AGI - Advance, Grow, Innovate with AI

A data center is proposed near your home. What happens to your water, your power bill and your say in what comes next? This conversation helps you identify the questions your community needs answered before a deal is signed.

For Behind the Cape, I brought together Brad Tietz of the Data Center Coalition, IU's David Konisky, Purdue's Roberto Gallardo and co-moderator Shaneeka R. Abram. Shaneeka has lived in a data center community, and her account of disrupted businesses and limited notice puts the debate into everyday terms.

We get into the industry's case for jobs and investment, the uncertainty around electricity costs, and why cooling systems and local water conditions matter. David and Roberto push us to consider trust, rural identity and the neighbors who may carry a disproportionate share of the costs. The panel also tackles NDAs and whether a public hearing means much if residents feel the decision has already been made.

WHAT YOU'LL TAKE AWAY

The differences between data center types and workloads.

Questions to ask about water use, cooling and electricity infrastructure.

Why early, meaningful public participation matters.

How to examine jobs and community benefits alongside local disruptions.

Why exit plans and electronic waste belong in the conversation early.

Communities should negotiate from an informed position. Pick three questions from the Penn State guide below and bring them to your next public meeting. Ask who will answer them, when, and in writing.

PANEL & HOSTS

Brad Tietz | Director of Government Affairs, Midwest, Data Center Coalition

https://www.datacentercoalition.org/cpages/brad-tietz

David Konisky | Professor and Associate Dean for Research, Indiana University O'Neill School; co-director, Energy Justice Lab

https://oneill.indiana.edu/faculty-research/directory/profiles/faculty/full-time/konisky-david.html

Roberto Gallardo | Associate Professor and Vice President for Engagement, Purdue University. Participating in his faculty capacity, sharing his own views.

https://extension.purdue.edu/cdext/about-us/our-team/profile/roberto-gallardo/roberto-gallardo.html

Co-moderator: Shaneeka R. Abram | AI trainer, educator and founder of Abundant Solutions Consulting

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sreneeabram

Host: Jason Padgett | Chief AI Officer, Chakra AI Solutions; host, AGI Podcast

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Penn State Extension: Data Centers: A Guide to Common Questions

https://extension.psu.edu/data-centers-a-guide-to-common-questions

Recorded live on LinkedIn, October 27, 2026. Sponsored by Chakra AI Solutions.

CONNECT WITH JASON PADGETT

Jason Padgett | AI Solutions Architect | Co-Founder, Wooden Boy Industries | Host, AGI Podcast | AI Adoption, LLM Systems & Human-AI Workflows

AGI - Advance Grow and Innovate with AI Podcast Network

🌐 https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/

CoFounder, Wooden Boy Industries

🌐 https://woodenboyindustriesai.com/

Chief AI Officer, Chakra AI Solutions

🌐 https://chakrasolutions.ai/

📧 jason@agipodcast.ai

TOOLS MENTIONED

ChatGPT

LinkedIn Live

What should we teach our kids when the future of work keeps moving? And how much freedom should we give the AI tools already helping us through the day?

Derek Weinberg joins Jason Padgett for a conversation from the Silicon Prairie about where Silicon Valley is taking us. We start with Indiana's AI community and work our way through proactive assistants, education, privacy, and the question of who gets to decide what AI should value.

THE AGI PODCAST

Advance, Grow, and Innovate with AI

Season 2, Episode 2

WHAT YOU'LL TAKE AWAY

• Clear communication and the ability to examine your own thinking are practical AI skills.

• Preparing students for their future means thinking beyond chatbot access and prompt lessons.

• The habits we build with AI may carry over into how we treat people.

• More capable assistants raise harder questions about permission, privacy, and control.

Derek makes a case that stays with me: the AI mistake we should worry about might be completely innocent. A tool can pursue a reasonable instruction in a way nobody anticipated.

We also compare notes on the assistants we're using, question the industry's timelines, and turn to Battlestar Galactica and Blade Runner to think through the futures we're building.

TRY THIS

Choose one task you want to hand to AI. Define success, give it the context it needs, and decide where it should stop and ask you. Clear expectations matter whether you're working with a person or a machine.

CONNECT WITH DEREK WEINBERG

Derek joins Jason from Indiana's business and analytics community and brings his experience teaching in the Kelley Evening MBA program.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekjweinberg

Fox-Current: https://foxcurrent.substack.com/

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Derek's article, The Metacognitive Divide:

https://foxcurrent.substack.com/p/the-metacognitive-divide

CEOs of Indiana Corporate Partnership:

https://www.cicpindiana.com/

CONNECT WITH JASON PADGETT

Jason Padgett | AI Solutions Architect | Co-Founder, Wooden Boy Industries | Host, AGI Podcast | AI Adoption, LLM Systems & Human-AI Workflows

