220. Human-Centered AI with Will Croushorn
from The Back to Me Podcast Hosted by Will Croushorn, Yoli Tamu
As headlines raise serious questions about AI safety and human control, this conversation invites students to move beyond fear and consider how they can help shape technology with responsibility, curiosity, and care. In this week’s episode of our “AI With Purpose: Student Pathways to What’s Next” series, we are joined by Will Croushorn, an AI product leader, educator and the force behind Wendy’s FreshAI, a real-world drive-through AI experience that has handled more than 100 million customer interactions. Mr. Croushorn challenges students to see this moment not simply as a threat, but as a possible human renaissance. Discover what it took to move FreshAI from a “what if?” conversation to a large-scale customer experience, and why understanding human complexity and building technology that truly assists people must remain at the center of innovation. Mr. Croushorn’s career has taken him from founding an English school in northern Iraq to leading the development and scaling of Wendy’s FreshAI. During his five years in Iraq, he learned Behdini Kurdish and worked closely with the communities he served. He now teaches AI product management through Caltech’s Center for Technology and Management Education and holds an MBA and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Affairs. Across his work in education and technology, he is guided by a simple belief: great technology and meaningful experiences begin with empathy and imagination. To learn more about Mr. Croushorn and his work, connect with him on LinkedIn.
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