AI has moved beyond experimentation. The question for leaders is no longer whether to adopt AI, but how to turn it into meaningful business value.

In this episode of AI: Voice or Victim, Greg Boone and Alec Coughlin @AIwithAlec explore what separates organizations that are moving forward from those still stuck in the pilot phase - from AI ROI and agentic AI to adoption, leadership, governance, and the changing workforce.

A candid conversation about what leaders need to get right as AI reshapes the way businesses operate, compete, and grow.
👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone navigating the AI revolution.

Subscribe to AI: Voice or Victim for more conversations that move you from AI anxious to AI curious. Hosted by Erica Rooney and Greg Boone aka AISerious™, we're helping people and organizations embrace AI ethically, strategically, and with humanity at the center.

Follow us and join the movement to shape the future - before it shapes us.

🔗 Follow us and dive deeper:

• On the web: https://voiceorvictim.com/
• Greg Boone on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregboone
• Erica Rooney on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericarooney/

📕 Order our books:

• Erica Rooney, author of The AI Gap: Women, AI, and the Next Great Leap Forward
• Greg Boone, author of AI at the Speed of Trust (available for pre-order)

© 2026 Walk West Production

25 years in European banking gave Jürgen Richter a front-row seat to why AI adoption fails - and what it actually takes to get it right. In this episode, he joins Erica Rooney and Greg Boone to break down the real reasons 95% of AI pilots don't work (hint: you're stacking AI on broken processes), why the perfectionism trap is just as dangerous as moving too fast, and what the human workplace looks like when machines finally handle the routine.

Jürgen also unpacks the Europe vs. US innovation gap, explains the "forgiveness continuum" for internal AI deployment, and makes a case that social skills are about to become the most valuable currency in the workforce.

Plus: the team plays "Last Chat"—Jürgen researched Scotch whisky regions mid-cigar, Greg translated his daughter's Spanish math homework, and Erica reveals her custom GPT, Melinda the Magical Resume Maker.

This is a practitioner's perspective from one of the most regulated industries on earth. No hype. Just real talk.

Key Takeaways

• AI is an amplifier, not a fixer. If your process is broken, AI won't fix it—it will make the bad outcomes faster and louder. Fix the foundation first, then automate, then move toward autonomous systems.
• The forgiveness continuum matters. Deploy AI internally before you ever touch the customer. Internal feedback is tough but survivable. In trust-dependent industries like banking, a bad client experience can be brand-ending.
• Social skills are the rising premium. As AI absorbs routine tasks, the uniquely human skills—relationship management, contextual judgment, empathy, complex problem-solving—become more, not less, valuable. The future belongs to people who can leverage tools AND connect with people.
• Perfectionism is its own form of falling behind. The demand for zero defects before deployment is understandable—but in a world of probabilistic AI, it's a trap. Organizations that wait for perfection cede ground to those willing to iterate.
• The mental model shift is the hardest part. AI is probabilistic, not deterministic. Humans tolerate uncertainty in other humans easily. Applying that same tolerance to technology requires a deliberate mindset change—and most leaders haven't made it yet.
• Europe has an R&D mindset gap. Most American companies treat research and development as a standard budget line. Many European institutions don't. Without that cultural permission to invest, learn, and iterate, adoption stalls before it starts.

Staying curious is the career strategy. Jürgen, 25 years into a finance career, enrolled in an MIT AI program, built a new network, and says he feels like he's 25 again. The leaders who thrive through AI transformation are the ones who approach it with genuine curiosity rather than defensive anxiety.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone navigating the AI revolution.

Subscribe to AI: Voice or Victim for more conversations that move you from AI anxious to AI curious. Hosted by Erica Rooney and Greg Boone aka AISerious™, we're helping people and organizations embrace AI ethically, strategically, and with humanity at the center.

Follow us and join the movement to shape the future - before it shapes us.

🔗 Follow us and dive deeper:

• On the web: https://voiceorvictim.com/
• Greg Boone on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregboone
• Erica Rooney on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericarooney/

📕 Order our books:

• Erica Rooney, author of The AI Gap: Women, AI, and the Next Great Leap Forward
• Greg Boone, author of AI at the Speed of Trust (available for pre-order)

© 2026 Walk West Production

What does artificial intelligence mean for the future of cities, buildings, infrastructure, and investment?

