Episode 67:Collin Brown on What Might Be The Real Problem of AI, From Faith and Hope to Wally

A quiet kid from Soquel loses his friend group at 14 and finds an unlikely ally in the aftermath: endurance. Collin Brown joins me to unpack how betrayal became a strange mercy, why pain can be a presence without being a prison, and how hope turns from a heckler to a compass when faith gives it a bridge.

We follow that thread into his life today—five kids, custom learning at home, and a coder's fascination with AI that never quite drowns out his human-first instinct.

Collin’s take on AI is both hopeful and cautionary. He calls out the hidden cost of convenience—how letting models think for us can dull our humanity—and shares how he retooled his workflows to stay sharp. We dig into the real unlock about the problem of modern AI: language. Not just human words, but the layered structure that carries meaning between the lines. If machines can wield that power, they can shape choices and culture, for better or worse. We talk verification, overconfident outputs, and the discipline of embracing "I don’t know" as a mark of wisdom, not weakness.

Threaded through it all is Santa Cruz: redwoods in the backyard, ocean down the road, and a community that somehow holds vast diversity together. That geography and grit keep Collin grounded as he explores what AI might unlock for education and creative work. If you’ve wrestled with pain, wondered where faith meets reason, or worried that tech might be making you softer instead of sharper, this conversation offers a grounded path forward.

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