AGI - Advance Grow and Innovate with AI Podcast Network

🌐 https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/

CoFounder, Wooden Boy Industries

🌐 https://woodenboyindustriesai.com/

Chief AI Officer, Chakra AI Solutions

🌐 https://chakrasolutions.ai/

📧 jason@agipodcast.ai

PRODUCTION TOOLS

Riverside

OpenAI Codex

Your team is using AI, but everyone is still working in separate chats and passing answers around. Ryan Powell and Jason Padgett talk through what it takes for people and agents to share context, collaborate, and carry work forward together.Ryan brings the conversation down to the actual work: organizing company data, separating reporting from production systems, deciding what a business can afford, and giving agents access to the information they need. He describes his work leading digital solutions at R.T. Moore and explains the difference between a swarm of agents serving one person and several people working with shared agents.Jason pushes for more autonomy. Ryan makes the case for earning trust through delegation and having someone who understands the work review the results. They compare personal agents with AI coworkers, discuss permissions and persistent memory, and finish with robotics, science fiction, and a very strange conversation with Grok.WHAT YOU'LL TAKE AWAYWhy useful, accessible company data matters more than accumulating more dataHow shared agents and multiplayer AI could change team collaborationWhat human review requires beyond clicking an approval boxHow permissions, context, and delegation shape the work an agent can take onWhere vibe coding fits when you understand the business problem but need technical helpTRY THIS WITH YOUR TEAMPick one recurring handoff. Identify the context people keep repeating, the information an agent needs, and the person qualified to judge its work. Start there, then widen its responsibility as the results earn your trust.ABOUT THE GUESTRyan Powell introduces himself as the head of digital solutions at R.T. Moore, with a background in computer engineering, data systems, consulting, and technology leadership. In this conversation, he shares his experience bringing AI and organized data into construction.

Ryan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryannpowell/R.T. Moorehttps://rtmoore.com/RESOURCES MENTIONEDThe Multiplayer AI Manifestohttps://multiplayer-ai.com/Superconductor: Launching the Multiplayer AI Manifestohttps://www.superconductor.com/blog/multiplayer-ai-manifestoCONNECT WITH JASON PADGETTJason Padgett | AI Solutions Architect | Co-Founder, Wooden Boy Industries | Host, AGI Podcast | AI Adoption, LLM Systems & Human-AI WorkflowsAGI - Advance Grow and Innovate with AI Podcast Network🌐 https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/CoFounder, Wooden Boy Industries🌐 https://woodenboyindustriesai.com/Chief Solutions Architect, Chakra AI Solutions🌐 https://chakrasolutions.ai/📧 jason@agipodcast.aiTOOLS USEDRiversideChatGPT

At 21, Hudson Conkling is already building with AI. He joins Jason Padgett to explain what surprised him about moving from college into an AI workplace, how personal connections helped him find opportunities, and why learning still matters when a machine can produce the answer.

The conversation moves from careers and classrooms to attention, relationships, faith, and responsibility. Hudson's point about empathy gives the episode its center: effective communication starts with caring about the person you are talking to.

You will hear about:

• Learning with AI rather than letting it do the homework.

• Moving from chatbot answers to practical work.

• Entering an AI career and keeping a beginner's mindset.

• Reading the room and explaining technology to different audiences.

• Giving machines useful work while preserving human judgment.

Hudson shares his experience as a recent Anderson University graduate in computer science and cybersecurity. Jason and Hudson offer personal perspectives on generational change and the future of work throughout this wide-ranging conversation.

AGI: Advance, Grow and Innovate with AI

Season 2, Episode 1

Hosted by Jason Padgett

https://agipodcast.ai/

jason@agipodcast.ai

Connect with Jason:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-grant-padgett/

Wooden Boy Industries

Bring your biggest challenge. We will talk about where your school is heading and how to help students get ready for what comes next.

https://woodenboyindustriesai.com/

Sprite

Practical AI capability for solopreneurs who want to learn the tools and use them well themselves.

https://woodenboyindustriesai.com/sprite/

Chakra AI Solutions

https://chakrasolutions.ai/

If China and the United States are racing toward different versions of an AI future, how do we decide who is winning?

Jason Padgett and Julie Koehrer take on China, China, China in this Weekly Blitz. They debate open-source models, robotics, regulation, economic competition, and what practical AI adoption could mean for everyday people. Julie questions why technological progress cannot be shared more broadly. Jason pushes on the costs, incentives, and risks behind that possibility.

The conversation then turns to how AI systems are trained, whose values shape them, and whether humans can keep control as those systems become more capable.

Listen for:
What Jason and Julie mean by winning the AI race.
The tension between affordable technology, investment, and jobs.
Their questions about model distillation and intellectual property.
The difference between rewarding an AI system and trying to teach it principles.
Why both hosts end on the importance of learning from one another.

An opinionated conversation, with room for disagreement and hypothetical scenarios, about the choices shaping an AI future we all have to live in.

Host Links:
Jason Padgett
Relentless, unapologetically contrarian, and driven to make AI practical for everyday people.
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-grant-padgett/
💬 jason@agipodcast.ai
The AGI Podcast Network
Advance, Grow, and Innovate with AI.
🌐 https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/
Chakra AI Solutions
Chief Solutions Architect
🌐 https://chakrasolutions.ai/
Wooden Boy Industries
Bring your biggest challenge. We will talk about where your school is heading and how to help students get ready for what comes next.
🌐 https://woodenboyindustriesai.com/
Sprite
Practical AI capability for solopreneurs who want to learn the tools and use them well themselves.
🌐 https://woodenboyindustriesai.com/sprite/
Co-Host Links:
Julie Koehrer
Curious, candid, deeply community-minded, and never afraid to ask the question everyone else is thinking.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliekoehrer
🌐 Q106.7: https://lafayetteq1067.com/

Personal AI agents are moving into calendars, inboxes, phones, and feeds. The harder question is who carries responsibility when those systems shape what people see, believe, and choose.