In this episode of AI: Voice or Victim, hosts Greg Boone and Erica Rooney sit down with Judyta Sawicka from Echo Investment S.A. for a global conversation about AI adoption, leadership, digital transformation, and the future of real estate.

Judyta shares how her background in law, finance, infrastructure, and development shaped her approach to innovation — and why real estate companies are being forced to think years ahead as AI rapidly transforms how people live, work, and interact with cities.

The conversation explores:

Why AI adoption is more of a culture challenge than a technology challenge
How organizations can balance innovation with responsibility and trust
Why AI literacy is becoming essential across every industry
How AI is already improving energy efficiency in commercial buildings
The future of smart cities, digital twins, and AI-driven urban planning
Why humans still need to stay “in the loop” with AI systems
How prompting, iteration, and domain expertise impact AI results
The importance of making AI feel personal, safe, and useful for employees

Judyta also explains how her company is using AI analytics to reduce energy consumption in buildings by 20–30%, adjusting cooling and heating systems dynamically based on occupancy and weather conditions.

Greg and Erica dive into the human side of AI adoption as well — discussing why many companies struggle with digital transformation, how AI changes workplace expectations, and why curiosity may be one of the most important skills for the future workforce.

And of course, the episode wraps with the fan-favorite “Last Chat” segment featuring AI-generated dinner ideas, hidden vegetables in waffles, and Greg’s attempt to explain generative AI through a “hang glider vs. space shuttle” analogy.

Key Takeaways
AI transformation is fundamentally a people and culture challenge
Organizations need leadership and psychological safety to drive adoption
AI works best as an extension of human expertise, not a replacement for it
Smart buildings and smart cities are already becoming reality
Iteration and feedback are critical to getting better AI outputs
AI can unlock major operational efficiencies, especially in energy usage
Chapters

00:00 – AI adoption from an internal and external business perspective
01:00 – Judyta’s journey from law to investment and development
02:00 – Long-term thinking in real estate and infrastructure
03:00 – Bottom-up AI adoption inside organizations
04:00 – ChatGPT vs. Perplexity for research and productivity
05:00 – Why digital transformations often fail
06:00 – AI literacy, leadership, and workplace culture
07:00 – The day ChatGPT outages disrupted productivity
08:00 – Balancing AI curiosity with responsibility
09:00 – Why humans still need to stay “in the loop”
10:00 – Iteration, prompting, and mindset shifts with AI
12:00 – AI as an extension of human expertise
13:00 – AI opportunities in real estate and infrastructure
14:00 – Smart buildings and reducing energy consumption
15:00 – Singapore’s AI-powered digital twin city model
16:00 – AI, energy demand, and future infrastructure
17:00 – AI meal planning, waffles, and parenting hacks
18:00 – Greg Boone’s “hang glider vs. space shuttle” AI analogy

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone navigating the AI revolution.

Subscribe to AI: Voice or Victim for more conversations that move you from AI anxious to AI curious. Hosted by Erica Rooney and Greg Boone aka AISerious™, we're helping people and organizations embrace AI ethically, strategically, and with humanity at the center.
Follow us and join the movement to shape the future — before it shapes us.

🔗 Follow us and dive deeper:

On the web: voiceorvictim.com

Greg Boone on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregboone
Erica Rooney on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericarooney/

📕 Order our books:

• Erica Rooney, author of The AI Gap: Women, AI, and the Next Great Leap Forward
• Greg Boone, author of AI at the Speed of Trust (available for pre-order)

© 2026 Walk West Production

What happens when two marketers, technologists, and entrepreneurs sit down to talk honestly about AI, creativity, branding, and the future of work?

In this episode of AI: Voice or Victim, Greg Boone sits down with Aaron Mazze (inveniv.com) for a wide-ranging conversation about the collision of AI, marketing, human connection, and innovation. From Greg’s journey through IBM, entrepreneurship, and nightclub ownership to Aaron’s background in music, branding, and digital experiences, this episode explores how unconventional experiences shape better leaders in the AI era.

