The AI Lyceum

𝗜𝗳 𝗔𝗜 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀, 𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗜𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀? – Anna Mikeda | 34

What happens when AI stops being a tool and begins to resemble a mind—and what might humanity owe it? In Episode 34 of The AI Lyceum™, Samraj Matharu speaks with Anna Mikeda, an AI psychology engineer and researcher helping to establish the emerging field of robopsychology. Beginning with Isaac Asimov’s vision of robot psychology, they examine how artificial minds might develop motivations, make decisions and relate to humans. The conversation explores whether consciousness could emerge from computation, why today’s language models remain fundamentally limited, and how neurosymbolic and neuromorphic systems could move AI beyond imitation. They also discuss AI therapy, emotional attachment, intimate data, cognitive debt, machine welfare and the possibility that future AI systems may deserve moral consideration. Finally, Anna explains why advanced AI may need mortality, limited resources and a genuine stake in its own continued existence. “The worst thing we could do is to have something conscious and suffering, and not treat it as such.” EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS 0:00 ➤ Introduction to Anna Mikeda 2:29 ➤ Isaac Asimov and the Origins of Robopsychology 6:56 ➤ Motivations, Alignment and AI Decision-Making 10:15 ➤ Why Large Language Models Remain Black Boxes 14:40 ➤ Can Ethical Principles Be Engineered Into AI? 15:50 ➤ AI Therapy, Emotional Support and Intimate Data 24:07 ➤ Can Computation Produce Consciousness? 28:29 ➤ Neurosymbolic and Neuromorphic AI Explained 29:46 ➤ AGI, Superintelligence and Human–AI Partnership 33:52 ➤ Why the AI Race May Be Moving Too Quickly 39:44 ➤ Should Artificial Intelligence Be Mortal? 44:11 ➤ How Are Humans Different From AI? 48:12 ➤ Closing Reflections and the Question for Humanity Samraj Matharu — Certified AI Ethicist (Oxford) | Visiting Lecturer (Durham) The AI Lyceum™ is an independent community exploring responsible AI, philosophy and innovation. Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@The.AI.Lyceum [https://www.youtube.com/@The.AI.Lyceum] Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/034vux8EWzb9M5Gn6QDMza [https://open.spotify.com/show/034vux8EWzb9M5Gn6QDMza] Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ai-lyceum/id1837737167 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ai-lyceum/id1837737167] Listen on Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/5a67f821-89f8-4b95-b873-2933ab977cd3/the-ai-lyceum [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/5a67f821-89f8-4b95-b873-2933ab977cd3/the-ai-lyceum] Learn more: https://theailyceum.com [https://theailyceum.com]

Should AI Be in the Classroom? The Human Cost of Generative AI [UCL Professor Wayne Holmes] #33

In this episode of The AI Lyceum®, Samraj Matharu speaks with Professor Wayne Holmes, Professor of Critical Studies of AI and Education at UCL Knowledge Lab and UNESCO Chair in the Ethics of AI and Education. Wayne offers a direct challenge to the hype around generative AI. He argues that many AI tools are being adopted in schools, universities, workplaces, and public life without enough independent evidence that they improve learning, protect students, or support human development. The conversation explores AI literacy, student agency, over-reliance, automation bias, regulation, environmental impact, big tech power, and why humans must retain the right to reject AI. Guest quote: ‘There is no independent evidence at scale that the AI tools developed for education are effective.’ EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS 0:00 ➤ Intro / Guest Welcome 6:50 ➤ Why AI Is Complicated 8:05 ➤ Direct vs Indirect AI Impact 9:30 ➤ Bias, COMPAS, and High-Stakes AI 10:45 ➤ The Evidence Gap in AI Education 14:30 ➤ ChatGPT as a Cognitive Crutch 16:45 ➤ Agency, Learning, and Human Development 23:00 ➤ Regulation, Big Tech, and AI Literacy 28:55 ➤ AI, Smoking, and Hidden Long-Term Harm 34:40 ➤ AI Productivity Myths in Coding 44:00 ➤ Possible Futures for AI 53:30 ➤ Closing Question: What World Do We Want? YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@The.AI.Lyceum [https://www.youtube.com/@The.AI.Lyceum] Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/034vux8EWzb9M5Gn6QDMza [https://open.spotify.com/show/034vux8EWzb9M5Gn6QDMza] Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ai-lyceum/id1837737167 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ai-lyceum/id1837737167] Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/5a67f821-89f8-4b95-b873-2933ab977cd3/the-ai-lyceum [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/5a67f821-89f8-4b95-b873-2933ab977cd3/the-ai-lyceum] Website https://theailyceum.com [https://theailyceum.com] #AI #AIEducation #ResponsibleAI #AIEthics #GenerativeAI #ArtificialIntelligence #Education #HumanAgency #TheAILyceum