Jason Padgett and Julie Koehrer take the gloves off in this Weekly Blitz. What starts with Meta Muse, Grok Bot, privacy, and AI regulation turns into a real argument about the economy, data-center incentives, capitalism, billionaires, water, algorithms, and whether responsibility sits with companies, government, or the public.

The disagreement gets heated. They stay in it, listen, push back, and end with the thing this show is supposed to make room for: two people who respect each other enough to argue honestly.

RSVP for the Chakra AI Solutions' Launch Party, October 11th at Daniel's Vineyard in McCordsville: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chakra-ai-solutions-launch-event-tickets-1997164099584

WHAT YOU'LL TAKE AWAY

What personal AI agents gain when users give them access to everyday work and data

Why software accountability and AI regulation remain unsettled

How headlines, algorithms, and personal choices shape what reaches our feeds

Where Jason and Julie split on business incentives, taxes, and public responsibility

Why respectful disagreement still matters when the stakes feel personal

ABOUT THE WEEKLY BLITZ

Jason Padgett and Julie Koehrer meet on Monday mornings to sort through the AI headlines, argue through the tradeoffs, and ask what any of it means for regular people trying to live and work through the change.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Meta Muse

https://about.fb.com/news/2026/09/introducing-muse-personal-ai-agent/

Grok Bot

https://x.ai/news/introducing-grok-bot

Claude's Constitution

https://www.anthropic.com/constitution

OpenAI DevDay 2026

https://openai.com/index/devday-2026/

CONNECT WITH JASON PADGETT

Jason Padgett | AI Solutions Architect | Co-Founder, Wooden Boy Industries | Host, AGI Podcast | AI Adoption, LLM Systems & Human-AI Workflows

AGI - Advance Grow and Innovate with AI Podcast Network

🌐 https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/

CoFounder, Wooden Boy Industries

🌐 https://woodenboyindustriesai.com/

Chief Solutions Architect, Chakra AI Solutions

🌐 https://chakrasolutions.ai/

📧 jason@agipodcast.ai

TOOLS USED

Riverside

ChatGPT

What Are We Racing To? AI Assistants, Privacy, and Buying Back Time | The Weekly BlitzJulie asks the question that cuts through most AI productivity pitches: what are we racing to?In this Weekly Blitz, Julie Koehrer and Jason Padgett work through that question without pretending they agree on every answer. They talk about AI longevity claims, compute and regulation, local data systems, voice-first agents, consumer AI assistants, privacy, public surveillance, and what it actually means to buy back time.WHAT YOU'LL TAKE AWAYWhy faster output only matters when you know what you want the saved time forHow better data organization can reduce the work an AI system has to doWhy convenience and trust become inseparable when an assistant can act for youHow Julie and Jason draw different personal boundaries around voice, privacy, and automationWhy AI safety still comes back to accountable engineering and containmentCHAPTERS00:00 AI longevity and what counts as a stretch02:11 Superintelligence, control, and human arrogance05:00 Data centers, compute, and regulation08:00 Sentiment, context, and efficient AI systems09:02 Building one organized source of truth18:05 What are we racing to?19:09 Buying back time with AI agents24:14 Voice-first work and the instant ick25:40 Flock cameras, public trust, and accountability30:11 Consumer AI assistants and privacy35:50 Trusted agents supervising other tools37:35 Softball, TikTok, and a vibe-coder cartoon41:37 AI containment as an engineering problemABOUT JULIE KOEHRERJulie Koehrer co-hosts The Weekly Blitz and brings a practical marketing and media perspective to the conversation. She asks the questions a lot of people have when a new AI tool promises speed, convenience, and a little more access than feels comfortable.RESOURCES MENTIONEDThe AGI Podcast Networkhttps://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/networkWoof Boom Radio Indianahttps://woofboom.com/indiana/CONNECT WITH JASON PADGETTJason Padgett | AI Solutions Architect | Co-Founder, Wooden Boy Industries | Host, AGI Podcast | AI Adoption, LLM Systems & Human-AI WorkflowsAGI - Advance Grow and Innovate with AI Podcast Network🌐 https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/CoFounder, Wooden Boy Industries🌐 https://woodenboyindustriesai.com/Chief Solutions Architect, Chakra AI Solutions🌐 https://chakrasolutions.ai/📧 jason@agipodcast.aiTOOLS USEDRiversideSpotify for Creators

AI can take work off your plate, but how do you decide what to trust it with, and what happens to people whose work changes? Jason Padgett and Bryan Barnhill talk through real uses of AI, the limits of automation, and the people affected by both.

Bryan brings decades in technology, including healthcare IT and business operations. He has been exploring AI agents in his own projects and shares what learning these tools looks like from the inside.

WHAT YOU’LL TAKE AWAY

How to start with one AI tool and learn it well.

Why industry expertise still matters when an agent can build quickly.

What sensitive data and regulated work demand from an AI workflow.

How AI may change creative work, jobs, and the way teams communicate.

Why helping people learn to use these tools matters more than doing everything for them.

Try this: choose one repeated task this week, decide what success would look like, and test one AI tool on a version you can review yourself.

ABOUT BRYAN BARNHILL

Bryan is a retired technology professional in Indianapolis. In this conversation, he describes earlier work in PC networking, healthcare IT, and business operations, and his current exploration of AI agents.