They dig into the growing “sea of sameness” created by AI-generated content, why authentic human interaction is becoming more valuable than ever, and how brands can stand out by embracing personality, experimentation, and community.

The conversation also dives into:

Why in-person collaboration still matters in an AI-driven world
The resurgence of print media and physical experiences
How AI is reshaping education and employability
The difference between using AI tools and understanding AI itself
Why companies need to rethink “the test” instead of fearing AI adoption
The role of trust, storytelling, and human presence in business growth
How podcasting and owned media are becoming critical business assets

Greg also shares insights from his upcoming book, AI at the Speed of Trust, and explains why businesses that fail to embrace AI literacy risk falling behind faster than they realize.

This episode is a reminder that while AI can automate processes, amplify content, and accelerate productivity, human curiosity, creativity, trust, and relationships are still the real differentiators.

Key Takeaways
AI won’t replace authentic human connection — but it will expose weak brands faster
Businesses need to focus on personality-led and community-led growth
AI literacy is quickly becoming a baseline expectation in the workforce
Creativity and experimentation matter more than polished perfection
The future belongs to people who can combine technology with human insight
Chapters

00:00 – Why print media may be making a comeback
01:00 – Greg Boone’s origin story and early tech career
03:00 – IBM, entrepreneurship, and failed ventures
05:00 – Lessons learned from nightclub ownership
08:00 – Human connection in the age of AI
11:00 – Why trust matters more than ever
13:00 – Michael Jordan, branding, and business influence
16:00 – The power of putting yourself out there
18:00 – Writing about AI in a fast-changing world
20:00 – Podcasting, community, and owned media
21:00 – The return of physical marketing experiences
22:00 – AI note-taking tools and productivity
26:00 – AI in education and the future workforce
27:00 – Why schools may need to “change the test”

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone navigating the AI revolution.

Subscribe to AI: Voice or Victim for more conversations that move you from AI anxious to AI curious. Hosted by Erica Rooney and Greg Boone aka AISerious™, we're helping people and organizations embrace AI ethically, strategically, and with humanity at the center.

Follow us and join the movement to shape the future — before it shapes us.

🔗 Follow us and dive deeper:

• On the web: https://voiceorvictim.com/
• Greg Boone on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregboone
• Erica Rooney on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericarooney/

📕 Order our books:

• Erica Rooney, author of The AI Gap: Women, AI, and the Next Great Leap Forward
• Greg Boone, author of AI at the Speed of Trust (available for pre-order)

© 2026 Walk West Production

What happens when startups stop treating AI as a tool—and start building with it at the core?

Greg Boone sits down with Arnaud Frade—executive leader, innovator, and author of The Sentient Startup—to unpack what it really means to build an AI-native business in today’s rapidly shifting landscape.

This isn’t another surface-level conversation about automation or productivity hacks. Arnaud challenges the way we think about organizations, leadership, and intelligence itself—arguing that the next generation of companies won’t just use AI… they’ll behave more like living systems.

Chapters:

00:00 – Intro: AI Isn’t the Future—It’s Now
01:10 – Meet Arnaud Frade & The Sentient Startup
03:05 – What Is a “Sentient” Startup?
05:40 – Why Most Companies Are Thinking Too Small About AI
08:20 – From Tools to Systems: The Real Shift in AI
11:15 – The Biggest Mistakes Leaders Make with AI Adoption
14:30 – AI-Native vs. AI-Enabled Companies
18:05 – Building Organizations That Learn and Adapt
21:40 – The Human Role in an AI-Driven Company
25:10 – Leadership in the Age of Intelligent Systems
28:45 – Where AI Strategy Fails (and How to Fix It)
32:20 – The Risk Isn’t AI—It’s Standing Still
35:50 – What the Next Generation of Startups Will Look Like
39:10 – Practical Steps to Start Building with AI Today
42:30 – Arnaud’s Vision for the Future of Work
45:00 – “Last Chat” Segment
47:30 – Final Thoughts & Takeaways

Greg and Arnaud get into:

-Why most companies are still thinking too small about AI
-The shift from tools → systems → “sentient” organizations
-What leaders get wrong about AI adoption (and how to fix it)
-How to build companies that scale intelligently without losing human purpose
-The real risk: not AI taking jobs—but leaders failing to evolve

If you’re still asking “How do we use AI?”—this episode pushes you toward a better question:
“What kind of organization are we becoming because of it?”

