#890 Will AI Ever Create Its Own Meaning? with Bryan McCann, CTO of You.com

AI is more powerful than ever, but companies are way overhyping this one feature.

Today, we're talking to Bryan McCann, CTO and co-founder at You.com. We discuss why CTOs need to start asking deeper questions about meaning, how AI is forcing us to rethink consciousness and intelligence, and why treating AI with respect might actually help you become a better person.

All of this right here, right now, on the Modern CTO Podcast! 

Thank you to Digital Ocean for sponsoring this episode. For simple cloud and powerful AI that’s built to scale, check out Digital Ocean here.

To learn more about You.com, check out their website here.

About Bryan McCann

Bryan McCann is co-founder and CTO at you.com, advancing human and AI collaboration.

He previously led AI research in Deep Learning for Natural Language Processing (NLP). His work has been cited thousands of times, and he has spoken about the cutting edge of AI and NLP around the world. Bryan’s work comes out of a deep philosophical interest in meaning and the desire to use AI to complement human creativity, inspire new thoughts, and ultimately develop tools for more fulfilling lives and a more complete understanding of the world.

Bryan is an advisor to and investor in several AI startups as well as coach to technical leaders. He dabbles in poetry, essays on literature, abstract painting, tap dance, weightlifting, and topology. He received his M.S. and B.S. in Computer Science (AI) and B.A. in Philosophy from Stanford University in 2016.

About You.com

You.com is the enterprise AI productivity platform redefining knowledge work with trusted, customizable AI agents. Built by leading AI researchers, it combines real-time web search, private RAG, and modular, model-agnostic architecture to power agentic workflows that deliver measurable business results.