Robots Are Leaving the Lab: Physical AI, Humanoids and the Future of Work [Sacha Ghiglione] #32

‘In the age where machines are becoming more intelligent, maybe that’s one of the most human questions left: what are we actually serving?’ In this episode of The AI Lyceum®, Samraj Matharu speaks with Sacha Ghiglione, Executive Director of Davos Tech Summit 2026, about physical AI, humanoid robots, Robot City, work, purpose and the future of intelligent machines in the real world. From Brazilian jiu-jitsu and decision-making under pressure to robotics beyond the lab, Sacha explores why physical AI must be experienced, not just discussed. The episode asks where humanoids will arrive first, how robots may reshape labour and safety, and what humanity is actually serving as machines become more intelligent. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS 0:00 ➤ Intro / Guest Welcome 1:20 ➤ Doing Hard Things Under Pressure 3:10 ➤ Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, AI and Decision-Making 5:00 ➤ Joining Davos Tech Summit 6:40 ➤ Robot City and Physical AI 9:15 ➤ Humanoids, Drones and Industrial Robotics 12:30 ➤ Ethics, Safety and Robots in the Home 15:40 ➤ Jobs, Purpose and the Future Economy 20:40 ➤ Intelligence, Value and Human Skills 24:10 ➤ Children, Education and Values in the AI Age 28:00 ➤ Human in the Loop and Moral Judgment 31:10 ➤ Autonomous Systems and Responsibility 34:20 ➤ What Are We Actually Serving? 36:45 ➤ Audience Question and Closing Thoughts YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@The.AI.Lyceum [https://www.youtube.com/@The.AI.Lyceum] Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/034vux8EWzb9M5Gn6QDMza [https://open.spotify.com/show/034vux8EWzb9M5Gn6QDMza] Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ai-lyceum/id1837737167 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ai-lyceum/id1837737167] Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/5a67f821-89f8-4b95-b873-2933ab977cd3/the-ai-lyceum [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/5a67f821-89f8-4b95-b873-2933ab977cd3/the-ai-lyceum] Website https://theailyceum.com [https://theailyceum.com] #AI #PhysicalAI #Robotics #HumanoidRobots #RobotCity #DavosTechSummit #ResponsibleAI #AIEthics #FutureOfWork #TheAILyceum

How AI Changes What We Believe [AI Ethics Researcher, Dr Jana Sedláková] #31

‘AI provides the view from nowhere. And I don’t mean it in a good way. I don’t mean the view from nowhere as an objective view. I mean it as AI doesn’t have experiences. It literally doesn’t have a point of view. But if you talk to another human being, it gives you a point of view on your situation. So you see that another human being, that is like you, could perceive things differently. So it provides a different perspective, and AI cannot do it.’ In this episode of The AI Lyceum®, Samraj Matharu speaks with Dr Jana Sedláková about artificial epistemology, humanisation, empathy, conversational AI in mental healthcare, and how AI may shape what humans come to believe. Jana’s PhD focused on the ethics of conversational AI in mental healthcare, one of the most sensitive areas of human-AI interaction. She is now developing her book, The Ethics of Humanization, which asks why we build AI to seem human, and what this does to concepts like trust, empathy, knowledge, understanding and responsibility. This conversation explores a deeper question: when we say AI is intelligent, empathetic, trustworthy or knowledgeable, are we describing AI accurately, or are we changing the meaning of those words? EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS 0:00 ➤ Intro / Guest Welcome 3:05 ➤ Ethics, Understanding and AI 6:30 ➤ Conversational AI in Mental Healthcare 9:00 ➤ ELIZA, Simulation and Therapy Chatbots 12:10 ➤ Philosophy, Consciousness and Conceptual Clarity 17:35 ➤ Tokens, Meaning and Human Language 22:05 ➤ Epistemology and How AI Shapes Beliefs 27:20 ➤ Humanisation, Anthropomorphism and AI Design 32:55 ➤ Can AI Be Empathetic? 37:10 ➤ Morals, Ethics and the Educated Heart 42:45 ➤ AI Opportunities, Risks and Inequality 47:20 ➤ Final Reflections on the Good Use of AI YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@The.AI.Lyceum [https://www.youtube.com/@The.AI.Lyceum] Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/034vux8EWzb9M5Gn6QDMza [https://open.spotify.com/show/034vux8EWzb9M5Gn6QDMza] Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ai-lyceum/id1837737167 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ai-lyceum/id1837737167] Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/5a67f821-89f8-4b95-b873-2933ab977cd3/the-ai-lyceum [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/5a67f821-89f8-4b95-b873-2933ab977cd3/the-ai-lyceum] Website https://theailyceum.com [https://theailyceum.com] #AI #AIEthics #ArtificialIntelligence #Epistemology #Philosophy #MentalHealthAI #HumanAIInteraction #ResponsibleAI #TheAILyceum

