scale multi-agent workflows.

    43 min
  8. Federated learning in production (part 2)

    JUN 4

    Federated learning in production (part 2)

    Chong Shen from Flower Labs joins us to discuss what it really takes to build production-ready federated learning systems that work across data silos. We talk about the Flower framework and it's architecture (supernodes, superlinks, etc.), and what makes it both "friendly" and ready for real enterprise environments. We also  explore how the generative Generative AI boom is reshaping Flower’s roadmap. Featuring: Chong Shen Ng – LinkedInChris Benson – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, XDaniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, XEpisode links: The future of AI training is federatedDeepLearning.ai short course on Federated Learning with FlowerFlower MonthlyFederated Learning in AutomotiveFederated AI in FinanceFederated Learning in HealthcareFederated AI on IoT SystemsFlowerTune LLM LeaderboardFlower IntelligenceGitHubSlackFlower DiscussCheck out upcoming webinars! Sponsors: NordLayer is toggle-ready network security built for modern businesses—combining VPN, access control, and threat protection in one platform that deploys in under 10 minutes with no hardware required. It's built on Zero Trust architecture with granular access controls, so only the right people access the right resources, and it scales effortlessly as your team grows. Get up to 32% off yearly plans with code practically-10 at nordlayer.com/practicalai - 14-day money-back guarantee included.

    45 min
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Trailer

4.4
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About

Making artificial intelligence practical, productive & accessible to everyone. Practical AI is a show in which technology professionals, business people, students, enthusiasts, and expert guests engage in lively discussions about Artificial Intelligence and related topics (Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Neural Networks, GANs, MLOps, AIOps, LLMs & more). The focus is on productive implementations and real-world scenarios that are accessible to everyone. If you want to keep up with the latest advances in AI, while keeping one foot in the real world, then this is the show for you!

Information

  • Creator
    Practical AI LLC
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2025
  • Episodes
    324
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    Practical AI

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