In this episode I discuss the past, present, and potential future effects of technology and AI on labor with Benjamin Shiller, an economist and author of the book AI Economics: How Technology Transforms Jobs, Markets, Life, & Our Future. Benjamin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at Brandeis University, and his research primarily focuses on the economic impacts of digitization and new technologies.

Benjamin Shiller: https://benjaminshiller.com/

Block shares soar as much as 24% as company slashes workforce by nearly half: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/26/block-laying-off-about-4000-employees-nearly-half-of-its-workforce.html

Why AI Boosts Creativity for Some Employees but Not Others: https://hbr.org/2026/01/why-ai-boosts-creativity-for-some-employees-but-not-others

"Hard Parts and Easy Parts": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuvK7Ds-XyI

In this episode I discuss digital duplicates ("AI deepfakes") with Atay Kozlovski, a postdoctoral researcher at the Delft University of Technology. He holds a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Zurich, an MA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Bern, and a BA from Tel Aviv University.

Atay Kozlovski: https://www.linkedin.com/in/atay-kozlovski-6a59b8290/ [email protected]

Deepfakes and Beyond: Mapping the Ethics and Risks of Digital Duplicates: https://www.techpolicy.press/deepfakes-and-beyond-mapping-the-ethics-and-risks-of-digital-duplicates/

Digital Dybbuks and virtual Golems: the ethics of digital duplicates in Holocaust testimony: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/memory-mind-and-media/article/digital-dybbuks-and-virtual-golems-the-ethics-of-digital-duplicates-in-holocaust-testimony/E2028F2B6EEE7E717E0CE18A64C8F0ED

AI Conversational Simulations with Deceased Holocaust Survivors Must Serve as Conduits for Survivors to Continue Sharing Their Stories: https://digitalmemorydialogues.com/editions/dialogue-2-artificial-intelligence/articles/response-ii-ai-conversational-simulations-with-deceased-holocaust-survivors-must-serve-as-conduits-for-survivors-to-continue-sharing-their-stories

The Legal & Data-Architecture Aspects of "Digital Duplicates": Extending Danaher and Nyholm's MVPP Framework: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5499079

Call for safeguards to prevent unwanted 'hauntings' by AI chatbots of dead loved ones: https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/call-for-safeguards-to-prevent-unwanted-hauntings-by-ai-chatbots-of-dead-loved-ones

Griefbots, Deadbots, Postmortem Avatars: on Responsible Applications of Generative AI in the Digital Afterlife Industry: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13347-024-00744-w

In this episode I discuss deepfakes and technology security with Aaron Painter, CEO of Nametag. His company's mission is to protect every online account from impersonation. A former Microsoft executive with global leadership experience, Aaron is passionate about restoring digital trust in an age of deepfakes and AI-driven scams. He is also the bestselling author of Loyal: Listen Or You Always Lose, a practical guide to leading with trust and purpose.

Scot Pansing delivers the keynote for the 2025 Faculty Student Engagement and Assessment Conference.

In this episode I discuss the world of AI Ethics and Responsible AI, and ethics in general, with Reid Blackman, founder and CEO of Virtue, an AI ethical risk consultancy. Reid is also the author of the book "Ethical Machines" and hosts a podcast by the same name.

Virtue designs Responsible AI programs, and their clients include Amazon, Etsy, Kraft Heinz, Merck, US Bank, Nationwide, and more. Reid's written work has appeared in The Harvard Business Review and The New York Times. Prior to founding Virtue, Reid was a professor of philosophy at Colgate University and UNC-Chapel Hill.

https://www.reidblackman.com/

https://reidblackman.substack.com/

https://www.ethicalmachinespodcast.com/

https://www.virtueconsultants.com/

In this edition of AI Quick Bits, I chat with Oz Krakowski, Chief Business Development Officer at Deepdub. We discuss the business of overdubbing for media and entertainment, and how generative AI is affecting these workflows.

This is also the first video edition of AI Quick Bits, so if you would like to watch as well as listen, head over to https://www.youtube.com/@ScotPansing

Deepdub: https://deepdub.ai

In this episode I chat with Scott Michaels, Chief Product Officer at Apply Digital. Scott and I get into the details of what sorts of challenges and opportunities businesses are experiencing when incorporating generative AI into their products and workflows.

Apply Digital: https://www.applydigital.com

Google Cloud Next: Accelerate creative media content with gen AI (KraftHeinz Tastemaker at 22:00): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2MZ6kw933c

Doomed to fail? Most AI projects flop within 12 months, with billions of dollars being wasted: https://www.techradar.com/pro/over-80-of-ai-projects-fail-wasting-billions-of-dollars

Optimizing for AI Search: https://www.applydigital.com/insights/learn/optimizing-for-ai-search/

MCP: The new "USB-C for AI" that's bringing fierce rivals together: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2025/04/mcp-the-new-usb-c-for-ai-thats-bringing-fierce-rivals-together/

In this episode I speak with Rong Yan, Chief Technology Officer of HeyGen.

HeyGen: https://www.heygen.com

In this episode I speak with Louis Rosenberg, CEO & Chief Scientist of Unanimous AI. Louis is also the co-author of the newly released book Our Next Reality, and many scientific papers, including "The Manipulation Problem: Conversational AI as a Threat to Epistemic Agency."

Unanimous AI: https://unanimous.ai/

Our Next Reality: https://ournextreality.com/

The Manipulation Problem: https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.11748

The AI Dilemma: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSi4d75gFZQ

Privacy Lost: https://www.privacylost.org/

Arrival Mind: https://www.outlandpublishing.com/arrival-mind

Friend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_Q1hoEhfk4

"AI Quick Bits" art: Jamillah Knowles / Better Images of AI / Data People / CC-BY 4.0

In this episode I have a fascinating conversation with Nell Watson, long standing maven in AI Philosophy, Safety, and Ethics, and author of the newly released book Taming the Machine: Ethically Harness the Power of AI.

Nell's website: https://www.nellwatson.com/

Taming the Machine: https://tamingthemachine.com/

Safer Agentic AI Foundations: https://www.nellwatson.com/agentic

Nell's video "Machines for Moral Enlightenment": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrZMapO1mEE

"Sunny" on Apple TV: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/sunny/umc.cmc.7c5t9dde8dxoaxwyl5rkuw38p

"AI Quick Bits" art: Jamillah Knowles / Better Images of AI / Data People / CC-BY 4.0