Tracing the breakthroughs behind today’s AI, and the human future it’s shaping next

Welcome to season five of MINDWORKS. Over the next 12 months, together, we’re going to explore how artificial intelligence is redefining the many roles we humans play—whether we’re at school, at work, or at play.

In this first episode, I’m joined by my colleagues Dr. Svitlana Volkova and Dr. Robert McCormack to make sense of where we are and where we’re going with AI. We discuss the breakthroughs that brought us here—transformers, reinforcement learning with human feedback—and the frontiers opening now: compound AI, agentic workflows, and reasoning models.

You’ll hear how these advances are changing the way we search, learn, and even design digital twins of ourselves, along with the big questions they raise about bias, safety, privacy, and creativity. And we’ll look ahead to what’s coming soon—AI woven into our phones and enterprises—and what’s just over the horizon with embodied intelligence in the physical world.

For developers, our advice is clear: focus on real problems, rethink how we evaluate AI, and design systems that team with humans. For everyday users: treat AI as a collaborator, not an oracle.

And those headlines about an “AI bubble”? What we’re seeing is not the end of the story, but the end of the prologue.

In this MINDWORKS Mini, join host Daniel Serfaty as he talks with Drs. Andy Van Schaack, Yair Shapira, and Svitlana Volkova about real world examples of how AI is fundamentally changing education and learning and the challenges of measuring its impact. 

Listen to the full episode, The GenAI Education Revolution with Andy Van Schaack, Yair Shapira, & Svitlana Volkova, on Apple, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Join host Daniel Serfaty for a MINDWORKS Mini exploring the creation of Deep Fakes — and how the technology is only going to get better — with Vladimir Barash of Graphika and Laura Cassani of Aptima. 

How do we distinguish fact from fiction in an age where seeing is no longer believing? 

Join MINDWORKS host Daniel Serfaty as he explores one of the most intriguing and controversial developments of artificial intelligence today – Deep Fakes – with Vladimir Barash of Graphika and Laura Cassani of Aptima. 

MINDWORKS host Daniel Serfaty talks with guest Gene Kesselman of MIT about the impact of GenAI on its human users' ability to innovate. 

Listen to the full episode, "Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation," with Chris Wolfel and Gene Kesselman, only on the MINDWORKS Podcast.

MINDWORKS host Daniel Serfaty talks with guests with Drs. Andy Van Schaack, Yair Shapira, and Svitlana Volkova, about whether GenAI will eliminate the need altogether for human teachers. (Spoiler alert: The answer is "No.")

Listen to the full episode, "The GenAI Education Revolution," with Drs. Andy Van Schaack, Yair Shapira, and Svitlana Volkova only on the MINDWORKS Podcast.

For more, listen to the entire episode, "Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation with Chris Wolfel and Gene Kesselman."

Join MINDWORKS host Daniel Serfaty as he continues a special series on the nature and practice of innovation.

In Episode 3, Daniel talks with Gene Keselman of MIT and Chris Wolfel of Northeastern University about the connection between Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation. 

How do leaders develop great innovators? What qualities must an innovator have to succeed? And how is generative AI changing the nature of innovation and what it means to be innovative?

Join MINDWORKS host Daniel Serfaty as he talks with Drs. Andy Van Schaack, Yair Shapira, and Svitlana Volkova about how Generative AI is fundamentally changing education and learning in today's digital world.

This podcast is a follow-up to (not a repeat of ) a panel discussion led by Daniel on Generative AI and training at I/ITSEC 2023. 

Bonus material! Join host Daniel Serfaty for a bite-sized discussion with innovator Curt Carlson on the magic of value creation using the NABC methodology.

To listen to the rest of the interview with Curt Carlson, check out Episode 1 of MINDWORKS Season 4.