The dominant narrative around AI suggests that the public simply misunderstands the technology — that better education will eventually align expectations with reality. But what if the hype is not a misunderstanding at all? In this episode, we examine the growing gap between what AI systems can actually do and what companies, investors, and public figures claim they can do. We discuss AI agents, hallucinations, enterprise failures, regulation, AGI narratives, and why both hype and backlash risk damaging serious AI research and practical applications.
#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #MachineLearning
About The Guest
Maria Sukhareva has been working in natural language processing since 2008, long before AI became a mainstream headline topic. She is a Principal AI Expert at a DAX company and the author of AI Realist, a newsletter focused on evidence-based analysis of AI systems, their limitations, and their real-world applications. Maria is one of the clearest voices in the field arguing for treating AI as a serious technical discipline rather than a speculative ideology.
What is AI: Tools or Gods??
What happens when we stop treating AI as a force of nature and start treating it as what it is: a political choice?
AI: Tools or Gods? is a podcast about the stories we tell about artificial intelligence and why they matter. Each episode, host Caroline De Cock talks with researchers, lawyers, policymakers, and advocates who are building a more grounded, democratic alternative to the dominant AI narrative. No prophecies. No panic. Just honest, rigorous conversation about power, accountability, and what technology is actually for.
A companion to the book AI Tools, Not Gods (BTF Press, 2026, foreword by Brewster Kahle) and a production of information labs.