Bryan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-barnhill-4698b16/

CONNECT WITH JASON PADGETT

Jason Padgett | AI Solutions Architect | Co-Founder, Wooden Boy Industries | Host, AGI Podcast | AI Adoption, LLM Systems & Human-AI Workflows

AGI - Advance Grow and Innovate with AI Podcast Network: https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/

CoFounder, Wooden Boy Industries: https://woodenboyindustriesai.com/

Chief Solutions Architect, Chakra AI Solutions: https://chakrasolutions.ai/

jason@agipodcast.ai

What skills will help students find their footing when AI changes the work waiting for them? Linda Calvin joins Jason Padgett to talk about critical thinking, real relationships, and who gets a voice in building that future.

Linda calls communication, problem-solving, and collaboration “power skills.” We talk about how students practice them, why access to technology still matters, and what happens when efficiency becomes the only measure of progress. Her experience founding Indiana Women IN Tech Week brings the conversation back to something young people can actually see: people like them doing work they never knew was possible.

WHAT YOU’LL TAKE AWAY

Why networking starts with curiosity and preparation.

How to use AI while practicing your own judgment.

Why diverse experience helps teams catch problems earlier.

What foundational technology education can give every student.

Linda also brings Star Trek into the conversation. The M5 story gives us plenty to discuss about bias, automation, and the decisions leaders still have to make.

TRY THIS

Before your next networking conversation, read about the person’s work and write down two questions. Give yourself a reason to listen before you give someone a reason to buy.

ABOUT LINDA CALVIN, JD

Founder, Indiana Women IN Tech Week.

President and Chief Thought Leader, Transcend Consulting.

Technology and workforce leader, keynote speaker, and moderator.

Her career includes technology leadership at Dow and Stanley Black & Decker, Reboot Representation, and technology education leadership at Ivy Tech Community College and Western Governors University.

CONNECT WITH LINDA

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindacalvin/

https://www.transcendent-talks.com/

https://www.indianawomenintechweek.com/

RESOURCES MENTIONED

100 Year EdTech Project

https://100yearedtechproject.org/

CONNECT WITH JASON PADGETT

Jason Padgett | AI Solutions Architect | Co-Founder, Wooden Boy Industries | Host, AGI Podcast | AI Adoption, LLM Systems & Human-AI Workflows

AGI - Advance Grow and Innovate with AI Podcast Network

🌐 https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/

CoFounder, Wooden Boy Industries

🌐 https://woodenboyindustriesai.com/

Chief Solutions Architect, Chakra AI Solutions

🌐 https://chakrasolutions.ai/

📧 jason@agipodcast.ai

TOOLS

Recorded and edited with Riverside.

#AGIPodcast

#SchoolsOutSaturdays

#WomenINTech

#AIinEducation

#LindaCalvin

AI should take work off your plate. So why does choosing models, checking results and keeping up sometimes feel like another job?

Jason Padgett is joined by guest co-host Bryan Barnhill for a practical Weekly Blitz conversation about small-business AI, useful automation and the work of checking what your agents actually did.

Bryan is a retired IT professional whose later career included healthcare. He describes his interest in helping owners think about AI before a business transition, building an app that lets customers buy friends a drink for later collection, and learning from a multi-agent fantasy-football project that did not generate sales.

WHAT YOU’LL TAKE AWAY

Compare model quality with the quality of your prompts and feedback.
Give every automation a way to be checked and updated.
Start with the customer’s problem before sending agents to fix things.
Treat an unsuccessful product experiment as evidence you can learn from.

TRY THIS

Choose one recurring task. Define the useful result, decide how you will check it and put a review date on the calendar.

CONNECT WITH BRYAN BARNHILL

Bryan is based in Indianapolis. He is exploring AI uses for local small businesses and building a drink-gifting app.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-barnhill-4698b16/

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. Jason discusses its beginner’s-mind idea during the conversation.

CONNECT WITH JASON PADGETT

Jason Padgett | AI Solutions Architect | Co-Founder, Wooden Boy Industries | Host, AGI Podcast | AI Adoption, LLM Systems & Human-AI Workflows

AGI - Advance Grow and Innovate with AI Podcast Network
🌐 https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/

CoFounder, Wooden Boy Industries
🌐 https://woodenboyindustriesai.com/

Chief Solutions Architect, Chakra AI Solutions
🌐 https://chakrasolutions.ai/

📧 jason@agipodcast.ai

TOOLS DISCUSSED

ChatGPT and Codex
Claude
Grok
Slack

MUSIC

Shrug It Off
Music licensed through Soundstripe.
Code: AQUEWI4ZJHA7FLTT

AI policy keeps getting written like a rulebook for a system that behaves more like a living network. In this episode, Jason Padgett and Hunter Hickman ask the harder question: how do we build judgment, responsibility, and real AI literacy before capability outruns control?

The conversation starts with frontier AI. Who benefits from regulation? Can data centers provide a practical control point? What happens when a machine follows a measurable goal without sharing the values behind it? And if constitutional AI is part of the answer, who gets to write the constitution?

Then the argument moves into schools, where those questions are already real. Hunter explains why detection-first policies create a game of cat and mouse, why teachers need durable AI literacy more than a rotating catalog of tools, and why responsible use should develop people instead of simply offloading their work.

