Practical AI

Building Durable AI Agents

What does it take to move AI agents from demos to reliable production systems? In this episode, Hamza Tahir explores how MLOps principles are shaping the future of generative AI, covering workflows, agent harnesses, fleets, and the infrastructure needed to build durable, scalable systems.  The conversation dives into open source tools, production challenges, and how ZenML's new project, Kitaru, helps developers build resilient, replayable, and observable agent systems.Featuring:Hamza Tahir – LinkedInChris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, XDaniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, XLinks:ZenMLKitaruMachine Learning Tools Landscape v2 (+84 new tools)Sponsors: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!Midwest AI Summit 2026

Image Generation and Visual Intelligence with Black Forest Labs

How has AI image generation evolved from blurry outputs to powerful visual intelligence models? Dustin Podell, Co-Founder and Researcher at Black Forest Labs, explains the progression from diffusion to flow matching, how modern image models work, and how they're being used for image editing and practical visual workflows. The conversation also explores the FLUX family of models, running image generation locally, and where visual AI is headed next. Featuring:Dustin Podell – LinkedInChris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, XDaniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, XLinks:Black Forest LabsDeveloper DashboardResearch PageFLUX.1 Kontext: Flow Matching for In-Context Image Generation and Editing in Latent SpaceLaying the Foundations for Visual IntelligenceSponsors:Midwest AI Summit: Join AI practitioners on October 15 in Indianapolis for practical sessions, hands-on discussions, and real-world AI solutions. Use code PracticalAI20 to save 20% on your registration. https://midwestaisummit.com/#ticketsPrediction 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

AIUC-1: Building trust in AI agents

How do we build trust in AI agents before the AI hailstorm arrives? Emil Lassen from the Artificial Intelligence Underwriting Company (AIUC) joins the show to discuss how the enterprise flywheel of standards, certification, audit, and insurance is being applied to AI agents. They explore the AIUC-1 framework, the challenges of securing agentic AI systems, and why red teaming (based on standards) may be key to accelerating enterprise AI adoption.Featuring:Emil Lassen – LinkedIn Daniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, XLinks: Artificial Intelligence Underwriting CompanySponsors:Framer: The enterprise-grade website builder that lets your team ship faster. Get 30% off at framer.com/practicalaiPrediction 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

Zero Trust for AI Agents

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

Breaking down the 2026 Stanford AI Index Report

AI models can win math olympiads… but still struggle to read an analog clock. In this fully connected episode, Dan and Chris break down the latest Stanford AI Index Report and explore what it reveals about the current state of AI. They discuss AI adoption and safety, disappearing junior tech jobs, robotics, AI’s “jagged frontier” of intelligence, and the growing race between the U.S. and China. Along the way, they debate whether AI should optimize everything, or if some things are better left human. Featuring:Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, XDaniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, XLinks:The 2026 AI Index ReportSponsors: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