How are you using or avoiding artificial intelligence in your podcast? AI is a shiny new offering with loads of possibilities, but a lot of people are also understandably threatened by its wide-reaching and ever-growing abilities. On today's episode, Mary connects with Amanda Cupido, an adjunct professor, TEDx speaker, podcast producer, and author of the book "Let's Talk Podcasting."

Amanda has her finger firmly on the pulse of all things new in the world of podcasts, and she shares her deeply researched insights on the pros and cons of welcoming generative AI into our shows—just how wide should we be opening that door?

From concern around the inherent biases of AI outputs to the tool's potential to build the confidence of new voices in audio, Amanda's hot takes might just change the way you incorporate artificial intelligence into your podcast.

Learn to navigate generative AI from a 100% human expert:

• How we can maintain the human touch in AI-assisted creations,
• The struggle to stay transparent about our use of AI,
• What to take away and leave behind from popular celebrity podcasts,
• What other big changes are making waves in the podcasting world today.

Links worth mentioning from the episode:

• Suno AI music-making tool - https://www.suno.com
• Boardy AI networking tool - https://www.boardy.ai/
• ChatGPT - https://chatgpt.com/
• DeepSeek AI - https://deepseek.ai/
• Start With Why by Simon Sinek - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA
• Episode 79, Making Accessibility Possible in Podcasting with Joel McKinnon - https://www.organizedsound.ca/making-accessibility-possible-in-podcasting-with-joel-mckinnon-episode-79/ 

Engage with Amanda Cupido:

• Find out more about Amanda's work - https://www.amandacupido.com/
• Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandacupido/
• Order a copy of "Let's Talk Podcasting" - https://www.letstalkpodcasting.com/
• Get the kid's version - "Let's Talk Podcasting for Kids" - https://www.letstalkpodcastingforkids.com/
• Work with Lead Podcasting - https://www.leadpodcasting.com/
• Listen to Amanda's TEDx talk, "Why Audio Storytelling is the backbone of humanity" - https://youtu.be/srh0mdmmQoo

Connect with Mary!

• Leave a voice note with your feedback at https://www.speakpipe.com/VisibleVoice or email visiblevoicepodcast@gmail.com
• Get the full transcript of the episode at http://www.visiblevoicepodcast.com
• Read up on more secrets with the Visible Voice Insights Newsletter https://www.organizedsound.ca/newsletter
• To learn more or work with Mary, check out https://www.organizedsound.ca
• Link up on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/marychan-organizedsound/
• Engage on Instagram @OrganizedSoundProductions https://www.instagram.com/organizedsoundproductions

Show Credits:

• Podcast audio design, engineering, and edited by Mary Chan of Organized Sound Productions
• Show notes written by Shannon Kirk of Right Words Studio
• Post-production support by Kristalee Forre of Forre You VA
• Podcast cover art by Emily Johnston of Artio Design Co.

Transcript with Audio Description:

[MUSIC IN - GHOSTHOOD FEATURING SARA AZRIEL "LET'S GO" BEGINS]

MARY: AI, artificial intelligence. People love it or they're afraid of it. On one hand it's this shiny new object, people flock to it. It's been helping us write better, maybe give us ideas and do that basic level of tasks that sometimes we don't want to do. But then on the other hand, it's the thought of robots taking over the world, making decisions that might be wrong, or even, gasp, replacing actual humans. 

So yes, I too all those fears and the shiny new object syndrome more so the fears though. So I haven't really been jumping on the AI bandwagon. And yet when I look at the nitty gritty side of things that I do, a lot of it is AI involved. You know, there's a lot of automations and workflows that are just always happening in the background for me. So why are we so scared? Amanda Cupdio tells us that it's the generative AI that has us all fearful. The generative part, that's the AI that's gotten very, very good lately. So I wanted to know more about it to A, calm my fears, but also my curiosity to it for the whole side of podcasting. 

Amanda came into my world through a mutual podcasting friend shout out to Aaron Johnson. Not only is Amanda an award winning podcast producer, TEDx speaker, and an entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Lead Podcasting, Amanda is also the author of the Amazon number one bestseller Let's Talk Podcasting: The Essential Guide To Doing It Right and now a kids' version of that book too. And if all of that wasn't enough to keep her busy, to top it all off, she's helping the next generation of podcasters as an adjunct professor to redefine the radio courses at both Seneca Polytechnic and Toronto Metropolitan University. 

To top it all off yet again is also teaching a new generative AI course at Seneca, which is the thing that piqued my interest and why I really wanted to get her thoughts on how AI can be good for podcasting, so that we're not so afraid of what's to come. I also have such a love for her because we both are former radio people and she was the first woman to be a program director at a talk radio station in Toronto. Which really blows my mind because Toronto is the biggest market in Canada and this milestone is actually relatively new in our recent history, so how is that still possible? But kudos to her. Congrats on that one. 

Okay, back to the topic at hand. Whether you are using AI or not in your podcast, in your podcast workflow, in the creation of your show, you are really going to enjoy this chat because, like I said, AI is a part of our podcasting world. So we need to be aware of how it's impacting our space and what unfolds for the industry itself and for the next generation of podcasters. 

This is episode number 95 with Amanda Cupido on The Podcaster's Guide to a Visible Voice. 

<< WOMAN SINGS: So so so so let's go >>

Amanda, thank you so much for taking time out of your, 

[MUSIC ENDS]

You're so busy, you've got so much going on to talk with little ol' me here.

AMANDA: Thank you. It's a true pleasure. Happy to be here.

MARY: One of the things that you're so busy with is this new class at Seneca Polytechnic… 

AMANDA: Yep.

MARY: …out in your east coast, Ontario, from me, West Coast, BC.

AMANDA: Yes.

MARY: Brand new class, Generative AI for Communicators.

AMANDA: That's it, Yes.

MARY: I was like, whoa, what is this? 

AMANDA: Yeah.

MARY: So, you know, I'm, I'm not a big AI fan. I'm still a little afraid of it. But when you think more about it, it's like, you know, back in the day when I remember when I was in high school, teachers were like, don't use your calculator. No calculators in math class.

AMANDA: [LAUGHTER] Yep.

MARY: And now look at us, right? So I feel like AI is similar to that so broadly. Tell us, especially for us who are fearing that AI, what is this class all about and why is it so important right now?

AMANDA: Well, the class is brand new and it's part of also a brand new program. So it's, it's all just spanking new. [LAUGHTER] It's a bachelor's program from Seneca for Communications Management. And they're teaching the students in general in this program about storytelling, content creation, communication strategies for corporate communication, strategies for individuals, brand building, personal thought, leadership development, right? So it's trying to paint this picture of like, what that, that whole, where this fits into the bigger picture of the, of the actual degree they're earning. 

And this course comes now in, and this is the first cohort of students coming through this new program. So this is why it's all. I love this stuff. This excites me. I like, you know, building and testing and just experimenting. And so I am using AI in my podcast production company, Lead P