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone navigating the AI revolution.

Subscribe to AI: Voice or Victim for more conversations that move you from AI anxious to AI curious. Hosted by Erica Rooney and Greg Boone aka AISerious™, we're helping people and organizations embrace AI ethically, strategically, and with humanity at the center.

Follow us and join the movement to shape the future — before it shapes us.

🔗 Follow us and dive deeper:

• On the web: https://voiceorvictim.com/
• Greg Boone on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregboone
• Erica Rooney on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericarooney/

📕 Order our books:

• Erica Rooney, author of The AI Gap: Women, AI, and the Next Great Leap Forward
• Greg Boone, author of AI at the Speed of Trust (available for pre-order)

© 2026 Walk West Production

If your AI inputs look like everyone else's, your outputs will too. And in a market where AI is accelerating everything from outbound campaigns to hiring decisions, sounding like everyone else is no longer a neutral outcome. It's a competitive liability.

Greg Boone sits down with Brett Berhoff, Founder and CEO of Strategy.xyz and a Bay Area-based business strategist and AI advisor, for a candid conversation about what AI is actually doing to go-to-market strategy, sales, and the companies that think they're keeping pace.

Brett operates at ground zero. Driverless cars outnumber taxis. Every billboard is an AI company. But the most important thing he brings to this conversation isn't what Silicon Valley is doing with AI. It's what the rest of the country keeps getting wrong.

This episode is built for founders, operators, and revenue leaders who need a realistic read on where AI creates leverage and where it quietly destroys trust.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why the same AI tools used the same way produce the same forgettable output across every company
• How AI is changing go-to-market speed, volume, and velocity, and what that costs you if the human element is missing
• What Silicon Valley consistently gets wrong about AI adoption
• How to think about AI SDRs, avatars, and hyper-personalization without crossing into creepy
• Why garbage in does not just mean garbage out in an AI context, it means catastrophic outcomes at scale
• The one thing Brett tells every leadership team before anything else: drop the fear

If you are responsible for growth, strategy, or revenue, this conversation will sharpen how you think about what AI can and cannot do for you right now.

Chapters
00:00 Welcome to AI: Voice or Victim
01:10 Meet Brett Berhoff
02:30 Life at Ground Zero: Silicon Valley and AI
05:00 Driverless Cars and What They Signal
08:00 AI Adoption Across the Country
10:30 Every Company Is an AI Company
13:00 AI and the Next Generation
15:30 The SaaS Apocalypse: Real or Overhyped?
18:45 Jack Dorsey, Block, and the Nimbleness Question
21:30 When Big Companies Can't Turn the Ship
24:00 Go-to-Market in the AI Era: Three Components
27:30 People Still Buy From People
29:00 Speed, Volume, and the Risk of Losing the Human Touch
31:30 Hyper-Personalization vs. Creepy
33:00 Same Input, Same Output: The Real AI Problem
36:00 AI SDRs: When They Work and When They Don't
38:30 The Uncanny Valley of AI Avatars
40:00 Is Silicon Valley Ahead or Just Louder?
41:30 Does AI Talent Have to Be in the Bay Area?
42:30 What Silicon Valley Gets Wrong About AI
43:30 One Thing to Do Right Now: Drop the Fear
44:30 Closing Thoughts

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone navigating the AI revolution.

Subscribe to AI: Voice or Victim for more conversations that move you from AI anxious to AI curious. Hosted by Erica Rooney and Greg Boone aka AISerious™, we're helping people and organizations embrace AI ethically, strategically, and with humanity at the center.

Follow us and join the movement to shape the future — before it shapes us.

