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Rendered by Robots | AI & the Future of Design Education

Rendered by Robots | AI & the Future of Design Education

By: Spencer Striker PhD
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What happens when robots do the reading—and the designing?

Rendered by Robots explores how artificial intelligence is transforming creative education. Hosted by Dr. Spencer Striker and Alessandra El Chanti of Northwestern University | Qatar, the series brings together leading voices from design, media, and technology to discuss how AI is reshaping what it means to teach, learn, and create.

Each episode features educators, technologists, artists, and researchers confronting the most pressing questions of the AI era:

  • What does originality mean when machines can mimic mastery?

  • How do we assess creativity in AI-assisted classrooms?

  • Which human skills—curiosity, empathy, critical thinking—become more vital as automation advances?

Season 1 features:

  • Clay Shirky (NYU) on how AI reshapes collaboration and learning.

  • James Walsh (New York Magazine) on authorship and creative economies.

  • John Gibbs (“Dr. Know-It-All Knows,” YouTube / UGA) on teaching creativity with AI.

  • Marc Watkins (University of Mississippi) on generative-AI writing pedagogy.

  • Olivio Sarikas (Digital Artist) on co-creation between humans and machines.

  • Nataliya Kosmyna (MIT Media Lab) on brain–computer interfaces and embodied AI.

  • Renée Hobbs (University of Rhode Island) on media literacy and AI ethics.

  • Jeremy Gilbert (Northwestern Medill) on AI-driven storytelling and design thinking.

  • Lila Shroff (The Atlantic) on authorship, ethics, and creative confidence.

  • Rebecca Winthrop (Brookings Institution) on AI and global learning equity.

Supported by the Artificial Intelligence & Media Lab (AIM-LAB) and Northwestern University’s Alumnae Award for Curriculum Innovation, the podcast invites educators, students, and creators to think critically about the next chapter of creative practice in the age of intelligent machines.

Learn more at spencerstriker.com

Keywords: AI Education, Design Education, Generative AI, Media Innovation, Creative Pedagogy, AI Literacy, EdTech, Future of Learning, Creative AI, Media Futures, AI Ethics

Spencer Striker, PhD | 2025
Episodes
  • Clay Shirky: Learning Is Changes to Long-Term Memory, There's No Shortcut | Rendered by Robots, Ep 2

    Clay Shirky: Learning Is Changes to Long-Term Memory, There's No Shortcut | Rendered by Robots, Ep 2
    Dec 8 2025
    The true purpose of education is changes to long-term memory and identity formation. AI short-circuits that. Clay Shirky, Vice Provost for AI & Tech in Edu at NYU, and one of the sharpest voices on tech and society, joins Spencer Striker, Professor of Digital Media Design at NU-Q, and co-host, Alessandra El Chanti, to discuss what AI actually breaks in higher education. In this conversation: - Why education is in the business of identity formation, not credential production - The product of higher education is changes in long-term memory (there's no shortcut) - For 500 years, universities didn't assess through writing; what can we learn from the lost art of rhetoric? - How LLMs short-circuit curiosity (when used lazily) - The homework apocalypse: how ChatGPT is OP against traditional assessment - What should a college grad be able to do: specialization is for insects 📚 Referenced in this episode: - Clay Shirky's NYT piece, Students Hate Them. Universities Need Them. The Only Real Solution to the A.I. Cheating Crisis: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/opinion/culture/ai-chatgpt-college-cheating-medieval.html 🔗 LINKS Clay Shirky: @cshirky Host: spencerstriker.com 🔖 #ClayShirky #AIEducation #HigherEd #FutureOfLearning #IdentityFormation #EdTech #GenerativeAI #NYU About the Series Rendered by Robots: AI & the Future of Design Edu explores how AI is transforming the way we teach, create, and imagine media production education. It’s a podcast for educators, creators, and students navigating the AI revolution with clear eyes and curious minds. CREDITS: Creator & Host — Spencer Striker, PhD | Co-Host & Director — Alessandra El Chanti, MFA | Featured Guest — Clay Shirky, Vice Provost for AI and Technology in Education at NYU | Editor, Sound Design & Motion Graphics — Kyle Trueblood | Producer — Adam Sullivan | Camera & Sound — Yunting "Unity" Zhan, Qinbei "Bissy" Li | Project Manager — Aimelyn Geronimo | Special Thanks — Miriam Sherin (Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education); Alumnae Award for Curriculum Innovation (Northwestern University Office of the Provost); Marwan M. Kraidy, PhD (NU-Q Office of the Dean); S. Venus Jin, PhD (Artificial Intelligence and Media Lab | AIM-LAB); Nisar Keshvani (NU-Q Communications and Public Affairs); Rami Al-Badry, Floyd Yarmuth, Ihsan Yahya (NU-Q Production & Digital Media Services)
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    57 mins
  • Nataliya Kosmyna: Cognitive Debt Accumulates, You Can't Pay It Back | Rendered by Robots, Ep 3

