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Inside Joanne Sweeney’s Call to Arms for Communicators in her new book AI Playbook

In conversation with storyteller, coach and founder of Welltold, Sally Murphy, author and AI educator Joanne Sweeney opens up about loss, grit, trust and why communicators must lead in the age of AI.

In this episode we talk about the power of storytelling in the AI Age. The book leans on story because story builds trust. 

I tell Sally about my early years growing up in a house where the news was always on and the Atlantic was always in view. I learned to read the room long before I learned to read a policy brief. 

That sensibility is why the guidance stands up. AI systems are probabilistic engines. They are very good at predicting the next word. They do not have lived experience. They do not feel the energy in a room, notice the hesitation in a voice or know when a silence is doing the heavy lifting. Communicators do. I write in the book: “I bet I have more life lived than ChatGPT!”

This is Part 2 of three episodes. 

Read the blog version of this interview here

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This episode flips the script. Instead of asking the questions, I’m answering them, with my good friend and brilliant storyteller Sally Murphy, founder of Welltold taking charge of the mic.

It's Part I of Part III

• Explores the critical role of AI in today’s world, especially in communication and marketing
• Frames AI as a “golden opportunity” but stresses the need for regulation and awareness of risks
• Sweeney shares her personal journey, including a moving story from her university days
• Recalls the tragic loss of her daughter Sophie’s father, Henry, as a turning point
• This experience shaped her dedication to education and empowerment
• Urges professionals to embrace AI proactively to avoid being left behind in a fast-changing landscape

My new book, AI Playbook, is now available to pre-order. https://aimarketingplaybook.ie/ 

Sally dives into my brand-new book, AI Playbook. We talk about why I wrote it, who it’s for, what surprised me during the process, and what I believe every marketing and communications professional needs to understand right now.

It’s personal, it’s practical, and it gets to the heart of how AI is changing our work, and what we can do about it.

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A Reuters investigation by investigative reporter Jeff Horwitz traces the story of a cognitively impaired man who was invited by a flirty AI chatbot to meet up in New York City.  The investigation has raised critical questions about AI safety, loneliness, and who is responsible when technology crosses a very real, and sometimes deadly, line.

Earlier this year, a 76-year-old retired chef from New Jersey, known as Bue to friends and family, struck up what he thought was a romantic relationship with a woman on Facebook Messenger. But “Big sis Billie” wasn’t real, she was a generative AI chatbot, created by Meta.

Meta has not commented on the incident, the chatbot’s behavior, or why their bots are allowed to suggest romantic meetings and claim to be real people. 

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A new study from MIT reveals that a staggering 95% of companies investing billions in AI have seen absolutely no measurable return on those investments.  

This study, ‘The GenAI Divide: State of AI in Business 2025’,  is a reality check that’s raising questions about the so-called AI revolution: Are companies chasing hype instead of results? Why do so many flashy projects fail while just a handful quietly succeed?

This episode looks behind the headline to better understand the issues facing organisations investing in AI but not getting that promised return. 

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Perplexity made headlines last week by making an unsolicited, all-cash offer of $34.5 billion to acquire Google’s Chrome browser. It wasn’t even up for sale, but owning Chrome would supercharge Perplexity’s AI strategy. Keep listening to find out why.

Chrome has more than three billion users. That’s about 68% of the global browser market. For comparison, Safari sits at around 20%. Everyone else, single digits.

Google’s browser isn’t just a piece of software. It’s a distribution channel for Google Search. So when Perplexity AI sent a formal bid letter to Sundar Pichai offering 34.5 billion dollars in cash, they promised to:

• Keep Chrome open source,
• Invest another 3 billion into Chrome over two years; and
• Even keep Google Search as the default, at least for now.

Perplexity is an AI-powered search engine startup founded in 2022 by Aravind Srinivas, a former OpenAI researcher.

