Deacs.AI

Wake Forest Entrepreneurship professor, Alise Raak, packs this episode with mind-blowing AI teaching strategies, eye-popping Claude Code use cases, and even simple non-techie tips. She takes the listeners on a tour de force of fully integrating artificial intelligence into the teaching curriculum using her business owner's practitioner mindset. And along the way, she uncovers a secret that every h...

What do you get when you cram four brilliant and opinionated higher education intellectuals together in a room? A rousing conversation on the hottest topics in education today—teaching and learning with AI. Join us as we listen to Betsy, Erin, Tobias, and Will discuss and debate the merits and pitfalls of generative artificial intelligence's integration into the modern learning environment. For qu...

Michael had his chance to ask Ryan a series of blind questions about AI. Now the tables have turned. For questions, comments, or anything else, email us at

Wake Forest alum, Dr. Ryan Melvin, is here to teach us about the hidden dangers of toxic tech productivity. Now at UAB leading emerging technologies efforts, he tells us how he runs his modern AI classroom, defines the radical shift in the medical field because of powerful specialized artificial intelligence models, and shares the magic he produces by talking to the machines. But he also warns us...

Ryan and Michael pull back the curtain on their personal AI workflows — from Claude and Gemini to Suno and NotebookLM. They share the tools they rely on daily, the custom apps they've built, and the surprisingly simple ways AI has made their lives easier. If you've ever wondered what putting AI to real use actually looks like, this episode is it. For questions, comments, or anything else, email us...

Professors call it plagiarism. Corporate boards call it a baseline job requirement. "Unintentional Mentors" author and tech executive Seth Carpien exposes the massive, worrying disconnect between college classrooms and real-world employment. Are students being properly prepared for life after school? Compounding that thought, if everyday junior level tasks are entirely outsourced to automation, ho...

How are todays students actually using AI behind closed doors? Wake Forest's Becket Spencer joins the podcast to peel back the curtain on his daily workflow. He breaks down how he leverages custom AI dashboards and autonomous market agents to test business theories and manage his workload. If youve ever wanted to construct a personalized digital infrastructure from scratch without writing a single...

At the Wake Forest School of Business, we are preparing students not simply to navigate the AI era — but to shape it. Because in a world transformed by intelligent systems, principled leadership matters more than ever. For todays students, AI literacy in business is not optional. It is foundational to effective leadership. This reflects a reality that artificial intelligence in business is no long...

How do you prepare today's business leaders for a world that changes overnight? What do you do when the textbook updates itself every single week? Academic Director, Dr. Carm Taglienti, breaks down the creation of Wake Forest University School of Professional Studies’ hot new graduate degree. Here's a hint. It's not about technical programming, but instead executive decision-making, ethical scalin...

While some students are using AI to skip the readings, rising senior Aidan Oliss is using it to build the future. He takes us inside his digital workshop to show us how he is creating with Claude Code and Codex without a traditional coding background. He lays out his workflow for a Decision Council to pressure test his ideas and remove bias from AI models. This episode is about how a curious mind...

Ryan steers the ship as he shows Michael some of the incredible features in NotebookLM. For questions, comments, or anything else, email us at

The U.S. patent system is built on a simple bargain: disclose your invention to the public, and you receive a 20-year monopoly to profit from it. But what happens when the inventor isn't human? Wake Forest law professor Keith Robinson breaks down the fascinating legal battles happening right now at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He even debates the ethical questions surrounding artificial i...

Wake Forest MSBA student, Jalen Marshall, got the keys to the DEAC cluster so he watched a video and built himself a GPT. Yup, this is the advanced world we live in now. Along the way, he created a personal masterclass in the nuts and bolts of artificial intelligence. Did it scare him? A little. Did it energize him? You bet! He stopped being a user and started being a creator. Will he be the next...

Tonight, the NFL Draft puts the future of young athletes on display. But behind the scenes? It is all data. In this episode, we break down how AI and predictive modeling shape draft decisions—and why that should matter to anyone working in higher education. Using examples like Fernando Mendoza, we explore how colleges are starting to use similar tools to evaluate students, predict success, and gui...

Would you intentionally add slang to your term paper to dodge a flawed AI detector? Wake Forest senior Alexander Sun would. Straight from the frontlines of campus life, he breaks down the game of high-stakes academic chicken being played in classrooms today and he's bringing his text messages as receipts. From 3am study sessions with digital tutors to shifting office hours and student motivation,...

Michael previously answered some of AI's burning questions, this time Michael puts Ryan on the spot with some surprise questions Michael has for Ryan about AI. For questions, comments, or anything else, email us at

Have you ever been told your writing sounds "too much like a robot"? Masters student and Writing Center tutor, Caroline Collins, explains why students are intentionally stripping away her favorite punctuation—the beloved em dash—just to keep the "AI Police" at bay. And get this—student are actually dumbing down their writing so it doesn't produce a red flag. What is going on in this bizarre world...

Remember the moral panic when calculators entered the classroom? Ged King does - and refuses to repeat the same mistake. As the Academic Director in Digital Marketing at the School of Professional Studies, he is a firm believer in using generative AI to empower students. As an industry insider, he's witnessing a tectonic shift in the marketing landscape. While the first Golden Age of Advertising w...

Wake Forest alumnus and Managing Director and founder of Microsoft Federal’s Security, Compliance, and Identity (SCI) Customer Success organization, Jay Bhalodia, is on the frontlines ... of the cyber war. This digital battlefield doesn't have borders or bullets; it has IP addresses and bytes. Jay provides a masterclass on the asymmetric war currently playing out in our digital infrastructure. We...

Talon Keeler is a college student. Talon Keeler does not like to use Artificial Intelligence. Join us as we learn how both of these statements can be true in today's world of higher education. Talon will discuss the slow decay of the human connection, the fear of cognitive decline, and a wishful return to the gilded libraries of classic academia. For questions, comments, or anything else, email us...

What would an AI ask a podcast about AI? Wonder no more! Join Michael as he answers some of AI's burning questions about the Deacs. AI podcast! For questions, comments, or anything else, email us at

Think your degree is the finish line? For Nam Tran, it was just the starting block. Moving from his Masters at Wake Forest to the fast-paced world of Sales Factory, Nam reveals how he used digital co-pilots to supercharge his abilities. He argues that as technical skills become "abundant," human judgment becomes the ultimate premium. From vetting automated code to ensuring a brands "voice" stays a...

After a year of discussing AI with faculty and staff, the podcast is completing the circle. We are happy to announce that students will now be joining the podcast, offering their insights into how students are actually using—and choosing not to use—generative AI. We discuss the transition from AI as a "cheating tool" to AI as "glorified Google" and the critical importance of AI literacy in higher...

Buckle up for this wild ride with AI-forward Finance professor, Kyre Lahtinen. We cover everything from foundational shifts, tech booms, defensible business models, teaching hacks, and tulip bulb bubbles. Forget manual uploads and clunky interfaces. Use Python and API keys to rebuild Canvas courses with a single click. Move beyond the chat box and into the world of agentic systems that actually do...

For the class of 2026, AI fluency isn't a bonus, it’s the entry fee. Senior Computer Science major, Logan Jacobs, breaks down how to navigate college courses with the help of artificial intelligence. He discusses the reality of a job market where AI is "table stakes" and explains why he uses Deep Research and NotebookLM to digest complex academic material without short-circuiting his own thinking....