Human Intelligence® Podcast

Valerie Veatch: Director, Writer, Editor, Producer Valerie Veatch is a director, writer, editor, and producer who made her feature debut at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival with Me @ The Zoo for HBO. Her follow-up, Love Child also premiered at Sundance, making Valerie the youngest director ever to debut two feature films at that festival. And now she’s back at Sundance with Ghost in the Machine. It...

Johan Cedmar-Brandstedt is the “ethical town crier” about generative AI. His voice is well known online — especially on LinkedIn — where he speaks as an articulate and persistent critic of generative artificial intelligence. He seems to comment on nearly every AI post, and he clearly relishes debate on the future of AI and human creativity. Johan’s voice is necessary and insightful as he continuou...

Emily Harris is an award-winning journalist with local, national and international experience. She is currently working to reinvent local journalism — and wrestling with tangible and theoretical questions that AI presents — as a co-founder and the community journalism director of Uplift Local . Emily previously served as a correspondent for NPR in Berlin, Baghdad and Jerusalem, an investigative re...

Kenny Katayama is a verified Human Creator and co-host of the Shelf Stable board game podcast , which focuses on games that are at least five years old. He and Tom Bowers like to examine the quality of a game "...where the hype has worn off. We feel that 5 years is a good window for games to breathe, where we can focus on the experiences they create, abstracted from the initial excitement they gen...

Jane Friedman shares her perspective on AI and the future of freelance writing in a conversation with Human Intelligence® co-founder Ned Hayes. Jane Friedman’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Today Show, Wired, Fox News, and BBC, and we’re happy to host her on our podcast this week. Jane’s long-running newsletters exemplify her comm...

Writer Cameron Esbenshade shares her creative journey with us, including her personal inspirations; the mystical journey of discovering a story through intuition and experimentation; and how horror writing leads to interior insight. She also touches on the need for a “mind” behind language - and illuminates the idea that AI simply doesn’t have a mind: there’s no one there behind the curtain. Camer...

Nisi Shawl is a multiple-award-winning writer and editor. Their novel Everfair was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel, and the short story collection F ilter House won the James Tiptree Jr. Award. Kinning, the sequel to Everfair, recently appeared in print. Nisi cofounded the Carl Brandon Society to help give people of color greater visibility in the science fiction and fantasy worlds,...

Brian Merchant is an American technology journalist and author. His work often focuses on social and environmental issues relating to technology and tech companies. His writing on technology movements and cultural developments has appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times, Wired, Slate, The Atlantic, and The Guardian . He was the technology columnist at the Los Angeles Times....

Joseph Fasano is a writer and educator. He studied mathematics and astrophysics at Harvard University before changing his course of study and earning a degree in philosophy. He did his graduate study in poetry at Columbia University, working with Mark Strand, Lucie Brock-Broido, Richard Howard, and others. Beyond his Professorships, Fasano is passionate about developing inclusive learning communit...

Richard Leiby was an editor and writer on the staff of The Washington Post from 1991 to 2023. He worked with Bob Woodward and many other journalistic luminaries. Richard served as Pakistan bureau chief and reporter, as well as a regular columnist and editor in Washington D.C.. Richard has reported from war zones, including Afghanistan and Iraq. He has written about four presidents, and he covered...

Mike Cachuela was certified as a Human Creator in 2025 as one of the first 100 animation professionals to choose this path of professional certification. Mike started his animation career as part of the story team on FernGully: The Last Rainforest. Mike then moved to the newly-created Skellington Studios and Nightmare Before Christmas with legendary filmmaker Tim Burton . Mike followed up his grou...

Robert Townsend is the Director of Humanities, Arts, and Culture Programs at the American Academy of Arts & Sciences . In this capacity, he oversees the Academy’s humanities, arts, and culture programs, as well as the Humanities Indicators. He is the author of History’s Babel and over 200 articles on various aspects of history, higher education, and scholarly publishing in various publications. Ro...

Today, the Human Intelligence team is overjoyed to welcome rockstar, singer, songwriter and humanistic thinker Corin Tucker to the show. Corin Tucker is a co-founder of Sleater-Kinney , and she is also a member of the alt-rock super-group Filthy Friends along with Peter Buck and many other luminaries. She is famous for kicking off the riot grrl movement in Olympia Washington with her band Heavens...

