Practical AI

As AI agents become more capable and autonomous, they also introduce new security challenges. In this 'Fully Connected' episode, Dan and Chris unpack Anthropic’s Zero Trust for AI Agents security framework and what it means for organizations deploying agentic systems. They examine the key security risks facing agentic systems and discuss how organizations can apply Zero Trust principles to deploy AI agents safely. Along the way, they break down practical security controls and discuss how traditional cybersecurity principles must evolve for the age of AI agents.Featuring:Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, XDaniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, XLinks: Zero Trust for AI AgentsOWASP GenAI Project Sponsors:Prediction Guard: A self-hosted AI control plane for running agents in high impact environments. predictionguard.com/practicalaiUpcoming Events: Register for upcoming webinars here!Midwest AI Summit 2026

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 – LinkedInChris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, XDaniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, XLinks:StacklokToolhiveSponsors:Prediction Guard: A self-hosted AI control plane for running agents in high impact environments. predictionguard.com/practicalaiUpcoming Events: Register for upcoming webinars here!Midwest AI Summit 2026

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. CongressFeaturing:Congressman Don Beyer – Congress, LinkedIn, Bluesky, XChris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, XUpcoming Events: Register for upcoming webinars here!Midwest AI Summit 2026

As AI increasingly shapes geopolitics, elections, and civic life, its impact on democracy is becoming impossible to ignore. In this episode, Daniel and Chris are joined by security expert Bruce Schneier to explore how AI and technology are transforming democracy, governance, and citizenship. Drawing from his book Rewiring Democracy, they explore real examples of AI in elections, legislation, courts, and public AI models, the risks of concentrated power, and how these tools can both strengthen and strain democratic systems worldwide.Featuring:Bruce Schneier – XChris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, XDaniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, XLinks: Schneier on SecuritySponsors:Framer - The website builder that turns your dot com from a formality into a tool for growth. Check it out at framer.com/PRACTICALAIZapier - The AI orchestration platform that puts AI to work across your company. Check it out at zapier.com/practicalUpcoming Events: Register for upcoming webinars here!

In this start-of-year FC episode, Chris and Daniel break down what really mattered in AI in 2025, and what to expect in 2026. They explore the rise of AI agents, the practical reality of multimodal AI, and how reasoning models are reshaping workflows. The conversation dives into infrastructure and energy constraints, the continued value of predictive models, and why orchestration (not just better models) is becoming the defining skill for AI teams. The episode wraps with grounded 2026 predictions on where AI systems, tooling, and builders are headed next.Featuring:Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, XDaniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, XSponsor:Framer - The enterprise-grade website builder that lets your team ship faster. Get 30% off at framer.com/practicalaiUpcoming Events: Register for upcoming webinars here!

Chris and Daniel talk with returning guest, Ramin Mohammadi, about how those seeking to get into AI Engineer/ Data Science jobs are expected to come in a mid level engineers (not entry level). They explore this growing gap along with what should (or could) be done in academia to focus on real world skills vs. theoretical knowledge. Featuring:Ramin Mohammadi – LinkedInChris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, XDaniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, XSponsors: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/practicalaiUpcoming Events: Register for upcoming webinars here!

