Practical AI

Daniel Whitenack and Chris Benson

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!

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32 episodes
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Avg 47 min
English

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#358
May 28 · 48 min
Rebooting Enterprise AI with MCP and Kubernetes
What happens when AI agents start acting less like chatbots and more like coworkers? In this episode, Dan and Chris sit down with Craig McLuckie, CEO of Stacklok to explore MCP, Kubernetes, ToolHive, enterprise AI, and the emerging infrastructure powering AI-native applications. From identity management to agent orchestration and system architecture, this conversation dives into how organizations may soon manage entire fleets of AI agents working behind the scenes. Featuring: Craig McLuckie – LinkedIn Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, X Daniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, X Links: Stacklok Toolhive Sponsors: Prediction Guard: A self-hosted AI control plane for running agents in high impact environments. predictionguard.com/practicalai Upcoming Events: Register for upcoming webinars here! Midwest AI Summit 2026
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#357
May 21 · 51 min
Hermes Agent: Agents that grow with you
Open Source AI is entering a new era, one shaped by self-improving AI Agents, recursive learning systems, and rapidly evolving AI Tools that blur the line between software and autonomous collaborators. In this episode, Daniel and Chris sit down with Nous Research co-founder and CTO Jeffrey Quesnelle to explore Hermes Agent. Along the way, they discuss models vs. harnesses, the changing role of developers, and one of the biggest questions facing the AI Future: what remains uniquely human as AI capabilities continue to accelerate? Featuring: Jeffrey Quesnelle – Website, LinkedIn Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, X Daniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, X Links: Nous Research Hermes Agent Sponsors: Framer: The enterprise-grade website builder that lets your team ship faster. Get 30% off at framer.com/practicalai Prediction Guard: A self-hosted AI control plane for running agents in high impact environments. predictionguard.com/practicalai Upcoming Events: Register for upcoming webinars here! Midwest AI Summit 2026
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#356
May 14 · 45 min
U.S. Congressman Beyer on AI challenges facing America and the World
U.S. Congressman Don Beyer returns to Practical AI for another far-reaching conversation with Chris about many of the most important AI challenges facing America and the world. Blending political savvy and statesmanship with his unique technical understanding as an active Ph.D student in AI at George Mason University (making him the coolest member of Congress!), the congressman shares his perspective about the really hard AI concerns that you would have asked him yourself. Together, Congressman Beyer and Chris explore AI regulation, cybersecurity concerns sparked by advanced models like Mythos, bipartisan AI governance efforts, and the growing AI race between the U.S. and China. They fearlessly dived headfirst into AI-driven job displacement, mass surveillance, autonomous weapons, existential risk, and the philosophical questions surrounding consciousness and superintelligence as AI continues to accelerate. This is an unusual and insightful conversation you don't want to miss! Congressman Beyer was previously on Practical AI episode 271 on May 29, 2024: AI in the U.S. Congress Featuring: Congressman Don Beyer – Congress, LinkedIn, Bluesky, X Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, X Upcoming Events: Register for upcoming webinars here! Midwest AI Summit 2026
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#355
May 7 · 42 min
The Myth of Model Wars: Open vs Closed AI in 2026
In this fully connected episode, Dan and Chris break down one of the biggest questions in AI today: do open vs. closed models still matter? From the rise of physical AI and edge devices to the shifting landscape of open-source models like LLaMA, they explore whether the “model wars” are becoming irrelevant. The conversation then dives into a bigger transformation, the rise of agentic systems, workflows, and AI-driven infrastructure. Featuring: Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, X Daniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, X Upcoming Events: Register for upcoming webinars here! Midwest AI Summit 2026
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#354
April 23 · 45 min
The mythos of Mythos and Allbirds takes flight to the neocloud
In this Fully-Connected episode, Dan and Chris start with Anthropic's Mythos frontier model, parsing what is publicly known about its cybersecurity capabilities and projecting its possible implications from "We've been here before. 🙄" to "See ya, cybersecurity! 😱" It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine. 🙃 Then they have fun with the craziest AI announcement of the year (except for the Mythos one of course). Allbirds pivots from shoe manufacturing 👟 to neocloud provider ☁️. No, we didn't see that one coming either! 🙈 They finish with rise of “tokenmaxxing” - the gamification 🎮 of writing code with maximum LLM usage. Incredibly profitable 💰 for commercial frontier model providers and insanely expensive 🤑 for the gamers. Better have 10X productivity just to avoid bankruptcy! Featuring: Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, X Daniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, X Links: Shares in Allbirds surge after maker of wool sneakers announces pivot to AI AI-boosted hacks with Anthropic’s Mythos could have dire consequences for banks Upcoming Events: Register for upcoming webinars here!