WHAT YOU’LL TAKE AWAY

Why AI control is a governance problem as much as a technical problem

How broad principles can preserve local judgment in school AI policy

Why students should learn to show their work when AI is involved

How teachers can act more like coaches while students explore, practice, and perform

Why purposeful AI use can mean less student screen time, not more

How consistency and literacy can outlast any single AI platform

The episode lands on Hunter’s experience at Wabash College. The Gentleman’s Rule replaced a thick rulebook with a broad expectation of responsible conduct. It trusted people with freedom and held them accountable for judgment. That same principle connects classroom discipline, digital citizenship, and the effort to align increasingly capable AI.

The challenge: find one place where your current AI policy rewards compliance without developing judgment. Rewrite it as a standard people must understand and uphold.

ABOUT HUNTER HICKMAN

Hunter Hickman, M.S., is a secondary English educator, English department head, district AI implementation leader, founder of Hickman Consulting LLC, and head boys wrestling coach at Rensselaer Central High School. He works at the intersection of classroom practice, educator development, and responsible AI adoption.

CONNECT WITH HUNTER HICKMAN

Hickman Consulting AI

https://www.hickmanconsultingai.com/

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hunter-hickman-m-s-2b501383/

Rensselaer Central High School

https://rchs.rensselaerschools.org/

Rensselaer Central Boys Wrestling

https://rensselaerathletics.com/Team/7cbc4208-1bfa-4331-b0f4-7c4257672d98/Wrestling%20%28Boys%20V-JV%29

RESOURCES MENTIONED

The Gentleman’s Rule | Wabash College

https://www.wabash.edu/aboutwabash/rule

Claude’s Constitution | Anthropic

https://www.anthropic.com/constitution

Attention Is All You Need

https://arxiv.org/abs/1706.03762

CONNECT WITH JASON PADGETT

Jason Padgett | AI Solutions Architect | Co-Founder, Wooden Boy Industries | Host, AGI Podcast | AI Adoption, LLM Systems & Human-AI Workflows

AGI - Advance Grow and Innovate with AI Podcast Network

🌐 https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/

CoFounder, Wooden Boy Industries

🌐 https://woodenboyindustriesai.com/

Chief Solutions Architect, Chakra AI Solutions

🌐 https://chakrasolutions.ai/

📧 jason@agipodcast.ai

TOOLS MENTIONED

ChatGPT

Claude

Gemini

Grok

MagicSchool

SchoolAI

Khanmigo

📧 jason@agipodcast.ai

What should a high school sophomore prepare for when the tools, jobs and rules keep changing? Toni Holcombe's answer is simple: there is no spoon. The future has not already been decided, and one choice does not have to become a lifelong identity.

This episode closes 2026 Indiana Women in Tech Week and serves as this week's AGI School's Out Saturdays conversation. Jason Padgett and Toni move from data careers and AI hiring to education, trust, creativity, learning differences and the ability to change direction when a path no longer serves you.

Toni explains why technical knowledge alone is not enough. People who can translate technical work into language others can understand bring enormous value. She challenges the usual idea of cultural fit, which can become groupthink when everybody sounds and thinks alike. She also argues that students should sometimes do the work the hard way before automating it. A bad process does not improve just because technology makes it faster.

The conversation explores how AI fear creates resistance, why no model stays best forever, how audio and visual formats can help different learners, and why a degree or first career choice does not have to define the rest of a student's life.

IN THIS EPISODE

01:41 Creating visibility for people navigating an AI-shaped job market

04:43 Translating technical knowledge into human language

06:40 Cultural fit, diversity of thought and groupthink

09:09 Learning a process before automating it

11:48 Why fear makes people resist AI

20:47 Designing for different kinds of learners

31:49 The limits of AI as a thought partner

37:46 Matching the model to the work

40:53 Do not automate a broken process

44:12 There is no spoon: Toni's advice for students

CONNECT WITH TONI HOLCOMBE

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/toni-holcombe/

CONNECT WITH JASON PADGETT

Jason Padgett | AI Solutions Architect | Co-Founder, Wooden Boy Industries | Host, AGI Podcast | AI Adoption, LLM Systems & Human-AI Workflows

AGI - Advance Grow and Innovate with AI Podcast Network

🌐 https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/

CoFounder, Wooden Boy Industries

🌐 https://woodenboyindustriesai.com/

Chief Solutions Architect, Chakra AI Solutions

🌐 https://chakrasolutions.ai/

📧 jason@agipodcast.ai

She did not come from a traditional tech background. Now Angie Carel is helping Fort Wayne learn, question and build with AI.

For the sixth and final interview of the 2026 Indiana Women in Tech Week series, Jason Padgett talks with Angie Carel, an AI advisor, speaker and community builder in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Angie explains how marketing and creative strategy led her into generative AI, why curiosity matters more than a technical title, and how consistent learning took her from feeling intimidated by technology to working in terminal windows and building agents.

The conversation moves beyond tools. Angie and Jason discuss which work people should keep for themselves, how much trust AI agents have earned, why women's voices must be part of the future being built, and why healthy disagreement may be one of the most important skills of the AI era.

They also look toward 2035. Angie expects neither a perfect technological utopia nor a total dystopia. She expects surprises, tradeoffs and choices that people still have the power to shape.

This episode closes the 2026 Indiana Women in Tech Week series from the Hoosier Heartland.

