AI UNHINGED

Dr. Calvin Lawrence

AI Unhinged is where artificial intelligence meets the real world, without the hype, fearmongering, or polished corporate talking points. Hosted by Dr. Calvin D. Lawrence, a Distinguished Engineer, technologist, author, and pioneering leader in artificial intelligence, the show is grounded in decades of real-world experience at the intersection of technology, innovation, and leadership. Dr. Lawrence holds the distinction of being the first Black person to earn a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence, bringing a rare combination of historical perspective, technical expertise, and lived experience to conversations about where AI is taking us next. AI Unhinged explores how artificial intelligence is already reshaping the way we work, learn, lead, create, communicate, and make decisions. From education and business to ethics, culture, careers, bias, and the future of human connection, each episode tackles the questions people are thinking about but may not be asking out loud. Through candid conversations with educators, executives, innovators, technologists, and thought leaders, Dr. Lawrence pushes beyond what AI can do to examine what its rapid evolution means for people, institutions, industries, and society. The technology is moving fast. The stakes are getting higher. And nothing is off limits. This is AI Unhinged.

Episodes

  1. 4d ago

    EP. 5 | Video Games Are Preparing Kids for What's Next

    What if the video games your child spends hours playing aren't just entertainment—but the beginning of a real skill set, career, or even an industry they could help build? In this episode of AI Unhinged, Dr. Lawrence sits down with Titus Walker, founder and CEO of the Ultimate End Gamers League (UEL), for a conversation about gaming, artificial intelligence, education, and the next generation. They challenge the idea that gaming is simply a distraction and explore the skills gamers are developing every day—from pattern recognition and strategy to spatial awareness, memorization, problem-solving, and adaptability. But the conversation goes much deeper than gaming. What happens when young people move from being consumers of technology to becoming its creators, builders, and owners? Are traditional STEM programs actually meeting kids where they are? And if AI and gaming are shaping the future, who gets to build that future? The conversation also tackles the concerns parents have about gaming, including online safety, predators, Roblox, screen time, and the responsibility adults have to understand the digital worlds their children already inhabit. This isn't a conversation about getting kids to stop playing games. It's about asking what becomes possible when we stop dismissing what they love—and start helping them build something with it. LEARN MORE ABOUT DR. LAWRENCE: calvindlawrence.com FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: @aiunhingedpodcast PRODUCED BY: ORGANIZED MOVEMENTS

  2. Sep 14

    EP. 4 | What Is AI About to Do to Black America?

    This week on AI UNHINGED, the questions are rapid-fire, but the answers go much deeper. What’s the biggest lie we’re telling ourselves about AI? Are some of today’s so-called “AI experts” really experts—or just selling information anyone could get from ChatGPT? And while millions of people are learning how to use AI, who is actually learning how to build it, own it, and profit from it? Dr. Lawrence gets candid about what AI could mean for Black America, the growing digital wealth gap, and why simply teaching people how to prompt may not be enough. The conversation explores the difference between being an AI consumer, user, creator, and builder—and why that distinction could determine who benefits from the next technological shift. The episode also gets into education and a troubling question: What happens when some children are encouraged to rely on AI at an early age while others are being taught critical thinking, coding, and how the technology actually works? From jobs and economic inequality to algorithmic discrimination, civil rights, policing, surveillance, and privacy, this conversation asks the questions that often get left out of the AI hype. And finally: Could AI actually kill us—or are we so focused on a future AI apocalypse that we’re ignoring the harm AI can cause people today? No rehearsed answers. No safe talking points. Just an unfiltered conversation about who AI is really being built for—and what we need to do before the gap gets even wider. This is AI UNHINGED. Video Credit Dekalb County Gov: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ-249X-iWc LEARN MORE ABOUT DR. LAWRENCE: calvindlawrence.com FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: @aiunhingedpodcast PRODUCED BY: ORGANIZED MOVEMENTS