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#353
April 16 · 46 min
Open Source Self-Driving with Comma AI
Autonomous driving is not just a big tech or closed-source game, it's becoming accessible through open innovation and real-world deployment. Dan and Chris sit down with Harald Schäfer, CTO at Comma AI, to explore how OpenPilot is bringing self-driving to everyday vehicles using open source AI. We dive into the intersection of machine learning, robotics, and simulation, including how world models are enabling training at scale and shaping the future of autonomy. Featuring: Harald Schäfer – LinkedIn Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, X Daniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, X Links: Comma Upcoming Events: Register for upcoming webinars here!
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#352
April 9 · 44 min
Post-Mortem of Anthropic's Claude Code Leak
In this fully connected episode, Dan and Chris break down the Anthropic Claude Code leak, what went wrong and what it reveals about agentic systems, AI architecture, and AI safety. They also explore how the open source community is responding and why this moment could reshape how AI systems are built and secured. Featuring: Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, X Daniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, X Upcoming Events: Register for upcoming webinars here!
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#351
April 2 · 48 min
Agentic Coding and the Economics of Open Source
AI is rapidly transforming how software is built, shifting economic incentives from open source code and collaboration toward on-demand, personalized development through agentic coding a.k.a. vibe coding. In this episode, Chris speaks with Miklós Koren of Central European University about how AI is reshaping open source and the software industry. They explore the economics of incentives, evolving collaboration patterns, and what this shift means for software development, the future of AI, and its broader impact on the technology sector. Featuring: Miklós Koren – LinkedIn Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, X Links: Vibe Coding Kills Open Source The Directions of Technical Change The Tailwind story Upcoming Events: Register for upcoming webinars here!
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#350
March 25 · 46 min
AI at the Edge is a different operating environment
What does “AI at the edge” really mean in 2026, and why does it matter now more than ever before? In this episode, we’re joined by Brandon Shibley, Edge AI Solutions Engineering Lead at Qualcomm’s Edge Impulse, to discuss the current state and future of Edge AI in 2026. We discuss Gen AI, Small Models, and Cascades of Models, along with real-world constraints like latency, power, and privacy. We also dive into the role of MLOps, evolving hardware, and how developers can start building practical edge AI systems today. Featuring: Brandon Shibley – LinkedIn Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, X Daniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, X Links: Read our Ultimate Guide to Edge AI Download your copy of O'Reilly's AI at the Edge Check out the Edge Impulse blog Sign-up for an expert led trial of Edge Impulse Upcoming Events: Register for upcoming webinars here!
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#349
March 17 · 55 min
Humility in the Age of Agentic Coding
What happens when an AI hater starts building with AI agents? In this episode, we talk with software engineer Steve Klabnik, known for his work on the Rust programming language, about his journey from criticizing AI to experimenting with it firsthand. We explore Steve’s programming language Rue, largely built with the help of AI tools like Claude, and discuss what this means for software engineering and the future of coding in an AI-driven world. Featuring: Steve Klabnik – LinkedIn Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, X Daniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, X Links: The Rust Programming Language Rust Rue Daniel's RSA Meeting link for March 23, 2026 Daniel's RSA Meeting link for March 24-25, 2026 Upcoming Events: Register for upcoming webinars here!
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#348
March 9 · 48 min
AI policy and the battle for computing power
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 The Johns Hopkins University 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 Upcoming Events: Register for upcoming webinars here!
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#347
February 18 · 52 min
Cognitive Synthesis and Neural Athletes
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 Sponsor: Framer: The enterprise-grade website builder that lets your team ship faster. Get 30% off at framer.com/practicalai Upcoming Events: Register for upcoming webinars here!
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Showing 21–32 of 32 episodes