CONNECT WITH ANGIE CAREL

Website: https://www.angiecarel.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angiecarel/

Fort Wayne AI: https://www.fortwayne-ai.com/

CONNECT WITH JASON PADGETT

Jason Padgett | AI Solutions Architect | Co-Founder, Wooden Boy Industries | Host, AGI Podcast | AI Adoption, LLM Systems & Human-AI Workflows

AGI - Advance Grow and Innovate with AI Podcast Network

🌐 https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/

CoFounder, Wooden Boy Industries

🌐 https://woodenboyindustriesai.com/

Chief Solutions Architect, Chakra AI Solutions

🌐 https://chakrasolutions.ai/

📧 jason@agipodcast.ai

Jenna Cooper's first memorable computer lab was a gutted school bus filled with computers. Students walked across the parking lot, climbed aboard and learned Mavis Beacon typing and Oregon Trail. That early experience became one stop on a path from elementary education to technology leadership.

For Episode 5 of 2026 Indiana Women in Tech Week, Jason Padgett talks with Jenna, Director of Technology & Innovation at the Central Indiana Educational Service Center. Jenna shares how a technology endorsement and an inspiring female professor helped her see a career she had not originally planned. Her work later grew from classroom technology and early one-to-one device programs into district leadership, professional learning, AI strategy, cybersecurity and data privacy.

The central question is what an eighth grader should prepare for when no one can confidently predict what work will look like by the time that student reaches adulthood.

Jenna's answer is lifelong learning. Stay curious. Take risks. Make mistakes. Tinker. Give young people the freedom to explore opportunities that may not exist yet. She also explains why modern school technology leaders need more than technical ability. They must understand students, teaching, organizational vision and the people affected by every technology decision.

IN THIS EPISODE

00:27 Jenna's path from elementary education into technology

05:01 The computer lab inside a school bus

09:17 How K-12 technology leadership has changed

13:02 Helping girls see themselves in technology

15:31 Curiosity and lifelong learning in an uncertain future

18:54 Giving students space to explore

21:56 Mentorship and connection for technology leaders

25:30 Human intelligence plus artificial intelligence

CONNECT WITH JENNA COOPER

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lacoopj

CIESC Technology & Innovation

https://ciesc.org/service/technology-innovation/

CONNECT WITH JASON PADGETT

Jason Padgett | AI Solutions Architect | Co-Founder, Wooden Boy Industries | Host, AGI Podcast | AI Adoption, LLM Systems & Human-AI Workflows

AGI - Advance Grow and Innovate with AI Podcast Network

🌐 https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/

CoFounder, Wooden Boy Industries

🌐 https://woodenboyindustriesai.com/

Chief Solutions Architect, Chakra AI Solutions

🌐 https://chakrasolutions.ai/

📧 jason@agipodcast.ai

DESCRIPTION

What if the part of you that does not fit the old picture of a technology leader is exactly what the room needs?

For Episode 4 of 2026 Indiana Women in Tech Week, Jason Padgett sits down with Heather Darring, Chief Information Officer at Kappa Alpha Theta Headquarters and president of the Indiana CIO Network. Heather's path did not begin with a traditional computer science plan. She studied oil painting, found her foundation in technology at Ball State, and started at the help desk before growing into executive leadership.

Heather explains why technology is broad enough for many kinds of talent, why teams improve when people bring different experiences to the problem, and why leaders must build rooms where nobody has to carry the weight of being the only woman or minority. Her message to women in tech is direct: be yourself. Bring your gifts, perspective and full self into the room.

Jason and Heather also discuss career changes, welcoming people from other industries, and a better way to think about imposter syndrome. Feeling off balance can mean you have reached a place where growth is possible. You can learn the next thing, ask for help and keep going.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Welcome to Episode 4

00:33 Heather's start at the help desk

01:43 From oil painting to technology

04:11 Why girls still need deliberate encouragement

06:44 Technology, ethics and human flourishing

10:06 The many ways natural talent fits into tech

12:31 Creating rooms where no one is the only one

15:01 Why nontraditional career paths make teams stronger

18:07 Bring your full self into the room

20:47 Turning imposter syndrome into an opportunity to grow

23:21 Closing message for Indiana Women in Tech Week

CONNECT WITH HEATHER DARRING

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-darring-100/

CONNECT WITH JASON PADGETT

Jason Padgett | AI Solutions Architect | Co-Founder, Wooden Boy Industries | Host, AGI Podcast | AI Adoption, LLM Systems & Human-AI Workflows

AGI - Advance Grow and Innovate with AI Podcast Network

🌐 https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/

CoFounder, Wooden Boy Industries

🌐 https://woodenboyindustriesai.com/

Chief Solutions Architect, Chakra AI Solutions

🌐 https://chakrasolutions.ai/

📧 jason@agipodcast.ai

#IndianaWomenInTechWeek #WomenInTech #TechLeadership

DESCRIPTION

What happens when you put an AI model on top of a pile of files nobody has cleaned up? Toni Holcombe has a name for one version of that mess: a data swamp. And she has a clear answer when Jason asks whether AI will make data people irrelevant: someone still has to connect the words business users use with what the data actually means.

