In today's podcast, we are continuing our discussion on AI art. We covered more technical ground last week but barely scratched the surface of what people are worried about on the ethical side of this new technology. As with any new technology, there will be growing pains, and in the world of art, many living artists have voiced concern about being drowned out by the flood of AI-generated pieces that could pass off as originals. So join us as we wade into this complex and evolving topic of AI art!

Today's podcast will discuss generative art, such as Mid Journey. Over the last few months, generative art has exploded with DALL-E 2, followed by more open platforms. But, as with any new technology, there are a lot of grey areas to explore. Join us as we explore the hopes, dreams, and problems of new technology!

On today's podcast, we are back talking cyberpunk! We've been discussing it off the air and realized we had more to say on a broader level than what we've talked about from Edgerunner's show. What do you think a positive world with technology looks like? How does humanity positively explore possible futures, in contrast to all of the negative varieties that we see?

Today on the podcast, I'm joined by Jordan Criss, a longtime friend and guest. In many ways, we caught up after not talking for a couple of weeks. As always, it's a lot of fun to dive into everything we're thinking about, interested in, or just the goings-on in life.

Topics include storytelling in video games, VFX in films, photorealistic image enhancement, and more!

Today, joining me on the podcast is Brandon Wenzel. Brandon is my cousin, as you could probably guess by the podcast title. Honestly, this was a treat of a podcast for me. So Brandon is a couple of years older than me, but we all had similar interests growing up.

As is normal in our family, or at least seems more normal. My family has thispropensityy to collect something, whatever it may be. Brandon’s big thing is retro gaming consoles, from the first generations of Atari and Sega, but what is closest to his heart is the PlayStation.

In today's episode, we discuss the dangers of social media and how we interact with it.

By the end of this conversation, we hope listeners understand the tricks being played on users to get them to spend more attention than they should with their devices. Though this podcast centers around the negative aspects, we discuss ways to use these platforms more productively.

Feel free to share your thoughts and insights about how you view social media and what you think are possible solutions to function better!

In this episode, we are joined by two returning guests, Dan Thiel and Wyatt Mach. Both are NIU (Northern Illinois University) Electronic Technology Engineering graduates and have come on the solo before and can find those below! In this conversation, we meander through topics including work ethic, software programming, and stories about our classroom experiences with classes together at NIU.

In this episode, we are joined by Tim Fisher and Mike O'Malley. Both of them were Erich's group members for their Senior Design Class. We have a conversation about their college experiences and the road ahead since they both graduated shortly after the recording of this episode.

In this podcast episode, we are joined by Dan Thiel. Dan studied Electronics Engineering Technology at Northern Illinois University. He currently works for Navistar. In this conversation, we talk about what motivated him in college and what he views as strengths that have set him apart for success. Dan is early in his career as an engineer, and we learn about his process to get himself to this point.

In this episode of the podcast, we're joined by Brian Peters.  Brian was a member of seven-time Grammy Award winner Paul Wertico's band for ten years. Plays 15 instruments, has played over 3600 gigs, has released 19 solo records and produced an additional 41, has worked as an audio engineer for 20 years. Co-hosted a radio show on WLFM 87.7 FM. Published 29 video games and pieces of software. Worked as an independent filmmaker and film composer, has worked in the biomedical field for 8 years, and has invented 10 brand new analog audio effects and designed their respective circuits and manufacturing processes, including a circuit once reviewed as "the best low noise buffer/eq circuit ever designed" and "the single most important secret weapon for an electric guitarist".

In this episode, we talk about Elon Musk and how he created a rocket company. If you are interested in learning more about Elon, check out this fantastic book, Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance. Much of what I summarize in this conversation only scratches the surface.