Are we watching history repeat itself?

Maurie and Jim explore the recent restrictions placed on advanced AI models and compare them to the famous Crypto Wars of the 1990s. From encryption battles to modern AI export controls, the same questions remain: How much control should governments have over emerging technologies, and what happens when innovation collides with national security?

What happens when AI moves beyond content creation and starts helping people solve real-world problems?

In this episode, Maurie and Jim Beasley discuss how artificial intelligence is helping them restore a 1903 home, redesign workspaces, build personal tools, and learn new skills. They explore the difference between using AI for efficiency and using AI to create new opportunities.

The conversation also examines where AI still struggles, why human judgment matters, and what skills people will need to thrive in an AI-powered world.

AI is changing the way we think about work, education, and the future. In this episode, Maurie and Jim Beasley discuss AI anxiety, emerging AI technologies, human agency, and why students need more than memorization to succeed in an AI-powered world.

From world models and JEPA to project-based learning and critical thinking, this conversation explores how we can prepare learners for a future where AI becomes a powerful tool rather than a replacement for human potential.

AI is showing up everywhere… but did anyone actually ask for it?

In this episode, Maurie and Jim Beasley discuss the growing tension around artificial intelligence in education and society. From classrooms and curriculum to screen time, cognitive offloading, and human agency, they explore why AI feels different from every other technology wave before it.

This episode focuses less on hype and more on the human side of the conversation:

• What happens when AI removes too much friction?
• Are students becoming more capable or more dependent?
• Why are educators pushing back?
• What parts of learning should remain deeply human?

A thoughtful conversation about balance, skepticism, and the future of education in an AI world.

This week on AI in Action, Maurie and Jim Beasley explore the rise of “AI slop” and why it may be quietly reshaping the internet, especially for children. From fake experts and AI-generated influencers to addictive scrolling content and scam-filled feeds, they discuss how algorithms reward synthetic media designed to capture attention instead of providing value.

The conversation also looks at:

• How kids are being conditioned by AI-generated content
• Why skepticism is becoming a survival skill
• The psychological impact of overstimulation and doom scrolling
• The growing difficulty of separating real from fake online
• Whether tech companies are truly motivated to fix the problem

This episode is less about technology itself and more about what happens when attention becomes the product.

What happens when AI becomes the most emotionally available thing in someone’s life?

This week, Maurie and Jim Beasley take on the complicated world of AI companionship. From AI friends and therapists to robotic pets and emotionally supportive chatbots, artificial intelligence is beginning to fill emotional roles that once belonged only to humans.

The conversation explores:

• AI companions for children and the elderly
• Loneliness and emotional dependency
• Why friction matters in human development
• The danger of AI replacing relationships instead of supporting them
• Social media, isolation, and modern parenting

• Whether society is creating the conditions for AI companionship to thrive

This episode doesn’t try to force a simple “AI good” or “AI bad” narrative. Instead, it asks the harder question:

When does AI become a helpful bridge… and when does it become a dangerous substitute for real life?

Phone bans are spreading across schools—but are we fixing the problem or just reacting to it?

In this episode, Maurie and Jim break down the real issue behind student distraction: the attention economy. They challenge the idea that phones are the root problem and ask a tougher question—did we create this mess?

From classroom realities to parent expectations, they explore what actually works, what doesn’t, and why most phone policies fall apart in practice.

This one might make you rethink everything.

The career path students have been told to follow for decades is changing — and not everyone is being honest about it.

In this episode, Maurie and Jim Beasley unpack what’s really happening in the job market as AI accelerates long-standing shifts in how work operates.

They discuss the disappearance of entry-level jobs, the difference between task-based and judgment-based work, and why both white-collar and blue-collar careers are being reshaped — not replaced.

The conversation also challenges the growing trend of romanticizing trades without acknowledging the long-term physical realities that often come with them.

Most importantly, they offer practical, real-world advice for students trying to figure out what to do next in a world where the path is no longer clearly defined.

If you’re an educator, parent, or student, this episode is for you.

Are you using AI… or is AI starting to use you?

In this episode, Maurie and Jim Beasley unpack a conversation that started with one question:
“Are you becoming codependent on ChatGPT?”

From there, they explore how AI tools are evolving from helpful assistants into deeply personalized systems that are hard to walk away from.

They connect the dots between:

• AI memory and personalization
• Vendor lock-in across tech ecosystems
• The growing challenge of switching tools
• And why owning your own data matters more than ever

This episode is part reality check, part strategy session—and a reminder that convenience always comes with a cost.

Most organizations are approaching AI backwards.

In this episode of AI in Action, Maurie and Jim break down what schools and businesses are getting wrong when they try to adopt AI—and why so many tools never deliver the value they promise.

From unclear problems to feature-driven purchases and flashy demos that don’t hold up in real environments, this conversation focuses on the practical side of AI implementation.

They also share how they’ve approached AI inside a real K12 district, including lessons learned from piloting tools, managing costs, and building adoption that actually sticks.

If you’re responsible for technology decisions, this episode will challenge how you think about AI—and give you a better way forward.