For episode three of Indiana's Women in Tech Week, Jason sits down with Toni, a data strategy and governance professional he met at an AI and Coffee gathering in Fishers. Toni traces her path from Gateway tech support and paralegal work to teaching herself Python, building a data warehouse, and leading people through data work. They unpack bronze, silver and gold data layers in plain English, talk about structured and unstructured information, and examine why a confident answer from an LLM still needs checking.

This conversation is for anyone trying to make sense of the data inside a small or growing organization, and for anyone curious about a career that mixes technical skill with people skill.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Jason meets Toni during Indiana's Women in Tech Week

02:07 From Gateway tech support to data analytics

05:38 The data terms small businesses keep hearing

06:22 Bronze, silver and gold: from raw records to useful reports

08:29 Structured files, unstructured files and confident AI mistakes

13:03 How a data lake can turn into a data swamp

14:12 What Toni means by a data warehouse

15:37 Why data touches every part of a business

18:38 Will AI replace the data scientist or business analyst?

19:19 Closing and the education conversation ahead

CONNECT WITH TONI HOLCOMBE

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toni-holcombe/

CONNECT WITH JASON PADGETT

Jason Padgett | AI Solutions Architect | Co-Founder, Wooden Boy Industries | Host, AGI Podcast | AI Adoption, LLM Systems & Human-AI Workflows

AGI - Advance Grow and Innovate with AI Podcast Network

🌐 https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/

CoFounder, Wooden Boy Industries

🌐 https://woodenboyindustriesai.com/

Chief Solutions Architect, Chakra AI Solutions

🌐 https://chakrasolutions.ai/

📧 jason@agipodcast.ai

#WomenInTechWeek #DataStrategy #AGIPodcast

AI risk stories are getting louder, regulation proposals are getting more serious, and most people still have a workday to finish. In this Indiana Women IN Tech Week special, Julie Koehrer and Jason Padgett sort through what deserves attention, what deserves skepticism, and where the human judgment still matters.

Julie brings the perspective that makes The Weekly Blitz work: curious, grounded, willing to disagree, and always connected to how technology lands in real life. The conversation moves from catastrophic AI headlines to data center oversight, teacher workload, healthcare documentation, employee value, work-life balance, self-driving cars, and public surveillance.

WHAT YOU'LL TAKE AWAY

Why controlling increasingly capable AI is harder than writing a simple rule

How AI productivity gains collide with work-life balance and workplace incentives

Where AI may reduce administrative burden for teachers and healthcare workers

Why public trust depends on accountability, not just technical capability

How respectful disagreement can produce a better conversation than certainty

ABOUT JULIE KOEHRER

Julie Koehrer is a branding and marketing consultant and afternoon host at Lafayette's Q106.7. She co-hosts The Weekly Blitz, the AGI Podcast's fast Monday conversation about what changed in AI and what might matter during the workweek.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Indiana Women IN Tech Week

https://www.indianawomenintechweek.com/

The AGI Podcast Network

https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/network

Woof Boom Radio Indiana

https://woofboom.com/indiana/

CONNECT WITH JASON PADGETT

Jason Padgett | AI Solutions Architect | Co-Founder, Wooden Boy Industries | Host, AGI Podcast | AI Adoption, LLM Systems & Human-AI Workflows

AGI - Advance Grow and Innovate with AI Podcast Network

🌐 https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/

CoFounder, Wooden Boy Industries

🌐 https://woodenboyindustriesai.com/

Chief Solutions Architect, Chakra AI Solutions

🌐 https://chakrasolutions.ai/

📧 jason@agipodcast.ai

TOOLS USED

Riverside

Spotify for Creators

AI can now write code, call tools, coordinate other agents, and keep working long after a single chat ends. Brent Rager and Jason Padgett trace what that shift means for builders, businesses, junior engineers, educators, and the people responsible for directing the work.

Brent brings more than 20 years of engineering and technology leadership to a conversation that moves from transformers and GPUs into agent harnesses, model routing, autonomous workflows, local AI, cost, safety, and the future of technical work.

The practical thread running through the episode is simple: the human role is moving upward. More people will define outcomes, select systems, judge results, and decide when an agent needs to stop and ask for help.

WHAT YOU'LL TAKE AWAY

Why customer understanding may matter more than coding speed

How agent harnesses turn language models into systems that can act

Where human review belongs in autonomous workflows

Why junior engineers still matter when AI handles more of the code

How local models, smaller models, and routing affect business costs

What educators need to teach when AI becomes part of every profession

Try this after the episode: choose one recurring workflow and write down the goal, the tools an agent may use, what success looks like, and the moment it must stop and ask a person.

ABOUT BRENT RAGER

Brent Rager is a Staff Software Engineer at Topstep and the founder and CEO/CTO of Smoo AI. He is a technology leader, full-stack engineer, and named AI patent author with more than 20 years of experience building products and leading teams.