AI and the New Economics of Advertising [Media Analyst, Ian Whittaker] #30

‘You are perceived as you price’ - Ian Whittaker Advertising is entering a new economic era. AI is changing what gets automated, what gets valued, and how agencies prove their worth. In this episode of The AI Lyceum®, Samraj Matharu speaks with Ian Whittaker, a media and advertising analyst who has spent more than 25 years looking at the industry through a financial markets lens. Ian argues that advertising has become too focused on efficiency: lower CPMs, cheaper reach, faster execution and marginal optimisation. But clients, CFOs and boards do not think in media metrics. They think in revenue growth, free cash flow, margin, risk and capital allocation. This conversation asks a simple question: if AI makes execution cheaper, what does the advertising industry get paid for next? We discuss why the current agency pricing model may not hold, why brand becomes more valuable when optimisation is abundant, why agencies need to move closer to the client P&L EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS 0:00 ➤ Intro / Guest Welcome 3:28 ➤ Ian Whittaker’s Background in Media, Markets and Advertising 4:45 ➤ Why Advertising Must Move From Efficiency to Efficacy 6:45 ➤ CPMs, Clicks, Cash Flow and the Client Gap 8:52 ➤ Starting With the Business Problem, Not the Technology 10:58 ➤ The Industry’s Rabbit Hole of Tech, Process and Measurement 15:12 ➤ AI as a Supply-Side Shock to Advertising 16:29 ➤ Why Advantage Moves Upstream to Strategy and Brand 20:03 ➤ Distribution Control, Ad Tech and the Future of Agencies 24:20 ➤ Publicis, Power of One and Agency Margin 26:19 ➤ Why the Advisor and Executor Roles Are Blurring 29:39 ➤ Why the Current Agency Revenue Model Will Not Hold 34:30 ➤ What Agencies Need to Change Before 2030 39:42 ➤ OpenAI Ads, LLM Advertising and Capital Allocation 42:06 ➤ Attribution, Risk and Why CFOs Do Not Need Perfect Certainty 46:35 ➤ Speaking the Language of the CFO 49:58 ➤ Closing Thoughts KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED ➤ Why has advertising become too focused on efficiency? ➤ What does AI do to agency pricing power? ➤ Why is execution becoming commoditised? ➤ Should agencies be paid for time, outputs or outcomes? ➤ Why does brand become more important in an AI-driven media world? ➤ How should advertisers think about every pound of media spend? ➤ Why do agencies need to speak the language of the CFO? SUBSCRIBE Subscribe to The AI Lyceum® for conversations on AI, philosophy, media, ethics and the future of business. CONNECT YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@The.AI.Lyceum [https://www.youtube.com/@The.AI.Lyceum] Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/034vux8EWzb9M5Gn6QDMza [https://open.spotify.com/show/034vux8EWzb9M5Gn6QDMza] Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ai-lyceum/id1837737167 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ai-lyceum/id1837737167] Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/5a67f821-89f8-4b95-b873-2933ab977cd3/the-ai-lyceum [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/5a67f821-89f8-4b95-b873-2933ab977cd3/the-ai-lyceum] Website https://theailyceum.com [https://theailyceum.com] LinkedIn Group https://www.linkedin.com/company/108295902/admin/dashboard/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/108295902/admin/dashboard/] #AI #Advertising #Media #MarketingScience #AdTech #BrandStrategy #TheAILyceum