From studying engineering to a music career that had him touring the world to now being a vice president at Microsoft — Ashley Llorens contains multitudes. He joined The 21st to talk about his expertise in AI, as well as the benefits and risks of a future with smarter machines.

From studying engineering at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, to a music career that had him touring the U.S., Japan, and Europe to now being a vice president at Microsoft — Ashley Llorens contains multitudes. He joined The 21st to talk about his expertise in AI, as well as the benefits and risks of a future with smarter machines.

We learned about Illinois' first ever twins database. And, the world of AI is getting more sophisticated all the time. These days, many companies are using AI to help look for job candidates. Plus, there’s a group of companies that make predatory academic journals. Investigative journalist Svea Eckert found them by submitting a paper with random, computer generated words. And they actually got printed.

Some computer scientists are enthralled by programs that can teach themselves how to perform tasks, such as reading X-rays.

On this special encore edition of The 21st: How are schools looking at mindfulness and meditation to help students succeed? Plus, we'll learn how local educators in southern Illinois are teaching the Trail of Tears, which ran through that part of the state. But first, we talk to Microsoft director Eric Horvitz about the future of artificial intelligence.