How can AI models learn from private data without compromising privacy? Chris is joined by Lorenzo Sani, Research Scientist at Flower Labs and PhD researcher at Cambridge, to explore federated learning and privacy-preserving AI. They discuss how collaborative learning can expand access to private data for LLM training, how model trajectories can help improve agentic AI systems, and the benefits of open-weight models. The conversation also explores real-world applications of locally hosted AI agents, from healthcare and robotics to everyday automation (for a Halloween party).

Featuring:

• Lorenzo Sani – LinkedIn
• Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, X

Links:

• Endeavor model page
• Introducing Endeavor 1.1

Sponsors:

• Hostinger: Create your website today. Go to hostinger.com/practical and use practical for 10 percent off now.
• Perplexity AI: "Start your free trial of Perplexity Computer today at pplx.ai/practical and experience the next phase of AI.

Resources and Events:

• Register for upcoming webinars here!
• Prior Webinars from our partner Prediction Guard
• Midwest AI Summit 2026

Chris’s new book The Art of Swarming will be published soon, written to be the seminal foundational book for the fledgling swarming industry, defining the principles and architecture that enable autonomous agentic UxS swarms with emergent distributed embodied intelligence. You can find out more at his website: https://chrisbenson.com

How do organizations decide what AI should do, where to set boundaries, and when to keep humans in control? In this episode, Don Barger of the International Mission Board shares how establishing an AI charter helped define what the organization would and wouldn't use AI for. Mark Lay of Noblis explores four key decisions for managing AI across an organization, from delegation and accountability to technical debt. And Darren Taillie of Aerocore Technologies walks through how his team uses AI agents, text-to-SQL, and vision models to improve data access and automate work order verification.

Featuring:

• Don Barger – LinkedIn
• Mark Lay – LinkedIn
• Darren Taillie – LinkedIn
• Daniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, X

Links:

• Noblis
• International Mission Board
• AeroCore Technologies

Sponsors:

• SerpAPI: A Web Search API that gives developers real-time, structured access to search engine results. Visit serpapi.com/practicalai to get started for free and get 250 searches every month.

Resources and Events:

• Register for upcoming webinars here!
• Prior Webinars from our partner Prediction Guard
• Midwest AI Summit 2026

Chris’s new book The Art of Swarming will be published soon, written to be the seminal foundational book for the fledgling swarming industry, defining the principles and architecture that enable autonomous agentic UxS swarms with emergent distributed embodied intelligence.

In this special episode, we bring you highlights from three talks at the Midwest AI Summit. Heidi Porter explores how to build reliable AI-augmented workflows using the right tools, evaluations, and guardrails. Kevin Solorio shares why building AI with frontline workers, not just for them, is key to earning trust and driving adoption, emphasizing collaboration and continuous feedback. And Chris Shinkle and Andrew Dunlap of SEP discuss how software teams can find the right level of AI autonomy based on their goals, constraints, and verification needs, sharing lessons from teams using AI to build software more effectively.

Featuring:

• Heidi Porter – LinkedIn
• Kevin Solorio – LinkedIn
• Chris Shinkle – LinkedIn
• Andrew Dunlap – LinkedIn
• Daniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, X

Links:

• Moyer Group AI
• SEP
• Focused

Sponsors:

• Hostinger: Create your website today. Go to hostinger.com/practical and use practical for 10 percent off now.

Resources and Events:

• Register for upcoming webinars here!
• Prior Webinars from our partner Prediction Guard
• Midwest AI Summit 2026

Chris’s new book The Art of Swarming will be published soon, written to be the seminal foundational book for the fledgling swarming industry, defining the principles and architecture that enable autonomous agentic UxS swarms with emergent unified embodied intelligence.