On this episode of The Media Copilot, Pete Pachal sits down with Onix co-founders David Bennahum and Nicholas Nadeau to explore a very different model for AI: one where experts own specialized AI systems built around their knowledge, voice, judgment and point of view.
They discuss why smaller, domain-specific models may sometimes outperform general-purpose AI, how Onix incorporates knowledge that has never appeared online, and why authorship, privacy and data sovereignty could become increasingly important as AI evolves.
The conversation also tackles the business side of expert-owned AI:
Can creators turn their expertise into an AI product? Can journalists do it?
What happens when an AI becomes an authorized extension of a person’s knowledge? And can experts actually participate economically in the value AI creates?
Plus, Pete challenges the Onix founders on hallucinations, model accuracy, scalability and what happens when expert-owned AI moves beyond health and wellness.
Key topics include:
AI and intellectual property
Expert-owned AI
Small language models vs. frontier models
Data privacy and sovereignty
AI hallucinations
Creator monetization
The future of journalism and knowledge work
The emerging “author economy”
Try Onix: Onix.life | Media Copilot early-access code: COPILOT
🔗 About the 👤 Guests
David S. Bennahum | Co-Founder & CEO, Onix. | https://www.linkedin.com/in/dbennahum
Nicholas Nadeau, Ph.D., P.Eng. | Co-Founder & CTO, Onix.| https://ca.linkedin.com/in/engnadeau
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About the show: To explore more conversations like this and see what’s new, visit the Media Copilot website at mediacopilot.ai. You’ll find new episodes, expanded resources, and tools designed for journalists, communicators, and media leaders navigating the fast-changing world of AI. It’s the home base for everything Media Copilot and it’s just getting started.
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Produced by Pete Pachal and Executive Producer Michele Musso
Edited by the Musso Media Team
Music: “Favorite” by Alexander Nakarada, licensed under CC BY 4.0
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