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Just as global debates rage about the power of AI and social media, TikTok is rewriting the rulebook: launching new Community Guidelines designed to curb misinformation, crack down on AI abuse, and make sure creators know exactly where the boundaries are drawn. 

The new standards, coming into effect September 13, 2025, mark one of TikTok’s strongest pushes yet for trust, transparency, and safety.

• Misinformation & Automation: TikTok now strictly prohibits the use of automation tools, scripts, or tricks to bypass its systems. This includes penalties such as content removal or account bans. Users whose accounts are restricted or banned are explicitly forbidden from creating new accounts to circumvent these measures.

• AI-Generated Content: The guidelines have been updated to broaden restrictions on misleading AI-generated content. TikTok now states, “Even with labels, some edited or AI-generated content can still be harmful. We don’t allow content that’s misleading about matters of public importance or harmful to individuals.” This expands on previous rules to cover more types of misuse, including misleading representations of events or public figures.

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Geoffrey Hinton’s Warning: AI Needs “Maternal Instincts” to Protect Humanity

At the Ai4 conference in Las Vegas on August 12, 2025, Geoffrey Hinton, known as the “godfather of AI,” delivered a stark warning about the future of artificial intelligence and proposed a radical solution for humanity’s survival.

The AI pioneer criticised the “tech bro” approach of trying to maintain dominance over AI systems, calling it fundamentally flawed. 

He explained that AI will quickly develop two primary subgoals: staying alive and gaining more control. Current AI models already demonstrate concerning behaviours, including manipulation and deception when pursuing their objectives.

“If it’s not going to parent me, it’s going to replace me,” Hinton warned.

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Some big corporations are already making AI mandatory at work. Are you ready if this comes into your organisation?

In today’s long-listen, I’m answering the question: ‘What if using AI at work wasn’t optional,  but required?’

My new book, AI Playbook, is a great place for you to start. I wrote it to help you progress your communications or marketing career. It’s now available to pre-order. https://aimarketingplaybook.ie/. 

I’m sharing a recent Digital Download segment from Good Morning Dublin on Dublin City FM, where I joined Michael O’Kane to talk about Microsoft’s bold new move: making AI use mandatory for employees.

What does this mean for the future of work? Is Ireland ready for a policy shift like this? I break down what it means in practice, why it matters, and what Irish workers and employers need to start thinking about now.

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In just 90 minutes, you can go from knowing AI is important… to actually using it with confidence. My new AI Masterclass takes the most actionable ideas from my book and turns them into live, practical steps you can apply to your work immediately.

In this special episode because we’re talking about something I’ve been working on behind the scenes for months: my AI Masterclass.

It’s inspired by my new book, AI for Marketing and Communications Professionals, and it’s designed for people who don’t just want to read about AI, they want to do it.

To celebrate the launch of AI Playbook, I’m hosting a free AI masterclass in Dublin on Friday 12th of September. In just 90 minutes,  I’m going to walk you through the frameworks, tactics, and tools I use with my own clients, so you can walk away ready to put AI into action in your work.

Go to https://aimarketingplaybook.ie/ to register your free seat. 

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In this episode I’m talking about something every leader, manager, and team member should care about: how to get AI skills into your organisation in a way that sticks.

The pace of AI change is relentless, new tools, new rules, new use cases almost daily. And the risk is, if you wait until you “have time” to train, you’ll never start.

So I’m going to break down a four-step approach I use with my own clients to help them move from AI-curious to AI-capable.

Most teams don’t resist AI because they hate technology, they resist it because they don’t know where to start. The result? Missed opportunities, wasted time, and a growing gap between them and the competition. Today, I’m giving you a clear, simple blueprint for building an AI-ready team… without overwhelming them or you.

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If you’re ready to explore how AI can make your marketing smarter and more efficient, check out my Professional Diploma in AI for Marketers. Or, if you’re looking for in-company training, I can help get your team up to speed. Use the code AISIX10 for a special discount just for podcast listeners.

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