    Nataliya Kosmyna: Cognitive Debt Accumulates, You Can't Pay It Back | Rendered by Robots, Ep 3
    Dec 7 2025
    Cognitive debt accumulates. Unlike a credit card, you can't pay it back. Nataliya Kosmyna, Research Scientist at MIT Media Lab and author of the viral "Your Brain on ChatGPT" study, joins Spencer Striker, Professor of Digital Media Design at Northwestern University | Qatar, and co-host, Alessandra El Chanti, to discuss what happens to your brain when you outsource your thinking to AI. In this conversation: - The study: 54 students, 3 groups, and the Session 4 "swap" that revealed everything - Why 15% of AI users felt zero ownership over their own essays - Cognitive debt: the short-term ease that costs you long-term development (and you can't pay it back) - Loss of ownership leads to loss of caring; dangerous for students, pilots, doctors, everyone - Why "Study Mode" is idealistic but likely to fail (your brain is wired to seek shortcuts) - The hopeful finding: AI works best AFTER you've done the hard thinking yourself - Zone of proximal development: what game-based learning teaches us about productive struggle - The solution: process first, AI second; AI as just-in-time, infinitely patient, hyper-personalized expert tutor in your pocket 📚 Referenced in this episode: - "Your Brain on ChatGPT" MIT Media Lab study: https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/your-brain-on-chatgpt/overview/ 🔗 LINKS Nataliya Kosmyna: MIT Media Lab media.mit.edu/people/nkosmyna Host: spencerstriker.com 🔖 #MITMediaLab #CognitiveDebt #YourBrainOnChatGPT #AIEducation #HigherEd #EdTech #GenerativeAI #BrainScience About the Series Rendered by Robots: AI & the Future of Design Edu explores how AI is transforming the way we teach, create, and imagine media production education. It's a podcast for educators, creators, and students navigating the AI revolution with clear eyes and curious minds. CREDITS: Creator & Host — Spencer Striker, PhD | Co-Host & Director — Alessandra El Chanti, MFA | Featured Guest — Nataliya Kosmyna, Research Scientist, MIT Media Lab | Editor, Sound Design & Motion Graphics — Kyle Trueblood | Producer — Adam Sullivan | Camera & Sound — Yunting "Unity" Zhan, Qinbei "Bissy" Li | Project Manager — Aimelyn Geronimo | Special Thanks — Miriam Sherin (Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education); Alumnae Award for Curriculum Innovation (Northwestern University Office of the Provost); Marwan M. Kraidy, PhD (NU-Q Office of the Dean); S. Venus Jin, PhD (Artificial Intelligence and Media Lab | AIM-LAB); Nisar Keshvani (NU-Q Communications and Public Affairs); Rami Al-Badry, Floyd Yarmuth, Ihsan Yahya (NU-Q Production & Digital Media Services)
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    53 mins
  • Marc Watkins: The Quiet Disaster in Our Classrooms & Why AI Bans Fail | Rendered by Robots, Ep 4

    Marc Watkins: The Quiet Disaster in Our Classrooms & Why AI Bans Fail | Rendered by Robots, Ep 4
    Dec 6 2025
    A "quiet disaster" is unfolding in higher education as AI tools outpace our ability to adapt. While some envision a future of hyper-efficient, AI-run schools, Marc Watkins argues this misses the point of education entirely. From $40,000-a-year "teacherless" academies to the backlash against AI grading, the tension is no longer just about cheating; it is about the value of human connection in the learning process. Marc Watkins, Assistant Director of Academic Innovation at the University of Mississippi and Director of the AI Institute for Teachers, joins Spencer Striker, Professor of Digital Media Design at Northwestern University | Qatar, and co-host, Alessandra El Chanti, to discuss why we must move from policing students to building standards. In this conversation: - The "Quiet Disaster": how students are navigating the AI chaos without guidance - The AI Grading Backlash: Why students feel shortchanged when professors offload grading to AI. - Automation vs. Augmentation: The danger of "uploading the PDF" vs. using AI to challenge your rough draft. - Why bans fail and detection software is a dead end (the "arms race" helps no one) - The death of deep reading? NotebookLM and the problem of "sufficiency" skimming - Normalizing disclosure: Moving from "Did you cheat?" to "How did you use this?" Focus on AI Literacy and Transparency. 📚 Referenced in this episode: "Make AI Part of the Assignment" (The Chronicle of Higher Education): https://www.chronicle.com/article/make-ai-part-of-the-assignment 🔗 LINKS Marc Watkins, AI Pedagogy Project: aipedagogy.org/authors/marc-watkins Host: spencerstriker.com About the Series Rendered by Robots: AI & the Future of Design Edu explores how AI is transforming the way we teach, create, and imagine media production education. It's a podcast for educators, creators, and students navigating the AI revolution with clear eyes and curious minds. CREDITS: Creator & Host — Spencer Striker, PhD | Co-Host & Director — Alessandra El Chanti, MFA | Featured Guest — Marc Watkins, Assistant Director of Academic Innovation, University of Mississippi | Editor, Sound Design & Motion Graphics — Kyle Trueblood | Producer — Adam Sullivan | Camera & Sound — Yunting "Unity" Zhan, Qinbei "Bissy" Li | Project Manager — Aimelyn Geronimo | Special Thanks — Miriam Sherin (Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education); Alumnae Award for Curriculum Innovation (Northwestern University Office of the Provost); Marwan M. Kraidy, PhD (NU-Q Office of the Dean); S. Venus Jin, PhD (Artificial Intelligence and Media Lab | AIM-LAB); Nisar Keshvani (NU-Q Communications and Public Affairs); Rami Al-Badry, Floyd Yarmuth, Ihsan Yahya (NU-Q Production & Digital Media Services) 🔖 #AILiteracy #HigherEd #ChatGPT #AcademicInnovation #MarcWatkins #ChronicleHigherEd #FutureOfEducation #EdTech
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    43 mins
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