This episode is a special crossover between the Practical AI podcast and The Changelog podcast. Chris was recently invited by longtime friends Jerod Santo and Adam Stacoviak, cohosts of The Changelog, to join them on the show. They discuss AI, drones, robotics, swarming technology, and the rise of high-performance edge computing with Rust. Chris points out that open source software, small AI models, and affordable hardware are making home automation and local AI accessible to everyone. From automating household functions to experimenting with drones and single-board computers, Chris describes how hands-on maker projects are shaping a bright future for physical AI, on small budgets and right from the comfort of your own home.Featuring: Jerod Santo – LinkedInAdam Stacoviak – LinkedInChris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, XSponsors: Miro – Get the right things done faster with Miro's Innovation Workspace. AI Sidekicks, instant insights, and rapid prototyping—transform weeks of work into days. No more scattered docs or endless meetings. Help your teams get great done at Miro.com.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/practicalaiUpcoming Events: Register for upcoming webinars here!This week we have extended show notes below from Chris!Swarming & Fully Autonomous Multi-Agent UxV SystemsChris’s Definition of Swarming (anchor link in show notes)Chris’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 BensonConceptual FoundationsSwarm Robotics – WikipediaHigh-level overview of swarm robotics as decentralized robot collectives.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarm_roboticsSwarm Robotic Platforms – WikipediaSurvey of hardware platforms used in swarm robotics research.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarm_robotic_platformsSwarm Intelligence – WikipediaBroader algorithms and theory behind collective intelligence (beyond robots).https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarm_intelligenceAnt Robotics – WikipediaNature-inspired “ant-like” robotics as a special case of swarm robotics.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant_roboticsOpen Research & Multi-Robot Resources (Stepping-Stones Toward True Swarms)Programming Multiple Robots with ROS 2 (online book)Free book on multi-robot systems, ROS 2, and the Robot Middleware Framework (RMF).https://osrf.github.io/ros2multirobotbookSimulation with ROS 2 & Gazebo (ROS 2 Humble tutorial)Official tutorial on connecting ROS 2 to Gazebo simulation.https://docs.ros.org/en/humble/Tutorials/Advanced/Simulators/Gazebo/Gazebo.htmlSpawning Multiple Robots in Gazebo with ROS 2Hands-on tutorial to launch N robots in Gazebo, each with its own namespace.https://www.theconstruct.ai/spawning-multiple-robots-in-gazebo-with-ros2ROS 2 Multi-Robot Simulation Best Practices (Discourse thread)Discussion of patterns for multi-robot systems (domains, namespaces, Nav2, etc.).https://discourse.openrobotics.org/t/multi-robot-simulation-best-practices/38987Getting Hands-On: Consumer Robotics, ROS 2 & GazeboROS 2 (Robot Operating System 2)Official ROS 2 Documentation – Humble (LTS)Main docs for ROS 2 Humble (recommended distro) with tutorials and APIs.https://docs.ros.org/en/humbleROS 2 Installation Guide (Humble)Step-by-step install on supported platforms.https://docs.ros.org/en/humble/Installation.html“From Zero to Robotics Hero: A Beginner’s Guide to ROS 2” (article)Beginner-friendly overview with ideas for where to go next (MoveIt, Nav2, multi-robot, etc.).https://riyagoja.medium.com/from-zero-to-robotics-hero-a-beginners-guide-to-ros-2-90ac9c3b87baROS 2 Tutorial for Beginners (2025 guide)Up-to-date intro that walks you from install to simulating your first robot in 2025.https://www.timesofexplore.com/2025/10/ros2-tutorial-beginners-build-first-robot-2025.htmlGazebo SimulationGazebo Sim – Official SiteModern Gazebo (Ignition) simulator; models, worlds, and docs.https://gazebosim.orgGetting Started with Gazebo (Docs)Official “start here” guide for using Gazebo and Gazebo Fuel assets.https://gazebosim.org/docs/latest/getstartedClassic Gazebo Tutorials (still useful for fundamentals)https://classic.gazebosim.org/tutorialsmicro-ROS (ROS 2 on Microcontrollers)micro-ROS – ROS 2 for MicrocontrollersOfficial site for running ROS 2 on tiny embedded boards.https://micro.ros.orgmicro-ROS GitHub OrganizationRepositories, examples, and tutor...

Waymo’s VP of Research, Drago Anguelov, joins Practical AI to explore how advances in autonomy, vision models, and large-scale testing are shaping the future of driverless technology. The conversation dives into the dual challenges of building an onboard driver and testing that driver (via large scale simulation). Drago also gives us an update on what Waymo is doing to achieve intelligent, real-time performance while ensuring proven safety and reliability.Featuring:Drago Anguelov – LinkedInChris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, XDaniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, XLinks:Waymo ResearchNew Insights for Scaling Laws in Autonomous DrivingAI in MotionSponsors: Outshift by Cisco - The open source collective building the Internet of Agents. Backed by Outshift by Cisco, AGNTCY gives developers the tools to build and deploy multi-agent software at scale. Identity, communication protocols, and modular workflows—all in one global collaboration layer. Start building at AGNTCY.org.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/practicalaiFabi.ai - The all-in-one data analysis platform for modern teams. From ad hoc queries to advanced analytics, Fabi lets you explore data wherever it lives—spreadsheets, Postgres, Snowflake, Airtable and more. Built-in Python and AI assistance help you move fast, then publish interactive dashboards or automate insights delivered straight to Slack, email, spreadsheets or wherever you need to share it. Learn more and get started for free at fabi.aiUpcoming Events: Register for upcoming webinars here!