  3. Sep 7

    EP. 3 | Can AI Ever Be Ethical? | AI Bias, Safety & Regulation

    Can corporations be trusted to fix AI bias if there’s no money in fixing it? In this episode of AI Unhinged, Dr. Calvin D. Lawrence sits down with Dr. Seth Dobrin for a candid conversation about what actually drives responsible artificial intelligence inside corporate America. Dr. Lawrence introduces his “three R’s”: revenue, reputation, and regulation. His argument is simple: companies are far more likely to take AI safety seriously when ignoring it threatens their profits, damages their reputation, or puts them at regulatory risk. But Dr. Dobrin pushes the conversation further. They explore why responsible AI can itself become a business advantage, how privacy and consent can change the relationship between companies and consumers, and why corporations have a financial responsibility to think about both the opportunities and the risks created by AI. The discussion then moves into one of the most complicated questions in artificial intelligence: Who gets to decide what “bias” actually means? When global AI models are trained across cultures, whose values should determine what gets removed, corrected, or labeled harmful? And could attempts to make AI “safe” unintentionally impose one culture’s values on the rest of the world? From the EU AI Act and AI regulation to large language models, corporate responsibility, cultural bias, privacy, and what Dr. Dobrin calls technological colonialism, this conversation asks whether we can build responsible AI without slowing innovation — and who ultimately gets to define what responsible even means. LEARN MORE ABOUT DR. LAWRENCE: calvindlawrence.com FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: @aiunhingedpodcast PRODUCED BY: ORGANIZED MOVEMENTS

  4. Aug 26

    Ep. 1 | Why I Left Corporate and Started AI UNHINGED

    Welcome to the inaugural episode of AI Unhinged. Executive Producer Angel Forte sits down with host Dr. Calvin D. Lawrence for a candid introduction to the man behind the mission and the experiences that shaped his perspective on artificial intelligence. Dr. Lawrence takes us from earning a master’s degree in artificial intelligence in 1993 to becoming a Distinguished Engineer, corporate technology leader, author, and practitioner who has spent decades actually building AI systems. But this conversation goes far beyond credentials. Dr. Lawrence opens up about the experiences that changed the way he viewed the technology he helped create, including the realization that AI systems built without the right guardrails can create very different outcomes for Black communities and other vulnerable populations. He discusses the inspiration behind his book, Hidden in White Sight, the difficult decision to challenge an industry he had spent his career inside, and why walking away from corporate America allowed him to approach AI differently. They also explore bias in facial recognition, AI in policing, the lack of Black voices in corporate technology spaces, the personal cost of speaking up, and why simply telling companies to stop building AI is not the answer. For Dr. Lawrence, the mission is clear: AI is going to be built. The question is whether we are willing to build it better. This episode introduces the purpose behind AI Unhinged: giving a voice to people affected by artificial intelligence, challenging those building it, and creating honest conversations about what happens when technology leaves the lab and enters our lives. LEARN MORE ABOUT DR. LAWRENCE: calvindlawrence.com FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: @aiunhingedpodcast PRODUCED BY: ORGANIZED MOVEMENTS

About

AI Unhinged is where artificial intelligence meets the real world, without the hype, fearmongering, or polished corporate talking points. Hosted by Dr. Calvin D. Lawrence, a Distinguished Engineer, technologist, author, and pioneering leader in artificial intelligence, the show is grounded in decades of real-world experience at the intersection of technology, innovation, and leadership. Dr. Lawrence holds the distinction of being the first Black person to earn a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence, bringing a rare combination of historical perspective, technical expertise, and lived experience to conversations about where AI is taking us next. AI Unhinged explores how artificial intelligence is already reshaping the way we work, learn, lead, create, communicate, and make decisions. From education and business to ethics, culture, careers, bias, and the future of human connection, each episode tackles the questions people are thinking about but may not be asking out loud. Through candid conversations with educators, executives, innovators, technologists, and thought leaders, Dr. Lawrence pushes beyond what AI can do to examine what its rapid evolution means for people, institutions, industries, and society. The technology is moving fast. The stakes are getting higher. And nothing is off limits. This is AI Unhinged.