🔗 Follow us and dive deeper:

• On the web: https://voiceorvictim.com/
• Greg Boone on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregboone
• Erica Rooney on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericarooney/

📕 Order our books:

• Erica Rooney, author of The AI Gap: Women, AI, and the Next Great Leap Forward
• Greg Boone, author of AI at the Speed of Trust (available for pre-order)

© 2026 Walk West Production

What if the biggest barrier to using AI isn’t skill… it’s confidence?

In this solo episode, Erica Rooney gets real about the hesitation so many people feel around AI and why that fear is costing you more than you think. From imposter syndrome to the myth that “AI is cheating,” she breaks down what’s actually holding people back and how to move forward without needing to become “a tech person.”

This episode is not about tools. It’s about mindset, momentum, and building confidence through action.

Erica shares her own journey from avoiding AI altogether to now teaching it, speaking on it, and using it daily. Her takeaway is simple: confidence doesn’t come first. It comes from doing.

If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines, this is your push to start.

🔑 What You’ll Learn

• Why imposter syndrome is stopping people from using AI
• How small, low-stakes experimentation builds real confidence
• Practical ways to use AI at work (without feeling like you’re cheating)
• How to rehearse hard conversations using AI
• Why AI can make you more productive and more confident
• The “confidence competence loop” and how it actually works
• Simple daily habits to go from AI anxious to AI capable

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 Why AI fear is really about confidence
01:00 Erica’s honest story about avoiding AI
03:00 The real key: experimentation over expertise
04:00 Using AI to rehearse hard conversations
06:00 AI as a thought partner and perspective expander
07:00 Productivity, mental load, and confidence
08:30 AI as a coach when you don’t have one
09:30 Brain dumping and reducing overwhelm
10:30 From AI anxious to teaching others
11:00 Why implementation beats learning
12:00 The confidence competence loop explained
12:45 How to start today (for real this time)

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone navigating the AI revolution.

Subscribe to AI: Voice or Victim for more conversations that move you from AI anxious to AI curious. Hosted by Erica Rooney and Greg Boone aka AISerious™, we're helping people and organizations embrace AI ethically, strategically, and with humanity at the center.

Follow us and join the movement to shape the future — before it shapes us.

🔗 Follow us and dive deeper:

• On the web: https://voiceorvictim.com/
• Greg Boone on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregboone
• Erica Rooney on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericarooney/

📕 Order our books:

• Erica Rooney, author of The AI Gap: Women, AI, and the Next Great Leap Forward
• Greg Boone, author of AI at the Speed of Trust (available for pre-order)

© 2026 Walk West Production

There’s a lot of noise around AI right now. Tools, demos, promises. But when it comes to actually building something that works, most companies hit a wall.

In this episode of AI: Voice or Victim, Greg Boone sits down with Kerry Prince to talk about what it really takes to move from AI curiosity to real execution.

This is a builder’s conversation. Less hype, more reality.

Kerry brings a grounded perspective on how teams should be thinking about AI systems, where things tend to break down, and why speed without structure usually creates more problems than progress.

Greg pushes on what matters most for businesses right now: making decisions, building responsibly, and not getting left behind.

If you're tired of surface-level AI talk and want to understand what it actually takes to build and scale, this episode delivers.

In this episode, we cover:

* Why most AI projects stall before they create value
* The difference between experimenting with AI and operationalizing it
* Where teams waste time and money when adopting AI
* How to think about systems, not just tools
* What separates builders from spectators in the AI era
* The risks of moving too slow—and too fast

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone navigating the AI revolution.

Subscribe to AI: Voice or Victim for more conversations that move you from AI anxious to AI curious. Hosted by Erica Rooney and Greg Boone aka AISerious™, we're helping people and organizations embrace AI ethically, strategically, and with humanity at the center.

Follow us and join the movement to shape the future — before it shapes us.

🔗 Follow us and dive deeper:

• On the web: https://voiceorvictim.com/
• Greg Boone on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregboone
• Erica Rooney on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericarooney/

📕 Order our books:

• Erica Rooney, author of The AI Gap: Women, AI, and the Next Great Leap Forward
• Greg Boone, author of AI at the Speed of Trust (available for pre-order)

© 2026 Walk West Production