Certified Human Creator Nick Heller shares with us his insights into the creative process, the challenges that face creative freelancers today and the need for certification to protect human creative activity in the age of AI. Nick also shares his vision for “The School of Able™, ” a community-driven platform and resource house for those venturing into freelancing or building their own creative st...

Interview with noted Texas-based photographer Darwyn Walker , who describes his most successful works as a pro photographer, and provides point-by-point analysis of his creative process. Includes examples of Darwyn Walker ’s award-winning work. Podcast has been certified as a genuine product of Human Creators. Click here to view the complete certification for this creative production. This is a pu...

Delfina Homen is an intellectual property litigator and has represented clients from diverse industries in lawsuits involving patent, trademark, and copyright infringement and trade secrets. On the show this week, Delfina fills us in about the state of the world in terms of artificial intelligence and intellectual property. Delfina is experienced in IP procurement and enforcement and has worked on...

Rob Horning writes frequently about technology, social media, art, consumerism, and big ideas such as generative AI, the meaning of life and what it means to be human. He’s been an Editor and Copy Chief for a variety of publications, including the New Inquiry , Real Life , Time Magazine and various Condé Nast properties. Podcast has been certified as a genuine product of Human Creators. Click here...

Ryan Gossen’s focus as a writer has been “man’s interaction with nature”. This has meant a lot of outdoors writing, and lately a fascination with our relationships with the artifacts we make. You can find links to Ryan’s published work on his website: www.ryangossen.com . Podcast has been certified as a genuine product of Human Creators. Click here to view the complete certification for this creat...

With over 20 years in the cultural heritage sector, Doug McCarthy specializes in advancing access to digital collections. His perspective on generative AI is nuanced, bold and thought-provoking. McCarthy is a promoter and member of the Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (GLAM) community, and focuses on mindful open access to cultural heritage collections. His work includes co-editing the...

A fascinating conversation with Miriam Reynoldson , creator of the famous “Open Letter from Educators Who Refuse to Adopt Gen AI”, now signed by nearly 1,000 educators around the world in all levels of academic education and pedagogy. In this episode, we discuss: * The Open Letter from Educators and what followed * Miriam’s work against the Villification of GenAI Refusers * Janelle Shane's book: Y...

In this episode, we cover a variety of topics, including: * How generative AI has changed our concepts of ourselves and truth * Aristotle’s concept of eudaimonia and personal fulfillment * Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and how AI has changed epistemology * The familiar patterns of Trust, Value and Vulnerability in Technology * Neal Stephenson’s novel Anathem * Boymal’s piece The Mind, the Machine,...

Our Creator Interview with Braven Smillie, certified Human Creator and extraordinary sculptor, based in Portland, Oregon. Find out more about Braven at his website > Get certified as a Creator at HumanCreator.org > Podcast has been certified as a genuine product of Human Creators. Click here to view the complete certification for this creative production. This is a public episode. If you'd like to...

Nick Tanzi is a past column editor for Public Library Magazine’s “The Wired Library,” and was named a 2025 Library Journal Mover & Shaker . His newsletter “ The Digital Librarian ” is a must read for everyone who cares about libraries. In this episode: * How libraries can address the challenges of AI * How being “technically literate” as a librarian means so much more today * The risks to librarie...

* Announcing Jim Amos as new CTO of Human Intelligence™ Institute * All the details in this text post * Our History with Jim Amos, and past collaborative work * Longer Interview with Jim Amos last week * Jim’s insights during our interview included the following: * Defending artists in the age of AI (short video clip) “Rejecting the idea that AI art is art.” * The problem with outsourcing your bra...

A fascinating interview with Jim Amos that covers a variety of topics: * How Generative AI lacks clear purpose * The problem with outsourcing your brain to AI * Jim’s Substack Deeply Wrong emphasizes these points * How management goes awry when it focuses on AI instead of people * Jim’s Substack Humanware focuses on better management practices * Why people matter more than systems * How to defend...