Website

https://rager.tech/

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brentrager/

Smoo AI

https://www.smoo.ai/

EPISODE SPONSOR

Chakra AI Solutions

https://chakrasolutions.ai/

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Attention Is All You Need

https://arxiv.org/abs/1706.03762

TopstepX

https://www.topstep.com/topstepx

Smoo AI

https://www.smoo.ai/

TOOLS AND PLATFORMS MENTIONED

ChatGPT

Claude

Codex

OpenCode

OpenRouter

AWS Bedrock

NVIDIA DGX Spark

DeepSeek

CONNECT WITH JASON PADGETT

Jason Padgett | AI Solutions Architect | Co-Founder, Wooden Boy Industries | Host, AGI Podcast | AI Adoption, LLM Systems & Human-AI Workflows

AGI - Advance Grow and Innovate with AI Podcast Network

🌐 https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/

CoFounder, Wooden Boy Industries

🌐 https://woodenboyindustriesai.com/

Chief Solutions Architect, Chakra AI Solutions

🌐 https://chakrasolutions.ai/

📧 jason@agipodcast.ai

Women in Tech, Mentorship and Practical AI with Shaneeka Abram

Getting into tech takes more than learning the tools. Shaneeka Abram joins me for Indiana Women in Tech Week to talk about the people who open doors, the barriers that remain, and how to use AI without pretending it replaces your expertise.

Shaneeka's father taught her to code before she was particularly interested. That early start led to software development, consulting and AI education. She shares what it took to be heard in rooms where her work was questioned, and why she keeps showing up for the next generation.

WHAT YOU'LL TAKE AWAY

How early mentorship can create opportunities that take years to appreciate.

Why visible role models and a community of peers matter for women entering tech.

A practical starting point for AI: a business bottleneck in work you already understand.

Why professional judgment still matters when anyone can generate code or an answer.

We also talk about students questioning AI's answers and the questions communities deserve to ask about data centers. Shaneeka describes the disruption she experienced during nearby construction. We discuss bringing residents and experts into the same conversation, with room to say when we don't have an answer.

ONE THING TO TRY

Pick one recurring task you know well. Try AI on it, check the result against your own expertise, and write down what still needs a human decision.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Indiana Women in Tech Week and meeting Shaneeka

03:40 Learning to code with her father

06:46 Listening to clients and moving into consulting

08:51 Facing barriers as a woman in tech

14:54 What has changed and why community matters

18:33 Helping small businesses make sense of AI

21:50 Getting young people interested in technology

24:17 Vibe coding and the value of expertise

26:31 Learning from our kids and questioning AI

30:14 Making women in tech visible

35:51 Data centers and the questions communities need answered

44:47 Co-facilitating the conversation and closing thoughts

CONNECT WITH SHANEEKA ABRAM

Brand architect, AI educator and speaker, Abundant Solutions Consulting LLC.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sreneeabram/

Abundant Solutions Consulting: https://www.linkedin.com/company/abundant-solutions-consulting-llc/

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Indiana Women in Tech Week

The AI Advantage, Shaneeka's business training

Analytics Indiana

CONNECT WITH JASON PADGETT

Jason Padgett | AI Solutions Architect | Co-Founder, Wooden Boy Industries | Host, AGI Podcast | AI Adoption, LLM Systems & Human-AI Workflows

AGI - Advance Grow and Innovate with AI Podcast Network

🌐 https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/

CoFounder, Wooden Boy Industries

🌐 https://woodenboyindustriesai.com/

Chief Solutions Architect, Chakra AI Solutions

🌐 https://chakrasolutions.ai/

📧 jason@agipodcast.ai

TOOLS DISCUSSED

ChatGPT

Google Gemini

Claude

Perplexity

#WomenInTech

#IndianaWomenInTechWeek

#AI

#AGIPodcast

Students are entering a job market where AI can produce code, applications, and polished personal brands faster than ever. So what actually helps a young person stand out?

Alexander Kutulas and Jason Padgett dig into agency, real-world experience, student creativity, and the skills that matter when the technical floor keeps rising. Alexander brings a student-builder's view from Purdue, where he studies computer science, organizes creative technical communities, and works on better ways to translate club experience into career evidence.

The conversation moves from hackathons and cross-campus collaboration to entry-level hiring, fractional work, AI literacy, and the difference between consuming technology and creating with it.

WHAT YOU'LL TAKE AWAY

Why clubs, projects, and real experiences can teach what coursework alone cannot

How AI changes the value of technical skill without removing the need for judgment

Why students should learn to create with technology instead of only consuming it

What employers miss when they rely on resumes and polished online brands

Why agency, adaptability, and human conversation matter in an uncertain future

Try this after the episode: choose one experience outside the classroom and document what you built, who you worked with, what changed, and what you learned.

ABOUT ALEXANDER KUTULAS

Alexander Kutulas is a Purdue University computer science student, entrepreneur, event organizer, and software engineer. His work includes HackFromScratch, Purdue Hackers, and Milestone, a project that helps students document club and hands-on experiences and translate them into career evidence.

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-kutulas/

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Purdue Hackers

https://www.purduehackers.com/

Scratch Foundation

https://scratchfoundation.org/

TechPoint Xtern

https://techpoint.org/xtern/

Center for Humane Technology

https://www.humanetech.com/

TOOLS AND PLATFORMS MENTIONED

ChatGPT

Claude

Codex

LinkedIn

CONNECT WITH JASON PADGETT

Jason Padgett | AI Solutions Architect | Co-Founder, Wooden Boy Industries | Host, AGI Podcast | AI Adoption, LLM Systems & Human-AI Workflows

AGI - Advance Grow and Innovate with AI Podcast Network

🌐 https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/

CoFounder, Wooden Boy Industries

🌐 https://woodenboyindustriesai.com/

Chief Solutions Architect, Chakra AI Solutions

🌐 https://chakrasolutions.ai/

📧 jason@agipodcast.ai